Formation Control and Switching for Multiple Robots in Uncertain Environments

A novel formation control and switching approach for multiple robots in uncertain environments is proposed in this paper. A formation parameter matrix is adopted to establish the relative relationship among the robots, and the formation control problem is converted into the tracking problem of the-off-axis point of the follower to the-off-axis point on the virtual robot, which has the same orientation as that of the leader and maintains a desired relative distance and desired observation angle with respect to the leader. The tracking control law is then designed. An obstacle avoidance strategy combined with formation switching is proposed to avoid collisions in the presence of obstacles, and a fault tolerance strategy is given to deal with the situations when some robots are broken. Simulation results are given to demonstrate the validity of the proposed approach.