Embedding heterogeneous levels of decisional autonomy in multi-robot systems

Abstract

This paper presents an architecture for multi-robot (MR) systems in which robots exhibit heterogeneousness in terms of autonomous decisional capaci- ties. This architecture enables various configurations of decision distribution among the components of the system, according both to the available decision making ca- pabilities of the robots, and to the operational constraints related to the tasks to be performed. This architecture is instanciated in the context of a multi heterogeneous Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) project, and in this context, details related to a generic executive (supporting the versatility of the architecture) are provided.