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Distributed pursuit-evasion without mapping or global localization via local frontiers

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Abstract

This paper addresses a visibility-based pursuit-evasion problem in which a team of mobile robots with limited sensing and communication capabilities must coordinate to detect any evaders in an unknown, multiply-connected planar environment. Our distributed algorithm to guarantee evader detection is built around maintaining complete coverage of the frontier between cleared and contaminated regions while expanding the cleared region. We detail a novel distributed method for storing and updating this frontier without building a map of the environment or requiring global localization. We demonstrate the functionality of the algorithm through simulations in realistic environments and through hardware experiments. We also compare Monte Carlo results for our algorithm to the theoretical optimum area cleared as a function of the number of robots available.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, 93106, USA

    Joseph W. Durham & Francesco Bullo

  2. Dept. Human Perception Cognition and Action, Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Spemannstrasse 44, 72076, Tübingen, Germany

    Antonio Franchi

Authors
  1. Joseph W. Durham
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  2. Antonio Franchi
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  3. Francesco Bullo
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Antonio Franchi.

Electronic Supplementary Material

Below are the links to the electronic supplementary material.

Video of a simple illustrative simulation where three robots clear an environment using the proposed distributed clearing algorithm (MPG 3.46 MB)

Video of a hardware experiment in which three robots execute the distributed clearing algorithm. The video includes explanatory captions (MPG 12.3 MB)

Video of a simulation where six robots clear a complex environment modeled off of section of a hospital (MPG 12.5 MB)

10514_2011_9260_MOESM4_ESM.mpg

Video of a simulation where 12 robots expand to clear as much space as possible in an infinite empty environment using the proposed distributed clearing algorithm (MPG 4.64 MB)

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Durham, J.W., Franchi, A. & Bullo, F. Distributed pursuit-evasion without mapping or global localization via local frontiers. Auton Robot 32, 81–95 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10514-011-9260-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10514-011-9260-1

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