Swarm optimization techniques for multi-agent source localization

In this paper, we address the problem of seeking a source that emits signal described by a function that is radially symmetric, and decays with increasing distance. Electromagnetic signals, acoustic signals, vapor emission, etc, are examples of such signals. We analyze a scenario in which a team of mobile agents, called seekers, try to locate the source without any prior knowledge about the decay profile. In contradistinction to existing techniques, we use a non-gradient based technique known as Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) to overcome the difficulties posed due to lack of a mathematical model for the decay profile in real scenarios. We study two variations of PSO and implement on a real noisy source. We compare their mechanism and performance. Finally, we validate our conclusions through experiments.