Dynamic interaction of multiple autonomous mobile robots

The global dynamic behavior of multiple autonomous mobile robots with simple navigation strategies is studied. Assuming that each robot has complete detectability with finite range, various navigation strategies are derived by introducing interactive forces between robots analogous to those between electric charges. Collision avoidance is ensured by introducing appropriate repulsive forces inversely related to the distance between objects. An analysis of the dynamic behavior of the interacting robots in both bounded and unbounded spatial domains are made.; In navigation strategies of robots with vision, analytical and simulation results are obtained for two cases: (1) communication between robots is not permissible, and (2) communication between robots is maintained at all times. The convergence of robot motions to their goal states under certain conditions is established by considering their global dynamic behavior even when some objects (including domain boundaries) are close to their goal points.; When the motions of robots are confined to move inside a bounded spatial domain, supercharges representing the domain boundary within the detectable range is introduced to simplify the navigation strategy. In this case, the rate of convergence to the goal state is studied by using pseudo-domain.; Navigation strategies of a robot with tactile sensors for two situations are proposed: a robot with finite memory and a robot with infinite memory. A robot with finite memory navigates by selectively prioritizing its information on the surrounding environment based on a certain given criterion. Here,a robot stores the acquired information on a fixed number of pseudo-obstacles closest to its current positions, and uses this information for collision avoidance.; This dissertation concludes with the results of computer simulation studies on the dynamic behavior of multiple interacting robots with the proposed navigation strategies.