Impromptu Teams of Heterogeneous Mobile Robots

As robots become more involved in assisting us in large and hazardous operations, such as search and rescue, we can anticipate that diverse robots will come together with the need to coordinate their efforts. These robots will come from different organizations, creating a heterogeneous team, varying in shape, size, and functionality. How can diverse robots forming such an impromptu team collaborate to accomplish a joint objective? If they are to organize and work together, methods must be developed that allow them to share knowledge in a meaningful way. We propose an ontology-based symbolic communication protocol to provide a shared understanding of physical concepts between units. Coordination is then accomplished through a negotiation of tasks to complete individual and joint goals.