Broadcast of Local Elibility for Multi-Target Observation

While various researchers have investigated group behavior of robots which are each controlled in a behavior-based manner, none have yet thoroughly investigated the possibilities of extending the port-arbitrated behavior (PAB) paradigm across networks of robots. We present an extension to the well-defined PAB techniques of behavioral interaction which provides standard abstractions for messaging, inhibition, and suppression over IP networks. The Broadcast of Local Eligibility is a general technique built from these abstractions that allows fully-distributed, flexible team coordination. We present a BLE approach to the CMOMMT multi-target observation problem, implemented on a team of physical robots.