Robotic Herding Using Wavefront Algorithm: Performance and Stability

Abstract

This paper is concerned with robotic herding of a swarm of birds by another adversarial agent, referred
\nto as the pursuer. The objective of herding is to prevent the birds from entering a specified volume of space,
\nsuch as the air space around an airport. The n-Wavefront algorithm was introduced by the authors in a
\nprior paper to enable herding of a swarm of birds using a robotic unmanned aerial vehicle. In this paper,
\nthe performance and stability characteristics are analyzed using tools from linear and nonlinear stability
\ntheory, with the aim of proving its performance and identifying the permissible and optimum values of the
\ncontrol parameters. It is shown that, using the n-Wavefront algorithm, a pursuer can successfully maneuver
\nthe birds around the prescribed perimeter while ensuring that the swarm does not undergo fragmentation
\nas a result of its response to the presence of the pursuer.