Validation of swarms of robots: theory and experimental results

In this paper we present a formulation of a swarm algorithm for some predefined formations and we show that using the control laws derived, the whole system is stable. Furthermore, the algorithm for the formation is implemented in microcontrollers, which effectively makes the experiment a system of systems. The only input for the algorithm is the position of the robot and the relative positions of neighbours within two metres of the robot. The results of experiments presented show that the algorithm presents the same general behaviour as predicted in simulations. However, due to noise in measurements and commands, the behaviour is slightly different.