Cooperative search and rescue with a team of mobile robots

Abstract

We present an implemented algorithm for a distributed team of autonomous mobile robots to search for an object. When one robot finds it, they all gather around it, and then manipulate ("rescue") it. The algorithm exploits parallelism, with all robots searching concurrently, and also teamwork, because the manipulation is performed cooperatively. Our algorithm is fully distributed; the robots communicate with each other, and there is no central server or supervisor. Applications include hazardous waste cleanup, bomb detection and removal, materials delivery, and eventually the rescue of survivors of accidents or disasters. The search and rescue program was written using MOVER, a programming system for distributed tasks. The system provides high-level programming constructs for task distribution across robots. Finally, MOVER encourages code re-use because the task distribution mechanism can synchronize any set of procedures (without rewriting), allowing the programmer of a distributed task to access libraries of robot software written for single-robot tasks.