Managing environment models in multi-robot teams

Environment models are the primary matter to autonomous decisions for mobile robots, and also to cooperation within teams of robots that operate in the same environment. The decisions to take within a robot or a robot team relate to motions, perceptions and communications: various types of environment models are therefore required to evaluate and plan these actions. While the literature abounds with approaches to environment modeling using data perceived by the robots, very few work tackle the problem of managing such models within a team of robots. Managing environment models implies first defining the proper data structures and associated mechanisms that allow both their efficient update and use by the decisional processes that require them, and second ensuring the models consistency as the robots evolve. This article presents the definition of a framework dedicated to the managing of environment models within a robot team. It establishes the principles that govern the framework design, and illustrates them throughout some examples.