Stability analysis of one-dimensional asynchronous mobile swarms

Abstract

Coordinated dynamical swarm behavior occurs when certain types of animals forage for food or try to avoid predators. Analogous behaviors can occur in engineering systems (e.g., in groups of autonomous mobile robots or air vehicles). We characterize swarm "cohesiveness" as a stability property and provide conditions under which an asynchronous mobile swarm following (pushed by) an "edge-leader" can maintain cohesion during movements even in the presence of sensing delays and asynchronism. Such stability analysis is fundamental to understanding the coordination mechanisms for groups of autonomous vehicles or robots where inter-member communication channels are less than perfect.