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Main Authors: Pacheco, Alexandre, De Vos, Sébastien, Reina, Andreagiovanni, Dorigo, Marco, Strobel, Volker
Format: Preprint
Published: 2024
Subjects:
Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2409.01900
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author Pacheco, Alexandre
De Vos, Sébastien
Reina, Andreagiovanni
Dorigo, Marco
Strobel, Volker
author_facet Pacheco, Alexandre
De Vos, Sébastien
Reina, Andreagiovanni
Dorigo, Marco
Strobel, Volker
contents Federated learning is a new approach to distributed machine learning that offers potential advantages such as reducing communication requirements and distributing the costs of training algorithms. Therefore, it could hold great promise in swarm robotics applications. However, federated learning usually requires a centralized server for the aggregation of the models. In this paper, we present a proof-of-concept implementation of federated learning in a robot swarm that does not compromise decentralization. To do so, we use blockchain technology to enable our robot swarm to securely synchronize a shared model that is the aggregation of the individual models without relying on a central server. We then show that introducing a single malfunctioning robot can, however, heavily disrupt the training process. To prevent such situations, we devise protection mechanisms that are implemented through secure and tamper-proof blockchain smart contracts. Our experiments are conducted in ARGoS, a physics-based simulator for swarm robotics, using the Ethereum blockchain protocol which is executed by each simulated robot.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2409_01900
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Securing Federated Learning in Robot Swarms using Blockchain Technology
Pacheco, Alexandre
De Vos, Sébastien
Reina, Andreagiovanni
Dorigo, Marco
Strobel, Volker
Robotics
Federated learning is a new approach to distributed machine learning that offers potential advantages such as reducing communication requirements and distributing the costs of training algorithms. Therefore, it could hold great promise in swarm robotics applications. However, federated learning usually requires a centralized server for the aggregation of the models. In this paper, we present a proof-of-concept implementation of federated learning in a robot swarm that does not compromise decentralization. To do so, we use blockchain technology to enable our robot swarm to securely synchronize a shared model that is the aggregation of the individual models without relying on a central server. We then show that introducing a single malfunctioning robot can, however, heavily disrupt the training process. To prevent such situations, we devise protection mechanisms that are implemented through secure and tamper-proof blockchain smart contracts. Our experiments are conducted in ARGoS, a physics-based simulator for swarm robotics, using the Ethereum blockchain protocol which is executed by each simulated robot.
title Securing Federated Learning in Robot Swarms using Blockchain Technology
topic Robotics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2409.01900