Mechatronic Design for Multi Robots-Insect Swarms Interactions

This paper presents the concept of a robotic system collaborating with a swarm of social insects inside their hive. This robot consists of a micro- and macro-manipulator and a tracking system. The micro-manipulator uses bio-mimetic agents to interact with an individual specimen. The macro-manipulator positions and keeps the micro-manipulator's base around the given individual while moving in the hive. This individual is tracked by a fiducial marker-based visual detection and localisation system, which also provides positions of the bio-mimetic agents. The base of the system was experimentally verified in a honeybee observation hive, where it flawlessly tracked the honeybee queen for several hours, gathering sufficient data to extract the behaviours of honeybee workers in the queen's vicinity. These data were then used in simulation to verify if the micro-manipulator's bio-mimetic agents could mimic some of the honeybee workers' behaviours.

Automated summary

This paper presents a robotic system that collaborates with social insects inside their hive. The robot consists of a micro- and macro-manipulator, as well as a tracking system. The micro-manipulator interacts with individual specimens using bio-mimetic agents, while the macro-manipulator positions and keeps the micro-manipulator's base around the individual. The system was verified in a honeybee observation hive, where it flawlessly tracked the honeybee queen and extracted behaviors of honeybee workers.