Communication system of a segmented rescue robot utilizing socket programming and ROS

Abstract

One of the most difficult problems involving installing a rescue robot into a disaster site is maintaining constant communication. In a disaster site, it is highly probable that facilities for communication have been destroyed or rendered inoperative. Therefore, it should be assumed that nearby communication devices cannot be used, limiting communication to the equipment native to the robot itself. In this paper, we propose the operation of a segmented robot capable of multi-hop communication to overcome environments with limited communication options. As the robot that is composed of several detachable modules enters a disaster area, detaches the part equipped with a wireless router, as some lizards would shed their tail, and attempts multi-hop communication to secure reliable wireless communication when the signal strength becomes weak. In this paper, we introduce a method for multi-hop communication in segmented robots. In particular, the method by which a GUI using ROS can be constructed to operate a robot is also introduced.