Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
412093 | Robotics and Autonomous Systems | 2011 | 12 Pages |
This paper introduces an approach that allows swarm robots to maintain their individual and collective energetic homeostasis. The on-board recharging electronics and intelligent docking stations enable the robots to perform autonomous recharging from low energy states. The procedure of collective decision-making increases collective efficiency by preventing bottlenecks at docking stations and the energetic death of low-energy robots. These hardware and behavioral mechanisms are implemented in a swarm of real microrobots, and several analogies to self-regulating biological strategies are found.
► Increasing energetic efficiency through collective decision making. ► Maintaining collective homeostasis and macroscopic self-regulation. ► Cooperative energy foraging leads to long-term robotic self-sufficiency. ► Robots increase degrees of behavioral freedom to avoid energetic death. ► Balancing altruistic and egoistic behavior.