Towards Sensor Based Coverage with Robot Teams

We introduce an algorithm to cover an unknown space with a homogeneous team of circular mobile robots. Our approach is based on a single robot coverage algorithm, a boustrophedon approach, which divides the target two-dimensional space into regions called cells, each of which can be covered with simple back and forth motions. Single robot coverage is then achieved by ensuring that the robot visits each cell. The new multi-robot coverage algorithm uses the same planar cell-based approach as the single robot approach, but also prescribes the methods by which multiple robots cover a cell, teams are allocated among cells, and sub-teams of robots share information in a minimalistic manner. The advantage of this method is that planning occurs in a two dimensional configuration space for a team of n robots, bypassing the need to plan in a 2n dimensional configuration space. The approach is semi-decentralized: robot teams cover the space independent of each other, but robots within a team communicate state and share information.

Authors

• DeWitt Latimer IV
• Siddhartha S. Srinivasa
• Vincent Lee-Shue
• Samuel Sonne
• Howie Choset
• Aaron P. Hurst

Keywords

• Robot sensing systems
• Orbital robotics
• Mobile robots
• Sensor phenomena and characterization
• Area measurement
• Time measurement
• Heuristic algorithms
• Swarm Robotics
• Configuration Space
• Single Algorithm
• Multiple Robots
• Single Robot
• Heuristic
• Team Members
• Critical Point
• Greater Than Or Equal
• Free Space
• Workspace
• Use Of Robots
• Target Space
• Reversal Points
• Reverse Motion
• Adjacency Graph
• Environmental Boundaries
• Efficient Coverage