Coverage control and distributed consensus-based estimation for mobile sensing networks in complex environments

Manuel Boldrer, Daniele Fontanelli, Luigi Palopoli

Abstract: In this paper we jointly discuss two problems: coverage control for a set of agents and distributed estimation of an observed quantity. Our coverage solution does not require convexity of the environment and it can be used for static coverage. The idea hinges on the application of a Llyod algorithm with the probability functions manipulated in order to avoid obstacles and adapt to non-convex sets. Our control approach operates hand-in-hand with distributed estimation. We provide ample simulation evidence of the advantages of this combination.