Since 2023 · George Mason University · research assistant

Swarm Robotics at George Mason

Since 2023, I’ve been doing research at George Mason University on how a group of robots can work together with no leader, and I work there as a research assistant. It is the longest-running of my research projects.

Each mark steers only by its nearby neighbors; there is no leader. The dashed circle shows how far one mark can see. Now and then a light breeze loosens the group, and it gathers again. Drawn to illustrate the idea, not the research itself.

What a swarm is

A swarm is a group of robots that act together with no robot in charge. No single robot sees the whole group. Each one follows a few simple rules about the neighbors it can sense: keep a little space, head the same way, stay close. Moving together as one group comes out of those local rules.

Because no robot is essential, the group can keep going when one fails, and it can grow by adding more of the same robot.

What the research covers

My work spans three areas.

Swarm robotics: groups of robots coordinating through local rules, as above.

Neuromorphic computing: computing modeled on how brains process information, with many simple units that pass short signals to each other.

Decentralized systems: systems with no central controller, where each part acts on what it can see around it.