Blockchain Technology for Distributed Robotic Systems

One of the key challenges in the collaboration within heterogeneous multi-robot systems is the optimization of the amount and type of data to be shared between robots with different sensing capabilities and computational resources. We study novel approaches to managing collaboration terms in heterogeneous multi-robot systems with blockchain technology. Leveraging the extensive research of consensus algorithms in the blockchain domain, we exploit key technologies in this field to be integrated for consensus in robotic systems. Among our ideas, propose the utilization of proof of work systems to have an online estimation of the available computational resources at different robots. Furthermore, we define smart contracts that integrate information about the environment from different robots in order to evaluate and rank the quality and accuracy of each of the robots' sensor data. This means that the key parameters involved in heterogeneous robotic collaboration are integrated within the Blockchain and estimated at all robots equally without explicitly sharing information about the robots' hardware or sensors. Trustability is based on the verification of data samples that are submitted to the blockchain within each data exchange transaction, and validated by other robots operating in the same environment. Initial results are reported which show the viability of the concepts presented in this paper.

Related Publications

[1] Jorge Peña Queralta, Li Qingqing, Eduardo Castelló Ferrer, Tomi Westerlund, "Secure Encoded Instruction Graphs for End-to-End Data Validation in Autonomous Robots", IEEE Internet of Things Journal , IEEE (2022) . (View) (Download) (Researchgate) (Google Scholar) (arXiv)

[2] Jorge Peña Queralta, Li Qingqing, Tuan Nguyen Gia, Hong-Linh Truong, Tomi Westerlund, "End-to-End Design for Self-Reconfigurable Heterogeneous Robotic Swarms", International Conference on Distributed Computing in Sensor Systems (DCOSS) , IEEE (2020) . (View) (Download) (Researchgate) (arXiv)

[3] Jorge Peña Queralta and Tomi Westerlund, "Blockchain-Powered Collaboration in Heterogeneous Swarms of Robots", Preprint (2020) . Presented at the 2019 Symposium on Blockchain for Robotics and AI Systems, MIT Media Lab. (View) (Download) (Researchgate) (Google Scholar) (arXiv)