Distributed Robotic Target Acquisition using Bluetooth Communication

1
Distributed Robotic Target Acquisition using
Bluetooth Communication

• J.T. McClain, B.J. Wimpey, D.H. Barnhard, and
  W.D. Potter
• Artificial Intelligence Center
• The University of Georgia
• Athens, Georgia

2
Introduction

• Goals
• Solve a team-based search and destroy task
• Develop a robust chassis for multi-robot teams
• Create a method for distributed message passing
  within a robotic network

3
Odin and Hodur

• Preliminary project
• Primary goal was to develop the communication
  system
• Honeybee Task
• Localization
• Architecture prototyping

4
Current Phase
5
Hardware

• The Collective multi-robot system
• A team of modified Motorworks radio-controlled
  tanks
• Sensory facilities include four sonar rangers,
  magnetic compass, and four light intensity sensors

• Actuators include two independently driven treads
  and a firing mechanism

6
Hardware

• Robot Controller Network
• The primary controller on each robot is a
  Bluetooth enabled Compaq iPAQ 3970 (Pocket PC
  2002)
• Primitive sensor and actuator functions are
  handled by a network of two microcontrollers, an
  Acroname Brainstem GP 1.0 and a Brainstem Moto 1.0

7
Hardware
iPAQ/Brainstem Control Network
8
Hardware Overview
9
Sensor Overview
10
Hardware

• The Bluetooth Wireless Protocol
• A proprietary wireless protocol that is intended
  to create a short-range radio link between
  electronic devices
• Primarily used as a wireless desktop solution due
  to its relatively short range of approximately 30
  feet
• Characterized by robustness, low complexity, low
  power, high data transmission speed, security,
  and low cost

11
Communications

• Previous Version
• In the Odin and Hodur model, a loss of one robot
  would result in mission failure
• Current Version
• Use of Routing Information Protocol (RIP)
  prevents this problem
• Sends a heartbeat at regular intervals
• Keeps all robots informed of the status of the
  others

12
Behavior

• Distributed Search
• As the process begins, all robots are searching
  for the target
• Discovery
• Once the target has been found, localization
  begins
• After localization, the coordinates of the target
  are passed to the other robots

13
Behavior

• Formation
• Once the target is found, the robot that first
  acquired the target is considered a leader
• It is the leaders responsibility to determine
  the placement of the other tanks
• Based upon the number of robots that are still
  alive in the status table
• Dependent on the location in the environment

14
Conclusion and Future Directions

• Preliminary results indicate that cooperating
  tanks are a viable option for a distributed
  search
• Future Work
• Dynamically tracking moving targets
• Improved strategic planning
• Better localization scheme