About this Research Topic
A recent trend in robotics is the use of multiple robots to allow for a more efficient solution to complex tasks than using a single robot. Many applications, such as service robotics, search and rescue, precision agriculture, greenhouse monitoring and exploration of hazardous environments, may benefit from the use of multiple robots. However, the design of control strategies for multiple robots requires new approaches to allow for adequate solutions due to the cooperative component of the problem and the need of communication between agents. This makes the motion control of a multi-robot system an interesting and challenging problem, in particular because decisions for the whole system must be taken based on information from a subset of agents.
The problem of motion control of a multi-robot system requires the design of algorithmic solutions to control the motion of each individual agent such that a desired collaborative behavior is generated to achieve a global objective or task for the whole system. This must be achieved using local information that is shared among the robots. In this sense, coordinated control and distributed motion planning strategies may be combined to deal with collision avoidance between agents and with fixed or dynamic obstacles of the environment. In this Research Topic, we aim to provide a sampling of the current research in the field of the motion control of multi-robot systems, for wheeled, underwater, aerial and humanoid robots, in homogeneous or heterogeneous groups.
In this Research Topic, we welcome original research articles and reviews with a focus on the control aspects of multi-robot systems. The Research Topic is for scientists, researchers and students investigating multi-robot systems, but it may be also appealing for readers interested in robotics and control theory in general. Some research areas in the context of the control of multiple robots may include (but are not limited to) the following:
• Control of a multi-robot system with motion constraints.
• Distributed formation control with collision avoidance.
• Advanced control design of multi-robot systems.
• Control of multiple robots for novel applications.
The problem of motion control of a multi-robot system requires the design of algorithmic solutions to control the motion of each individual agent such that a desired collaborative behavior is generated to achieve a global objective or task for the whole system. This must be achieved using local information that is shared among the robots. In this sense, coordinated control and distributed motion planning strategies may be combined to deal with collision avoidance between agents and with fixed or dynamic obstacles of the environment. In this Research Topic, we aim to provide a sampling of the current research in the field of the motion control of multi-robot systems, for wheeled, underwater, aerial and humanoid robots, in homogeneous or heterogeneous groups.
In this Research Topic, we welcome original research articles and reviews with a focus on the control aspects of multi-robot systems. The Research Topic is for scientists, researchers and students investigating multi-robot systems, but it may be also appealing for readers interested in robotics and control theory in general. Some research areas in the context of the control of multiple robots may include (but are not limited to) the following:
• Control of a multi-robot system with motion constraints.
• Distributed formation control with collision avoidance.
• Advanced control design of multi-robot systems.
• Control of multiple robots for novel applications.
Keywords: Consensus control, Formation control, Distributed control, Collaborative navigation, Swarm robotics
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
