Cooperation through self-assembling in multi-robot systems

Abstract

This paper illustrates the methods and results of two sets of experiments in which a group of mobile robots, called s-bots, are required to physically connect to each other—i.e., to selfassemble—to cope with environmental conditions that prevent them to carry out their task individually. The first set of experiments is a pioneering study on the utility of self-assembling robots to address relatively complex scenarios, such as cooperative object trasport. The results of our work suggest that the s-bots possess hardware characteristics which facilitate the design of control mechanisms for autonomous self-assembly. The second set of experiments is an attempt to integrate within the behavioural repertoire of an s-bot decision making mechanisms to allow the robot to autonomously decide whether or not environmental contingencies require self-assembly. The results show that it is possible to synthesise, by using evolutionary computation techniques, artificial neural networks that integrate both the mechanisms for sensory-motor coordination and for decision making required by the robots in the context of self-assembly.