Leader-follower and communication based formation control of multi-robots

In this paper, we combine the leader-follower and communication together to carry out the formation control of multiple nonholonomic mobile robots. Here, we use the controller based on a kinematic model using Cartesian coordinates for the followers and a classical control algorithm for the leader. What's more, in order to improve the adaptability to the environment, communication based on a kind of cross-platform technology Qt is proposed to realize the self-positioning and mutual communication among robots, in which multi-threading technology is also adopted. Simulation results prove the effectiveness of the proposed plan.