Title: Delay induced swarm pattern bifurcations in mixed reality experiments

Abstract:

Statement of the Problem:  Natural swarms exhibit patterns in a variety of forms and have inspired researchers to understand how simple organisms produce complex, emergent patterns occurring when individual organisms follow simple dynamics and local rules. Our work provides a model for the swarming behavior of coupled mobile agents with a communication-time delay which exhibits multiple dynamic patterns in space, which depend on interaction strength and communication delay. Methodology & Theoretical Orientation: A thorough bifurcation analysis has been carried out to explore parameter regions where various patterns occur. We extend this work to robotics applications by introducing a mixed-reality framework in which real and simulated robots communicate in real-time creating the self-organized states predicted by the theory. The mixed-reality framework allows for the systematic and incremental introduction of real-world complexity by coupling a few real robots and a large number of idealized (virtual) robots together in a swarm - the latter being well understood. Findings: The proposed swarm controller was tested on two different robotic platforms: NRL’s autonomous air vehicles and UPENN’s micro-autonomous surface vehicles on water. Theoretical pattern formation results are confirmed in mixed-reality experiments. Conclusion & Significance: Increased understanding of challenges for real robots is obtained as a systematic, incremental verification of swarming behavior at low cost and risk of damage.  Switching between patterns is achieved in the hybrid experiments, thus simulating the flexible behavior of the real robotic system.

Biography:

Ioana Triandaf is an applied mathematician specializing in dynamical systems and numerical methods for partial differential equations. She has been modeling swarms since 2004. She is the recipient of the NRL 2005 Alan Berman award for her work on swarming. Since 2017 she collaborated with roboticists in implementing swarming motion on robotic systems. Currently, Triandaf is focusing on analyzing and testing swarm disruption methods and metrics.