Formation control over delayed communication network

Abstract

In this Chapter we address the problem of formation control of a group of robots that exchange information over a communication network characterized by a non negligible delay. We consider the Virtual Body Artificial Potential approach for stabilizing a group of robots at a desired formation. We show that it is possible to model the controlled group of robots as a port-Hamiltonian system and we exploit the scattering framework to achieve a passive behavior of the controlled system and to stabilize the robots in the desired formation independently of any communication delay. © 2009 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.