Service-Oriented Robotic Swarm Systems: Model and Structuring Algorithms

In this paper, we consider the design issues in building robotic swarm systems as a service and develop a multi-level service-oriented robotic swarm (SORS) framework. First we consider how to support easy composition of services into workflows to accomplish user tasks. We identify a set of primitive virtual services for this purpose. Virtual services are not physical robotic swarm actions, but are high-level primitive services geared toward easy specification of the workflows of many tasks. To realize virtual services, SORS incorporates the layers of planning services and micro services to plan and control the swarm of robots. Two example micro services and the detailed algorithms in their implementation are given in the paper. Also, a case study system is developed to show the use of virtual services to specify the workflow for an example task and to illustrate the design of micro services to realize virtual services.