In the newsletter of March 2022, we would like to highlight the research work of Baumann&Martinoli, 2021 published in Robotics and Autonomous Systems (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.robot.2021.103849). In this study, they leveraged Khepera IV robots and studied the design of tightly integrated allocation, control, and estimation algorithms enabling coordinated movements of a group of robots. They validated their algorithms through simulation and physical experiments, showing the design effectiveness of their modular framework based on functional elements. Furthermore, thanks to the developed modular framework, they explored the impact of localization and communication constraints on the collective movement performance of the multi-robot system. In conclusion, algorithm benchmarking is more operational when defining modularity based on functionality. Safely moving a group of robots following specific requirements (e.g. as a flock or formation) is one of the basic and yet essential component needed for multi-vehicle applications such as space coverage and exploration, search and rescue scenarios, and management of transportation systems. Investigating collective movements through Khepera IV mobile robots is one effective way to tackle hard multi-vehicle coordination challenges in the physical world.

^{In accordance with Dr Andreagiovanni Reina}

It is our great pleasure to highlight the work of Talamali et al., 2021 published in Science Robotics last July 2021 (https://doi.org/10.1126/scirobotics.abf1416). They found controversial results on previous beliefs that more communication is better than less between swarm robots to find the best strategy, e.g. in food retrieving. However, with the help of fifty kilobots, they showed that in changing environment less local communication is better for the group strategy and, therefore, the group adapts better to their environment. Indeed, limiting the communication to the surrounding robots increases local information exchange and, thus, increases the adaptation to the local environment. This publication combined theory and application allowing to understand more about how animals swarms adapt their behaviour toward changing environments. This finding has broadened involvement in different fields of studies such as swarm robotics, biology, and social sciences. Furthermore, as kilobots used social interactions thanks to the voter model, this can be useful in collective behaviour in general, i.e. in animals and humans, as well as in ecosystems evolution. In conclusion, knowledge on local surroundings is what is needed to adapt properly to changing environments.

^{Full motion video: https://bcove.video/3zwyQpA}

We will be closed for Christmas holidays from the 23rd December 2019 to the 3rd January 2020. We wish you a merry Christmas and all the best for 2020.

The K-Team!

The Kilogrid is a smart floor for your Kilobots which upgrades the Kilobot possibilities. The Kilogrid gives you the possibility to interact directly with your Kilobots with the floor and its virtual elements. You can virtually add walls, grass to water, bee to catch or anything you can imagine!