Coordination without communication: the case of the flocking problem Original Research Article

In this paper, we study the distributed coordination and control of a set of asynchronous, anonymous, memoryless mobile vehicles that can freely move on a two-dimensional plane but cannot communicate among themselves. In particular, we analyze the problem of forming a certain pattern and following a designated vehicle, referred to as the leader, while maintaining the pattern: the flocking problem. We provide an algorithm to solve the flocking problem, together with theoretical considerations on its correctness and applicability, and numerical simulation showing the actual behavior of the algorithm. We also propose two variants of the algorithm sporting a more stable convergence, and analyze how different conditions on the equipment available to the vehicles and on the amount of knowledge they share affect the kind of patterns that can be formed.