Abstract
Efficient task co-ordination is an important problem in multirobot systems. The explicit programming of each robot to perform specific tasks (e.g., cleaning) is too cumbersome and inefficient, as the areas to serve in a map may vary with time. Moreover, the number of available robots to serve may also vary, as some of the robots may be charging and not available. Improper task division can cause two or more robots to serve the same areas of the map, which is a waste of computation and resources. Hence, there is a need for a simpler scheme for the autonomous task co-ordination of multiple robots without the need for explicit programming. This paper presents a bioinspired algorithm that uses the attractive and repelling behavior of pheromones for autonomous task co-ordination. The proposed algorithm uses a node representation of navigational paths for autonomous exploration. This repelling mechanism also allows robots to capture areas or subareas of the map so that there is efficient task co-ordination, and robots work without interruption from other robots. We show through experiments that the proposed scheme enables multiple service robots to intelligently perform co-operative tasks without any explicit programming or commands.
Highlights
Mobile robots are increasingly being used to automate tasks like floor cleaning and surveillance in shopping malls, hospitals, and universities
This paper presents a bioinspired algorithm that uses the attractive and repelling behavior of pheromones for autonomous task co-ordination
In order to realize the deposition of pheromones and antipheromones in the map, an array is maintained for the nodes, and robots can change array values
Summary
Abhijeet Ravankar 1, *,‡ , Ankit A. Ravankar 2,‡ , Yukinori Kobayashi 2 and Yohei Hoshino 1. Presented at the 5th International Electronic Conference on Sensors and Applications, 15–30 November 2018; Available online: https://ecsa-5.sciforum.net.
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