Abstract:
A novel Force Field (F2) method with variable
speed for multi-robot motion planning and collaboration is
presented in this paper. The basic concept of the F2 method is to
generate a force field for every robot based on and continuously
changing according to its status including traveling speed,
dimension, priority, location and environmental factor, etc. The
interactions among robots' force fields and obstacles provide a
natural way for collision avoidance and collaboration while
robots are on their way to goals. Previous F2 method assumes
that robots travel with constant speeds and can react instantly to
the resultant force to change their orientations. Starting from a
problematic situation brought out by this hypothesis, this paper
remedies the F2 method by taking robots' dynamics and
kinematics characteristics into consideration. In the Variable
Speed Force Field method (VSF2), a robot can change its own
speed according to environment information and its own status.
Simulations in a real indoor environment were carried out and
demonstrated the feasibility and effectiveness of this method.
