A Coverage Algorithm for Multi-robot Boundary Inspection

— This paper introduces the multi-robot boundary coverage problem, wherein a group of k robots must inspect every point on the boundary of a 2-dimensional test environment. Using a simplified sensor model, this inspection problem is converted to an equivalent graph representation. In this representation, the coverage problem can be posed as the kRural Postman Problem (kRPP). We present a constructive heuristic which finds a solution to the kRPP, then use that solution to plan the robots’ inspection routes. These routes provide complete coverage of the boundary and also balance the inspection load across the k robots. Simulations illustrate the algorithm’s performance and characteristics.

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2005
• Where: ICRA
• Authors: Kjerstin Easton, Joel Burdick
• Keywords: Boundary Coverage Problem, Coverage Problem, ICRA 2005, Krural Postman Problem, Robotics