Scalable Control of Adaptive Multi-Robot Systems in Inaccessible Environments

Abstract

The objective of this proposal is to develop a rigorous control and estimation frameworkfor multi-robot systems in uncertain, inaccessible environments with limited or absentcommunication and GPS. This framework should be scalable with the number of robotsand amenable to analysis and control techniques that accommodate stochastic robotbehaviors, such as random encounters with environmental features. We will use discreteand continuum models from chemical kinetics and fluid dynamics to describe robots roles, task transitions, spatiotemporal distributions, and manipulation dynamics. Usingthese models, the proposed objective will be accomplished through the followingtechnical innovations: (1) design of observers with minimal measurement costs thatenable real-time control of multi-robot systems and reconstruction of environmentaldynamics, features, and scalar fields; (2) design of robot controllers that incorporatepairwise interactions, coordination, and local feedback, and evaluation of thesecontrollers in terms of the resulting reachable set of collective behaviors and itsuncertainty; (3) design of robot control policies and data structures for propagatinginformation throughout a robot collective and adapting to local disturbances and failures;and (4) validation of the control and estimation framework on a multi-robot testbed withsmall aerial and ground vehicles.

Document Details

Document Type
DoD Grant Award
Publication Date
Aug 12, 2016
Source ID
N000141612605

Entities

People

  • Spring Berman

Organizations

  • Arizona State University
  • Office of Naval Research
  • United States Navy

Tags

Fields of Study

  • Computer science

Readers

  • Agent-Based Social Robotics and Mobile-Assisted Learning in Virtual Environments.
  • Distributed Systems and Data Platform Development
  • Robotics and Automation.

Technology Areas

  • AI & ML
  • AI & ML - Autonomous Systems
  • AI & ML - Bayesian Inference
  • Autonomy
  • Autonomy - Autonomous System Control
  • Space
  • Space - Spacecraft Maneuvers