Combining predictive and reactive control strategies in multi-agent systems

Traditionally, researchers into robot control have applied one of two broad control strategies; predictive control or reactive control. This paper proposes a new control strategy for multi-robot systems which combines the predictive and reactive styles with the aim of drawing on the strengths of both; the strong task definition capability of the predictive approach with the robustness and reliability of the reactive approach. A reactive task execution architecture, the Behaviour Synthesis Architecture, has been fully developed and implemented on two mobile robots, which co-operatively execute local tasks, including the joint relocation of pallets within a semi-structured environment. The remainder of the proposed architecture is under development as part of an ongoing research programme.