Antbots: A Feasible Visual Emulation of Pheromone Trails for Swarm Robots

In this paper we present an experimental setup to model the pheromone trail based foraging behaviour of ants using a special phosphorescent glowing paint. We have built two custom addons for the e-puck robot that allow for trail laying and following on the glowing floor, as well as a way for the robots to mimic the ants capability of using polarization patterns as a means of navigation. Using simulations we show that our approach allows for efficient pathfinding between nest and potential food sources. Experimental results show that our trail and sun compass add-on boards are accurate enough to allow a single robot to lay and follow a trail repeatedly.

• Type: Journal
• Year: 2010
• Where: ANTSW
• Authors: Ralf Mayet, Jonathan Roberz, Thomas Schmickl, Karl Crailsheim
• Keywords: ANTSW 2010, Artificial Intelligence, Phosphorescent Glowing Paint, Potential Food Sources, Trail