Self-organized multi-target trapping of swarm robots with density-based interaction

The task of multi-target trapping in swarm robots can often be solved by global shape planning and target assignment, but it still remains a challenge to achieve fully self-organized multi-target trapping behavior based on local information. In this paper, inspired by the concept of spatial density in physics and biology, we proposed a novel density-based method to enable the swarm robots to entrap multiple targets with either single-ring, multi-ring or multi-subgroup formation in a distributed and self-organized way while neither communication among robots nor encirclement function is required. Each robot’s local spatial density is considered as the main clue for the individual’s motion decision-making and the enclosed configurations emerge from such individual-level interactions rather than being explicitly designed. Numerical simulations and real robotic experiments are conducted to validate the effectiveness of the proposed method. The results show that the proposed self-organized trapping method allows a swarm of robots to entrap multiple moving targets in a stable, flexible, noise-tolerate and size-scalable fashion.