Electric-field-coupled oscillators for collective electrochemical perception in underwater robotics

Abstract

This work explores the application of nonlinear oscillators coupled by electric field in water for collective tasks in underwater robotics. Such coupled oscillators operate in clear and colloidal (mud, bottom silt) water and represent a collective electrochemical sensor that is sensitive to global environmental parameters, geometry of common electric field and spatial dynamics of autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs). Implemented in hardware and software, this approach can be used to create global awareness in the group of robots, which possess limited sensing and communication capabilities. Using oscillators from different AUVs enables extending the range limitations related to electric dipole of a single AUV. Applications of this technique are demonstrated for detecting the number of AUVs, distances between them, perception of dielectric objects, synchronization of behavior and discrimination between 'collective self' and 'collective non-self' through an 'electrical mirror'. These approaches have been implemented in several research projects with AUVs in fresh and salt water.