Secure Communication in Multi-Robot Systems

A large number of advancements have taken place in microprocessor-based systems leading to significantly more processing, memory, storage, sensing, actuating, recognition, controlling and communication capabilities. Robotics is one of the areas that have benefited a lot from these advancements. Many important and useful applications for single robot and multi-robot systems (MRS) have emerged. Such applications include search and rescue, detection of forest fires, mining, construction, disaster management, and many more. In order for MRS systems to be able to perform their tasks properly without intentional or unintentional interference from authorized users and malicious attackers, their robot-to-robot (R2R) and robot-to-infrastructure (R2I) communication must be secure. In this paper, we discuss the security requirements for MRS systems and present the different networking protocols that are used at each layer of the networking stack along with the various associated security features and services. We also identify areas that need future research and enhancements in order to ensure secure MRS communication.