Distributed Control and Collision Avoidance for Multiple Vehicles With Limited Sensing Using Constraint Forces

A new, distributed control algorithm for multiple vehicles with limited sensing capability for each vehicle is developed in this paper. It is assumed that each vehicle can sense other vehicles in the group in only a limited region around it. Coordination of multiple vehicles in the presence of distance constraints is considered. The objective for each vehicle within the group is to reach a target point from any given initial location without any collisions. The notion of constraint forces is used to develop a distributed algorithm that is capable of achieving this objective. The distributed algorithm is scalable and allows for addition (removal) of vehicles to (from) the group. Simulation studies conducted on a number of examples show the effectiveness of the proposed distributed algorithm. A representative sample of the results from these studies is shown and discussed.