Robust Region Tracking for Swarms via a Novel Utilization of Sliding Mode Control

Mark Bacon, Nejat Olgac, Rudy Cepeda-Gomez

Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Connecticut, Storrs, USA.

DOI: 10.4236/ica.2012.31012                

Abstract

Control of multi-agent autonomous swarms is studied for targeted flocking exercises. The desired decentralized control takes into account robustness against modeling uncertainties as well as bounded unknown forces. In this analysis, we consider the task of driving multiple agents to a moving “target region”, as inter-agent repulsive forces help spread out the agents within the region. An unconventional form of sliding mode control is implemented to provide the robust attraction towards the region’s center. For robustness a finite “boundary layer” is conceived, which corresponds to the desired target region. The flocking control forces are intentionally softened inside this target region, allowing agents to create a uniformly spaced formation guided by the inter-agent repulsion forces. Examples are given for moving circular and elliptical regions which illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed strategy.

Keywords

Multi-Agent Systems; Region Tracking; Sliding Mode Control

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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