Gathering Asynchronous and Oblivious Robots on Basic Graph Topologies Under the Look-Compute-Move Model

Abstract

Recent and challenging models of robot-based computing systems consider identical, oblivious and mobile robots placed on the nodes of anonymous graphs. Robots operate asynchronously in order to reach a common node and remain with it. This task is known in the literature as the gathering or rendezvous problem. The target node is neither chosen in advance nor marked differently compared to the other nodes. In fact, the graph is anonymous and robots have minimal capabilities. In the context of robot-based computing systems, resources are always limited and precious. Then, the research of the minimal set of assumptions and capabilities required to accomplish the gathering task as well as for other achievements is of main interest. Moreover, the minimality of the assumptions stimulates the investigation of new and challenging techniques that might reveal crucial peculiarities even for other tasks. The model considered in this chapter is known in the literature as the Look-Compute-Move model. Identical robots initially placed at different nodes of an anonymous input graph operate in asynchronous Look-Compute-Move cycles. In each cycle, a robot takes a snapshot of the current global configuration (Look), then, based on the perceived configuration, takes a decision to stay idle or to move to one of its adjacent nodes (Compute), and in the latter case it makes an instantaneous move to this neighbor (Move). Cycles are performed asynchronously for each robot. This means that the time between Look, Compute, and Move operations is finite but unbounded, and it is decided by the adversary for each robot. Hence, robots may move based on significantly outdated perceptions. The only constraint is that moves are instantaneous, and hence any robot performing a Look operation perceives all other robots at nodes of the ring and not on edges. Robots are all identical, anonymous, and execute the same deterministic algorithm. They cannot leave any marks at visited nodes, nor can they send messages to other robots. In this chapter, we aim to survey on recent results obtained for the gathering task over basic graph topologies, that are rings, grids, and trees. Recent achievements to this matter have attracted many researchers, and have provided interesting approaches that might be of main interest to the community that studies robot-based computing systems.

This work has been partially supported by the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio della Provincia dell’Aquila (Italy) within project “ARISE” (Arising Robust Internetworked System for Emergency contexts).