A marsupial relationship in robotics: A survey

Abstract

The diversity of tasks and work locations shows the need for heterogeneity among robot team members, where each group of robots is designed to fulfil specific tasks and to work efficiently in particular locations. To facilitate the missions of these specific task robots, logistic services have to be provided. A so called "marsupial relationship" - referring to the biological relationship between marsupial animals such as Kangaroos - can be one of these logistic services. This paper organizes and discusses the state of the art of this field. Besides, a precise definition of the marsupial relationship, which distinguishes it from other physical relationships in robotics, is presented. Moreover, a new organization and a detailed description of the marsupial members and their roles are given in this paper. © 2011 Springer-Verlag.