Martel’s Senior Researcher co-authors groundbreaking paper on AI-based audio localisation for swarm robots

Swarm Robot Communication

Swarm Robot Communication

Martel is thrilled to announce that Amjad Yousef Majid, our Senior Researcher at Martel Netherlands, has co-authored an innovative paper focused on improving “Swarm Robot Communication” through AI-based audio localisation. The paper, titled “AI-based Simultaneous Audio Localisation and Communication for Robots,” was recently accepted at the IEEE Internet of Things Design and Implementation Conference held in Texas, the US, in March 2023 and presented on 11 May 2023.

This groundbreaking research introduces Chirpy, a cutting-edge hardware module designed specifically for enhancing swarm robot communication. Chirpy empowers robots to locate and communicate with each other through audio, opening up new possibilities for tasks such as search and rescue missions. Its deep learning module, AudioLocNet, enables efficient localisation in challenging environments, including those with non-line-of-sight and reverb.

Chirpy’s unique design supports concurrent transmission, optimizing swarm robot communication using orthogonal audio chirps. The audio message frame design strikes the perfect balance between localisation accuracy and communication speed, allowing robots equipped with Chirpies to construct a path to a location of interest in real-time, without the need for a map.

The experiments conducted by the research team demonstrate Chirpy’s ability to decode messages from four concurrent transmissions. AudioLocNet also showcases remarkable accuracy in classifying the location of a transmitter, even in adverse conditions such as non-line-of-sight and reverberant environments.

Amjad Yousef Majid‘s experience and expertise have been invaluable in advancing swarm robot communication. With a Ph.D. focused on designing and implementing the green Internet of Things (battery-free IoT) and a post-doctoral research position leading the Internet of Robot project, Dr. Majid’s work has resulted in numerous patents and influential publications. He holds a Ph.D. and MSc. in Computer Science from the Delft University of Technology, the Netherlands.

We are immensely proud of Amjad’s contributions to this groundbreaking research and look forward to witnessing the transformative impact Chirpy and AudioLocNet will have on swarm robot communication and their applications. This achievement underscores Martel’s commitment to fostering innovation and advancing the frontier of technology.