Combinatorial Optimization of Sensing for Rule-Based Planar Distributed Assembly

Abstract— We describe a model for planar distributed assembly, in which agents move randomly and independently on a twodimensional grid, joining square blocks together to form a desired target structure. The agents have limited capabilities, including local sensing and rule-based reactive control only, and operate without centralized coordination. We define the spatiotemporal constraints necessary for the ordered assembly of a structure and give a procedure for encoding these constraints in a rule set, such that production of the desired structure is guaranteed. Our main contribution is a stochastic optimization algorithm which is able to significantly reduce the number of environmental features that an agent must recognize to build a structure. Experiments show that our optimization algorithm outperforms existing techniques.

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2006
• Where: IROS
• Authors: Jonathan Kelly, Hong Zhang
• Keywords: IROS 2006, Optimization Algorithm, Planar Distributed Assembly, Robotics, Rule-based Reactive Control