UNM researchers help robots talk to each other

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​Researchers at the University of New Mexico have developed a new communications technology that lets different types of robots communicate with each other. ​(Thinkstock)

Andy Beale

Digital Producer- Albuquerque Business First

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Researchers at the University of New Mexico have developed a new communications technology that lets different types of robots communicate with each other.

The university said in a news release that the research has many potential applications, including search-and-rescue and military uses. The research was funded by the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Army Research Laboratory and resulted in the release of a paper, "Stable Formation of Groups of Robots via Synchronization," which was presented at the IEEE International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems in Chicago.

Francesco Sorrentino, assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, said existing technology already allows robots of the same type to communicate, but UNM's researchers discovered a way to allow different kinds of robots to talk to each other. In particular, researchers discovered a way for flying robots to communicate with ground-based robots.

Rafael Fierro, a professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, gave an example of potential uses of the technology.

"This would be useful in exploring places like a hole or a mine," Fierro said. "You need to have some ground robots to crawl and climb, and then some aerial robots to help search and monitor places the ground robots cannot. The aerial robots can cover, sense and map an area much faster, areas where the ground robot cannot go."

Researchers said that since they were working with optical communications, their research also has implications outside of robotics, and could be used to improve communication in environments where radio transmission is impractical, such as underwater or outer space.

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