Random Peer-to-Peer Communication for System-Level Coordination in Distributed Multple-Robot Systems

Distributed multiple-robot systems are a robust and potentially powerful class of autonomous robotic system. The current state of the art are highly reactive systems that utilized stigmergy and local interaction give rise to emergent global behaviours. What is lacking is a practical notion of a general purpose distributed MRS that can switch as a system from one task to the next as needed. In order for such a system to become a reality, system-level control and coordination of distributed MRS must be realized. In this paper, we present a novel communication scheme for use in distributed MRS to enable the aforementioned control. We analytically and emperically describe the behaviour of the scheme, and describe how it should be used and for what specific applications, including state sharing, decision-making and task allocation.