Spatial macroscopic models of a bio-inspired robotic swarm algorithm

Abstract

We present a comparative study of two spatially resolved macroscopic models of an autonomous robotic swarm. In previous experiments, the collective behavior of 15 autonomous swarm robots, driven by a simple bio-inspired control algorithm, was investigated: in two different environmental conditions, the ability of the robots to aggregate below a light source was tested. Distinct approaches to predict the dynamics of the spatial distribution were made by two different modeling approaches: one model was constructed in a compartmental manner (ODEs). In parallel, a space-continuous model (PDEs) was constructed. Both models show a high degree of similarity concerning the modeling of concrete environmental factors (light), but due to their different basic approaches, show also significant differences in their implementation. However, the predictions of both models compare well to the observed behavior of the robotic swarm, thus both models can be used to develop further extensions of the algorithm as well as different experimental setups without the need to run extensive real robotic preliminary experiments.