Tidy up my room: Multi-agent cooperation for service tasks in smart environments

Abstract

Low-cost robots are usually specialized systems that cannot solve complex tasks, e.g., doing the laundry or tidying up. These tasks are usually solved by more complex and expensive general-purpose systems. The most common problems are the lack of sensors and actuators or computing power to perform multiple functions in parallel. The integration of robots into intelligent environments can help to solve more complex tasks by utilizing the components of the intelligent environment. Such an approach is used in the system to detect pointing gestures from a user and locating objects that a low-priced robot then collects and carries away. This approach is performed by cameras and supported by lights of the intelligent environment. The experimental results show that the cooperation of robots and smart environment increases the success rate of complex tasks in situations where the robot or components of the intelligent environment would underperform.