A communication technique for swarm-capable autonomous agents

This paper reports on a communication technique and associated technology designed to achieve embodied and situated communication between swarm-capable autonomous agents. The swarm model chosen was that of a fish school. A RFID based wireless communication system, also capable of measuring both direction of and distance to transmitter, was developed and installed on a Braitenberg vehicle. The communication technique allows vehicles to transmit, at regular intervals, their physiological state to the outside world in general and other vehicles in particular. The information transmitted may be used by other vehicles to decide whether or not to form a school and the communication reach fulfils the prerequisites to enable the vehicle to travel in a school formation.