In this lab we attempted to create a collective swarm of robots using ArUco and microbits.
Materials
3 Microbits
4 Robotbits
1 HD 920c Logitech camera
1 Mac mini
Aruco markers
Reflection
Using the provided code we organized our work within our own aruco repository. Our first goal was to have the bot recognize its rotation angle. Next, we needed to figure out how to send each bot’s data to the swarm. This interconnected communication was difficult to understand conceptually at first but when working with the bots it become more clear. My teammates developed a system where the swarm can receive information and orient themselves. Using a microbit as an antenna, we should’ve been able to send data to the other robots.
We were successful in sending serial data to the antenna but, we were unable to pass the info on to the other bots’ microbit. This prevented us from successfully orientating the swarm altogether. Given more time I think we could figure out a solution to this problem and have the bots receive directions from the microbit leader (the one acting as the antenna).
The behavior we were trying to achieve, where the robots orient themselves and collectively move, is similar to how insects move in swarms. This is almost like how locus fly in swarms where the group reaches one destination together.