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Object Transportation by Swarm Robots Based on Constraint Granular Convection

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Distributed Autonomous Robotic Systems

Part of the book series: Springer Proceedings in Advanced Robotics ((SPAR,volume 9))

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Abstract

In this paper, we present a study on object transportation by swarm robots based on granular convection. We especially focused on the segregation phenomenon observed in a mixture of different size particles and applied its characteristics to design a system for carrying an object to its destination. The robot in this system is driven only by a combination of random force, a constant force exerted by the destination, and a spring force exerted by fixed points that operates as a constraint. The object is passive and driven only by the collision of the robots. Although none of the robots has a special device that detects the target object and other robots, the object is delivered to the destination. In this paper, we first explain the fundamental characteristics of the behavior of a system based on a robotic swarm without constraint. Then, we explain the behavior of the same system with constraint. The results are as follows. (1) The robotic swarm without constraint transports the object appropriately when a constant repulsive force exerted by the destination is added; in contrast, the swarm with constraint transports the object when a constant attractive force exerted by the destination is added. (2) The traveling speed of the object is related to its size, especially in the system with constraint. (3) The higher the density of the robots, the faster the object is moved to the destination, especially in the system without constraint.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Tohoku Gakuin University, Sendai, Miyagi, 9813193, Japan

    Ken Sugawara

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  1. Ken Sugawara
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Correspondence to Ken Sugawara .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Computer Science, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA

    Nikolaus Correll

  2. Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA

    Mac Schwager

  3. Department of Aerospace Engineering, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA

    Michael Otte

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Sugawara, K. (2019). Object Transportation by Swarm Robots Based on Constraint Granular Convection. In: Correll, N., Schwager, M., Otte, M. (eds) Distributed Autonomous Robotic Systems. Springer Proceedings in Advanced Robotics, vol 9. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-05816-6_23

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