# Ergodic Specifications for Flexible Swarm Control: From User Commands to Persistent Adaptation

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2006.06081 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2006.06081/

## Key facts

- Cited by 3 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- First posted on arXiv 10 Jun 2020.

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

- [Flow Matching Ergodic Coverage](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2504.17872/) (2025)
- [The Viability of Domain Constrained Coalition Formation for Robotic Collectives](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2306.05590/) (2023)
- [Can A Single Human Supervise A Swarm of 100 Heterogeneous Robots?](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2308.00102/) (2023)

## Abstract (arXiv)

This paper presents a formulation for swarm control and high-level task planning that is dynamically responsive to user commands and adaptable to environmental changes. We design an end-to-end pipeline from a tactile tablet interface for user commands to onboard control of robotic agents based on decentralized ergodic coverage. Our approach demonstrates reliable and dynamic control of a swarm collective through the use of ergodic specifications for planning and executing agent trajectories as well as responding to user and external inputs. We validate our approach in a virtual reality simulation environment and in real-world experiments at the DARPA OFFSET Urban Swarm Challenge FX3 field tests with a robotic swarm where user-based control of the swarm and mission-based tasks require a dynamic and flexible response to changing conditions and objectives in real-time.