Swarm robotics: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 06:44, 4 December 2024

Revision as of 06:57, 4 December 2024

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[[Image:IRobot Create team.jpg|thumb|right|A team of [[iRobot Create]] [[robot]]s at the [[Georgia Institute of Technology]]]]

{{Multi-agent system}}

'''Swarm robotics''' is an approach to the coordination of multiple robots as a system which consist of large numbers of mostly simple physical [[robot]]s. In a robot swarm, the collective behavior of the robots results from local interactions between the robots and between the robots and the environment in which they act.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|title=Swarm Robotics|last1=Dorigo|first1=Marco|last2=Birattari|first2=Mauro|last3=Brambill|first3=Manuele|date=2014|journal=Scholarpedia|volume=9 |issue=1 |page=1463 |doi=10.4249/scholarpedia.1463 |bibcode=2014SchpJ...9.1463D |language=en-UK|doi-access=free }}</ref> It is supposed that a desired [[collective behavior]] emerges from the interactions between the robots and interactions of robots with the environment. This idea emerged on the field of [[artificial swarm intelligence]], as well as the studies of insects, ants and other fields in nature, where [[swarm behaviour]] occurs. <ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-05-29 |title=What is the primary purpose of Swarm Robotics? |url=https://robotohub.com/what-is-the-primary-purpose-of-swarm-robotics/ |access-date=2024-09-01 |website= |quote=“Swarm Robotics” is a captivating field that takes inspiration from the collective behavior of social insects like ants, bees, and termites.}}</ref>

==Definition==

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Unlike distributed robotic systems in general, swarm robotics emphasizes a large number of robots, and promotes [[scalability]], for instance by using only local communication.<ref>{{cite book|last=Hamann|first=H.|title=Swarm Robotics: A Formal Approach|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pnNLDwAAQBAJ|year=2018|publisher=Springer International Publishing|___location=New York|isbn=978-3-319-74528-2}}</ref> That local communication for example can be achieved by [[wireless]] transmission systems, like [[radio frequency]] or [[infrared]].<ref>[http://correll.cs.colorado.edu/wp-content/uploads/correll_rus_chapter3.pdf N. Correll, D. Rus. Architectures and control of networked robotic systems. In: Serge Kernbach (Ed.): Handbook of Collective Robotics, pp. 81-104, Pan Stanford, Singapore, 2013.]</ref>

== FiveKey PrinciplesAttributes of Robotic Swarm IntelligenceSwarms ==

The design of swarm robotics systems is guided by swarm intelligence principles, which promote fault tolerance, scalability, and flexibility.[http<ref name=":0" //www> Unlike distributed robotic systems in general, swarm robotics emphasizes a large number of robots.scholarpedia.org/article/Swarm_robotics] While various formulations of swarm intelligence principles exist, one widely recognized set includes:<blockquote>

# Robots are autonomous.

# Robots can interact with the surroundings and give feedback to modify the environment.

# Robots possess local perceiving and communicating capabilities, such as [[wireless]] transmission systems, like [[radio frequency]] or [[infrared]].

# Robots do not exploit centralized swarm control or global knowledge.

# Robots cooperate with each other to accomplish the given task.

</blockquote>Miniaturization is also key factor in swarm robotics, as the effect of thousands of small robots can maximize the effect of the swarm-intelligent approach to achieve meaningful behavior at swarm-level through a greater number of interactions on an individual level.

Compared with individual robots, a swarm can commonly decompose its given missions to their subtasks; a swarm is more robust to partial failure and is more flexible with regard to different missions.

# Awareness: Each swarm member must be aware of its surroundings and capabilities.

# Autonomy: Individual robots should function as autonomous units, not slaves to a central controller. This enables self-coordinated task allocation.

# Solidarity: Swarm members must cooperate in solidarity. Upon completing a task, each robot should independently seek new tasks based on its current position.

# Expandability: The system should allow for dynamic expansion, permitting new members to be added seamlessly.

# Resiliency: The swarm must be self-healing. If members are removed, the remaining robots should take over unfinished tasks.<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=axxXz2BM0yw |title=Five Principles of Swarm Intelligence |date=2016-09-20 |last=Alfonso |access-date=2024-08-14 |via=YouTube}}</ref>

Miniaturization and cost are key factors in swarm robotics. These are the constraints in building large groups of robots; therefore the simplicity of the individual team member is emphasized. This motivates a swarm-intelligent approach to achieve meaningful behavior at swarm-level, instead of the individual level. The goals include keeping the cost of individual robots low to allow [[scalability]], making each robot less demanding of resources and more energy efficient.

Compared with individual robots, a swarm can commonly decompose its given missions to their subtasks;<ref name="ijrnc">{{cite journal |last1=Hu |first1=J. |last2=Bhowmick |first2=P. |last3=Lanzon |first3=A. |date=2020 |title=Two-layer distributed formation-containment control strategy for linear swarm systems: Algorithm and experiments |journal=International Journal of Robust and Nonlinear Control |volume=30 |issue=16 |pages=6433–6453 |doi=10.1002/rnc.5105 |doi-access=free}}</ref> a swarm is more robust to partial failure and is more flexible with regard to different missions.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Kagan |first1=E. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yuSrDwAAQBAJ |title=Autonomous Mobile Robots and Multi-Robot Systems: Motion-Planning, Communication, and Swarming |last2=Shvalb |first2=N. |last3=Gal |first3=I. |publisher=John Wiley and Sons |year=2019 |isbn=9781119212867}}</ref>

== Applications ==