ABSTRACT
Bonabeau et al. [BDT99] summarized three important characteristics of self-organization.
Therefore, social complexity of the system is compatible with simple identical individuals, as long as the communication among the individuals can provide a necessary amplifying mechanism. For example, a swarm of robotic agents gathering under a palletized load can change the operation phase by receiving a signal from any member of the swarm. Bonabeau et al. [BTC98, BT95] achieved this by defining specific communication mechanisms. Generally speaking, the characteristics of self-organization are desirable in a swarm of robots where simple individual behaviors can be achieved with relatively low cost [Bon98]. At the same time, the simplicity (and homogeneity) of individual agents in a robotic swarm also decreases the likelihood of breakdown. Also, the breakdown of one agent will not affect the activity of the whole robotic swarm [Ste95].
