Distributed Quantified Shape Formation in Homogeneous Swarms

This paper proposes a distributed quantified shape-formation algorithm that incorporates communication quantification in consensus negotiation during motion control. This algorithm encourages all agents to reach a consensus on the location and orientation of the target shape within limited communication bandwidth, which reduces the bandwidth required for communication greatly. The quantified shape-formation algorithm guides all agents to complete the shape-formation task while negotiating the target shape with each other. Moreover, the algorithm is extended to the under-actuated unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) model considering its nonholonomic constraints, expanding the application scenarios of this algorithm. Numerical simulations are conducted to demonstrate the algorithm’s effectiveness: The consensus on the location and orientation of the target shape can be achieved using limited communication bandwidth. All of the agents are converged to the user-defined shape and are forced as dispersedly as possible to ensure the target area is filled.