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The large number of potential applications for robotic odor source localization has motivated the development of a variety of plume tracking algorithms, the majority of which work in restricted two-dimensional scenarios. In this paper, we introduce a distributed algorithm for 3-D plume tracking using a system of ground and aerial robots in formation. We propose an algorithm that takes advantage of spatially distributed measurements to track the plume in 3-D and lead the robots to the source by integrating three behaviors -- upwind movement, plume centering, and Laplacian feedback formation control. We evaluate this strategy in simulation and with real robots in a wind tunnel. For a source close to the ground, results show that a team of robots running our algorithm reaches the source with low lateral error while also tracing the horizontal and vertical plume shape.
Dario Floreano, Won Dong Shin, Mohammad Askari
Aude Billard, Diego Felipe Paez Granados