SWARM AGGREGATION AND FORMATION CONTROL FOR ROBOTS WITH LIMITED PERCEPTION

Abstract

In swarms, the aggregation behaviour favours interactions and information exchanges between individuals, and thus allows the emergence of complex collective behaviours. In this study, a new method for aggregation and formation control under limited perception is proposed based on a small set of simple behavioural rules of interaction. Using the proposed model, robots are able to aggregate and maintain a simple formation by interaction between individuals, movement of isolated individuals and group movements. Furthermore, we study the effect of varying the number of robots, the perception range and the forces between robots on some of the swarm characteristics.