Cooperative autonomous robot colonies

Abstract

A concept for implementation of a colony of cooperative autonomous agents is under development. This concept enables useful and productive work to be accomplished by adaptable and dynamic autonomous agents in real-time and real-world environments. Three primary issues of cooperative autonomous mobile agents are addressed being interaction, management and sustainability. The focus of this paper is the issue of interaction within a colony of cooperative agents while the issues of management and sustainability are scheduled for future research. The view of the agents as a colony is due to their number and the use of agent support structures. A colony of agents has a defined base of operations consisting of relatively static agents while also containing a number of mobile agents.