Development of a Behavior-based Cooperative Search Strategy for Distributed Autonomous Mobile Robots Using Zigbee Wireless Sensor Network

To achieve efficient and objective search tasks in an unknown environment, a cooperative search strategy for distributed autonomous mobile robots is developed using a behavior-based control framework with individual and group behaviors. The sensing information of each mobile robot activates the individual behaviors to facilitate autonomous search tasks to avoid obstacles. An 802.15.4 ZigBee wireless sensor network then activates the group behaviors that enable cooperative search among the mobile robots. An unknown environment is dynamically divided into several sub-areas according to the locations and sensing data of the autonomous mobile robots. The group behaviors then enable the distributed autonomous mobile robots to scatter and move in the search environment. The developed cooperative search strategy successfully reduces the search time within the test environments by 22.67% (simulation results) and 31.15% (experimental results).