Adaptive-Neural-Network-Based Shape Control for a Swarm of Robots

This paper considers the region-based formation control for a swarm of robots with unknown nonlinear dynamics and disturbances. An adaptive neural network is designed to approximate the unknown nonlinear dynamics, and the desired formation shape is achieved by designing appropriate potential functions. Moreover, the collision avoidance, velocity consensus, and region tracking are all considered in the controller. The stability of the multirobot system has been demonstrated based on the Lyapunov theorem. Finally, three numerical simulations show the effectiveness of the proposed formation control scheme to deal with the narrow space, loss of robots, and formation merging problems.