20 research outputs found
Deaf, Dumb, and Chatting Robots, Enabling Distributed Computation and Fault-Tolerance Among Stigmergic Robot
We investigate ways for the exchange of information (explicit communication)
among deaf and dumb mobile robots scattered in the plane. We introduce the use
of movement-signals (analogously to flight signals and bees waggle) as a mean
to transfer messages, enabling the use of distributed algorithms among the
robots. We propose one-to-one deterministic movement protocols that implement
explicit communication. We first present protocols for synchronous robots. We
begin with a very simple coding protocol for two robots. Based on on this
protocol, we provide one-to-one communication for any system of n \geq 2 robots
equipped with observable IDs that agree on a common direction (sense of
direction). We then propose two solutions enabling one-to-one communication
among anonymous robots. Since the robots are devoid of observable IDs, both
protocols build recognition mechanisms using the (weak) capabilities offered to
the robots. The first protocol assumes that the robots agree on a common
direction and a common handedness (chirality), while the second protocol
assumes chirality only. Next, we show how the movements of robots can provide
implicit acknowledgments in asynchronous systems. We use this result to design
asynchronous one-to-one communication with two robots only. Finally, we combine
this solution with the schemes developed in synchronous settings to fit the
general case of asynchronous one-to-one communication among any number of
robots. Our protocols enable the use of distributing algorithms based on
message exchanges among swarms of Stigmergic robots. Furthermore, they provides
robots equipped with means of communication to overcome faults of their
communication device
Robots with Lights: Overcoming Obstructed Visibility Without Colliding
Robots with lights is a model of autonomous mobile computational entities
operating in the plane in Look-Compute-Move cycles: each agent has an
externally visible light which can assume colors from a fixed set; the lights
are persistent (i.e., the color is not erased at the end of a cycle), but
otherwise the agents are oblivious. The investigation of computability in this
model, initially suggested by Peleg, is under way, and several results have
been recently established. In these investigations, however, an agent is
assumed to be capable to see through another agent. In this paper we start the
study of computing when visibility is obstructable, and investigate the most
basic problem for this setting, Complete Visibility: The agents must reach
within finite time a configuration where they can all see each other and
terminate. We do not make any assumption on a-priori knowledge of the number of
agents, on rigidity of movements nor on chirality. The local coordinate system
of an agent may change at each activation. Also, by definition of lights, an
agent can communicate and remember only a constant number of bits in each
cycle. In spite of these weak conditions, we prove that Complete Visibility is
always solvable, even in the asynchronous setting, without collisions and using
a small constant number of colors. The proof is constructive. We also show how
to extend our protocol for Complete Visibility so that, with the same number of
colors, the agents solve the (non-uniform) Circle Formation problem with
obstructed visibility