Consensus Protocol for Underwater Multi-Robot System Using Two Communication Channels

Abstract

In this paper, we apply a simple consensus protocol to a simulated underwater multi-robot system using two communication channels. The approach is motivated by a system in which robots, called aMussels, are dispersed in the environment and measure its properties over longer periods of time. Each unit is equipped with two underwater communication devices: <i xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">green light</i> , short-range communication device based on modulated light, and <i xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">nanomodem</i> , long-range acoustic communication device. Except for range, the two communication channels differ in the transmission speed. Both are combined in order to attain fast and accurate average consensus. We bring the results of the protocol applied to the simulated system and analyze its convergence.