An Adaptive Metric Model for Collective Motion Structures in Dynamic Environments

Robot swarms often use collective motion. Most models generate collective motion using the repulsion zone, alignment zone, and attraction zone. Despite being widely used, these models have a limited capacity for generating group structures in response to environmental stimuli. Enabling robot swarms to display proper spatial structures is crucial for several swarm robotics tasks. In this paper, we focus on three spatial structures that allow the swarm to adapt its aggregation (coverage) and alignment (order) in response to environmental changes. We show that the metric and long-range models are unable to generate every structure. We propose an extension to the metric model that allows the swarm to display the three structures, which is demonstrated in a simulated dynamic environment where different stimuli appear over time.