Analysis and classification of multiple robot coordination methods

The use of multiple robots sharing a workspace can increase the productivity and the versatility of complex applications, making the existence of cells with several robots more common. On the other hand, when the robots are used to perform independent tasks in a shared workspace each one becomes a mobile obstacle for the other. Several methods have been proposed to deal with the problem of robot coordination in order to avoid collisions in these situations. The paper analyzes these methods identifying the basic tools used in each one and trying to unify the nomenclature. Illustrative works are listed and classified. The classification of the different approaches can be useful for future developments in the field