Specialization as an optimal strategy under varying external conditions

We present an investigation of specialization when considering the execution of collaborative tasks by a robot swarm. Specifically, we consider the stick-pulling problem first proposed by Martinoli et al., and develop a macroscopic analytical model for the swarm executing a set of tasks that require the collaboration of two robots. We show, for constant external conditions, maximum productivity can be achieved by a single species swarm with carefully chosen operational parameters. While the same applies for a two species swarm, we show how specialization is a strategy best employed for changing external conditions.