Parallel Self-Assembly for a Multi-USV System on Water Surface With Obstacles

作者：Lianxin Zhang, Yihan Huang, Zhongzhong Cao, Yang Jiao, Huihuan Qian · 发表于：IEEE Transactions on Automation Science and Engineering · 年份：2024 · DOI：10.1109/tase.2024.3376981 · 被引用次数：13 · 研究领域：Modular Robots and Swarm Intelligence、Advanced Manufacturing and Logistics Optimization、Robotic Path Planning Algorithms

Parallel self-assembly is an efficient approach to accelerate the assembly process for modular robots. However, these approaches cannot accommodate complicated environments with obstacles, which restricts their applications. We in previous work consider the surrounding stationary obstacles and propose a parallel self-assembly planning algorithm. With this algorithm, modular robots can avoid immovable obstacles when performing docking actions, which adapts the parallel self-assembly process to complex scenes. The algorithm was simulated in 25 distinct maps with different obstacle configurations and shows a significantly higher success rate, which is more than$80\%$, compared to the existing parallel self-assembly algorithms. For verification in real-world applications, we in this paper develop a multi-agent hardware testbed system. The algorithm is successfully deployed on four omnidirectional unmanned surface vehicles, CuBoats. The navigation strategy that translates the high-level discrete plan to the continuous controller on the CuBoats is presented. The algorithm’s feasibility and flexibility were demonstrated through successful self-assembly experiments on 5 maps with varying obstacle configurations.Note to Practitioners—This paper addresses deploying of self-assembly technologies for modular robots in practical environments with obstacles to facilitate overwater construction tasks or collective transportation systems. Stationary obstacles may severely influence the assem...