Group-Control Motion Planning Framework for Microrobot Swarms in a Global Field

Abstract: This paper investigates how a novel paradigm called group-control can be effectively used for motion planning for microrobot swarms in a global field. We prove that Small-Time Local Controllability (STLC) in robot positions is achievable through group-control, with the minimum number of groups required for STLC being $\log_2(n + 2) + 1$ for $n$ robots. We then discuss the trade-offs between control complexity, motion planning complexity, and motion efficiency. We show how motion planning can be simplified if appropriate primitives can be achieved through more complex control actions. We identify motion planning problems that balance the number of motion primitives with planning complexity. Various instantiations of these motion planning problems are explored, with simulations used to demonstrate the effectiveness of group-control.