Many new methodologies for the control of large-scale multi-agent systems are based on macroscopic representations of the emerging systemdynamics, in the form of continuum approximations of large ensembles. These techniques, that are typically developed in the limit case of an infinite number of agents, are usually validated only through numerical simulations. In this paper, we introduce a mixed reality set-up for testing swarm robotics techniques, focusing on the macroscopic collective motion of robotic swarms. This hybrid apparatus combines both real differential drive robots and virtual agents to create a heterogeneous swarm of tunable size. We also extend continuification-based control methods for swarms to higher dimensions, and assess experimentally their validity in the new platform. Our study demonstrates the effectiveness of the platform for conducting large-scale swarm robotics experiments, and it contributes new theoretical insights into control algorithms exploiting continuification approaches.

翻译：针对大规模多智能体系统的诸多新控制方法，通常基于系统涌现动力学的宏观表征——即通过连续体近似来描述大规模智能体集群。这些通常在无限智能体极限情况下推导的技术，往往仅通过数值模拟进行验证。本文提出了一种用于测试群体机器人技术的混合现实装置，重点关注机器人集群的宏观集体运动。该混合设备结合了真实差分驱动机器人与虚拟智能体，构建了规模可调的异质群体。同时，我们将基于连续化的群体控制方法扩展至更高维度，并通过实验验证其在新平台中的有效性。本研究证明了该平台开展大规模群体机器人实验的可行性，并为利用连续化方法的控制算法提供了新的理论洞见。