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arXiv · 2604.15524

Safe and Energy-Aware Multi-Robot Density Control via PDE-Constrained Optimization for Long-Duration Autonomy

Longchen Niu·Andrew Nasif·Gennaro Notomista
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Abstract

This paper presents a novel density control framework for multi-robot systems with spatial safety and energy sustainability guarantees. Stochastic robot motion is encoded through the Fokker-Planck Partial Differential Equation (PDE) at the density level. Control Lyapunov and control barrier functions are integrated with PDEs to enforce target density tracking, obstacle region avoidance, and energy sufficiency over multiple charging cycles. The resulting quadratic program enables fast in-the-loop implementation that adjusts commands in real-time. Multi-robot experiment and extensive simulations were conducted to demonstrate the effectiveness of the controller under localization and motion uncertainties.

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Longchen Niu, Andrew Nasif, Gennaro Notomista. 2026-06-03. Safe and Energy-Aware Multi-Robot Density Control via PDE-Constrained Optimization for Long-Duration Autonomy. https://arxiv.org/abs/2604.15524

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