A Mixed-Integer Approach for Motion Planning of Nonholonomic Robots under Visible Light Communication Constraints

TL;DR

This paper presents a mixed-integer linear programming method for planning the motion of nonholonomic robots with visible light communication constraints, ensuring connectivity and efficient inspection tasks.

Contribution

It introduces a MILP-based trajectory planning approach that accounts for directed LOS, network connectivity, and nonlinear robot dynamics in a unified framework.

Findings

Successful simulation with Turtlebot3 in Gazebo environment

Effective maintenance of VLC connectivity during inspection tasks

Reduced time and control effort in robot coordination

Abstract

This work addresses the problem of motion planning for a group of nonholonomic robots under Visible Light Communication (VLC) connectivity requirements. In particular, we consider an inspection task performed by a Robot Chain Control System (RCCS), where a leader must visit relevant regions of an environment while the remaining robots operate as relays, maintaining the connectivity between the leader and a base station. We leverage Mixed-Integer Linear Programming (MILP) to design a trajectory planner that can coordinate the RCCS, minimizing time and control effort while also handling the issues of directed Line-Of-Sight (LOS), connectivity over directed networks, and the nonlinearity of the robots' dynamics. The efficacy of the proposal is demonstrated with realistic simulations in the Gazebo environment using the Turtlebot3 robot platform.