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Search Space Illumination of Robot Swarm Parameters for Trustworthy Interaction

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Distributed Autonomous Robotic Systems (DARS 2022)

Part of the book series: Springer Proceedings in Advanced Robotics ((SPAR,volume 28))

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Abstract

For swarms of robots to become commonly adopted, operators will need to be able to adjust swarm behaviour in an intuitive and simple manner. To achieve this, we produce a feature space of swarm characteristic sets using Map-Elites. These sets provide users with the ability to explore specific combinations of characteristics known to achieve good results for the specified requirements. This allows operators to pass preferential parameter sets to swarm agents, without requiring a deep understanding of how parameters effect swarm behaviour. The resultant system gives the user reassurance that the swarm will operate to their needs while maintaining the benefits of distributed swarm technology. We demonstrate how this system might be used with a swarm logistics case study where an operator requires two swarm behaviour modes with differing characteristic needs. In this example we illustrate how an operator might express preference, receive recommendations, and select their final swarm characteristics.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Bristol Robotics Laboratory, Bristol, UK

    James Wilson & Sabine Hauert

  2. Department Of Engineering Mathematics, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK

    James Wilson & Sabine Hauert

Authors
  1. James Wilson
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  2. Sabine Hauert
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to James Wilson .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Franche-Comté, Montbéliard, France

    Julien Bourgeois

  2. École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland

    Jamie Paik

  3. CNRS, University of Franche-Comté, Besancon, France

    Benoît Piranda

  4. Harvard University, Boston, MA, USA

    Justin Werfel

  5. University of Bristol, Bristol, UK

    Sabine Hauert

  6. Boston University, Boston, MA, USA

    Alyssa Pierson

  7. University of Lübeck, Lubeck, Germany

    Heiko Hamann

  8. The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Shenzhen, China

    Tin Lun Lam

  9. Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan

    Fumitoshi Matsuno

  10. University of Illinois System, Urbana, IL, USA

    Negar Mehr

  11. University of Franche-Comté, Montbéliard, France

    Abdallah Makhoul

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Wilson, J., Hauert, S. (2024). Search Space Illumination of Robot Swarm Parameters for Trustworthy Interaction. In: Bourgeois, J., et al. Distributed Autonomous Robotic Systems. DARS 2022. Springer Proceedings in Advanced Robotics, vol 28. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-51497-5_13

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