Modeling a multi-robot system with fractional-order differential equations

This paper shows that a fractional-order differential equation may be used to accurately model the dynamic relationship between the first and last generations in a fleet of coordinating robots, even when the individual robots and interconnections have the usual integer-order dynamics. Such a fractional-order model offers the possibility of general applicability, particularly in the case of heterogeneous fleets of robots. Such systems tend to be very high order, and therefore model reduction is useful in modeling, simulation and control. Results are presented for the system considered illustrating that the fractional-order model achieves significant computational savings compared to simulating the full system.