Application of a quadtree-based market-allocation algorithm for cellular environment coverage with cooperative robots
Konstantinos Alexis, Anthony P. Tzes · 2008
The maximum-area coverage problem over a free time interval with a team of cooperating robots is considered in this article. This area resides in a cellular rectangular environment in which there are obstacles. The robots detect the obstacles during their motion which is constrained in a finite set of maneuvers (left, right, forward, and backward). The uncovered but detected (by the sensors) area is decomposed using the quadtree algorithm and a heuristic search relying on the market-based allocation is employed for dispatching the robots. The efficiency of the suggested algorithm is shown in simulation studies.