Experimental implementation of flocking algorithms in wheeled mobile robots

In this paper we present an experimental implementation of the flocking algorithm presented by H.G. Tanner et al., (2003) for the double integrator model, in the case of wheeled mobile robots (WMR). We use the look ahead concept to feedback linearize the WMR model and obtain its double integrator form in which we apply the control signals in the form of voltages in wheel motors. A virtual leader is used to steer the flock in the desired direction. Comparisons of the experimental results with simulation verify the robustness of this algorithm to model uncertainties and communication delays.