Motivation

In agricultural robotics, reliable communication between robots is essential for coordinated operations across large fields. However, traditional wireless communication faces significant range limitations in expansive agricultural environments. This project explores an innovative solution: creating a self-organising mesh network where each robot acts as a communication node. By strategically positioning robots across the field, we can establish a robust communication infrastructure with only a few dedicated uplink points while maintaining connectivity throughout the entire fleet. The challenge lies in determining the optimal spatial configuration that guarantees connectivity between all nodes in the mesh, ensuring no robot becomes isolated whilst maximising overall system performance. This research will advance agricultural robotics by enabling reliable command, control and data exchange in environments where traditional communication infrastructure is impractical or unavailable.

Required Skills

• Good understanding of graph theory and networking principles
• Basic understanding of wireless communication and network security
• Solid programming skills in C++ or Python
• Knowledge of optimisation algorithms and spatial reasoning
• Familiarity with Robot Operating System (ROS2) or willingness to learn
• Experience with simulation environments would be advantageous
• Problem-solving mindset and analytical thinking

Skills to Be Gained

This project offers a unique opportunity to develop expertise at the intersection of robotics and communication networks. Students will gain hands-on experience in designing and implementing mesh networking solutions for mobile robot fleets. You’ll develop advanced skills in network topology optimisation, secure communication protocols, and distributed systems. The project will enhance your understanding of constrained optimisation problems and spatial reasoning algorithms. Working with both simulated and real robotic platforms will provide practical experience in deploying theoretical concepts to real-world scenarios. These skills are highly transferable to careers in autonomous systems development, Internet of Things (IoT), telecommunications, and further research in multi-robot systems.

This is a project suitable as a final year project for any Lincoln students studying Computer Science or Robotics, or as an internship position in robotics. If you are interested to work on this as an intern fill out our Expression of Interest Form, choosing Professor Marc Hanheide as the researcher to supervise the project. If you are a Lincoln student wishing to pursue this project as part of your studies, please refer to your respective project module’s procedure on project selection and allocation.