Leader connectivity management and flocking velocity optimization using the particle swarm optimization method

Flocking through leader following structures in mobile networks raises attractive control problems. Due to limited sensing radii, leaders locally influence a network of agents. In this paper, we consider the problem of real-time maximization of flocking velocity. By using local information and a Particle-Swarm-Optimization (PSO) algorithm, a Leader Agent (LA) actively motivates flocking at high speed. The LA manages topology of the network in its neighborhood and increases flocking velocity. PSO output quality and calculation costs show that the proposed optimization algorithm is practically feasible. A case-study is also presented.