Opinion dissemination in a swarm of simulated robots with stubborn agents: a comparative study

Abstract

Classic opinion dissemination models such as Majority model, and Voter model are particularly important in swarms robotics because they regulate the interactions among the agents while the swarm is engaged in collective decision-making processes requiring the consensus of the large majority or the unanimity of the group's members. In this paper, we compare the effectiveness of three different opinion dissemination models in a specific scenario where consensus is searched on an opinion disseminated within the swarm by a small number of legitimate agents. The task of the legitimate agents is hindered by few adversarial agents which disseminate within the swarm an “invalid” message. This scenario is meant to model a data communication manipulation attack in a swarm of robots. By comparing the dissemination models in different experimental conditions, the results of our study inform us on which model is more effective in supporting the case of legitimate agents, while reducing the disruptive effects of the data communication manipulation attack.