Resource and service discovery for large-scale robot networks in disaster scenarios

If robots are deployed in large numbers in disaster scenarios, the ability to discover and exchange resources and services with other robots in an open, heterogeneous, large-scale network would be essential for a successful operation. In this paper we present a discovery protocol that enables robots to efficiently locate resources and services available in large-scale networks. It is specifically designed for robot networks which are characterized by potentially highly dynamic network topologies and high service announcement-to-lookup ratios. The protocol exploits the position data of the robots to increase scalability and efficiency. A cell-based overlay structure is created, with master nodes in each cell. Through proactive intra-cell communication and reactive inter-cell communication, scalability is ensured and the effects of node movements on the overall network are minimized.