Ad hoc communication in teams of mobile robots using zigbee technology

摘要

ABSTRACT Mobile robots developed at the Institute of Systems and Robotics (ISR) Coimbra feature ZigBee technology for inter‐robot communication. The main aim of this paper is to implement and validate ad hoc wireless communication functions between robotic teammates using the ZigBee technology, thus integrating and developing the features of the XBee Original Equipment Manufacturer Radio Frequency module via standard Arduino Serial Commands. This work provides a useful instructive tool for research, enabling the interaction and cooperation of a team of mobile robots in areas such as swarm robotics, multi‐robot patrolling, search and rescue, among others. In order to validate the functional requirements, several experiments were performed at the level of peer communication, namely: i) analysis of the Received Signal Strength Indication (RSSI) of messages by peers to estimate inter‐robot distances for localization purposes; ii) analysis of the communication complexity in experiments with large groups of mobile robots using Zigbee communication modules and its application in a real world exploration scenario. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Comput. Appl. Eng. Educ. Comput Appl Eng Educ 23:733–745, 2015; View this article online at wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/cae ; DOI 10.1002/cae.21646