SESAME EU project: Research into multi-robot systems

International research and industry partners hope that this EU-funded project will demonstrate to end users the societal and economic benefits coming from robotic and autonomous systems. The project focuses on multi-robot systems (MRS), which comprise distributed and interconnected robotic teams that can carry out tasks beyond the competency of a single robot.

According to Professor Nico Hochgeschwender, who is managing the project at H-BRS, the current lack of viable solutions is due to the fact that, until now, no systematic engineering methodology has been developed that encompasses the entire MRS lifecycle: “Through the SESAME project, we want to develop an open, modular, configurable model-based approach for reliable MRS. The intention is also for the planned multi-robot system to be able to use artificial intelligence. We’re developing the system in a way that takes the potential for and defence against cyber-attacks into account, as these pose a particular threat to open configurations.”

Funded by the EU as part of Horizon 2020

Over the next three years, 17 partners from eight European countries will take part in project SESAME. The project began on 1 January 2021 as part of the EU’s Horizon funding programme. The European Union is providing almost seven million euro in funding, of which H-BRS will receive around EUR 600,000. Each of the participants in the project has a long track record in conducting cutting-edge research on robotics, model-based safety, security analysis, validation and verification geared towards delivering sustainable and industry-compliant open-source solutions. An advisory board of experts is leading the development of SESAME.