Abstract
The coverage problem is relevant to numerous real-life applications such
as agriculture, search and rescue, and demining. The primary objective
of this problem is to cover as many positions as possible in an unknown
environment. Utilizing multiple robots can significantly reduce the
total time required for coverage while enhancing overall efficiency. In
this paper, we introduce a novel Distributed Coverage Algorithm (DCA)
utilizing multiple robots which is also scalable. This algorithm can be
used in various real life situations like for agricultural field work,
for search and rescue, etc. We formally prove termination, no overlap,
correctness and time complexity of the DCA algorithm. We have simulated
the DCA algorithm using the Webots multi-robot simulator and compared
its performance with existing approaches. The simulation results reveal
that the DCA algorithm significantly outperforms the existing
approaches. DCA algorithm achieves a maximum coverage time reduction of
31.51% to 70.73% while also offering enhanced coverage efficiency in
all environmental conditions.