Hybrid formation control of multiple mobile robots with obstacle avoidance

In this paper, we investigate the formation control of multiple mobile robots in an unknown environment with obstacles. A hybrid approach based on leader-follower scheme is proposed for formation control. The approach, using the relative position bias between virtual formation targets and follower robots, includes the active behavior-based control strategy and the virtual target structure. Furthermore, a supervision mechanism is designed to ensure the formation integrity. Real-world experiments are performed in both the formation control and the obstacle avoidance, using three nonholonomic mobile robots, and the results demonstrate the feasibility and validity of the proposed control approach.