Avoiding the local-minimum problem in multi-agent systems with limited sensing and communication

Abstract

In this paper, we consider a control problem for nonholonomic multi-agent systems in which agents and obstacles operate within a circular-shaped work area. We assume that agents only have limited sensing and communication ranges. We propose a novel control scheme using potential functions that drives agents from the initial to the goal configuration while avoiding collision with other agents, obstacles, and the boundary of the work area. The control scheme employs an avoidance strategy that ensures that the agents are never trapped at local minima that are typically encountered with most potential functionbased approaches. A numerical simulation is presented to demonstrate the validity and effectiveness of the proposed control scheme.

Formation control for autonomous robots with collision and obstacle avoidance using a rotational and repulsive force–based approach

“…34 The summary of related work is shown in Table 1. Recent research methods were proposed to address local minima avoidance 41,42 that the reader can refer to.…”