Cooperative Object Transportation using Gibbs Random Fields (2109.13734v1)

Abstract: This paper presents a novel methodology that allows a swarm of robots to perform a cooperative transportation task. Our approach consists of modeling the swarm as a {\em Gibbs Random Field} (GRF), taking advantage of this framework's locality properties. By setting appropriate potential functions, robots can dynamically navigate, form groups, and perform cooperative transportation in a completely decentralized fashion. Moreover, these behaviors emerge from the local interactions without the need for explicit communication or coordination. To evaluate our methodology, we perform a series of simulations and proof-of-concept experiments in different scenarios. Our results show that the method is scalable, adaptable, and robust to failures and changes in the environment.