From Theory to Practice: Distributed Coverage Control Experiments with Groups of Robots

摘要

A distributed algorithm is presented that causes a network of robots to spread out over an environment, while aggregating in areas of high sensory interest. The algorithm is a discrete-time interpretation of a controller previously introduced by the authors. The algorithmic implications of implementing this controller on a physical platform are discussed, and results are presented for 16 robots in two experiments. It is found that the algorithm performs well despite the presence of real-world complications.