Swarm Robotics: Collective Behavior Inspired by Nature

Swarm robotics is a new approach to the coordination of multirobot systems which consist of a number of simple physical robots [1]. It is supposed that a desired collective behavior emerges from the interaction between the robots and the interaction of robots with the environment. This approach emerged in the field of artificial swarm intelligence as well as the biological study of insects, ants and other fields in the nature, where a swarm behavior occurs. The aim of researches of swarm robotics is to study the design of large amount of relatively simple robots, their physical bodies and their controlling behaviors. The individuals in the swarm are normally simple, small and low cost so as to take the advantage of a large population. A key component of the system is the communication between the agents in the group which is generally local and no center, and guarantees the system is scalable and robust.