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Multiple Mobile Robot Systems

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Abstract

Within the context of multiple mobile robot systems, this chapter explores the current state of the art. After a brief introduction, we first examine architectures for multirobot cooperation, exploring the alternative approaches that have been developed. Next, we explore communications issues and their impact on multirobot teams in Sect. 40.3, followed by a discussion of swarm robot systems in Sect. 40.4. While swarm systems typically assume large numbers of homogeneous robots, other types of multirobot systems include heterogeneous robots. We therefore next discuss heterogeneity in cooperative robot teams in Sect. 40.5. Once robot teams allow for individual heterogeneity, issues of task allocation become important; Sect. 40.6 therefore discusses common approaches to task allocation. Section 40.7 discusses the challenges of multirobot learning, and some representative approaches. We outline some of the typical application domains which serve as test beds for multirobot systems research in Sect. 40.8. Finally, we conclude in Sect. 40.9 with some summary remarks and suggestions for further reading.

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Abbreviations

BLE:

broadcast of local eligibility

DIRA:

distributed robot architecture

IA:

instantaneous allocation

MR:

magnetorheological

MR:

multiple reflection

MR:

multirobot tasks

MRTA:

multirobot task allocation

MT:

medial temporal

MT:

multitask

SR:

single-robot

ST:

single-task

TA:

time-extended assignment

US:

ultrasound

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  1. Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, University of Tennessee, 1122 Volunteer Blvd., 37996-3450, Knoxville, TN, USA

    Lynne E. Parker Prof

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  1. PRISMA Lab, Dipartimento di Informatica e Sistemistica, Universitá degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, 80125, Napoli, Italy, Via Claudio 21

    Bruno Siciliano Prof.

  2. Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, Department of Computer Science, Stanford University, 94305-9010, Stanford, CA, USA

    Oussama Khatib Prof.

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Parker, L.E. (2008). Multiple Mobile Robot Systems. In: Siciliano, B., Khatib, O. (eds) Springer Handbook of Robotics. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-30301-5_41

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