Abstract
How do simple individual rules give rise to coordinated collective motion in physical robot swarms? In this talk, I will present my current research utilizing Thymio robots to bridge models of multi-agent coordination with real-world physical implementation. The project explores how these platforms utilize their onboard infrared sensors for local perception, allowing us to investigate how agents respond to their neighbors and collectively organize their motion. The work highlights the practical challenges of distributed control, demonstrating how changes in sensor processing and control algorithms shape the emergence of group-level behaviors like swarming and obstacle avoidance. More broadly, this approach provides a practical framework for understanding collective dynamics and decision-making in physical robotic systems.
About the speaker
Brendan Bilodeau is a Bachelor's student in Robotics Engineering at the Université de Sherbrooke in Quebec, Canada. He is currently completing a DAAD RISE Germany research internship at the University of Konstanz. His academic project work includes the development of a real-time perception autonomous racecar utilizing Python, LiDAR sensors, and ROS 2. His broader engineering interests focus on autonomous systems, sensor integration, and practical hardware architecture.