System of Decentralized Control of a Group of Mobile Robotic Means Interacting with Charging Stations

When solving the problem of organizing energy consumption within a group of mobile robotic objects, stationary charging stations can be used. When solving the problem of optimizing such energy consumption, the problem of increasing the efficiency of interaction between the elements of the group with such stations arises. This problem can be solved by using a decentralized method of managing a system that includes a group of these moving objects and recharging stations. This article develops the concept of interaction between mobile and stationary objects, which implies the possibility of choosing by each interaction agent the corresponding companion. Such a choice is made taking into account the current state of the system and an assessment of the history of interaction results. The developed concept is detailed for a system that includes unmanned aerial vehicles and their recharging stations. In this case, the energy efficiency of the charging process and the time taken by the unmanned aerial vehicles to reach the target point are key indicators when choosing pairs of interacting elements. An optimization procedure has been developed that finds the number of the charging station that is most suitable for a given mobile object for interaction.