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Navigation of non-communicating autonomous mobile robots with guaranteed connectivity

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 February 2013

Ahmet Cezayirli  and
Feza Kerestecioğlu
Ahmet Cezayirli*
Affiliation:
Forevo Digital Design Ltd., Yenibosna, Istanbul, 34196Turkey
Feza Kerestecioğlu
Affiliation:
Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences, Kadir Has University, Fatih, Istanbul, 34083Turkey
*
*Corresponding author. E-mail: cezayirli@ac.forevo.com
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Summary

We consider the connectivity of autonomous mobile robots. The robots navigate using simple local steering rules without requiring explicit communication among themselves. We show that using only position information of neighbors, the group connectivity can be sustained even in the case of bounded position measurement errors and the occlusion of robots by other robots in the group. In implementing the proposed scheme, sub-optimal solutions are invoked to avoid an excessive computational burden. We also discuss the possibility of deadlock which may bring the group to a standstill and show that the proposed methodology avoids such a scenario in real-life settings.

Keywords

Mobile robotsMulti-robot systemsNavigationRobot localizationSwarm robotics
Type
Articles
Information
Robotica , Volume 31 , Issue 5 , August 2013 , pp. 767 - 776
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2013 

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