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Cooperative Mobile Robotics: Antecedents and Directions

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Abstract

There has been increased research interest in systems composed of multiple autonomous mobile robots exhibiting cooperative behavior. Groups of mobile robots are constructed, with an aim to studying such issues as group architecture, resource conflict, origin of cooperation, learning, and geometric problems. As yet, few applications of cooperative robotics have been reported, and supporting theory is still in its formative stages. In this paper, we give a critical survey of existing works and discuss open problems in this field, emphasizing the various theoretical issues that arise in the study of cooperative robotics. We describe the intellectual heritages that have guided early research, as well as possible additions to the set of existing motivations.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Computer Science Department, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, 90024-1596

    Y. Uny Cao

  2. Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, 91109-8099

    Alex S. Fukunaga

  3. Computer Science Department, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, 90024-1596

    Andrew Kahng

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  1. Y. Uny Cao
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  2. Alex S. Fukunaga
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  3. Andrew Kahng
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Cao, Y.U., Fukunaga, A.S. & Kahng, A. Cooperative Mobile Robotics: Antecedents and Directions. Autonomous Robots 4, 7–27 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1008855018923

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