Distributed Multi-Agent Systems for a Collective Construction Task based on Virtual Swarm Intelligence

Yan Meng and Yaochu Jin
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Yan Meng: Stevens Institute of Technology, USA
Yaochu Jin: University of Surrey, UK

International Journal of Swarm Intelligence Research (IJSIR), 2010, vol. 1, issue 2, 58-79

Abstract: In this paper, a virtual swarm intelligence (VSI)-based algorithm is proposed to coordinate a distributed multi-robot system for a collective construction task. Three phases are involved in a construction task: search, detect, and carry. Initially, robots are randomly located within a bounded area and start random search for building blocks. Once the building blocks are detected, agents need to share the information with their local neighbors. A distributed virtual pheromone-trail (DVP) based model is proposed for local communication among agents. If multiple building blocks are detected in a local area, agents need to make decisions on which agent(s) should carry which block(s). To this end, a virtual particle swarm optimization (V-PSO)-based model is developed for multi-agent behavior coordination. Furthermore, a quorum sensing (QS)-based model is employed to balance the tradeoff between exploitation and exploration, so that an optimal overall performance can be achieved. Extensive simulation results on a collective construction task have demonstrated the efficiency and robustness of the proposed VSI-based framework.

Date: 2010
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:igg:jsir00:v:1:y:2010:i:2:p:58-79

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