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6 Conclusions
In this paper, we presented the BERODE architecture to explore and map an initially
unknown environment using a group of robots with local communication capabilities.
The robots are kept as a single connected and adaptable communication network to
guarantee the coordination between the robots. BERODE is scalable with respect to
communication because it implements a hierarchical approach to distributing informa-
tion. Note that this is hierarchical broadcasting within an adaptive decentralised system,
and involves no loss of robustness. We presented experimental simulations that assumed
two types of communication: LOS and RF. In the LOS communication any obstacle in
the path of the signal blocked the signal while in the RF model a part of the signal is
absorbed by the obstacles.
BERODE maintains the communication network by creating and updating an MST
control network. This network is updated to improve the signal quality of its connec-
tions. Experiments showed that BERODE explored the environments more efficiently
than robot teams that implement a fixed control network. BERODE maintained the net-
work fully connected for more time than the fixed networks. In future research we plan
to validate these encouraging results in real environments.
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