Simulating Multi-robot Construction in ARGoS

Running hardware-based experiments in multi-robot construction is an expensive and time-consuming endeavor. Furthermore, it is difficult to disseminate the results from hardware-based experiments in a way that other researchers can build upon. In this paper, we present a number of plug-ins for a multi-robot simulator that we have developed to enable a high-fidelity simulation of the multi-robot construction systems typically found in laboratory settings. We validate these plug-ins qualitatively by repeating a hardware-based experiment in simulation where a single robot assembles a staircase from blocks [1]. We then show how we can use the plug-ins to scale up the complexity of the construction scenario and demonstrate multi-robot construction in simulation. To enable other researchers to replicate our experiments and to promote collaboration, we have made our plug-ins open source.