Irrational behavioral strategies for a swarm of mini-robots

Abstract

When constructing control strategies for intelligent objects, the standard approach is to assume the rationality of their behavior. In some applications, however, a control object solves a collective problem within a group of other objects and, due to collective obligations, can or should act irrationally. This scenario becomes especially relevant when a group of different-type robotic means carries out a collective mission in an opposing environment under semi-autonomous or autonomous group control. This paper proposes an algorithm for forming a space-time structure of a swarm of mini-robots that is irrational for an external observer. A group of robots is treated as a multiagent system in which each agent is trained in the paradigm of collective behavior and motion within a swarm. The irrational behavior of robots is de need, and the conditions for switching from rational behavior to irrational one are considered. The approach is illustrated by an example of constructing special swarm formations consisting of several dozens of mini-robots (up to two hundred), the sizes of which are commensurate with the distance between them, carrying out a collective mission under an external observer opposing them. As shown below, such irrational formations can be created using a special modification of the Reynolds swarm algorithm.