Formation planning and control for multi-agent robotic systems enables tasks to be completed more efficiently and robustly compared to using a single agent. Applications are found in fields such as agriculture, mining, autonomousvehicle platooning, surveillance, space exploration, etc. In this paper, a complete framework for formation path planning for holonomic ground robots in an obstacle-rich environment is proposed. The method utilizes the Fast Marching Square (FM2) path planning algorithm, and a formation keeping approach which falls within the Leader-Follower category. Contrary to most related works, the role of leader is dynamically assigned to avoid unnecessary rotation of the formation. Furthermore, the roles of the followers are also dynamically assigned to fit the current geometry of the formation. A flexible spring-damper system prevents inter-robot collisions and helps maintain the formation shape. An obstacle avoidance step at the end of the pipeline keeps the spring forces from driving robots into obstacles. The framework is tested on a formation consisting of three Unitree Go1 quadruped robots, both in the Gazebo simulation environment and in lab experiments. The results are successful and indicate that the method is feasible, although further work is needed to adjust the role assignment for larger formations, combine the framework with Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) and provide a more robust handling of dynamic obstacles.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:ltu-105889 |
| Date | January 2024 |
| Creators | Norén, Magnus |
| Publisher | Luleå tekniska universitet, Institutionen för system- och rymdteknik |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
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