Unified Modulation Matrix-Based Shared Control for Teleoperated Multi-Robot Formation and Obstacle Avoidance.

Area of Science:

• Robotics
• Control Systems
• Artificial Intelligence

Background:

• Multi-robot formations are valuable for unstructured environments but face challenges in teleoperation due to limited visibility and operator workload.
• Existing frameworks struggle to ensure formation safety and stability under these constraints.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose a novel bilateral shared control framework for multi-robot formations.
• To enhance formation safety, stability, and navigation capabilities in unstructured environments under teleoperation.

Main Methods:

• Developed an Intent-Mediated Asymmetric Vortex Modulation (IM-AVM) strategy to map operator intentions to vortex fields, eliminating saddle points for deadlock-free movement.
• Implemented a multi-dimensional perception-based dynamic authority arbitration and deadlock escape mechanism for seamless transitions between assisted and autonomous control.
• Designed a formation coordination system using anisotropic flow field modulation and an Adaptive Nonsingular Fast Terminal Sliding Mode Controller (ANFTSMC) for robust tracking.

Main Results:

• The IM-AVM strategy geometrically eliminated saddle points, enabling deadlock-free obstacle avoidance while preserving rigid formation.
• The dynamic authority arbitration facilitated autonomous escape from topological deadlocks.
• The proposed framework demonstrated collision-free navigation for multi-robot formations in simulated environments.

Conclusions:

• The integrated shared control framework effectively addresses safety and stability issues in teleoperated multi-robot formations.
• The novel approach allows for robust formation control, deadlock avoidance, and collision-free navigation in complex scenarios.
• This research advances the capabilities of multi-robot systems operating in challenging, unstructured environments.