Role-Based Autonomous Multi-robot Exploration

Thanks to advances in both computer science and engineering, the divide between robotics and multi-agent systems is shrinking. Robots are capable of performing an ever wider range of tasks, and there is an increasing need for solutions to high-level problems such as multi-agent coordination. In this paper we examine the problem of finding a robust exploration strategy for a team of mobile robots that takes into account communication limitations. We propose four performance metrics to evaluate and compare existing multi-robot exploration algorithms, and present a role-based approach in which robots either act as explorers or as relays. The result is a complete exploration of the environment in which information is efficiently returned to a central command centre, which is particularly applicable to the domain of rescue robotics.