Closing the Gap in Swarm Robotics Simulations: An Extended Ardupilot/Gazebo plugin

TL;DR

This paper extends Ardupilot's capabilities to support realistic swarm robotics simulations within ROS/Gazebo, enabling researchers to develop and test swarm algorithms more effectively in a simulated environment.

Contribution

The paper introduces a novel extension of Ardupilot to facilitate swarm robotics simulations, including modifications to description files for realistic multi-robot testing.

Findings

Enables swarm robotics simulations in ROS/Gazebo with Ardupilot

Provides a comprehensive test-bed for swarm algorithms

Uses off-the-shelf UAV for realistic testing

Abstract

This work provides an extension of Ardupilot's capabilities to allow researchers to develop swarm robotics applications in Robot Operating System(ROS)/Gazebo simulations. Ardupilot is a tool used for autopilot functions in autonomous air, land and underwater robots. However, the original Ardupilot was not designed for applications in the field of swarm robotics. Hence, the main contribution of this paper is to endow Ardupilot with the capability to handle swarm robotics simulations, including the refactoring of the manufacturer's description files. This work offers a comprehensive and realistic simulation test-bed for swarm robotics applications under the ROS/Ardupilot umbrella using an existing off-the-shelf Erlerobotics' erlecopter UAV.