  This paper describes the Robotarium -- a remotely accessible, multi-robot
research facility. The impetus behind the Robotarium is that multi-robot
testbeds constitute an integral and essential part of the multi-robot research
cycle, yet they are expensive, complex, and time-consuming to develop, operate,
and maintain. These resource constraints, in turn, limit access for large
groups of researchers and students, which is what the Robotarium is remedying
by providing users with remote access to a state-of-the-art multi-robot test
facility. This paper details the design and operation of the Robotarium and
discusses the considerations one must take when making complex hardware
remotely accessible. In particular, safety must be built into the system
already at the design phase without overly constraining what coordinated
control programs users can upload and execute, which calls for minimally
invasive safety routines with provable performance guarantees.
