Leader-Follower Power-based Formation Control Applied to Differential-drive Mobile Robots

This work studies the power-based formation control for a set of differential-drive mobile robots, as an extension of the traditional distance-based formation control schemes. The possible measurements of the Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) coupled with the non-omnidirectional radiation pattern shape of their antennas are used as a feedback signal. Due to the non-holonomic restriction in the kinematic model, a switched control scheme is designed with two control laws avoiding singularities and a smooth transition between the control inputs. The approach is the base for the coverage control needed for mobile sensor networks where the wireless nodes installed at the top of the robots must converge to desired power level values. Also, the RSSI measurement can be considered as an alternative to inter-robot distances avoiding the use of traditional sensors like LiDAR or onboard cameras. The approach is validated by an experimental setup.