An Artificial Plant Community Algorithm for Collision-Free Multi-Robot Aggregation

Multi-robot aggregation is an important application for emergent robotic tasks, in which multiple robots are aggregated to work collaboratively. In this context, the collision-free problem poses a significant challenge, which is complicated to resolve, as aggregated robots are prone to collision. Th...

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Main Authors: Zhengying Cai, Qingqing Yu, Zhuimeng Lu, Zeya Liu, Guoqiang Gong
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-04-01
Series:Applied Sciences
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/15/8/4240
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author Zhengying Cai
Qingqing Yu
Zhuimeng Lu
Zeya Liu
Guoqiang Gong
author_facet Zhengying Cai
Qingqing Yu
Zhuimeng Lu
Zeya Liu
Guoqiang Gong
author_sort Zhengying Cai
collection DOAJ
description Multi-robot aggregation is an important application for emergent robotic tasks, in which multiple robots are aggregated to work collaboratively. In this context, the collision-free problem poses a significant challenge, which is complicated to resolve, as aggregated robots are prone to collision. This study attempts to use robotic edge intelligence technology to solve this problem. First, a multiple objective function is built for the collision-free multi-robot aggregation problem, considering the characteristics of robotic aggregation and collision-free constraints. Second, a heuristic artificial plant community algorithm is proposed to obtain an optimal solution to the developed problem model, which is lightweight and can be deployed on edge robots to search for the optimal route in real-time. The proposed algorithm utilizes the swarm learning capability of edge robots to produce a set of collision-free aggregation assignments for all robots. Finally, a benchmark test set is developed, based on which a series of benchmark tests are conducted. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method is effective and its computational performance is suitable for robot edge computing.
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spelling doaj-art-d25aa1f24c0a4001b4038d2576eb63fa2025-08-20T02:17:19ZengMDPI AGApplied Sciences2076-34172025-04-01158424010.3390/app15084240An Artificial Plant Community Algorithm for Collision-Free Multi-Robot AggregationZhengying Cai0Qingqing Yu1Zhuimeng Lu2Zeya Liu3Guoqiang Gong4Hubei Province Engineering Technology Research Center for Construction Quality Testing Equipments, College of Computer and Information Technology, China Three Gorges University, Yichang 443002, ChinaHubei Province Engineering Technology Research Center for Construction Quality Testing Equipments, College of Computer and Information Technology, China Three Gorges University, Yichang 443002, ChinaHubei Province Engineering Technology Research Center for Construction Quality Testing Equipments, College of Computer and Information Technology, China Three Gorges University, Yichang 443002, ChinaHubei Province Engineering Technology Research Center for Construction Quality Testing Equipments, College of Computer and Information Technology, China Three Gorges University, Yichang 443002, ChinaHubei Province Engineering Technology Research Center for Construction Quality Testing Equipments, College of Computer and Information Technology, China Three Gorges University, Yichang 443002, ChinaMulti-robot aggregation is an important application for emergent robotic tasks, in which multiple robots are aggregated to work collaboratively. In this context, the collision-free problem poses a significant challenge, which is complicated to resolve, as aggregated robots are prone to collision. This study attempts to use robotic edge intelligence technology to solve this problem. First, a multiple objective function is built for the collision-free multi-robot aggregation problem, considering the characteristics of robotic aggregation and collision-free constraints. Second, a heuristic artificial plant community algorithm is proposed to obtain an optimal solution to the developed problem model, which is lightweight and can be deployed on edge robots to search for the optimal route in real-time. The proposed algorithm utilizes the swarm learning capability of edge robots to produce a set of collision-free aggregation assignments for all robots. Finally, a benchmark test set is developed, based on which a series of benchmark tests are conducted. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method is effective and its computational performance is suitable for robot edge computing.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/15/8/4240collision-free multi-robot aggregation problem (CMAP)robotic edge intelligenceedge computingheuristic methodartificial plant community algorithm
spellingShingle Zhengying Cai
Qingqing Yu
Zhuimeng Lu
Zeya Liu
Guoqiang Gong
An Artificial Plant Community Algorithm for Collision-Free Multi-Robot Aggregation
Applied Sciences
collision-free multi-robot aggregation problem (CMAP)
robotic edge intelligence
edge computing
heuristic method
artificial plant community algorithm
title An Artificial Plant Community Algorithm for Collision-Free Multi-Robot Aggregation
title_full An Artificial Plant Community Algorithm for Collision-Free Multi-Robot Aggregation
title_fullStr An Artificial Plant Community Algorithm for Collision-Free Multi-Robot Aggregation
title_full_unstemmed An Artificial Plant Community Algorithm for Collision-Free Multi-Robot Aggregation
title_short An Artificial Plant Community Algorithm for Collision-Free Multi-Robot Aggregation
title_sort artificial plant community algorithm for collision free multi robot aggregation
topic collision-free multi-robot aggregation problem (CMAP)
robotic edge intelligence
edge computing
heuristic method
artificial plant community algorithm
url https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/15/8/4240
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