A Self-Repairing Algorithm With Optimal Repair Path for Maintaining Motion Synchronization of Mobile Robot Network

In this paper, we consider the self-repairing problem from the viewpoint of robotics and our objective is not only to restore the logical network topology but also to maintain the motion synchronization of the physical mobile robot formation. A gradient-based self-repairing algorithm which only relies on the local interactions among coupling robots is presented. More specifically, aiming to optimize the repair path in a distributed manner, a gradient generation and diffusion mechanism is presented first, which can generate a stable gradient distribution in the robot formation. Then, based on the recursive self-repairing technique and the proposed gradient distribution, several self-repairing rules as well as the corresponding individual control method are presented to solve the self-repairing problem. The improvement of the proposed algorithm on the motion synchronism of the robot formation and the optimality of the selected repair path are proved by theoretical analyses. Finally, the effectiveness and the practical applicability of the proposed algorithm are validated by simulations and real experiments.