Robotics & Hardware · 2024 · prototype
Swarm Robots Platform
Distributed multi-agent autonomous robotic nodes exploring spatial decentralized coordination.
Swarm RoboticsDecentralized AlgorithmsIR TelemetryMicrocontrollersEmbedded C
01 / Overview
An experimental multi-robot research platform designed to investigate decentralized communication, local collision avoidance, and emergent collective flocking behaviors among small wheeled mobile nodes.
02 / Problem
Centralized multi-robot coordination suffers from single-point network failure and high bandwidth demands as agent counts increase.
03 / Contribution
Investigated inter-agent IR proximity signaling and programmed local rule-based collision repulsion vectors.
04 / System architecture
Physical + hardware
- Miniaturized differential drive micro-chassis with dual micro-gear motors
- Microcontroller with optical infrared transceivers for omnidirectional node proximity
- Coin-cell / LiPo lightweight power system
Firmware + software
- Boids-inspired rule algorithm (separation, alignment, cohesion) calculated strictly from nearest-neighbor peer distances
- Decentralized state machine with no single master node
Signal flowRing of IR emitters and receivers polled sequentially via ADC to estimate proximity vectors of neighboring swarm units.
05 / Engineering decisions
- 01Utilized simple optical IR pulses for direct agent-to-agent distance sensing rather than complex RF ranging, keeping unit cost and mass minimal.
06 / Results + constraints
Observed results
- Demonstrated successful localized obstacle repulsion and peer separation between prototype nodes.
Current limitations
- Currently testing with 3 prototype physical nodes; scaling to larger swarms requires custom automated battery charging docks.