CAREER: Distributed Coordination Strategies for Mobile Autonomous Agents

University Of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia PA

Investigators

Abstract

CAREER: Distributed Coordination Strategies for Mobile Autonomous Agents Department of Electrical and Systems Engineering, University of Pennsylvania This proposal is aimed at developing tools for analysis and design of distributed algorithms for co-ordination of groups of mobile autonomous agents. Such coordination algorithms have appeared in various disciplines in different contexts, ranging from biological sciences (aggregation and social cohesion in animal species) to systems and control theory and collective robotics (cooperative con-trol of multi-vehicle systems), and from statistical physics (non-equilibrium phenomena in many degree-of-freedom dynamical systems) to computer graphics (artificial life, simulated flocking). We plan to develop a unified theory which provides a provably correct analysis and synthesis of distributed coordination and collective synchronization among a network of mobile agents with a changing topology. Several key problems are formulated and road-maps for obtaining efficient and scalable solutions to the problems are discussed. The proposed research plan utilizes tools from algebraic and spectral theory of graphs, control theory and theory of dynamical systems. Intellectual Merit: Distributed coordination problems such as collective synchronization and flocking are ubiquitous in complex biological, engineering, and physical systems. Such prob-lems arise in control theory, physics, biology, social sciences, power system networks and in time synchronization in sensor networks. The common feature of all of the above problems is that a set of (possibly mobile) agents are interconnected using simple nearest neighbor rules in a network with a topology that is time varying. We plan to develop a unified framework which allows us to study these problems and synthesize coordinated and cooperative systems of multiple agents. Moreover, this study will provide a justification for the so called emergence of collective behavior from simple local interactions, a phenomenon which has been observed across complex engineer-ing and natural systems. Broader Impacts: The proposed research will impact the study of complex engineering systems, ranging from operation and joint coordination of unmanned air, ground, and underwater vehicles as well as coordination of a network of unmanned robots to perform search and rescue operations. The research will also impact other emerging applications in homeland security, defense, trans-portation, wireless communication, and electric power networks, which require networks of agents to be capable of multi-user communication, collaborative information processing, and distributed computation, actuation, and control. The research plan is also accompanied by an active educa-tion plan consisting of undergraduate and graduate level course development, which will provide a framework for studying problems involving dynamic systems over networks. The plan is designed to involve undergraduate students in research and provide them with a well-defined plan of study to help motivate them to pursue an advanced degree. It would also bring research across several areas of science and systems theory together in a single unifying framework.