Development of a multiagent robotic system with application to space exploration

A concept network of autonomous mobile robots intended to carry out tasks related to planetary space exploration is described. Many aspects of the system have been fashioned to make the transition from simulation to hardware as seamless as possible. Representative space exploration tasks are outlined followed by brief descriptions of the hardware and control. One specific task, deploying an array of sensors for network science, is used as an example. Technical challenges and preliminary experimental results are discussed. The benefits of using a simulator and hardware to develop controllers are found to be complementary.