Abstract How to reduce the overlap observation phenomena and improve the average observation rate at the same time is a complicated problem of cooperative multi-robot observation of multiple moving targets. An approach based on contribution for cooperative multi-robot observation of multiple moving targets (C-CMOMMT) is proposed. Each robot is endowed by the C-CMOMMT algorithm with a contribution value derived from the number of assigned targets to it. Robots with low contribution receive strengthened repulsive forces from all others. Besides, the operating distances of all repulsive forces are expanded, and robots with high contribution receive weakened attractive forces from low-weighted targets. With these three methods the overlap observation phenomena are reduced. To decrease the target loss, robots with high contribution receive feeble repulsive forces, and thus the side effects become weak. Consequently, the robots are decentralized and the overlap observing phenomena are dwindled. The average observation rate, the standard deviation and entropy of the positions of mobile robots are introduced to systematically evaluate the performance and the degree of overlap observing. Results show that C-CMOMMT improves the average observation rate and dwindles the overlap observing phenomena and it is more effective than A-CMOMMT and B-CMOMMT.
2015, Vol. 28 
