PROJECT SUMMARY
Recently, spawned by the advent of small embedded processors and
sensors, advanced communication systems, and the miniaturization of
electro-mechanical devices, considerably effort is being placed on the
deployment of groups of networked autonomous robotic vehicles operating
in a number of challenging environments. Some of the potential
applications include searching and surveying operations as well as
exploration and mapping in hazardous environments.
The goal of this project is to develop, implement and test advanced
robust control strategies for the coordination and cooperative motion a
network of autonomous vehicles (NAV). The emphasis will be placed on
the field of autonomous marine robots for two fundamental reasons: i)
the highly nonlinear dynamics of marine vehicles pose formidable
challenges to control system designers, and ii) autonomous marine
vehicles are steadily becoming the tool par excellence to acquire
scientific data at an unprecedented scale. However, the research done
in the field of marine robots can certainly be adapted to land, air,
and space vehicles.
The NAV-Control project combines two important and complementary
components: fundamental research and
applications. At a theoretical level, we propose to develop a
set of control tools and algorithms that explicitly address the
dynamics of the vehicles and the constraints imposed by the topology of
the inter-vehicle communications network. Obtaining formal proofs
of robustness and stability of the control algorithms is a key
objective. At practical level, one key objective of NAV-Control is to
build an experimental platform consisting of several low-budget tiny
autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) (or semi-submersible AUVs) with
embedded computing and communication capabilities, allowing them to
perform cooperative tasks in a test tank. The testbed will allow for
the simulation of different communication topologies and failures, two
of the key issues that must be addressed at a theoretical level.
Another objective is to assure that the research is driven by the
high-impact field of marine robotics. It is expected that the
methodologies and techniques developed in NAV-Control will contribute
to the development of important tools for ocean exploration and
exploitation.