An Effective Simple Shepherding Algorithm Suitable for Implementation to a Multi-Mmobile Robot System

In this paper, a simple and effective shepherding algorithm is presented. The shepherding is to guide or control a flocking behavior by one or more external agents which called shepherds. In general, a complex strategy is necessary for treating with a flock which has a lot of members. We propose a simple scheme using only simple rules like boid's rule proposed by C. Raynolds. Behavior of the shepherd is derived from only simple rules. The validity of the proposed method is confirmed for demonstrations a flock with a lot of members which is herded by single to two shepherds and the limitations are discussed. The computer simulations show that the proposed method is possible to control a flock with about 25 members by single shepherd and about 30 members by two shepherds. Furthermore, the autonomous cooperation for two shepherds can be generated by the proposed rules