Deployment control of wireless multi-hop-relay mobile robots based on voronoi partition

This paper describes a new method for the deployment of wireless relay nodes. When using rescue robots in a building or underground city, the wireless radio signal is attenuated significantly, and therefore, multi-hop extension involving wireless communication relays is required. The goal of this research is to deploy wireless relay nodes to maintain connectivity between the base station and the leader robot that explores around the front line. To move the relay robot autonomously, a distributed algorithm is required. The proposed method is suitable when it is applied for wireless relay purposes. In the method, a virtual force drives a node to the centroid of Voronoi neighbors, and it maintains the connectivity of wireless communication. The proposed method is evaluated by conducting numerical simulations and experiments. In the simulation, one or two leader robots are assumed. In the experiment, a mobile robot equipped with omni-wheels is used.