Energy expenditure in multi-agent foraging: An empirical analysis

A major challenge in swarm robotics is to minimize energy and time costs. We focus in this paper on multi-agent foraging algorithms that uses ant-like agents with limited energy. By considering energy consumption, we propose a new Energy aware Cooperative Switching Algorithm for Foraging (EC-SAF) that optimizes the whole system search and transport operations needed to collect resources over time. Unnecessary moves are avoided according to the following two premises: (1) Quick search and optimal paths provided by Stigmergic Multi-Ant Search Area (S-MASA) algorithm; (2) Quick homing provided by using the optimal paths created while searching. Results indicate that EC-SAF is promising in reducing swarm energy consumption compared to an energy-aware version of the c-marking algorithm (Ec-marking).