@article {2015i-FraSteOri, title = {Decentralized Multi-Robot Encirclement of a 3D Target with Guaranteed Collision Avoidance}, journal = {Autonomous Robots}, volume = {40}, year = {2016}, month = {02/2016}, pages = {245-265}, abstract = {We present a control framework for achieving encirclement of a target moving in 3D using a multi-robot system. Three variations of a basic control strategy are proposed for different versions of the encirclement problem, and their effectiveness is formally established. An extension ensuring maintenance of a safe inter-robot distance is also discussed. The proposed framework is fully decentralized and only requires local communication among robots; in particular, each robot locally estimates all the relevant global quantities. We validate the proposed strategy through simulations on kinematic point robots and quadrotor UAVs, as well as experiments on differential-drive wheeled mobile robots.}, keywords = {Motion control of multiple robots}, attachments = {https://homepages.laas.fr/afranchi/robotics/sites/default/files/1307.7170v2.pdf , https://homepages.laas.fr/afranchi/robotics/sites/default/files/1307.7170v1.pdf}, author = {Antonio Franchi and Paolo Stegagno and Giuseppe Oriolo} }