Distributed Planning for Rigid Robot Formations using Consensus on the Transformation of a Base Configuration

Coordinated movement among multiple robots is crucial in various multi-robot operations. This paper presents a novel approach to multi-robot formation planning. The proposed method builds upon distributed feasible rigid formation planning, finding a set of motions that allow robots to navigate while keeping an a priori determined formation shape. By mapping desired velocities into a parameter space, performing consensus and constraint steps, and remapping to robot velocities, the algorithm ensures that the robots maintain formation. The efficacy and run-time efficiency have been evaluated through simulations, demonstrating its promise for deployment on computation-limited robots.