Distributed Task Allocation of Multiple Robots: A Control Perspective

TLDR

Dynamic task allocation among redundant robot manipulators is challenging due to the interplay of kinematics and competition for activation. The study investigates allocating the k fittest manipulators in a network with limited communication to perform an object tracking task and develops a distributed coordination control law aided by a consensus filter. The proposed control law, supported by a convergence and stability theorem, is implemented through a distributed coordination scheme with a consensus filter. An illustrative example demonstrates the effectiveness of the control law.

Abstract

The problem of dynamic task allocation in a distributed network of redundant robot manipulators for pathtracking with limited communications is investigated in this paper, where k fittest ones in a group of n redundant robot manipulators with n k are allocated to execute an object tracking task. The problem is essentially challenging in view of the interplay of manipulator kinematics and the dynamic competition for activation among manipulators. To handle such an intricate problem, a distributed coordination control law is developed for the dynamic task allocation among multiple redundant robot manipulators with limited communications and with the aid of a consensus filter. In addition, a theorem and its proof are presented for guaranteeing the convergence and stability of the proposed distributed control law. Finally, an illustrative example is provided and analyzed to substantiate the efficacy of the proposed control law.