Intelligent Robots Coalition Formation in Cyberphysical Space for Emergency Response

Coalitions of robots equipped with a set of special sensors and actuators can be used for rescuing injured people in emergency situations. These sets will vary depending on the type of emergency and the activity of the environment, which, in turn, also affects the options for the interaction of robots and their tasks. In this chapter, the use of cyber-physical systems concept is proposed to form a common information-physical space in which robots will perform joint actions for eliminating the consequences of an emergency. Each robot in the coalition takes into account the specific of the emergency and the developing situation at the emergency site. Robots consider parameters of developing situations through their ontological description. The total functionality of the coalition covers the requirements of the tasks. Monitoring a developing situation allows making a timely decision on changing the composition of the coalition if the conditions change in such a way that the current composition becomes ineffective. The interaction of robots and the implementation of the rules for changing the coalition is carried out through smart contracts in a distributed ledger. This provides the opportunity to control the actions of the coalition and reduce the likelihood of being incorporated into the coalition in order to disrupt the coherence of the actions of its individual members.