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Cloud robotics and advanced communications can foster a step-change in cooperative robots and hybrid wireless sensor networks (H-WSN) for demanding environments (e.g., disaster response, mining, demolition, and nuclear sites) by enabling the timely sharing of data and computational resources between robot and human teams. However, the operational complexity of such multi-agent systems requires defining effective architectures, coping with implementation details, and testing in realistic deployments. This article proposes X-IoCA, an Internet of robotic things (IoRT) and communication architecture consisting of a hybrid and heterogeneous network of wireless transceivers (H2WTN), based on LoRa and BLE technologies, and a robot operating system (ROS) network. The IoRT is connected to a feedback information system (FIS) distributed among multi-access edge computing (MEC) centers. Furthermore, we present SAR-IoCA, an implementation of the architecture for search and rescue (SAR) integrated into a 5G network. The FIS for this application consists of an SAR-FIS (including a path planner for UGVs considering risks detected by a LoRa H-WSN) and an ROS-FIS (for real-time monitoring and processing of information published throughout the ROS network). Moreover, we discuss lessons learned from using SAR-IoCA in a realistic exercise where three UGVs, a UAV, and responders collaborated to rescue victims from a tunnel accessible through rough terrain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The urban population, worldwide, is growing exponentially and with it the demand for information on pollution levels, vehicle traffic, or available parking, giving rise to citizens connected to their environment. This article presents an experimental long range (LoRa) and low power consumption network, with a combination of static and mobile wireless sensors (hybrid architecture) to tune and validate concentrator placement, to obtain a large coverage in an urban environment. A mobile node has been used, carrying a gateway and various sensors. The Activation By Personalization (ABP) mode has been used, justified for urban applications requiring multicasting. This allows to compare the coverage of each static gateway, being able to make practical decisions about its location. With this methodology, it has been possible to provide service to the city of Malaga, through a single concentrator node. The information acquired is synchronized in an external database, to monitor the data in real time, being able to geolocate the dataframes through web mapping services. This work presents the development and implementation of a hybrid wireless sensor network of long range and low power, configured and tuned to achieve efficient performance in a mid-size city, and tested in experiments in a real urban environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]