Multi-Robot Formation Control Using a Double Integrator Consensus Scheme: Experimental Validation

This study presents the experimental validation of a distributed formation control strategy for mobile robots, based on a double integrator consensus algorithm. The proposed control scheme enables a group of three TurtleBot3 Burger robots to maintain a predefined circular formation by tracking virtual leaders defined through geometric coordination laws. The controller computes desired acceleration references for each follower agent using a Laplacian matrix that captures the inter-agent communication topology. These acceleration commands are then mapped into linear and angular velocities through inverse kinematics to actuate the mobile platforms. Experimental results demonstrate the capability of the proposed strategy to correct initial formation errors, ensure inter-agent stability, and suppress oscillatory behaviors along the trajectory.