Distributed Auction-Based Target Assignment for Formation Reconfiguration of Unmanned Surface Vehicles Subject to Kinematic Constraints

This paper investigates target assignment for formation reconfiguration of underactuated unmanned surface vehicles (USVs). A distributed auction-based target assignment method is proposed for multiple USVs subject to kinematic constraints. First, considering kinematic characteristics of underactuated USVs, a cost function based on Dubins curve is proposed to quantify the distance between target points and USVs, addressing kinematics constraints overlooked by linear-based cost functions. Then, a distributed auction-based method is developed, allowing each USV to bid on a desired target based on its respective cost value. It is featured that the information exchange only with neighboring USVs, thereby reducing communication resources and enhancing system robustness. The results of the simulation validate the effectiveness of the distributed auction-based target assignment for multiple underactuated USVs.