Collective energy homeostasis in a large-scale microrobotic swarm

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.