Formal analysis in a cellular automata ant model using swarm intelligence in robotics foraging task

Abstract

Distributed coordination and control strategies based on modified version of the cellular automata ant (CAA) system directs mobile robots for accomplishing foraging cooperative tasks. A foraging task is divided into two main parts, called here, searching and homing. From previous applications of the foraging strategy, it was possible to confirm that the general and complex team behavior emerges from the individual agent behavior. In this paper, a graph theoretical analysis was done analyzing some particularities in searching process. Besides that, a queuing theoretical analysis was done to evaluate some features in the homing process. Experiment results showed that different phenomena can occur during the foraging task by parameters variation, affecting specially the team performance.