Hybrid architecture for communication-aware multi-robot systems

Abstract

In this paper we propose a hybrid architecture that allows a team of mobile robots to self-organize into a multi-hop ad-hoc network and solve the joint mobility and communication problem in complex environments to complete a given task. The system consists of an outer global planning loop and an inner local loop responsible for motion and network routing, arranged in a two-stage feedback system. This system is able to leverage the benefits of previous systems, while avoiding their drawbacks. This results in a lightweight responsive system that is able to operate in complex environments with minimal global coordination while maintaining a minimum end-to-end data rate between robots. Two main benefits of our approach are demonstrated through experimentation superior performance over existing systems and dynamic adjustment to unexpected events. We conclude with a demonstration of the system operating in a realistic scenario, in which the team patrols a set of hallways.