Cooperative behavior based on a subjective map with shared information in a dynamic environment

This paper proposes a subjective map representation that enables a multiagent system to make decisions in a dynamic, hostile environment. A typical situation can be found in the Sony four-legged robot league of the RoboCup competition [M. Veloso, et al., 1998]. The subjective map is a map of the environment that each agent maintains regardless of the objective consistency of the representation among the agents. Owing to the map´s subjectivity, it is not affected by incorrect information belonging to other agents. For example, it is not affected by non-negligible errors caused by dynamic changes in the environment, such as falling down or being picked up and brought to other places by the referee. A potential field is defined on the subjective map in terms of subtasks, such as approaching and shooting the ball, and the field is dynamically up-dated so that the robot can decide what to do next. This method is compared with conventional methods that involve sharing or not sharing information.