Swarm robotics platform for intelligent interaction

Background This paper introduces a versatile edutainment platform based on a swarm robotics system that can support multiple interaction methods. We aim to create a re-usable open-ended tangible tool for a variety of educational and entertainment scenarios by utilizing the unique advantages of swarm robots such as flexible mobility, mutual perception, and free control of robot number. Methods Compared with the tangible user interface, the swarm user interface (SUI) possesses more flexible locomotion and more controllable widgets. However, research on SUI is still limited to system construction, and the upper interaction modes along with vivid applications have not been sufficiently studied. Results This study illustrates possible interaction modes for swarm robotics and feasible application scenarios based on these fundamental interaction modes. We also discuss the implementation of swarm robotics (including software and hardware), then design several simple experiments to verify the location accuracy of the swarm robotics system. © 2019 Beijing Zhongke Journal Publishing Co. Ltd.