Local Bearing Estimation for a Swarm of Low-Cost Miniature Robots

Liu, Zheyu; West, Craig; Lennox, Barry; Arvin, Farshad

Abstract

Swarm robotics focuses on decentralised control of large numbers of simple robots with limited capabilities. Decentralised control in a swarm system requires a reliable communication link between the individuals that is able to provide linear and angular distances between the individuals—Range & Bearing. This study presents the development of an open-source, low-cost communication module which can be attached to miniature sized robots; e.g., Mona. In this study, we only focused on bearing estimation to mathematically model the bearings of neighbouring robots through systematic experiments using real robots. In addition, the model parameters were optimised using a genetic algorithm to provide a reliable and precise model that can be applied for all robots in a swarm. For further investigation and improvement of the system, an additional layer of optimisation on the hardware layout was implemented. The results from the optimisation suggested a new arrangement of the sensors with slight angular displacements on the developed board. The precision of bearing was significantly improved by optimising in both software level and re-arrangement of the sensors’ positions on the hardware layout.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jun 3, 2020
• Online Publication Date: Jun 10, 2020
• Publication Date: 2020
• Deposit Date: May 27, 2022
• Journal: Sensors
• Electronic ISSN: 1424-8220
• Publisher: MDPI
• Volume: 20
• Issue: 11
• Article Number: 3308
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/s20113308
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1202616