Task inference and distributed task management in the Centibots robotic system

We describe a very large scale distributed robotic system, involving a team of over 100 robots, that has been successfully deployed in large, unknown indoor environments, over extended periods of time (i.e., durations corresponding to several power cycles). Unlike most multiagent systems, the set of tasks about which teams must collaborate is not given a priori. We first describe a task inference algorithm which identifies potential team commitments that collectively balance constraints such as reachability, sensor coverage, and communications access. We then describe a dispatch algorithm for task distribution and management that assigns resources depending on either task density or on replacement requirements stemming from failures or power shortages. The targeted deployment environments are expected to lack a supporting communications infrastructure; robots manage their own network and reason about the concomitant localization constraints necessary to maintain team communications....

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2005
• Where: ATAL
• Authors: Charlie Ortiz, Régis Vincent, Benoit Morisset
• Keywords: ATAL 2005, Large Scale, Teams, Unknown Indoor Environments