How do robot platoons navigate crowds?
On the Benefits of Robot Platooning for Navigating Crowded Environments
This paper investigates the effectiveness of using robot platooning (robots moving in a leader-follower formation) versus less-constrained, greedy strategies for navigating through crowds of simulated pedestrians.
The study found that platooning can be beneficial in dense, counter-flowing crowds, as it's less disruptive and faster than greedy strategies. However, in sparser scenarios or those with perpendicular pedestrian flows, greedy approaches can be faster, though potentially more disruptive. The key takeaway for LLM-based multi-agent systems is that pre-programmed coordination strategies (like platooning) can be advantageous in specific environments and offer a way to reduce unwanted side-effects (disruption).