Kilogrid: a novel experimental environment for the Kilobot robot

We present the Kilogrid, an open-source virtualization environment and data logging manager for the Kilobot robot, Kilobot for short. The Kilogrid has been designed to extend the sensory-motor abilities of the Kilobot, to simplify the task of collecting data during experiments, and to provide researchers with a tool to fine-control the experimental setup and its parameters. Based on the design of the Kilobot and compatible with existing hardware, the Kilogrid is a modular system composed of a grid of computing nodes, or modules that provides a bidirectional communication channel between the Kilobots and a remote workstation. In this paper, we describe the hardware and software architecture of the Kilogrid system as well as its functioning to accompany its release as a new open hardware tool for the swarm robotics community. We demonstrate the capabilities of the Kilogrid using a 200-module Kilogrid, swarms of up to 100 Kilobots, and four different case studies: exploration and obstacle avoidance, site selection based on multiple gradients, plant watering, and pheromone-based foraging. Through this set of case studies, we show how the Kilogrid allows the experimenter to virtualize sensors and actuators not available to the Kilobot and to automatize the collection of data essential for the analysis of the experiments.

Tipo Pubblicazione: 
Articolo
Author or Creator: 
Valentini, Gabriele
Antoun, Anthony
Trabattoni, Marco
Wiandt, Bernát
Tamura, Yasumasa
Hocquard, Etienne
Trianni, Vito
Dorigo, Marco
Publisher: 
Springer Science + Business Media Inc., Seacaucus, NJ , Stati Uniti d'America
Source: 
Swarm intelligence (2018): 1–22. doi:10.1007/s11721-018-0155-z
info:cnr-pdr/source/autori:Valentini, Gabriele; Valentini, Gabriele; Antoun, Anthony; Trabattoni, Marco; Wiandt, Bernát; Tamura, Yasumasa; Hocquard, Etienne; Trianni, Vito; Dorigo, Marco/titolo:Kilogrid: a novel experimental environment for the Kilobot ro
Date: 
2018
Resource Identifier: 
http://www.cnr.it/prodotto/i/386947
https://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11721-018-0155-z
info:doi:10.1007/s11721-018-0155-z
http://www.scopus.com/record/display.url?eid=2-s2.0-85041107763&origin=inward
Language: 
Cpe
ISTC Author: 
Ritratto di Vito Trianni
Real name: