From the plots shown in figure 5.22 it is interesting to note that the four-robot case

converged to a zero solution in approximately four minutes, while the five-robot case

converged to a zero solution in approximately two minutes. Addition of a fifth robot

decreased the time in which the algorithm converged to zero. This is an intuitive result

because addition of another robot serves to maximize the coverage area therefore

expediting the search for the optimal solution.


 10000
 -2 Robots
 9000 3 Robots

 000 4 Robots
 -5 Robots
 7000

 S6000
 0
 m 5000

 4000
 E
 L 3000

 2000

 1000


 0 100 200 300 400 500 600
 Time (sec)


 Figure 5.22: Map 4 rates of convergence for 2-5 robots after 200 generations

Map Five

 This map is composed of six obstacles; four of which are clustered together and the

remaining two are spread farther apart. The results gradually improve as another robot is

added to the solution. Although the five-robot case does not obtain a shadow area of

zero, a drastic improvement is made when compared with the two-robot case.