Collective motion in heterogeneous drone swarms

One of the main reasons for the broad interest in the collective motion of active systems derives from its natural origins in the form of flocks, swarms and crowds. In general, these natural systems are composed of single, autonomous organisms that communicate only locally but form extended collective mobile groups. capable of collective decision-making and displaying highly nontrivial dynamics over a wide range of length and time scales. This sort of decentralized, leaderless decision making and collective action has also inspired efforts especially in the area of robotic drones, where such systems could operate autonomously in groups to execute search and rescue or surveillance operations in a robust fashion without the need for active communication and feedback from a central command. What happens, however, when a certain fraction of the drones begin to malfunction and display more erratic behavior and are there strategies to mitigate the effects of malfunctioning agents? We answer these questions by implementing simple rules for collective motion in a system consisting of 100 Kilobots that are only 33 mm in diameter, easily programmable and equipped with differential drive vibration powered locomotion, neighbor-to-neighbor communication and distance sensing.