Multi-robot navigation with limited communication - deterministic vs game-theoretic networks

This paper presents a novel approach to the navigation of dynamically communicating robots via a bidirectional interaction model between the robot network and the continuous states. First, the robot dynamics is formulated as being dependent on the communication network where two robots - if in communication - can access each other´s position and goal information. Next, three alternative strategies for establishing the communication network depending on the robots´ states are presented: deterministic, game-theoretic and mixed approaches. In the first approach, the network is defined deterministically based on the robots´ states and the communication range. The game-theoretic network formation is based on utilizing the conflict between the communication gain and cost. The mixed approach integrates features from deterministic and game-theoretic approaches. An extensive statistical study investigates comparative performance characteristics for exploration, zone and procession type goals.