In the same way that computers have revolutionized the way we deal with information, robotics will enable a similar revolution in the way we operate in the real world. Future robots will form a backbone of pervasive, efficient networks of taskable agents-but, crucially, these will be systems of communicating, cooperative devices. Already, multiple robot and multiple agent systems (MRS/MAS) have shown their worth in fairly structured and semi-structured domains such as logistics, cargo

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... , and agriculture. Far more is on the immediate horizon: vehicular networks for transportation, security and surveillance, food supply, environmental monitoring and ecological impact assessment, services for manufacturing and assistance in rescue settings. This special issue presents contributions that describe state-of-the-art results in distributed robotics and multi-agent systems research as applicable to autonomous robot systems. Topics represented include fundamental system capabilities including communication, data fusion, estimation, localisation, planning, and decision making; interactions between B Robert Fitch