Heterogeneity Driven Circular Formation

Controlling and coordinating multiple robots to form a desired pattern is a fundamental problem in multi-robot systems. In this paper, we study the problem of pattern formation for a heterogenous group of robots. A distributed control algorithm for forming a multi-layered circular shell without explicit robot communication is presented. The algorithm is based on the concept of artificial force field that takes into account the observable heterogeneity. The algorithm works under limited sensory range constraint. Preliminary simulation results are presented confirming effectiveness of the presented approach.