A Variable Speed Force Field Method for Multi-Robot Collaboration

A novel force field (F²) method with variable speed for multi-robot motion planning and collaboration is presented in this paper. The basic concept of the F² method is to generate a force field for every robot based on and continuously changing according to its status including traveling speed, dimension, priority, location and environmental factor, etc. The interactions among robots´ force fields and obstacles provide a natural way for collision avoidance and collaboration while robots are on their way to goals. Previous F² method assumes that robots travel with constant speeds and can react instantly to the resultant force to change their orientations. Starting from a problematic situation brought out by this hypothesis, this paper remedies the F² method by taking robots´ dynamics and kinematics characteristics into consideration. In the variable speed force field method (VSF²), a robot can change its own speed according to environment information and its own status. Simulations in a real indoor environment were carried out and demonstrated the feasibility and effectiveness of this method