Time-Informed, Adaptive Multi-robot Synchronization.

Timely interaction is a key topic for multi-robot systems operating in the real world. The present work puts forward a new approach for multi-robot synchronization that is based on representing temporal constraints as fuzzy numbers. By using fuzzy arithmetic it is possible to process temporal constraints, analyze their relations, detect temporal gaps, and additionally develop corrective measures that minimize these gaps. The present study addresses temporal planning by directing the robotic agents to (i) adapt their speed to accomplish task execution and, (ii) carry out simplified, yet acceptable, versions of the assigned tasks at faster speeds. The latter adaptations fit particularly well with the fuzzy theoretic approach that enables the direct calculation of their effects on the temporal plan. Accordingly, more efficient synchronization is accomplished in multi-robot coordinated task execution.