Some remarks on potential field constructions in a multi-obstacle environment

:This paper addresses a novel combination between mixed-integer representations and potential field constructions for typical multi-agent marine control problems. First, we prove that for any kind of repulsive functions applied over a function which we denote as sum function, the feasible domain is piece-wise affine (PWA). Next, concepts like hyperplane arrangements together with potential field approaches are used for providing an efficient description of the feasible non-convex domain. This combination offers an original and beneficent computation of control laws under non-convex constraints. Simulation results over a common application of obstacle avoidance, which can be extended for unmanned surface vehicles, prove the effectiveness of the proposed approach.