Formation Control of Multi-agent Systems with Self-equilibrium Force by Using Parallel Virtual Springs

Abstract

This paper proposes a cooperative formation control of multi-agent systems with self-equilibrium force by using parallel virtual springs connecting the agents. The method is an extension of our previous work focused on the formation control with the self-equilibrium force, where the control force is generated from a single virtual spring for each pair of the agents. The previous control guarantees the local stability, but not the global stability. Hence it will be problematic when agents are interspersed away from the target position. This paper is devoted to solve this problem by introducing multiple virtual springs between the each pair. In addition to the formation and self-equilibrium force control, collision avoidance can be also considered by introducing an additional virtual spring. Effectiveness of the method is evaluated by numerical examples.