Fault-tolerant dispersion of mobile agents based on mobile ad hoc networks

Extensive research efforts have been given to the topics in multi-agent systems (MAS) based on mobile ad hoc network (MANET). One of the most critical issues is that how to disperse a network of mobile agents from initial configuration with guara-nteed connectivity, especially under unstable circumstances, e.g., agent fails during dispersion. To solve the particular problems, a fault-tolerant dispersion mechanism is developed and presented in this paper. Specifically, a network connectivity restoration algorithm is designed to deal with single or multiple concurrent failures of mobile agents. Then, the proposed algorithm is combined with certain multi-agent dispersion strategy to achieve the objective of fault-tolerant reconfiguration of a connectivity multi-agent network. The correctness and efficiency of the proposed method is then verified through theoretical analysis and computer simulations.