Multi-target localization and circumnavigation by a single agent using bearing measurements

This paper considers the problem of localization and circumnavigation of a group of targets, which are either stationary or moving slowly with unknown speed, by a single agent. An estimator is proposed, initially for the stationary target case, to localize the targets and the center of mass of them as well as a control law that forces the agent to move on a circular trajectory around the center of mass of the targets such that both the estimator and the controller are exponentially stable. Then the case where the targets might experience slow but possibly steady movements is studied. The system inputs include the agent's position and the bearing angles to the targets. The performance of the proposed algorithms is verified through simulations. Copyright (c) 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.