Recent advances in sensor technology have enabled the fast development of mobile sensor networks operating in various unknown and sometimes hazardous environments. In this paper, we introduce one integrative approach to design, analyze and test distributed control algorithms to coordinate a network of autonomous mobile sensors by utilizing both simulation tools and a robotic testbed. The research has been carried out in the context of the mobile sensing project, PicoSmart, in the northern provinces of the Netherlands for the inspection of natural gas pipelines.
Keywords: autonomous robot; coordination algorithm; industrial sensing; mobile sensor network.