Leader-Based Flocking of Multiple Swarm Robots in Underwater Environments

Area of Science:

• Robotics
• Artificial Intelligence
• Marine Engineering

Background:

• Underwater environments present unique challenges for robotic systems, including limited communication and unknown obstacles.
• Coordinated movement, or flocking, is essential for swarm robots to perform complex tasks efficiently.
• Maintaining communication links is critical for the operational success of underwater robot swarms.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a novel flocking control strategy for multiple swarm robots operating underwater.
• To enable a swarm of robots to navigate towards a goal while avoiding collisions with unknown 3D obstacles.
• To ensure persistent communication connectivity among robots throughout the mission.

Main Methods:

• Proposed a flocking control system utilizing a single leader robot with global positioning capabilities.
• Implemented proximity sensing, such as Ultra-Short BaseLine acoustic positioning (USBL), for inter-robot relative positioning.
• Developed a rendezvous mechanism for robots to gather at the leader to enhance communication connectivity when needed.
• Validated the control strategy through MATLAB simulations in complex underwater environments with numerous obstacles.

Main Results:

• The proposed flocking controls successfully guided multiple robots within a 3D virtual sphere.
• Communication connectivity was maintained among robots in cluttered underwater environments.
• The leader robot effectively herded the swarm towards the goal while ensuring collision avoidance.
• Simulations demonstrated the system's robustness in environments with a priori unknown obstacles.

Conclusions:

• The developed underwater flocking control strategy, led by a single robot, enables safe and coordinated navigation for swarm robots.
• This approach addresses the critical challenges of obstacle avoidance and communication maintenance in complex underwater settings.
• The findings represent a novel contribution to the field of multi-robot systems operating in challenging aquatic environments.