Formation and zoning control of multi-robot systems

Abstract

In this paper, we investigate the stability and attractiveness of formation control in connection with the method of artificial potential trench. With the introduction of a zoning scheme and the associated zoning potential, we synthesize a control that attracts a team of robots to establish a formation, while ensuring that each robot maintains a certain separation from its leader and avoids collision with other robots. Results from computer simulation verify and demonstrate the effectiveness of this approach to formation and zoning control of multi-robot systems.