Declarative Programming for Modular Robots

Abstract

Because of the timing, complexity, and asynchronicity challenges common in modular robot software we have recently begun to explore new programming models for modular robot ensembles. In this paper we apply two of those models to a metamodule-based shape planning algorithm and comment on the differences between the two approaches. Our results suggest that declarative programming can provide several advantages over more traditional imperative approaches, and that the differences between declarative programming styles can themselves contribute leverage to different parts of the problem domain.