Communications-based Formation Control of Mobile Robots: Modeling, Analysis and Performance Evaluation

Abstract

Cooperation among mobile robotic platforms is beneficial for various industrial applications, particularly in the warehouse and logistics sector. Formation control of mobile robots for collaborative transportation of an object, also known as collective transport, is a key challenge for cooperative robotic systems. This paper investigates communications-based formation control which is a promising approach. Based on an analytic model for wirelessly controlled leader-follower formation, the impact of connectivity imperfections on path-tracking performance has been investigated for two different types of mobile robots. Performance evaluation provides insights for wireless-centric system design.