Systems and methods for dispersing and clustering a plurality of robotic devices

A method for dispersing a plurality of robotic devices, the method comprising:

• determining, for each robotic device, a count of neighboring robotic devices;
• computing, for each robotic device, a relative position with respect to an environmental object;
• classifying at least one robotic device based at least in part on its count of neighboring robotic devices and its relative position with respect to the environmental object;
• and
• moving a subset of the plurality of robotic devices relative to the classified at least one robotic device.

A method for dispersing a plurality of robotic devices, the method comprising:

• (a) dispersing the plurality of robotic devices in a first manner by:
• (i) classifying at least one robotic device as a front line device based at least in part on relative positions of neighboring robotic devices;
• (ii) moving the at least one front line device;
• and
• (iii) moving a subset of the plurality of robotic devices relative to the movement of the at least one front line device;
• and
• (b) dispersing the plurality of robotic devices in a second manner by:
• (i) computing, for each robotic device, a dispersal velocity based at least in part on a relative position of the robotic device with respect to at least one closest neighboring robotic device;
• and
• (ii) operating each robotic device according to its computed dispersal velocity such that each robotic device attempts to be separated from at least two of its closest neighboring robotic devices by a substantially uniform distance.

A method for clustering a plurality of mobile robotic devices, the method comprising:

• selecting, for a downstream robotic device, a neighboring upstream robotic device as a reference device;
• maintaining the selected reference device stationary until a predetermined condition is satisfied;
• and
• moving the downstream robotic device relative to the selected reference device.