# Dolphin: a task orchestration language for autonomous vehicle networks

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/1803.00944 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/1803.00944/

## Key facts

- Cited by 3 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- First posted on arXiv 2 Mar 2018.

## Built on by (most cited first, 3 of 3)

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- [MacroSwarm: A Field-based Compositional Framework for Swarm Programming](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2401.10969/) (2024)
- [Programming Distributed Collective Processes in the eXchange Calculus](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2401.11212/) (2024)

## Abstract (arXiv)

We present Dolphin, an extensible programming language for autonomous vehicle networks. A Dolphin program expresses an orchestrated execution of tasks defined compositionally for multiple vehicles. Building upon the base case of elementary one-vehicle tasks, the built-in operators include support for composing tasks in several forms, for instance according to concurrent, sequential, or event-based task flow. The language is implemented as a Groovy DSL, facilitating extension and integration with external software packages, in particular robotic toolkits. The paper describes the Dolphin language, its integration with an open-source toolchain for autonomous vehicles, and results from field tests using unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs) and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).