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A new technology of mobile robots control over long distances has been tested in Far Eastern Federal University (FEFU). Scientists offer to control robots by using mini software programs that run in unattended mode with using intelligent systems. Such technology will solve the problem of a signal delay over long distances and will ensure a more stable work of robots, as in outer space.

According to Vladimir Filaretov, the Honored Scientist and Inventor of Russia, Head of the Department of Automation and Control, FEFU School of Engineering, when controlling robotics in space, the delay of signal occurs due to the large distance of the planets from the Earth.

To solve the problem, scientists suggested guiding robots not by using commands in real time, but by using mini programs that a device with artificial intelligence independently runs offline. From time to time such programs are sent to the robot, and it runs them, taking into account the possible emergence of obstacles in the face of uncertainty. In the long term, according to the authors, this approach would lead to create robots for the farthest planets, such as Mars—the challenge that researchers around the world are dealing with now.

The professor said that the study also tested the technology of intelligent guidance of a group of robots. Similar groups were created in Moscow and Vladivostok in which they allocated the leading robot and the led ones. The guidance was carried out alternately from different parts of the country: mini programs were sent to the leaders to accomplish a particular mission; they formed tasks to their wingmen and fulfilled the task. The leader, with artificial intelligence, oversaw the group work and adjusted the job for those bots that met with the problems. The task having been completed the leader passed information to the human operator, who, depending on the extent of implementation, sent a new program to the robot.

"The experiments were attended by undergraduate and postgraduate students of different universities and academic institutes. It is very important to establish real scientific and technical cooperation of experts from different parts of this country. By using actively working research and education network, we plan to expand similar experiments and to conduct them with our foreign partners," said Vladimir Filaretov.

Together with the FEFU scientists, the testing of the new technology of mobile robots guidance at large distances was attended by the researchers of the Institute of Automatics and Control Processes, Far Eastern Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences (FEB RAS) and the Keldysh Institute of Applied Mathematics, RAS.