Niklaus Houska
supervised by Prof. Dr. Stelian Coros
This repository contains the code and Unreal Engine Project file for the implementation of my Bachelor Thesis at ETH Zurich. Read the paper for further information about the research and results.
This paper presents a local method for organizing a swarm of robots into a column formation. The formation spots are defined by the integer coordinates of a two-dimensional formation space known by each swarm member. The members are distributed over these formation places only through local interaction and navigate using optimal reciprocal collision avoidance. The method was successfully tested in simulation with robot numbers between 4 and 200 and evaluated in its convergence time compared to an optimal global solution, with the local method on average 50% slower. A correct end configuration is reached independent of initial configuration and number of robots.
The project is implemented in the game engine Unreal Engine version 4.14. To build the game, an installation of the engine is required. Then download all resources from this repository and import UnitControl.uproject within the engine. To produce the Visual Studio files, right-click UnitControl.uproject -> Generate Visual Studio project files.
| Controls | Input |
|---|---|
| Spawn robot | Left-mouse button |
| Delete robot | Middle-mouse button |
| Move formation | Right-mouse button (drag to determine orientation) |
| Toggle column spacing | S |
| Toggle column count | C |
