Motion planning of multi-robot formation based on representation space

The motion planning problem of multi-robot formation is investigated based on representation space (RS) in this paper. The representation space model of a multi-robot system is constructed to characterize all the task related attributes, which may include: location, orientation, size and pattern. The external constraints of task realization are modeled as obstacle regions in representation space. Therefore, the formation planning task can be converted to trajectory searching in representation space. Based on the representation space framework, a hierarchical approach was proposed. Feasibility of task can be evaluated in the representation space framework. If the task is infeasible, robot system and/or task model must be modified to make it feasible.