Marine and Naval Techniques for Integrated Sensing (MANTIS): Bio-Inspired Perception for Autonomous Multi-UUV Systems (ONR White Paper Tracking #: 22-00000352)
Abstract
Marine and Naval Techniques for Integrated Sensing (MANTIS): Bio-Inspired Perception for Autonomous Multi-UUV SystemsTo aid in collaborative multi-UUV autonomy and coordination/control, the PIs# goal is to develop a system which constructs a unified #world view# perception of the ocean environment by capitalizing upon uniquely fused #local view# perceptions of individual UUVs, each equipped with bio-inspired sensor suites. The development of autonomous marine vehicles, particularly the coordination and control of autonomous UUVs, continues to be in high demand. Here, the challenge in controlling a multi-UUV group is no longer necessarily in the modeling and control of the vehicle itself, nor is it the vehicle#s real-time (or a priori) trajectory path planning. The foremost challenge lies in the perception of the vehicle#s surroundings which is needed for effective, real-time responses to the environment. This world view perception is not limited to visual and acoustic based awareness, to which most UUVs are bound. Other bio-inspired senses (e.g., smell, taste, and touch) enable the holistic sense of environmental presence. This N-dimensional 3-D #world view# perception (where N represents the number of sensory modalities) is key to correctly interpreting the ocean environment for the UUV to successfully complete a prescribed mission. For a multi-UUV fleet the localized (i.e., individual vehicle) #world view# perception differs from vehicle to vehicle, depending on the UUV perspective and vantage point. And, because of the complex nature of the coastal ocean environment, there is no guarantee that each individual vehicle observes the environment on equal footing. The PIs proposeto develop the Marine and Naval Techniques for Integrated Sensing (MANTIS) System to generate a more holistic and accurate depiction of the multi-UUV system#s marine environment using integrated bio-inspired sensing techniques and, in so doing, support the claim of bio-inspired perception that #the whole is greater than the sum of its parts#.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Jun 29, 2023
- Source ID
- N000142312451
Entities
People
- May-win Thein
Organizations
- Office of Naval Research
- United States Navy
- University System of New Hampshire