A Real-Word Realization of the AntNet Routing Algorithm with ActivityBots

Jonas Wilfert, Niklas Paprotta, Oliver Kosak, Simon Stieber, Alexander Schiendorfer, Wolfgang Reif

Abstract: To ease teaching self-organizing systems design, we implemented the AntNet routing algorithm for real-world application using educational robots called ActivityBot. Using line sensors and ultrasonic distance sensors, the robotic ants traverse a tiled graph printed on paper, collectively converging to the shortest path. In our descriptions, we address the challenges to face when employing such self-organizing systems on educational hardware and provide a video on YouTube https://youtu.be/JFduHJ0o0UM.