Tree organization method for structuring cluster space-based rover formations with applications to multi-object transportation

Abstract

Inthiswork,conceptsofclusterspaceapproachareextended through a novel formulation, namely Tree Organization Method (TOM), to systematically arrange formations of mobile robots. TOM consists in analyzing the n-robot cluster as an open kinematic chain with multiple branches, where robots remain linked as they move according to this virtual mechanism, by ensuring the specified formation?s geometry dur- ing all the navigation time. TOM allows to easily generate synchronized reference trajectories for all robots involved in the formation, and this formulation is applied to the particular case of an arranged 7-robot clus- ter tasked to transport 3 spheres along a predefined trajectory. This sce- nario is recreated in a realistic cooperative simulation interfacing MSC ADAMS and MATLAB, where multi-body dynamic modeling, cluster specification under TOM and robust tracking controllers are developed for this multi-robot application.