Implementation of RF communication with TDMA algorithm in swarm robots

Abstract

Current trends in robotics have gravitated toward the use of a minimal number of intelligent bots without any local communication. This approach is complex, expensive and demands an excessive amount of energy and resources. Our approach uses a swarm to solve common challenges such as fire fighting in uncertain environments. A swarm is a network of interconnected robots working together to achieve common goals. However, the advantages that arise from a large swarm implementation require fast and reliable communication among neighboring nodes. We suggest a system that uses high frequency radio communication. For that purpose, a round robin time division multiple access algorithm with node failure handling is presented. The system can be effectively used for large-scale swarms and is implemented on autonomous fire-fighting robots in the Expert Division of the Trinity College Fire-Fighting Home Robot Contest 2008.