Multi Robot Systems
We are interested in developing a framework and methodology for the analysis of cooperative and collaborative behavior and the synthesis of bio-inspired collective behavior for engineered systems. We are interested in such questions as: Can large numbers of autonomously functioning robots be reliably deployed in the form of a “swarm” to carry out a prescribed mission and to respond as a group to high-level management commands? Can such a group successfully function in an unstructured and potentially dangerous environment, without a designated leader, with limited communications between its members, and/or with different and potentially dynamically changing “roles” for its members? What can we learn about how to organize these teams from biological groupings such as insect swarms, bird flocks, and fish schools? Is there a hierarchy of “compatible” models appropriate to swarming/schooling/flocking which is rich enough to explain these behaviors at various “resolutions” ranging from aggregate characterizations of emergent behavior to detailed descriptions which model individual vehicle dynamics? Can we create networked robotic systems that can assist humans in complex physical tasks? Examples of our recent work can be seen on SWAP-constrained platforms, swarms of quadrotors, cross-view localization and mapping by UAVs and UGVs for exploration, and midair self-assembly and vision-based coordinated flight.
