Bearing-Based Distributed Control and Estimation of Multi-Agent Systems

TL;DR

This paper presents a unified bearing-based approach for distributed control and localization in multi-agent systems, leveraging bearing rigidity theory to develop protocols that solve both problems globally without ambiguity.

Contribution

It introduces a novel unified framework using bearing rigidity theory for both control and estimation in multi-agent systems in arbitrary dimensions.

Findings

Protocols achieve global solutions without ambiguity.

The approach applies to arbitrary dimensional spaces.

Simulations validate the effectiveness of the methods.

Abstract

This paper studies the distributed control and estimation of multi-agent systems based on bearing information. In particular, we consider two problems: (i) the distributed control of bearing-constrained formations using relative position measurements and (ii) the distributed localization of sensor networks using bearing measurements. Both of the two problems are considered in arbitrary dimensional spaces. The analyses of the two problems rely on the recently developed bearing rigidity theory. We show that the two problems have the same mathematical formulation and can be solved by identical protocols. The proposed controller and estimator can globally solve the two problems without ambiguity. The results are supported with illustrative simulations.