Sliding-Mode Controller for Collective Transport using Decentralized Multi-Robot Systems

The use of multi-robot systems has been increasing lately, where they are a collection of robots that work together and communicate in order to achieve their design requirement. These systems gained a significant interest in the field of robotics due to the numerous benefits they offer such as efficiency, flexibility, and robustness. One important application for these systems is collective transport, which can rise in different arrangements such as construction and assembly in space and underwater. These applications will require the development of a control strategy that is robust to uncertainties and the dynamics of the environment. In this paper a sliding mode control scheme is used to allow the system to Reach the desired values within a finite timeframe and overcome the non-linearities in the system's dynamics. Extensive simulations were conducted to prove the effectiveness of the sliding mode controller in achieving robust and effective multi-robot collective transport.