This paper describes the Pogobot, an open-source platform specifically designed for research at the interface of swarm robotics and active matter. Pogobot features vibration-based or wheel-based locomotion, fast infrared communication, and an array of sensors in a cost-effective package (approx. 250euros/unit). The platform's modular design, comprehensive API, and extensible architecture facilitate the implementation of swarm intelligence algorithms and collective motion. Pogobots offer an accessible alternative to existing platforms while providing advanced capabilities including directional communication between units and fast locomotion, all with a compact form factor. More than 200 Pogobots are already being used on a daily basis in several Universities to study self-organizing systems, programmable active matter, discrete reaction-diffusion-advection systems and computational models of social learning and evolution. This paper details the hardware and software architecture, communication protocols, locomotion mechanisms, and the infrastructure built around the Pogobots.

翻译：本文介绍了Pogobot，一个专为群体机器人与活性物质交叉研究设计的开源平台。Pogobot具备振动或轮式驱动的运动能力、快速红外通信以及集成于经济型封装（约250欧元/台）中的多传感器阵列。该平台的模块化设计、完整API和可扩展架构有助于实现群体智能算法与集体运动控制。Pogobot为现有平台提供了易获取的替代方案，同时具备定向单元间通信、快速运动等先进功能，且保持紧凑的外形结构。目前已有超过200台Pogobot在多个高校日常用于研究自组织系统、可编程活性物质、离散反应-扩散-平流系统以及社会学习与进化的计算模型。本文详细阐述了其硬件与软件架构、通信协议、运动机制及围绕Pogobot构建的基础设施。