Here - Agents Lab - University of Nottingham

A Programming Framework for Multi-AgentCoordination of Robotic EcologiesM. Dragone 1 , S. Abdel-Naby 1 , D. Swords 1 , and M. Broxvall 21 University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland,mauro.dragone@ucd.ie,2 Örebro University, Fakultetsgatan 1, SE-70182, Örebro, SwedenAbstract. Building smart environments with robotic ecologies made upof distributed sensors, actuators and mobile robot devices extends thetype of applications that can be considered, and reduces the complexityand cost of such solutions. While the potentials of such an approachmakes robotic ecologies increasingly popular, many fundamental researchquestions remain open. One such question is how to make a robotic ecologyself-adaptive, so as to adapt to changing conditions and evolvingrequirements, and consequently reduce the amount of preparation andpre-programming required for their deployment in real world applications.In this paper we present a framework for integrating an agentprogramming system with the traditional robotic and middleware approachto the development of robotic ecologies. We illustrate how theseapproaches can complement each other and how they provide an avenuewhere to pursue adaptive robotic ecologies.Keywords: robotic ecologies, multiagent systems, agent and componentbased software engineering1 IntroductionThis paper describes the integration between an agent programming system anda middleware supporting the development of Robotic Ecologies - networks ofheterogeneous robotic devices pervasively embedded in everyday environments.Robotic ecologies is an emerging paradigm, which crosses the borders betweenthe fields of robotics, sensor networks, and ambient intelligence (AmI). Centralto the robotic ecology concept is that complex tasks are not performed by asingle, very capable robot (e.g., a humanoid robot butler), instead they areperformed through the collaboration and cooperation of many networked roboticdevices (including mobile robots, static sensors or actuators, and automatedhome appliances) performing several steps in a coordinated and goal orientedfashion.One of the key strengths of such an approach is the possibility of using alternativemeans to accomplish application goals when multiple courses of actionsare available. For instance, a robot seeking to reach the user in another roommay decide to localize itself with its on-board sensors, or to avail itself of themore accurate location information from a ceiling localization system.69