A Class of Minimal Generically Universally Rigid Frameworks

Following a review of related results in rigidity theory, we provide a construction to obtain generically universally rigid frameworks with the minimum number of edges, for any given set of n nodes in two or three dimensions. When a set of edge-lengths is compatible with only one configuration in d-dimensions, the framework is globally rigid. When that configuration is unique even if embedded in a higher dimensional space, the framework is universally rigid. In case of generic configurations, where the nodal coordinates are algebraically independent, the minimum number of edges required is equal to dn-d(d+1)/2+1, that is, 2n-2 for d=2, and 3n-5 for d=3. Our contribution is a specific construction for this case by introducing a class of frameworks generalizing that of Gr\"{u}nbaum polygons. The construction applies also to nongeneric configurations, although in this case the number of edges is not necessarily the minimum. One straightforward application is the design of wireless sensor networks or multi-agent systems with the minimum number of communication links.Comment: 8 page

Multiagent LQR-based Control Design and Gain tuning for Quadcopters Fleet

An LQR-based Control design and gain tuning strategies proposals for a multi-agent system are presented in this article, the agents are connected in an undirected graph. Controller gains tuning are adjusted by selecting the Q and R weighting matrices of the Linear Quadratic Regulator. Agreement (consensus) is one of the fundamental problems in multi-agent control, where a set of agents must agree on a joint state value. In the proposed design, first considering that the behavior of the agreement protocol is undirected and static, the main objective is to highlight the complexity of the relationship between the convergence properties of this protocol and the structure of adjacent interconnections. The effects on the formation due to static geometry are analyzed from the resulting data according to the proximity between the agents, where behavior and stability are analyzed based on the desired formation geometry through the construction of the Laplacian matrix

Multi-agent Path Planning and Network Flow

This paper connects multi-agent path planning on graphs (roadmaps) to network flow problems, showing that the former can be reduced to the latter, therefore enabling the application of combinatorial network flow algorithms, as well as general linear program techniques, to multi-agent path planning problems on graphs. Exploiting this connection, we show that when the goals are permutation invariant, the problem always has a feasible solution path set with a longest finish time of no more than $n + V - 1$ steps, in which $n$ is the number of agents and $V$ is the number of vertices of the underlying graph. We then give a complete algorithm that finds such a solution in $O(nVE)$ time, with $E$ being the number of edges of the graph. Taking a further step, we study time and distance optimality of the feasible solutions, show that they have a pairwise Pareto optimal structure, and again provide efficient algorithms for optimizing two of these practical objectives.Comment: Corrected an inaccuracy on time optimal solution for average arrival tim

Automatic Generation of Persistent Formations for Multi-Agent Networks Under Range Constraints

© Springer Science + Business Media, LLC 2009DOI: 10.1007/s11036-009-0153-xIn this paper we present a collection of graphbased methods for determining if a team of mobile robots, subjected to sensor and communication range constraints, can persistently achieve a specified formation. What we mean by this is that the formation, once achieved, will be preserved by the direct maintenance of the smallest subset of all possible pairwise interagent distances. In this context, formations are defined by sets of points separated by distances corresponding to desired inter-agent distances. Further, we provide graph operations to describe agent interactions that implement a given formation, as well as an algorithm that, given a persistent formation, automatically generates a sequence of such operations. Experimental results are presented that illustrate the operation of the proposed methods on real robot platforms