Swarms for chemical plume tracing

Abstract

This paper presents a physics-based framework for managing distributed sensor networks of autonomous vehicles, e.g., robots, which self-organize into structured lattice arrangements using only local information. The vehicles remain in formation during obstacle avoidance and search for a chemical emitter that is actively ejecting a toxic chemical into the air. We discuss a new plume tracing algorithm, based on the principles of fluid physics, that outperforms the leading biomimetic competitors for this task.