CSD: cell-based service discovery in large-scale robot networks

Abstract

If robots are deployed in large numbers in our environment in future, collaboration between the presumably specialized robots will be essential for a successful operation. The robots will set up mobile ad-hoc networks for communication and efficient routing and discovery protocols for such robot networks will provide the basic layer for a successful collaboration of the robots. In this paper we present a service discovery protocol that allows robots to efficiently discover available services in the network. It is specifically designed for large-scale robot networks. It takes into account the high dynamics of robot networks and exploits the position data of the robots to increase scalability and efficiency. A cell-based grid with master nodes in each cell forms the basic structure. Through proactive intra-cell communication and reactive inter-cell communication, scalability is ensured and the effects of node movements on the overall network are minimized. We implemented our solution in an example scenario.