Motion planning for robust wireless networking

We propose an architecture and algorithms for maintaining end-to-end network connectivity for autonomous teams of robots. By adopting stochastic models of point-to-point wireless communication and computing robust solutions to the network routing problem, we ensure reliable connectivity during robot movement in complex environments. We fully integrate the solution to network routing with the choice of node positions through the use of randomized motion planning techniques. Experiments demonstrate that our method succeeds in navigating a complex environment while ensuring that end-to-end communication rates meet or exceed prescribed values within a target failure tolerance.

Authors

• Jonathan Fink
• Alejandro Ribeiro
• Vijay Kumar 0001

Keywords

• Robots
• Routing
• Robustness
• Planning
• Maintenance engineering
• Wireless communication
• Wireless Networks
• Path Planning
• Routing Problem
• Communication Rate
• Network Routing
• Planning Techniques
• Swarm Robotics
• Free Space
• Line-of-sight
• Indoor Environments
• Network Integration
• Pathfinding
• Network Configuration
• Instantaneous Rate
• Human Operator
• Operations Center
• High-dimensional Problems
• Final Configuration
• Received Signal Strength
• Planning Algorithm
• Rapidly-exploring Random Tree
• Received Signal Strength Indicator
• Second-order Cone Programming
• Point-to-point Communication
• Point-to-point Links
• Individual Robots
• Robot Configuration
• Feasible Path
• Mobility Control
• Reliability Metrics