Robot Teams: From Diversity to Polymorphism

by Balch; Tucker

• ISBN13: 9781568811550
• ISBN10: 1568811551
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2002-04-17
• Publisher: A. K. Peters

Summary

This is a comprehensive volume on robot teams that will be the standard reference on multi-robot systems. The volume provides not only the essentials of multi-agent robotics theory but also descriptions of exemplary implemented systems demonstrating the key concepts of multi-robot research. Information is presented in a descriptive manner and augmented with detailed mathematical formulations, photos, diagrams, and source code examples.

Table of Contents

Preface	ix
I Theoretical Foundations	1	(136)
A Taxonomy of Multirobot Systems	3	(20)
Why a Taxonomy Is Important	3	(5)
Dimensions of Robot Collective Taxonomies	8	(2)
A Taxonomy of Robot Collectives	10	(7)
The Power of Robot Collectives: Case Studies	17	(5)
Summary and Conclusions	22	(1)
Taxonomies of Multirobot Task and Reward	23	(14)
Task Impacts Multirobot Performance	23	(1)
The Difference Between Task and Reward	24	(1)
A Taxonomy of Multirobot Tasks	25	(5)
Classification of Example Tasks	30	(1)
A Taxonomy of Multirobot Reward	31	(4)
Summary and Conclusions	35	(2)
A Survey of Multiagent and Multirobot Systems	37	(56)
MAS and DAI	37	(2)
Multiagent Systems	39	(6)
Organization of Existing Work	45	(5)
Homogeneous Non-Communicating Multiagent Systems	50	(8)
Heterogeneous Non-Communicating Multiagent Systems	58	(10)
Homogeneous Communicating Multiagent Systems	68	(4)
Heterogeneous Communicating Multiagent Systems	72	(10)
Robotic Soccer	82	(10)
Summary and Conclusions	92	(1)
Measuring Robot Group Diversity	93	(44)
Measuring Diversity Enables New Research	93	(1)
The Meaning of Diversity	94	(2)
Simple Social Entropy	96	(5)
Limitations of Simple Social Entropy	101	(1)
Classification and Clustering	102	(5)
Hierarchic Social Entropy	107	(8)
Behavioral Difference	115	(7)
Simple Social Entropy in Simulated Soccer	122	(5)
Hierarchic Social Entropy in Multirobot Foraging	127	(7)
Summary and Conclusions	134	(3)
II Enabling Technologies	137	(154)
A Polymorphic Robot Team	139	(22)
Advantages of Polymorphism for Robot Teams	139	(4)
CONRO: A Polymorphic Robot	143	(2)
Design of the CONRO modules	145	(10)
Experimental Prototypes	155	(2)
The CONRO Modules and Robots	157	(2)
Summary and Conclusions	159	(2)
Collaborative Multirobot Localization	161	(30)
Probabilistic Robot Localization	161	(2)
Multirobot Localization	163	(7)
Sampling and Monte Carlo Localization	170	(5)
Probabilistic Detection Model	175	(3)
Experimental Results	178	(6)
Related Work	184	(2)
Summary and Conclusions	186	(5)
Techniques for Learning in Multirobot Teams	191	(46)
Multirobot Learning	191	(2)
Learning New Cooperative Behaviors	193	(22)
Learning for Parameter Adjustment	215	(20)
Summary and Conclusions	235	(2)
Symbol Grounding for Communication	237	(34)
Shared Grounding Enables Symbolic Communication	237	(1)
Cooperation and Communication	238	(8)
The System	246	(18)
A Critical Examination	264	(5)
Summary and Conclusions	269	(2)
Marsupial Robots	271	(20)
Motivation for Marsupialism	271	(3)
Heterogeneity in Marsupial Teams	274	(5)
Roles and Core Behaviors	279	(3)
Docking	282	(5)
Marsupials in the Field	287	(2)
Summary and Conclusions	289	(2)
III Robot Team Case Studies	291	(90)
Heterogeneous Teams of Modular Robots for Mapping and Exploration	293	(22)
Heterogeneous Robot Teams	293	(2)
The Millibots	295	(2)
Specialization and Collaboration	297	(4)
Collaboration	301	(6)
Mapping and Exploration	307	(2)
Results	309	(4)
Summary and Conclusions	313	(2)
Design and Evaluation of Robust Behavior-Based Controllers	315	(30)
Requirements for Robust Robot Teams	315	(1)
Research in Foraging	316	(2)
The Collection Task	318	(4)
The Homogeneous Controller	322	(3)
Spatio-Temporal Interactions	325	(2)
The Pack Controller	327	(4)
The Caste Controller	331	(4)
Analysis	335	(8)
Summary and Conclusions	343	(2)
Experiments with Cooperative Aerial-Ground Robots	345	(24)
Heterogeneous Teams for Surveillance and Reconnaissance	345	(2)
Subsystems	347	(3)
Control and Coordination Algorithms	350	(4)
Case Studies	354	(12)
Discussion and Related Work	366	(1)
Summary and Conclusions	367	(2)
Coordination of Heterogeneous Robots for Large-Scale Assembly	369	(12)
When Coordination is Required	369	(1)
Layered Architecture	370	(1)
Related Approaches	371	(1)
Testbed	372	(1)
Distributed Coordination	373	(2)
Distributed Visual Servoing	375	(5)
Summary and Conclusions	380	(1)
Bibliography	381