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Higher Order Reasoning for Collaborative Communicationless
Mobile Robot Operations

Jonathan Reasoner and Nicola Bezzo

Abstract

In communicationless environments, multi-robot systems must operate without the constant information exchange that many coordination strategies typically assume. This paper presents a novel dynamic epistemic planning framework that enables implicit coordination and long horizon planning through higher-order reasoning among robots. With our approach, robots form and propagate higher-order belief particles, update world beliefs using Bayesian inference, and select actions via a behavior tree that anticipates teammates’ likely decisions. A temporally aware  Model Predictive Path Integral (MPPI) controller integrates this reasoning into low-level execution, allowing robots to plan intercepts and adapt trajectories under partial observability. The proposed framework is evaluated in both simulations and physical experiments, where it consistently reduces task completion time compared to a first-order baseline, demonstrating that epistemic logic can serve as a robust foundation for resilient coordination in communication-restricted domains.

Simulation and Experiment Videos
3 Robot Simulations
Our Approach
Decentralized Baseline
4 Robot Simulations
Our Approach
Decentralized Baseline
2 Robot Experiments
Our Approach
Decentralized Baseline
3 Robot Experiments
Our Approach
Decentralized Baseline
AMR Lab
© 2026 Nicola Bezzo
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