Multi-robot communication for education and research

Multi-robot communication is a key technology in modern robotics education and research. Applications such as search and rescue, exploration, mapping, reconnaissance, and remote data collection may all benefit from robot teams or swarms which rely on multi-robot communication technology. Based on the importance of this technology, our objective is to develop and evaluate educational resources to introduce multi-robot communication into the undergraduate experience using low-cost hardware and software tools. Using XBee radio technology (Digi International), educational resources, design challenges, and laboratories have been developed to support multirobot education for undergraduate engineering and information science students. A multi-robot design challenge for a regional robot contest, multi-robot classroom and laboratory activities, and a programmable controller for multi-robot communication are presented. The capabilities of these development tools also support multi-robot solutions across several low-cost mobile robot platforms, including VEX, Lego NXT, Arduino, and beyond. Based on the successes described, educators will have the tools to integrate multi-robot technology into the undergraduate STEM curriculum and outreach activities.