Scaling the size of a formation using relative position feedback

We consider a multiagent coordination problem where the objective is to steer a team of mobile agents into a formation of variable size. We assume the shape description of the formation is known to all agents, but the desired size scaling of the formation is known only to a subset of agents. We present two strategies that allow the agents to maneuver to the desired scaled formation using only local relative position information. These strategies can be implemented using information gathered via local sensors and no interagent communication. We compare the two methods through several examples with simulations.

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