Establishing Continuous Communication through Dynamic Team Behaviour Switching

Abstract

 Abstract — Maintaining continuous communication is an important factor that contributes to the success of multi-robot systems. Most research involving multi-robot teams is conducted in controlled laboratory settings, where continuous communication is assumed, typically because there is a wireless network (wifi) that keeps all the robots connected. But for multi-robot tea ms to operate successfully “in the wild”, it is crucial to consider how communication can be maintained when signals fail or robots move out of range. This paper presents a novel “leader - follower behaviour” with dynamic role switching and messaging that supports uninterrupted communication, regardless of network perturbations. A series of experiments were conducted in which it is shown how network perturbations effect performance, comparing a baseline with the new leader-follower behaviour. The experiments record metrics on team success, given the two conditions. These results are significant for real-world multi-robot systems applications that require continuous communication amongst team members.