The Impact of Communications Considerations in Multi-Robot Systems

Abstract

Multi-robot systems are capable of solving a class of problems that single robot systems may not be capable or suited for, such as space exploration, mining and military applications. With multi-robot systems, there is inherently a requirement for robots to collaborate with each other to complete a common goal. To achieve joint collaboration, inter-robot coordination may be required to exchange sensor data, state information and negotiate tasks making communication a critical component to the overall success of the goal. Depending on the tasks and the environment, the stress on the communication system could be considerable and could lead to challenges in task allocation, rendering existing solutions ineffective. This paper examines the effects of explicit communications on centralized and decentralized control architectures, with robots performing a cooperative task over a dedicated communications network.