SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR DISPERSING AND CLUSTERING A PLURALITY OF ROBOTIC DEVICES
First Claim
1. A method for dispersing a plurality of robotic devices, the method comprising:
- defining a boundary condition;
computing, for each robotic device, a relative position with respect to at least one closest neighboring robotic device;
computing, for each robotic device, a dispersal velocity based at least in part on the computed relative position of the robotic device; and
operating each robotic device according to its computed dispersal velocity such that each robotic device attempts to be separated from at least two of its closest neighboring robotic devices by a substantially uniform distance not exceeding the boundary condition.
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Abstract
The present invention features methods for operating, such as methods for dispersing and clustering, robotic devices (i.e., “robots”) that employ adaptive behavior relative to neighboring robots and external (e.g., environmental) conditions. Each robot is capable of receiving, processing, and acting on one or more multi-device primitive commands that describe a task the robot will perform in response to other robots and the external conditions. The commands facilitate a distributed command and control structure, relieving a central apparatus or operator from the need to monitor the progress of each robot. This virtually eliminates the corresponding constraint on the maximum number of robots that can be deployed to perform a task (e.g., data collection, mapping, searching, dispersion, and retrieval). By increasing the number of robots, the efficiency in completing the task is also increased.
46 Citations
2 Claims
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1. A method for dispersing a plurality of robotic devices, the method comprising:
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defining a boundary condition; computing, for each robotic device, a relative position with respect to at least one closest neighboring robotic device; computing, for each robotic device, a dispersal velocity based at least in part on the computed relative position of the robotic device; and operating each robotic device according to its computed dispersal velocity such that each robotic device attempts to be separated from at least two of its closest neighboring robotic devices by a substantially uniform distance not exceeding the boundary condition.
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2-31. -31. (canceled)
Specification