CRIEP: A platform for distributed robotics research

This paper presents a testbed which is the result of a collaborative project between computer science and psychology. The tested is composed of hardware and associated software which allows an individual, or group of individuals to conduct research in the fields of distributed robotics, searching algorithms, behavior modelling and other areas of cognitive science. The robots operate on a flat grid environment which is ideal for many types of algorithms. Algorithms are implemented as Java classes which are dynamically loaded at runtime and presented to the user. The overall structure of the testbed allows developers to create custom behavior classes which may be accessed and utilized by users. The methodology behind the robots movement relies on path analysis and is handled by a computer which maintains a wireless Bluetooth connection to each robot.