@article{66838, abstract = {{The sliding square model is a widely used abstraction for studying self-reconfigurable robotic systems, where modules are square-shaped robots that move by sliding or rotating over one another. In this paper, we propose a novel distributed algorithm that enables a group of modules to reconfigure into a rhombus shape, starting from an arbitrary side-connected configuration. It is connectivity-preserving and operates under minimal assumptions: one leader module, common chirality, constant memory per module, and visibility and communication restricted to immediate neighbors. Unlike prior work, which relaxes the original sliding square move-set, our approach uses the unmodified move-set, addressing the additional challenge of handling locked configurations. Our algorithm is sequential in nature and operates with a worst-case time complexity of O(n^2) rounds, which is optimal for sequential algorithms. To improve runtime, we introduce two parallel variants of the algorithm. Both rely on a spanning tree data structure, allowing modules to make decisions based on local connectivity. Our experimental results show a significant speedup for the first variant, and a linear average runtime for the second variant, which is worst-case optimal for parallel algorithms.}}, author = {{Kostitsyna, Irina and Liedtke, David and Scheideler, Christian}}, issn = {{0304-3975}}, journal = {{Theoretical Computer Science}}, keywords = {{modular robots, distributed algorithms, sliding squares}}, publisher = {{Elsevier BV}}, title = {{{Distributed rhombus formation of sliding squares}}}, doi = {{10.1016/j.tcs.2026.116196}}, volume = {{1085}}, year = {{2026}}, } @article{22510, abstract = {{Over the past decades, the Gathering problem, which asks to gather a group of robots in finite time given some restrictions, has been intensively studied. In this paper, we are given a group of n autonomous, dimensionless, deterministic, and anonymous robots, with bounded viewing range. Assuming a continuous time model, the goal is to gather these robots into one point in finite time. We introduce a simple convergence criterion that defines a new class of algorithms which perform gathering in O(nd) time, where d is the diameter of the initial robot configuration. We show that some gathering algorithms in the literature belong to this class and propose two new algorithms that belong to this class and have quadratic running time, namely, Go-To-The-Relative-Center algorithm (GTRC) and Safe-Go-To-The-Relative-Center algorithm (S-GTRC). We prove that the latter can perform gathering without collision by using a slightly more complex robot model: non oblivious, chiral, and luminous (i.e. robots have observable external memory, as in [8]). We also consider a variant of the Gathering problem, the Near-Gathering problem, in which robots must get close to each other without colliding. We show that S-GTRC solves the Near-Gathering problem in quadratic time and assumes a weaker robot model than the one assumed in the current state-of-the-art.}}, author = {{Li, Shouwei and Markarian, Christine and Meyer auf der Heide, Friedhelm and Podlipyan, Pavel}}, issn = {{0304-3975}}, journal = {{Theoretical Computer Science}}, keywords = {{Local algorithms, Distributed algorithms, Collisionless gathering, Mobile robots, Multiagent system}}, pages = {{41--60}}, title = {{{A continuous strategy for collisionless gathering}}}, doi = {{10.1016/j.tcs.2020.10.037}}, volume = {{852}}, year = {{2021}}, } @article{22511, abstract = {{In this paper, we reconsider the well-known discrete, round-based Go-To-The-Center algorithm due to Ando, Suzuki, and Yamashita [2] for gathering n autonomous mobile robots with limited viewing range in the plane. Remarquably, this algorithm exploits the fact that during its execution, many collisions of robots occur. Such collisions are interpreted as a success because it is assumed that such collided robots behave the same from now on. This is acceptable under the assumption that each robot is represented by a single point. Otherwise, collisions should be avoided. In this paper, we consider a continuous Go-To-The-Center algorithm in which the robots continuously observe the positions of their neighbors and adapt their speed (assuming a speed limit) and direction. Our first results are time bounds of O(n2) for gathering in two dimensions Euclidean space, and Θ(n) for the one dimension. Our main contribution is the introduction and evaluation of a continuous algorithm which performs Go-To-The-Center considering only the neighbors of a robot with respect to the Gabriel subgraph of the visibility graph, i.e. Go-To-The-Gabriel-Center algorithm. We show that this modification still correctly executes gathering in one and two dimensions, with the same time bounds as above. Simulations exhibit a severe difference of the behavior of the Go-To-The-Center and the Go-To-The-Gabriel-Center algorithms: Whereas lots of collisions occur during a run of the Go-To-The-Center algorithm, typically only one, namely the final collision occurs during a run of the Go-To-The-Gabriel-Center algorithm. We can prove this “collisionless property” of the Go-To-The-Gabriel-Center algorithm for one dimension. In two-dimensional Euclidean space, we conjecture that the “collisionless property” holds for almost every initial configuration. We support our conjecture with measurements obtained from the simulation where robots execute both continuous Go-To-The-Center and Go-To-The-Gabriel-Center algorithms. }}, author = {{Li, Shouwei and Meyer auf der Heide, Friedhelm and Podlipyan, Pavel}}, issn = {{0304-3975}}, journal = {{Theoretical Computer Science}}, keywords = {{Local algorithms, Distributed algorithms, Collisionless gathering, Mobile robots, Multiagent system}}, pages = {{29--40}}, title = {{{The impact of the Gabriel subgraph of the visibility graph on the gathering of mobile autonomous robots}}}, doi = {{10.1016/j.tcs.2020.11.009}}, volume = {{852}}, year = {{2021}}, }