Bearing-based Bionic Encirclement Control Inspired by Dolphins

Inspired by the encirclement behavior of dolphins to entrap fishes, we investigate the bionic encirclement control by employing the bearing rigidity theory. To begin with, we transform the encirclement problem into target formation with time-varying bearing constraint. Then, to achieve a dynamic circle to entrap the target as well as gradually tighten the encirclement, we propose a distributed control law by combining orthogonal projection operator and the consensus protocol. In addition, we analyze the stability of the coordination tasks by using Lyapunov method and small-gain theorem. Moreover, we figure out that the shrinkage of the formation scale is according to exponential law and also provide the estimates of the tightening rate. Finally, simulation results are given to verify the theoretical analysis.