Cooperative exploration of networked multi-robot systems using minimal information entropy

Exploring an unknown environment for a multi-robot system (MRS) is the problem of controlling a team of robots over all points of a given region in an efficient and safety manner. In this paper a cooperative exploration approach is developed by using a robot-sensor-network (RSN) and communication system and the technique of minimal information entropy. The exploration strategy is able to be divided by two stages: collection and coverage stage. In the first stage, considering the neighbors of the i^th robot of the MRS, a grid-based approach incorporating with a potential approach is proposed for covering the maximal area in the sense of balance force. Furthermore, in the second stage, a spiral approach incorporating with the nonholonomic trajectory tracking control design is employed. Theoretical proof shows the stability of the proposed cooperative exploration method. Finally, simulations are also conducted to show the effectiveness of the proposed approach.