Computer scientists achieve breakthrough in pheromone-based swarm communications in robots

An innovative, effective and low-cost system which replicates in robots the pheromone-based communication of insect swarms is now being made available to robotics and artificial intelligence researchers after an important breakthrough at the University of Lincoln, UK.

Swarm robotics is an emerging approach to the coordination of multi-robot systems, which takes inspiration from the natural world to examine the possibilities for improved interaction between robots and their surrounding environment.

In recent years research in this field has been important for advancing the biological study of insects, ants and other species known for their swarm behaviour. It has also contributed to the development of highly accurate vehicle collision sensors, surveillance technology and even aided video game programming.

Until now, researchers specialising in swarm robotic applications have been unable to replicate all the aspects of pheromone communication that occur in the natural world. Scientists have employed both chemical means, using alcohol to simulate pheromones, and physical techniques, using light and sound, to try to accurately replicate pheromone-based communication, but none of these approaches have been completely effective.

Specialists from the University of Lincoln’s School of Computer Science have now produced a novel artificial pheromone system that is reliable, accurate and only uses ‘off-the-shelf’ components.

Using an LCD screen and a low-cost USB camera, the system allows users to simulate several pheromones – displayed in the form of visual trails on the screen – and to change their strength to allow for controllable experiments. The visual ‘pheromone’ image on the screen is sensed by two light sensors on the swarm robots, which replicate ants’ antennas.

The new system is called COS-phi (Communication System via Pheromone) and consists of a low-cost open-hardware micro robot and an open-source localisation system, which tracks the robots’ trajectories and releases the artificial pheromone.

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