In this dissertation, we propose and study methods for information transfer within a swarm of mobile robots that coordinately move, or flock, in a common direction. We define information transfer as the process whereby robots share directional information in order to coordinate their heading direction. We identify two paradigms of information transfer: explicit information transfer and implicit information transfer. <p><p>In explicit information transfer, directional information is transferred via communication. Explicit information transfer requires mobile robots equipped with a a communication device. We propose novel communication strategies for explicit information transfer, and we perform flocking experiments in different situations: with one or two desired directions of motion that can be static or change over time. We perform experiments in simulation and with real robots. Furthermore, we show that the same explicit information transfer strategies can also be applied to another collective behavior: collective transport with obstacle avoidance. <p><p>In implicit information transfer, directional information is transferred without communication. We show that a simple motion control method is sufficient to guarantee cohesive and aligned motion without resorting to communication or elaborate<p>sensing. We analyze the motion control method for its capability to achieve flocking with and without a desired direction of motion, both in simulation and using real robots. Furthermore, to better understand its underlying mechanism, we study this<p>method using tools of statistical physics, showing that the process can be explained in terms of non-linear elasticity and energy-cascading dynamics. / Doctorat en Sciences de l'ingénieur / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ulb.ac.be/oai:dipot.ulb.ac.be:2013/209370 |
| Date | 27 August 2013 |
| Creators | Ferrante, Eliseo |
| Contributors | Dorigo, Marco, Birattari, Mauro, Turgut, Ali Emre, Zimanyi, Esteban, Wenseleers, Tom, Stützle, Thomas, Moses, Melanie |
| Publisher | Universite Libre de Bruxelles, Université libre de Bruxelles, Ecole polytechnique de Bruxelles – Informatique, Bruxelles |
| Source Sets | Université libre de Bruxelles |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | info:eu-repo/semantics/doctoralThesis, info:ulb-repo/semantics/doctoralThesis, info:ulb-repo/semantics/openurl/vlink-dissertation |
| Format | 1 v. (148 p.), No full-text files |
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