The Role of Time in a Robotic Swarm: A Joint View on Communications, Localization, and Sensing

Abstract

Autonomous robotic swarms are envisioned for a variety of sensing applications in space exploration, search-and-rescue and disaster management. An important capability of a swarm is sensing spatio-temporal processes such as radio wave propagation or seismic activities. The spatio-temporal properties of these processes dictate the required sensing position and time accuracy, as well as update rate. A dedicated wireless communication system needs to be jointly designed for swarm information exchange, self-localization and sensing. In this article, we emphasize the role of time in a robotic swarm. We introduce the system ingredients and dive into realistic clock models. Clock models and channel access scheme decisively influence the swarm self-localization and synchronization accuracy, and consequently the swarm sensing performance. Finally, we discuss practical implementation aspects, introduce our developed swarm radio system, and give an outlook on a moon-analogue exploration mission.