Capture of intruders by cooperative multiple robots using mobile agents

Abstract

Detecting and capturing intruders is one of the most important applications of multi-robot systems. In this paper, we introduce a novel control system for chasing an intruder into a corner in a building by multiple small not-so-agile mobile robots. We have applied our mobile software agent system to this problem in order to mitigate slow movement of mobile robots. We can station multiple small robots in a building, and make them cooperate using mobile software agents that control mobile robots. Since software agents can move instantly from a robot to another robot, it can migrate to the most suitably located mobile robot and drive the intruder into a bay where human captors are waiting. The cooperation of robots and software agents and humans is the key of our system. In order to investigate the feasibility of our idea, we have implemented a simulator, and demonstrated the usefulness of our system.