Abstract
This paper presents a centralized coordination scheme for multiple marine vehicles. The only requirements for proper operation of this method are the presence of bidirectional communication links with a virtual leader and bounded reference tracking errors. By relying on a, lower level, individual position tracking control, coordination is achieved by means of a centralized potential-field that uniquely defines the desired formation geometry as well as its position. The formation can be driven along a path that does not necessarily need to be predefined. Instead, a virtual leader defines the formation position at each instant of time. Furthermore, the possibility of setting stationary points over the path followed by the formation is guaranteed. The approach is illustrated in practice with autonomous surface vehicles in real environment, subjected to disturbances such as wind and waves.

Abstract
Automated Guided Vehicle System (AGVS) has become an important strategic tool for automated warehouses. In a very competitive business scenario, they can increase productivity and reduce costs of FMS (Flexible Manufacturing System) transportation systems. The AGV System provides efficient material flow and distribution among workstations at the right time and place. To attend such requirements, AGVS involves dispatching and scheduling of tasks and routing of AGVs. Some studies have approached such procedures in a similar form, although they have different functionalities. This paper reviews the literature related to the dispatching, scheduling and routing of AGVs (Automated Guided Vehicles) and highlights their main differences in comparison with the common management of vehicles transportation systems. To obtain a theoretical base, the definitions of dispatching, routing and scheduling procedures for materials handling applications are presented and the main methods to solve them are discussed.

Abstract

Abstract
This paper addresses the problem of decentralized exploration and mapping of unknown environment by a multiple robot team. The exploration methodology relies on individual decision rules and communication of topological maps to achieve efficient and fast mapping, minimizing overlap of explored space. This distributed solution allows scalability of the proposed methods. Each robot broadcasts a graph representing the topological map, with information of exploration status of each region. Therefore, this kind of information can be transmitted to robots that are not in the communication range, through other robots in a multi-hop network. This work has been tested in simulation, and the results demonstrate the performance improvements and robustness that arise from our multirobot approach to exploration.

Abstract
Nowadays, and considering flexibility, industrial robots still present some drawback that prevent them to be used in vast fields of the industry. One of their major limitations is related with their perception skills. In this area, and although the many developments verified on 3D object recognition systems in the research sphere, the number of solutions appearing in the industry level has been slow. Hence, this article tries to clarify some of the motives that difficult the technology transference (in what concerns object recognition) between both worlds. At the same time, it will be presented an industrial case scenario (inserted in an European Project) where some of the problems enumerated during the article are present.

Abstract
In this paper we introduce a formation control loop that maximizes the performance of the cooperative perception of a tracked target by a team of mobile robots, while maintaining the team in formation, with a dynamically adjustable geometry which is a function of the quality of the target perception by the team. In the formation control loop, the controller module is a distributed non-linear model predictive controller and the estimator module fuses local estimates of the target state, obtained by a particle filter at each robot. The two modules and their integration are described in detail, including a real-time database associated to a wireless communication protocol that facilitates the exchange of state data while reducing collisions among team members. Simulation and real robot results for indoor and outdoor teams of different robots are presented. The results highlight how our method successfully enables a team of homogeneous robots to minimize the total uncertainty of the tracked target cooperative estimate while complying with performance criteria such as keeping a pre-set distance between the teammates and the target, avoiding collisions with teammates and/or surrounding obstacles.