Control of directed formations with a leader-first follower structure

This paper deals with the directed distance-based control of autonomous formations. Unlike most conventional approaches, a graphical model of the formation with a minimally persistent property is used. Any minimally persistent formation can, through agents additions, be re-organized as one with a leader and a first follower. This paper focuses on leader- first-follower formations that may contain cycles. We show how to establish equations of motion, and how to construct a decentralized control law that will recover shape in the presence of small deviations from the nominal. We also list a number of signification open problems in the general area.