Self-localization of swarm robots based on voice signal acquisition

This paper presents an acoustical signal tracking experiment by swarm mobile robots. Biological swarm is a fascinating behavior of nature which was inspired from social insects´ behavior. A mobile robot that is designed as a swarm robotic platform was employed for implementing voice exploration behavior. An additional module was developed to connect to robots for processing given voice signals using the proportional signal strength approach that estimates orientation of sound source using fuzzy logic approach. The voice processor module utilizes four condenser microphones with around -47db sensitivity which are placed in different directions of the circuit board for capturing surrounding sound signals. Captured samples by microphones are processed to estimate the relative positions of the sound source in the robotic environment. After estimating the position of the signal´s source, all participants move towards similar to the insects´ colony. The participant robots have an individual task for the estimation of source location from captured samples. Moreover, according to the swarm definition, an additional cooperation between swarm participants is required to achieve a correct colony of robots. Obtained results illustrate the feasibility of the proposed technique and hardware interface for sound signals acquisition with swarm robots.