Smooth Coordination and Navigation for Multiple Differential-Drive Robots

Multiple independent robots sharing the workspace need to be able to navigate to their goals while avoiding collisions with each other. In this paper, we describe and evaluate two algorithms for smooth and collision-free navigation for multiple independent differential-drive robots. We extend reciprocal collision avoidance algorithms based on velocity obstacles and on acceleration-velocity obstacles. We implement both methods on multiple iRobot Create differential-drive robots, and report on the quality and ability of the robots using the two algorithms to navigate to their goals in a smooth and collision-free manner.