Distributed Formation Control for Heterogeneous Robot Systems Based on Competitive Mechanism

This paper presents an adaptive formation control method for a heterogeneous robot swarm, utilising a multilevel formation task tree to model various types of formation tasks and a single‐state distributed k‐winner‐take‐all (S‐DKWTA) algorithm to address the MRTA problem. In addition, we propose an enhanced load reassignment algorithm to resolve conflicts when using S‐DKWTA. The S‐DKWTA algorithm demonstrates the capability to manage multiple objectives and dynamically select leaders in real‐time, thereby optimising formation efficiency and reducing energy consumption. The proposed approach integrates an enhanced artificial potential field (APF) to govern the motion of heterogeneous robot systems which encompasses both unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), thereby achieving collision and obstacle avoidance. Simulations employing UGVs and UAVs swarm to achieve formation movement demonstrate the efficacy of this approach. The amalgamation of S‐DKWTA and improved APF ensures stable and adaptable formation control, underscoring its potential for diverse multirobot applications.