Swarm robotics is an approach of multiple robots coordinating and working together as a means of completing a task in groups. They simply consist of physical robots and hold a nature of swarm behavior. The swarm intelligence was derived by observing the nature of insects and ants. A single robot when in use to complete a task increases efficiency but when a swarm of robots are used it saves time and cost. The applying of blockchain and Artificial Intelligence enhances its technology using relatively new concept. Basically blockchain and AI together in swarm robots provides possibilities for automation. Blockchain is a crypto-currency wallet that supports bitcoin and Artificial intelligence is machine intelligence. These technologies have already impacted our lives through the use of crypto-currency, robotics, chat-bots etc.
Blockchain and AI complement each other. AI is responsible for replacing human intelligence with machine intelligence hence, it enables machine to take decision their own. The complicated data management systems, predictive analysis requirements for AI are best suitable applications for blockchain technology in-fact AI reduces the energy consumption and costs and adds value to blockchain. On the other hand, blockchain is capable of holding records which helps AI to record decisions and blockchain’s decentralized structure offers an easily accessible store for AI.
Blockchain and AI together help’s in boosting the performance of Swarm robotics. Let’s see how it does so:
- Providing security: one of the biggest obstacles that arise to the large scale swarm robots is security. Sometimes faulty swarm members or the malicious ones can be a risk to the swarm goals. This could be a security breach. Hence, there is required to develop a system in which the swarm member can be safe and can trust each other while detecting and elimination any danger. The use of blockchain database in swarm robotics offers an advanced encryption that can be used across shared channels. Blockchain technology not only provides end-to-end encryption and peer-to-peer communication channel to swarm members but also provides potential way to overcome threats, attacks or danger.
- Distributed decision making: AI helps the robots to think and take decision by themselves. It helps in the process of decision making. But in swarm robotics there are large number of robots and hence, it is necessary to distribute the task of decision making to ensure the needed convergence towards a common outcome. The algorithm for distributed decision making has been adopted before but distributing it within large troop is an open problem. This problem is solved by blockchain that is an outstanding technology to help decentralize work between all the participants ensuring that all the robots have a common goal.
- Differentiating behavior: the combination of blockchain and AI not only helps in decision making and security but also helps in behavior differentiation. Although algorithms have enabled robots to handle their individual behavior like aggregation, flocking, foraging but still sometimes they need to change and handle different behaviors. In such a case blockchain helps in customizing different swarm behaviors.
- Part of economy: swarm robots can form new business models and can directly be a part of economy with the help of blockchain. Blockchain is an ideal application programming interface for economic applications. This can help the swarm robots to participate in an economy.
Despite of few complications and limitations like latency, size, throughput and bandwidth the integration of blockchain technology and Artificial intelligence (AI) could be the key to serious progress in the field of swarm robotics. This step could open the door not only to new technical approaches, but also to new business models that make swarm robotics technology suitable for innumerable market applications.