Publications

A macroscopic analytical model of collaboration in distributed robotic systems

Abstract

In this article, we present a macroscopic analytical model of collaboration in a group of reactive robots. The model consists of a series of coupled differential equations that describe the dynamics of group behavior. After presenting the general model, we analyze in detail a case study of collaboration, the stick-pulling experiment, studied experimentally and in simulation by Ijspeert et al. [Autonomous Robots, 11, 149–171]. The robots' task is to pull sticks out of their holes, and it can be successfully achieved only through the collaboration of two robots. There is no explicit communication or coordination between the robots. Unlike microscopic simulations (sensor-based or using a probabilistic numerical model), in which computational time scales with the robot group size, the macroscopic model is computationally efficient, because its solutions are independent of robot group size. Analysis reproduces several …

Date
January 1, 1970
Authors
Kristina Lerman, Aram Galstyan, Alcherio Martinoli, Auke Ijspeert
Journal
Artificial Life
Volume
7
Issue
4
Pages
375-393
Publisher
MIT Press