Consensus-based formation control and obstacle avoidance for nonholonomic multi-robot system

Managing multiple robots into a formation can be beneficial, especially in logistics sectors where multiple robots can work together to transport larger loads. This paper presents a consensus control law for formation with navigation and obstacle avoidance of multiple wheeled mobile robots. The formation control is based on adapting a consensus algorithm from flocking, and we propose an obstacle avoidance methodology that ensures the formation while navigating around obstacles. Simulations of the control law using four wheeled mobile robots as well as experiments using actual industrial robots are shown in order to validate the theory.