Communication-Free Bearing-Only Distributed Target Localization and Circumnavigation by Multiple Agents

This paper considers the problem of localization and circumnavigation of an unknown stationary target by a group of autonomous agents using only local bearing measurements. We assume that no direct communication or exchange of information is permitted among the group of agents and propose an algorithm to approximate the angular separation between agents and a distributed control law that forces the agents to circumnavigate the target at a desired orbit with any prescribed angular separation. Global asymptotic stability of the system is analyzed rigorously using Lyapunov theory, cascade control strategy, and perturbation method. The performance of the proposed algorithm is verified through simulations.