Controls and Control Theory Commons^™

Advances In Multi-Agent Flocking: Continuous-Time And Discrete-Time Algorithms, Brandon Wellman

Theses and Dissertations--Mechanical Engineering

We present multi-agent control methods that address flocking in continuous-time and discrete-time settings. The method is decentralized, that is, each agents controller relies on local sensing to determine the relative positions and velocities of nearby agents. In the continuous-time setting, each agent has double-integrator dynamics. In the discrete-time setting, each agent has the discrete-time double-integrator dynamics obtained by sampling the continuous-time double integrator and applying a zero-order hold on the control input. We demonstrate using analysis, numerical simulations, and experimental demonstrations that agents using the flocking methods converge to flocking formations and follow the centralized leader (if applicable).