Efficient quantitative assessment of robot swarms: coverage and targeting Levy strategies

Biologically inspired strategies have long been adapted to swarm robotic systems, including biased random walks, reaction to chemotactic cues and long-range coordination. In this paper we apply analysis tools developed for modeling biological systems, such as continuum descriptions, to the efficient quantitative characterization of robot swarms. As an illustration, both Brownian and Levy strategies with a characteristic long-range movement are discussed. As a result we obtain computationally fast methods for the optimization of robot movement laws to achieve a prescribed collective behavior. We show how to compute performance metrics like coverage and hitting times, and illustrate the accuracy and efficiency of our approach for area coverage and search problems. Comparisons between the continuum model and robotic simulations confirm the quantitative agreement and speed up by a factor of over 100 of our approach. Results confirm and quantify the advantage of Levy strategies over Brownian motion for search and area coverage problems in swarm robotics.

Automated summary

Biologically inspired strategies are applied to swarm robotic systems, and analysis tools developed for modeling biological systems are used for efficient quantitative characterization of robot swarms. The optimization of robot movement laws to achieve a prescribed collective behavior is obtained computationally fast, and comparisons with robotic simulations confirm the advantage of Levy strategies over Brownian motion for search and area coverage problems in swarm robotics.