Collaborative Resource gathering

​​Robots outperform humans on tasks that involve repetitive, precise, and dangerous work. They can achieve consistent accuracy and speed without breaks or rest. As a result, industrial robots thrive in static environments, and are often used for assembly line work, welding, and material handling. They operate at high forces and torques, so they can usually only work separately from humans for safety.

On the other hand, humans are more creative and flexible. People are better equipped to handle unstructured tasks in dynamic situations and environments. As a result, humans outperform robots on tasks that require critical thinking, communication, and physical dexterity.

Many tasks and environments require a combination of repetitive and creative elements, creating a need for human-robot teams. Safe interaction is then an issue of paramount importance, since collaborative robots work in close proximity to humans. Collaborative robotics has the potential to address several challenges, including an aging workforce, search and rescue, and specialized agile manufacturing.

This project involves the collaboration of two robots to gather resources without digital communication. During runtime, a configuration file will describe the number and configuration of the blocks, including the designated block colors for each team, and the number of blocks, by color, per station, but without specifying their location. The arena bounds will be described by a tag located at the arena center. The robots must collaborate to determine when and where to gather each resource, despite the absence of digital communication.

The rules for the task are as follows: Each block present at a station will earn 25 points, but every additional block at a station will deduct 2 points. Only one block color is allowed per station, and teams have the freedom to choose which resource type to use. A block can only be counted at one station. During gametime, only the designated team can add or remove blocks from a station. Each team has their own blocks, and moving the other team's blocks into a station will deduct 5 points, as well as additional points for any extra blocks. The game time is limited to 10 minutes, and both teams work simultaneously. Finally, teams cannot preemptively agree on strategy, such as going clockwise, to ensure fair play.