Autonomous Multi-Hop Network Using PSO-based Mobile Robot Swarm with the Moving Target Technique

摘要

A mobile robot swarm using multiple robots cooperatively has attracted increasing attention in various application domains due to its advantageous features compared to a single robot, such as expanding the range of applications, relaxing the performance requirements for individual robots, and improving robustness. In this study, a mobile robot swarm algorithm based on particle swarm optimization is proposed, where the unique moving target technique is introduced to efficiently establish an autonomous multi-hop network between a target position where an event occurs and an operator at a remote base station, e.g., for monitoring real-time information and taking initial actions in a dangerous area with unstable communication environment. In the moving target technique, the oldest robot stopping at a suitable position updates the next target position of a mobile robot swarm step by step. In this manner, a multi-hop network is established between the original target and an operator at a base station by exchanging local information between neighboring robots while avoiding collisions with obstacles. We demonstrated that a mobile robot swarm using the proposed algorithm can establish an efficient multi-hop network with a higher success rate than the existing algorithm. Moreover, it can establish a flexible multi-hop network that adjusts to a placement pattern of obstacles without collisions.