An algorithm for testing object caging condition by multiple mobile robots

We address the manipulation of planar objects by multiple cooperating mobile robots using the concept of object closure, a condition under which the object is trapped so that there is no feasible path for the object from the given position to any position that is beyond a specified threshold distance. In this paper, we develop a distributed testing algorithm of object caging by multiple cooperative robots. By implementation of a complete testing based on the sufficient and necessary condition of object closure, the proposed algorithm works efficiently even for case to cage an irregular object.