Obstacle avoidance for multi-agent systems based on stream function and hierarchical associations

This paper deals with the problem of obstacle avoidance for multi-agent systems. A novel framework is presented which combines the stream function with the artificial potential field. The introduction of stream function makes obstacle avoidance smoother while interactive potential guarantees stability of the system. A dynamic structure with visibility constraint and hierarchical associations is further explored to improve the performance. Finally, results of simulation as well as experiment on Pioneer3 robots verify the validity of the proposed method.