Multi-robot navigation in formation via sequential convex programming

This paper presents a method for navigating a team of robots in formation in 2D and 3D environments with static and dynamic obstacles. The method is local and computes the optimal parameters for the formation within a neighborhood of the robots, allowing for reconfigurations, when required, by considering a set of target formations. The method consists of first computing the largest collision-free convex polytope in a neighborhood of the robots, followed by a constrained optimization via sequential convex programming where the optimal parameters for the formation are obtained. The robots navigate towards the target collision-free formation with individual local planners that account for their dynamics. The approach is efficient and scalable with the number of robots and performed well in simulations with a large team of quadrators and in experiments with two mobile manipulators carrying a rigid object.

Authors

• Javier Alonso-Mora
• Stuart Baker
• Daniela Rus

Keywords

• Collision avoidance
• Navigation
• Optimization
• Robot kinematics
• Manipulators
• Programming
• Convex Optimization
• Navigation Information
• Multi-robot Navigation
• Urban Planning
• Rigid Body
• 3D Environment
• Individual Plans
• Robot Navigation
• Swarm Robotics
• Formation Parameters
• Convex Polytope
• Static Obstacles
• 2D Environment
• Dynamic Obstacles
• Mobile Manipulator
• Minimum Distance
• Free Space
• Target Location
• Current Position
• Additional Constraints
• Local Motion
• Nonlinear Programming
• Convex Objective
• Semidefinite Programming
• Unit Quaternion
• Sequential Quadratic Programming
• Line-of-sight
• C++ Implementation
• Motion Constraints
• Local Trajectory