A Distributed Computing Algorithm for Deployment of Mobile Robotic Agents with Limited Sensing Ranges

Abstract

In this paper, the authors present a distributed computing algorithm for an application of deploying a group of mobile robotic agents in a convex region. Each agent can be treated as an embedded system with its own sensors and actuators. Under the assumption that agents have limited sensing capabilities, the distributed computing algorithm is designed to make agents cover the convex region so that each member's individual region, the space around them, is optimized. Each agent must accommodate its kinematic constraints and can only exchange information locally based on the range of the sensors equipped. The proposed algorithm utilizes Voronoi partitions to create individual subregions and directs each member toward the centroid of their subregion. The Voronoi partitions are updated with each iteration of the algorithm. Simulation results are provided to validate the proposed algorithm.