Dynamic graph-based search in unknown environments

A novel graph-based approach to search in unknown environments is presented. A virtual geometric structure is imposed on the environment represented in computer memory by a graph. Algorithms use this representation to coordinate a team of robots (or entities). Local discovery of environmental features cause dynamic expansion of the graph resulting in global exploration of the unknown environment. The algorithm is shown to have $O(k \cdot n_{H})$ time complexity, where $n_{H}$ is the number of vertices of the discovered environment and $1 \leq k <n_{H}$. A maximum bound on the length of the resulting walk $\Omega$ is given.