Structure and markings as stimuli for autonomous construction

We present a decentralized control strategy for autonomous construction that uses the structure and markings of a partially-built structure as stimuli to coordinate construction. Since this construction modifies the structure and markings of the partially-built structure, a feedback loop emerges where these modifications coordinate further construction. We demonstrate this control strategy in a physical system by designing an autonomous robot and a stigmergic block, whose hardware implementations are detailed in this paper. The work in this paper represents a milestone in our research towards the realization of a swarm robotics construction system, which aims to be capable of building a variety of structures in various settings with multiple robots.

I. Introduction

In this paper, we present a decentralized control strategy that uses the structural arrangement of blocks in a partially-built structure and their markings as stimuli to coordinate construction. These stimuli regulate the construction behavior of an autonomous robot. Since the construction behavior of a robot results in modifications to a structure, a feedback loop emerges where construction modifies a partially-built structure, and the modifications to a partially-built structure may be used to coordinate further construction.