Events Calendar

Dr. Andrea Gasparri, Swarm Aggregation Algorithms for Multi-Robot Systems

Research Talk by Dr. Andrea Gasparri, Assistant Professor, Engineering Department, Roma Tre University, Italy

Title: Swarm Aggregation Algorithms for Multi-Robot Systems

Abstract: In this work, a novel decentralized swarm aggregation algorithm for multi-robot systems is proposed. In this framework, the interaction among robots is limited to their visibility neighborhood, i.e., robots that are within the visibility range of each other. Furthermore, to better comply with the hardware/software limitations of mobile robotic platforms, robots actuators are assumed to be saturated. An enhanced version of the proposed control law is also discussed. Improvements mainly concerns two aspects: i) the actuator saturation can be asymmetric with respect to the forward and backward velocity to better comply with the hardware/software specifications, and ii) the obstacle avoidance algorithm can be more easily integrated within the local control law of each robot ensuring a safer navigation in an environment filled with obstacles. A theoretical characterization of the main properties of the proposed swarm aggregation algorithms is provided. Simulations have been carried out to validate the theoretical results. Furthermore, experiments have been performed with a team of low-cost mobile robots to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach in a real-world environment.

Biography: Andrea Gasparri received the Graduate degree (cum laude) in computer science in 2004 and the Ph.D. degree in computer science and automation in 2008, both from the University of Rome Roma Tre, Rome, Italy. He is currently an Assistant Professor for the Engineering Department, University of Rome Roma Tre. His current research interests include mobile robotics, sensor networks, and, more generally, networked multi-agent systems.

Dr. Gasparri is a young expert with rapidly growing recognition in the emerging area of distributed networked robotics, a field at the intersection of control, robotics, and networking that is currently gaining in importance. Dr. Gasparri will be visiting USC from May 21 to June 30, 2013.

Organizer(s): Bhaskar Krishnamachari and Gaurav Sukhatme
Sponsored by the Ming Hsieh Institute
For more information: http://mhi.usc.edu/2013/05/01/dr-andrea-gasparri

More Information: Flyer for talks.pdf

Location: EEB 248

Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

Contact: Danielle Hamra