Distributed Cooperative Navigation with Communication Graph Maintenance using Single-Agent Navigation Fields

Abstract

A method is developed for bootstrapping a provided navigation field for a single mobile point agent in a compact obstructed environment to form a distributed controller for a leader-follower task in a multi-agent system (MAS) with distance-limited communications. Under certain restrictions on the MAS communication radius in relation to the geometry of obstacles, the proposed MAS controller guarantees a chain of agents remains connected throughout time, while following a leader agent as the latter converges to a specified target along an integral curve of the provided navigation field. In contrast with existing work, the standard radial interactions among agents are replaced with an appropriately rescaled version of the provided navigation field, removing the need for strong simplifying assumptions (e.g., convex or spherical obstacles). As a result, this approach showcases the trade-offs between communication range, the size of the MAS, and the complexity of navigating in the provided environment. The reliance of the approach on navigation fields also enables using sensing-based reactive navigation tools designed for settings with incomplete prior knowledge of the environment.