The impact of diversity on performance in multi-robot foraging

Abstract

Quantitative relationships between performance and behavioral diversity are investigated in a multirobot foraging task. The task, referred to as multi-foraging, requires robots to collect different types of object and deliver them to different locations according to type. Multi-foraging was selected for investigation because it offers even more opportunities for agent specialization than simpler foraging tasks. Three team foraging strategies are evaluated: homogeneous, where each agent is capable of delivering all types of object; specialize-by-color, where each robot specializes in collecting one type of object; and territorial, where most of the robots drop objects off near the delivery area, while the remaining agent completes the sorting and delivery. Each strategy is evaluated for diversity and performance using quantitative metrics. Data is gathered in thousands of simulation runs and the behaviors are also verified on mobile robots. In contrast to the results of a similar study ...