A sensor-zone hierarchical topology for multi-robot exploration

Distributed computing is becoming more prevalent in engineering today. Multi-robot systems are simply an extension of that, not only dividing the computing power, but also the physical capabilities among multiple robots. This paper serves as a proof of concept investigation into a sensor-zone hierarchical topology by assessing its ability to autonomously explore an unknown area. This goal was approached by designing a three-tier robotic hierarchy as well as developing the concept of abstract robot sensor zones. Experiments were conducted by modifying the total number of robots in the system using a custom built simulation and experimentally verified using custom fabricated mobile robots. Results showed that different combinations of robots can yield positive results for heterogeneous multi-robot systems, allowing computational and physical resources to be tailored to specific scenarios.