Orientation in a Trail Network by Exploiting its Geometry for Swarm Robotics

Abstract

Two control algorithms for a swarm robot are presented that enable it to orientate itself by using information from the geometry of trail bifurcations within a trail network. The development of these algorithms was inspired by the behavior of Pharaoh's ants as reported by Jackson et al., 2004. The performance of the robot is analyzed in a large number of embodied experiments with different bifurcation angles. The reactive behavior implemented by simple rules is sufficient to accomplish this task using a robot of limited capabilities. The frequency of correct reorientations is maximized when the trail bifurcation angle is 60 degrees, as found in natural networks