There are many tpes of robotics in todays world such as :
- Lightweight ariel robots
- legged robots
- fixed wind swarm robots
- autonomous vehicles
- VTOL
- Ground robots
We are heading to a reality where they are pervasive, connected and coordinated. Robotics can provide the solutions to many futuristic problems.
The early inspiration of autonomous agents of artifical robots came from the collective momevment of animals in nature. Such as sterlings.
Advantage of collective momevement in nature:
- Geese who fly in flocks increase their range by 70%
- Fish in flocks allows them to scare off predators
Engineers in the effort of copying this collective movement have created drones that can do this.
A centralised system is where there is a governing body where every single robots receives commands from a central body. A decentralised system is where every robot thinks for itself and it makes all decisions on board by exchanging information between peer robots. Giving coordination .
What would the decision making process be ?
Decentralised coordinatino can achieve this . Our goal is to help the robot to do a unifiying task. Through decentralization where they rely only on their peers for information. They could possible do this by sensors .
Every robot make it's own decisions.
One of the simplest algorithms that allows robots to make a plan is the consensus algorithm.
The consensus Algorithm :
- think of a number between 0 and 100
- Ask 4 neighbours their number
- Take the average of these 5 numbers (including yours)
Your local neighberhood is your adjacent peers.