Shape control of cyclic networks in multirobot formations

The first part of this paper examines cycles at the network level of sensing and control architectures that are needed to maintain the shape of a multiagent formation in 2-dimensional space, while the formation moves as a cohesive whole. The key tools used in the paper are rigidity theory and graph theory. The second part of the paper focuses on the planner level and controller level of the architecture by designing the fuzzy planner and fuzzy controller of individual agents. This permits the decomposition of the complex coordination problem into a series of smaller ones. The fuzzy planner and the fuzzy controller on kinematic unicycles are simulated for an exemplary cyclic formation generated by the results obtained in the first half of the paper. The validity of the proposed approach in the shape control of multiagent formations is verified through simulation experiments.