A Noncommunicative Transportation Approach for Multiple Physical Connected Objects

Abstract

In this paper, a noncommunicative multi-robot system, which is utilized for heavy equipment transportation on underground longwall mining working face, is discussed. The problem is cooperative transportation of multiple physical connected object (MPO) with limited sensor network and unstable communication. To tackle this problem, pushing-based transportation dynamics of the noncommunicative multi-robot system is derived, and the convergence of the pushing-based transportation dynamics is proven based on leader-follower control strategy. Then simulations considering different transportation ability are carried out. The efficiency and predictability are discussed. Results prove that the transportation time is much reduced, and transportation process is predictable compared to traditional operation. The simulation results show that the potential efficiency of cooperative transportation of MPO.