Publications de Nicolaus Correll

Will robots be bodies with brains or brains with bodies?

Biology motivates how complex functionality results from systems of simple materials. ...

2017

Multi-level Spatial Modeling for Stochastic Distributed Robotic Systems

Alcherio Martinoli, Amanda Stella Markowska Prorok, Nicolaus Correll

We propose a combined spatial and non-spatial probabilistic modeling methodology motivated by an inspection task performed by a group of miniature robots. Our models explicitly consider spatiality and yield accurate predictions on system performance. An ag ...

2011

Modeling and Designing Self-Organized Aggregation in a Swarm of Miniature Robots

Alcherio Martinoli, Nicolaus Correll

2011

Collaborative coverage using a swarm of networked miniature robots

Alcherio Martinoli, Samuel Rutishauser, Nicolaus Correll

We study distributed coverage of environments with unknown extension using a team of networked miniature robots analytically and experimentally. Algorithms are analyzed by incrementally raising the abstraction level starting from physical robots, to realis ...

Elsevier2009

Distributed Boundary Coverage with a Team of Networked Miniature Robots using a Robust Market-Based Algorithm

Alcherio Martinoli, Patrick Amstutz, Nicolaus Correll

We study distributed boundary coverage of known environments using a team of miniature robots. Distributed boundary coverage is an instance of the multi-robot task-allocation problem and has applications in inspection, cleaning, and painting among others. ...

2009

Towards Multi-Robot Inspection of Industrial Machinery - From Distributed Coverage Algorithms to Experiments with Miniature Robotic Swarms

Alcherio Martinoli, Nicolaus Correll

Inspection of aircraft and power generation machinery using a swarm of miniature robots is a promising application both from an intellectual and a commercial perspective. Our research is motivated by a case study concerned with the inspection of a jet turb ...

2009

SwisTrack - A Flexible Open Source Tracking Software for Multi-Agent Systems

Jacques Jacot, Alcherio Martinoli, Pierre Roduit, Thomas Lochmatter, Nicolaus Correll, Christopher Cianci

Vision-based tracking is used in nearly all robotic laboratories for monitoring and extracting of agent positions, orientations, and trajectories. However, there is currently no accepted standard software solution available, so many research groups resort ...

IEEE2008

Parameter estimation and optimal control of swarm-robotic systems: A case study in distributed task allocation

Nicolaus Correll

2008

Distributed Coverage: From Deterministic to Probabilistic Models

Alcherio Martinoli, Nicolaus Correll

For the multi-robot coverage problem determin- istic deliberative as well as probabilistic approaches have been proposed. Whereas deterministic approaches usually provide provable completeness and promise good performance under perfect conditions, probabil ...

2007

Social Integration of Robots into Groups of Cockroaches to Control Self-Organized Choices

Francesco Mondada, Alcherio Martinoli, Roland Siegwart, Gilles Caprari, Fabien Tâche, Jean-Louis Deneubourg, Masoud Asadpour, Nicolaus Correll

Collective behavior based on self-organization has been shown in group-living animals from insects to vertebrates. These findings have stimulated engineers to investigate approaches for the coordination of autonomous multirobot systems based on self-organi ...

American Association for the Advancement of Science2007

Robust Distributed Coverage using a Swarm of Miniature Robots

Alcherio Martinoli, Nicolaus Correll

For the multi-robot coverage problem deterministic deliberative as well as probabilistic approaches have been proposed. Whereas deterministic approaches usually provide provable completeness and promise good performance under perfect conditions, probabilis ...

2007

Modeling Self-Organized Aggregation in a Swarm of Miniature Robots

Alcherio Martinoli, Nicolaus Correll

We model the dynamics of self-organized robot aggregation inspired by a study on aggregation of gregarious arthropods. In swarms of German cockroaches, aggregation into clusters emerges solely from local interactions between the individuals, whereas the pr ...

2007

Coordination schemes for distributed boundary coverage with a swarm of miniature robots : synthesis, analysis and experimental validation

Nicolaus Correll

We provide a comparison of a series of original coordination mechanisms for the distributed boundary coverage problem with a swarm of miniature robots. Our analysis is based on real robot experimentation and models at different levels of abstraction. Distr ...

EPFL2007

SwisTrack: A Tracking Tool for Multi-Unit Robotic and Biological Systems

Alcherio Martinoli, Jean-Louis Deneubourg, Nicolaus Correll

Tracking of miniature robotic platforms involves major challenges in image recognition and data association. We present our 3-year effort into developing the platform-independent, easy-to-use, and robust tracking software SwisTrack, which is tailored to re ...

2006

Collective Inspection of Regular Structures using a Swarm of Miniature Robots

Alcherio Martinoli, Nicolaus Correll

We present a series of experiments concerned with the inspection of regular, engineered structures carried out using swarms of five to twenty autonomous, miniature robots, solely endowed with onboard, local sensors. Individual robot controllers are behavio ...

2006

Modeling and Optimization of a Swarm-Intelligent Inspection System

Alcherio Martinoli, Nicolaus Correll

We present a simple, behavior-based, distributed control algorithm to inspect a regular structure with a swarm of autonomous, miniature robots, using only on-board, local sensors. To estimate intrinsic advantages and limita- tions of the proposed control s ...

Springer2006

Self-Organized Embedded Sensor/Actuator Networks for ''Smart'' Turbines

Alcherio Martinoli, Xavier Raemy, Nicolaus Correll, Christopher Cianci

Combining networks of static sensors with minimalist robotic swarms might enable a new generation of micromachinery equipped with sensor and actuator networks for inspection, maintenance, and repair. In such a scenario, limited capabilities of swarm member ...

2006

Towards Optimal Control of Self-Organized Robotic Inspection Systems

Alcherio Martinoli, Nicolaus Correll

We consider a swarm-intelligent inspection system concerned with the inspection of blades in a jet turbine. The system is based on a swarm of autonomous, miniature robots, using only on-board, local sensors. We capture the dynamics of the system at a highe ...

2006

Comparing Coordination Schemes for Miniature Robotic Swarms: A Case Study in Boundary Coverage of Regular Structures

Alcherio Martinoli, Samuel Rutishauser, Nicolaus Correll

We consider boundary coverage of a regular structure by a swarm of miniature robots, and compare a suite of three fully distributed coordination algorithms experimentally. All algorithms rely on boundary coverage by reactive control, whereas coordination o ...

2006

System Identification of Self-Organizing Robotic Swarms

Alcherio Martinoli, Nicolaus Correll

We show system identification of self-organizing, swarm robotic systems using a ``gray-box'' approach, based on probabilistic macroscopic models. At hand of a well studied case study concerned with the autonomous inspection of a regular structure by a swar ...

Springer Verlag2006