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The evaluation of large swarms is however challenging as simulations alone often lack some properties of real systems whereas real-world experiments are costly and complex. We present a mixed reality (MR) system that connects simulated and physical robots though a 5G network, facilitating MR experiments to evaluate communication-based swarm algorithms. The effectiveness of the system is demonstrated through extensive experiments with unmanned aerial vehicles. Measurements show that the communication requirements of swarm coordination are well met by 5G but the computing power of the simulation server can be a bottleneck. However, even when the simulation slows down, communication and coordination take place in real time. In conclusion, 5G-enabled MR experiments are a feasible tool for bridging the reality gap in the development and evaluation of robot swarms.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1007\/s10514-024-10169-1","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,9,30]],"date-time":"2024-09-30T12:03:13Z","timestamp":1727697793000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/springer_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":5,"title":["Bridging the reality gap in drone swarm development through mixed reality"],"prefix":"10.1007","volume":"48","author":[{"given":"Micha","family":"Sende","sequence":"first","affiliation":[]},{"given":"Christian","family":"Raffelsberger","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]},{"given":"Christian","family":"Bettstetter","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]}],"member":"297","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,9,30]]},"reference":[{"key":"10169_CR1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","unstructured":"Boeing, A., & Br\u00e4unl, T. (2012). 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The authors have no relevant financial or non-financial interests to disclose. All authors certify that they have no affiliations with or involvement in any organization or entity with any financial interest or non-financial interest in the subject matter or materials discussed in this manuscript. The authors have no financial or proprietary interests in any material discussed in this article.","order":2,"name":"Ethics","group":{"name":"EthicsHeading","label":"Conflicts of interest"}},{"value":"Not applicable","order":3,"name":"Ethics","group":{"name":"EthicsHeading","label":"Research involving human participants and\/or animals"}},{"value":"Not applicable","order":4,"name":"Ethics","group":{"name":"EthicsHeading","label":"Informed consent"}}],"article-number":"19"}}