Specialization in Swarm Robotics using Local Interactions

This paper proposes the use of a novel response threshold model to implement autonomous specialization in swarm robotics. The response threshold model mimics the sensitivity of ants to external stimuli. An ant can specialize either as a worker or as a non-worker. This specialization is conducted autonomously, using the different sensitivity of different ants to external stimuli. The conventional response threshold model has used the ratio of workers in the colony as an external stimulus. However, individual agents cannot know the overall ratio because only local communication through pheromones is available. In contrast, the proposed response threshold model used the ratio of workers that an agent touched in a short term as the external stimulus. We investigated the efficiency of the proposed response threshold model through simulations of ant foraging behavior and verified that it allowed agents to effectively collect food by statistically adjusting the worker to non-worker ratio. Keywords— Swarm robotics, Social insects, Specialization, Response threshold model, Foraging problem

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