A Bluetooth Scatternet for the Khepera Robot

Abstract

Radio-based communication plays a vital role in multi-robot systems.\nBluetooth is an energy-efficient communication technology suited for resourcelimited mini-robots such as the Khepera. However, the maximum number of nodes in a Bluetooth piconet is limited, while scatternets - networks of piconets - have not been fully specified. In this paper we present a Bluetooth scatternet using Bluetooth communication sticks developed in our research group. In our solution, bridge nodes carrying two of such Bluetooth sticks are used to interconnect piconets. Beside the developed hardware, issues such as routing as well as topology control are addressed. Finally, data rate and latency measurements are presented for the implemented solution.