Coordination of Heterogeneous Robots for Large-Scale Assembly

Abstract

: While many multi-robot systems rely on fortuitous cooperation between agents, some tasks, such as the assembly of large structures, require tighter coordination. We present a general software architecture for coordinating heterogeneous robots that allows for both autonomy of the individual agents as well as explicit coordination. This paper presents recent results with three robots with very different configurations. Working as a team, these robots are able to perform a high-precision docking task that none could achieve individually. 1. Introduction As robots become more autonomous and sophisticated, they are increasingly being used for more complex and demanding tasks. Often, single robots are insufficient to perform the tasks. For some types of tasks, such as exploration or demining, multiple robots can be used to increase efficiency and reliability. For many other tasks, however, not only are multiple robots necessary, but explicit coordination amongst the robots is imper...