Distance-based Formation-Motion Control for Unicycle Agents

We present a distance-based distributed formation-motion control law for unicycle agents that are required to move together at a constant reference speed. The distributed control law consists of the standard distance-based formation gradient control law, which is projected to the longitudinal and angular velocity inputs of the unicycle, and of a linear term that depends on the reference speed. The main contribution of this paper is to realize the consistency of unicycle agents’ orientations without orientation measurement, thereby reducing the possibility of significant orientation measurement errors in real-world applications. We prove and show numerically the local exponential convergence of the unicycle agents to the desired formation, where they eventually move in unison at a constant reference speed.