Cost-optimization of many-robot systems

Cost optimization will be essential to the economic viability of future many-robot systems. Unfortunately, cost-optimal design will often depend sensitively on the performance and costs of candidate sensor and other components, and on both explicit mission-specific and implicit common sense application requirements. The development of a standardized integration architecture providing multi-level protocols to support the flexible but tight integration of off the shelf subsystem components into low cost robots will facilitate the development of this soon to emerge class of systems.