Bearing Rigidity Theory and Its Applications for Control and Estimation of Network Systems

The problem of distributed control and estimation for multiagent systems with limited sensing capabilities is a practical challenge motivated by incomplete and imperfect sensing. This article addresses an important case where each agent in a network can sense only the relative bearings to their nearest neighbors. The study of this topic is motivated mainly by the rapid development of bearing-only sensors, such as optical cameras and sensor arrays. This article provides a tutorial review on this topic, focusing on the problems of formation control and network localization. A key component of this review is a presentation of the recently developed bearing rigidity theory, which defines a necessary architectural feature of multiagent systems aiming to solve these two problems. This article presents a high-level summary of recently developed algorithms solving these problems, various simulation examples, and discussions pointing to the relevant literature and important remaining challenges in this area.