The robots were designed both as educational tools and with the intent of conducting multi-agent and wireless networking research, both on-robot and in simulation.

Research

The current research at GMU, for which the robots were designed, includes:

• Ant foraging via digital pheromones or movable beacons
• Cooperative target observation
• Herding
• Collective map building
• Dynamic changes in ad-hoc networking topology

We are also actively developing simulators for the robots at various levels of detail in the MASON multi-agent simulation environment (with 2D kinematics) and breve.

Education

GMU's CS499 (Autonomous Robotics) class constructed the robots in their entirety in order to develop a holistic approach to robotics (mechanics, control, and AI). The GMU Robotics Club has also been closely involved in the design of the robots from the beginning, partly with the intent of including them (or variations) in the Trinity firefighting contest.