The Embodiment of Cockroach Aggregation Behavior in a Group of Micro-robots

Abstract

We report the faithful reproduction of the self-organized aggregation behavior of the German cockroach Blattella germanica with a group of robots. We describe the implementation of the biological model provided by Jeanson et al. in Alice robots, and we compare the behaviors of the cockroaches and the robots using the same experimental and analytical methodology. We show that the aggregation behavior of the German cockroach was successfully transferred to the Alice robot despite strong differences between robots and animals at the perceptual, actuatorial, and computational levels. This article highlights some of the major constraints one may encounter during such a work and proposes general principles to ensure that the behavioral model is accurately transferred to the artificial agents.

Evolving Aggregation Behaviors in Multi-Robot Systems with Binary Sensors

“…The cockroaches were reported to join and leave clusters with probabilities correlated to the sizes of the clusters. Garnier et al (2008) implemented this model as a probabilistic finite-state automaton on 20 Alice robots to achieve aggregation in homogeneous environments. Correll and Martinoli (2011) analyzed a similar model and showed that "robots need a minimum combination of communication range and locomotion speed in order to aggregate into a single cluster when using probabilistic aggregation rules".…”

“…These probabilistic models of aggregation require the agents to obtain estimates of the cluster size or the robot density. For example, Garnier et al (2008) used local infra-red communication to estimate the number of nearby robots. Ando et al (1999) introduced a deterministic algorithm for achieving aggregation in a group of mobile agents with limited perception in homogeneous environments.…”

Topological mapping of unknown environments using an unlocalized robotic swarm

“…Cockroach research: During the past decade, researchers in experimental biology and biomedical engineering have investigated models for the motion of individual cockroaches [1] as well as groups of them based on experimental data [9], [10]. Hardware platform developments include: a matched size miniature robot simulating the individual and group behavior of cockroaches based on hierarchical potential fields [11]; and a small autonomous robot equipped with an onboard camera and antenna-like contact sensors [12].…”

Comparing and modeling distributed control strategies for miniature self-assembling robots

“…This includes aggregation of passive objects mediated by mobile robots [4], [11], aggregation of Alice robots using a notably simple controller [12] and even mixed societies of robots and insects [13]. Among recent implementations of self-assembling robots at the macroscale, Gross et al demonstrated self-assembly using the Swarmbot, a mobile robot equipped with a gripper [5].…”