This algorithm not only serves to determine the optimal robot placement but also

inadvertently provides some insight as to the number of robots necessary to cover the

search space most efficiently. The plots of the rates of convergence are shown in figure

5.26 and note that the four-robot case provides smallest shadow area in approximately

580 seconds or 9.6 minutes.

 20000
 2 Robots
 18000 3 Robots
 4 Robots
 16000 5 Robots

 14000

 | 12000
 0o

 10000

 E 8000
 E
 O 6000

 4000

 2000 -

 0 -
 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700
 Time (sec)


 Figure 5.26: Map 6 rates of convergence for 2-5 robots after 200 generations

 All of the examples shown in the previous sections provide a reasonable estimate of

the visible as well as hidden area from the robots' perspectives. These results are

affected by the number of individuals used in the population and the number of

generations incorporated into the genetic algorithm. Better results may be obtained by

allowing the algorithm to run for a longer period of time. The final results proved to

accomplish the overall objective of this work. The next section will compare the results