Multi-robot sensor-based coverage path planning using capacitated arc routing approach

In this study, a novel sensor-based coverage algorithm is proposed for multi-robots considering energy capacities of the mobile robots. Firstly, the environment is modeled by a Generalized Voronoi diagram-based graph to guarantee complete sensor based coverage. Secondly, depending on required arc set, an initial complete coverage route is created by using Chinese postman problem (CPP) and/or rural postman problem (RPP). Then this initial route is partitioned among robots using Ulusoy´s algorithm, which was developed for basic capacitated arc routing (CARP), by considering robot energy capacities. Although the multi-robot sensor-based coverage problem resembles CARP, there are some differences. Therefore, Ulusoy´s algorithm is modified and used for this problem. The developed algorithm is coded in C++ and implemented on P3-DX mobile robots in MobileSim simulation environment.