The Pi Swarm:A low-cost platform for swarm robotics research and education

The paper introduces the Pi Swarm robot, a platform developed to allow research and education in swarm robotics. Motivated by the goals of reducing costs and simplifying the tool-chain and programming knowledge needed to investigate swarming algorithms, we have developed a trackable, sensor-rich and expandable platform which needs only a computer with internet browser and no additional software to program. This paper details the design and use of the robot in a variety of settings, and we feel the platform makes for a viable, low-cost alternative for development of swarm robotic solutions.