  Decentralized network theories focus on achieving consensus and in speeding
up the rate of convergence to consensus. However, network cohesion (i.e.,
maintaining consensus) during transitions between consensus values is also
important when transporting flexible structures. Deviations in the robot
positions due to loss of cohesion when moving flexible structures from one
position to another, such as uncuredcomposite aircraft wings, can cause large
deformations, which in turn, can result in potential damage. The major
contribution of this work is to develop a decentralized approach to transport
flexible objects in a cohesive manner using local force measurements, without
the need for additional communication between the robots. Additionally,
stability conditions are developed for discrete-time implementation of the
proposed cohesive transition approach, and experimental results are presented,
which show that the proposed cohesive transportation approach can reduce the
relative deformations by 85% when compared to the case without it.
