Optimotaxis: A Stochastic Multi-agent Optimization Procedure with Point Measurements

Mesquita, Alexandre R.; Hespanha, João P.; Åström, Karl Johan

doi:10.1007/978-3-540-78929-1_26

Cited by 75 publications

(70 citation statements)

References 28 publications

(40 reference statements)

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“…Since material transport is dominated by turbulence in high Reynolds regimes, information about the source location must be inferred from intermittent sensor detections. As such, these works focus on developing search strategies that can infer the source location from these intermittent observations [2,13,14].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Information Theoretic Source Seeking Strategies for Multiagent Plume Tracking in Turbulent Fields

Hajieghrary

Mox

Hsieh

2017

JMSE

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Abstract:We present information theoretic search strategies for single and multi-robot teams to localize the source of biochemical contaminants in turbulent flows. The robots synthesize the information provided by sporadic and intermittent sensor readings to optimize their exploration strategy. By leveraging the spatio-temporal sensing capabilities of a mobile sensing network, our strategies result in control actions that maximize the information gained by the team while minimizing the time spent localizing the biochemical source. By leveraging the team's ability to obtain simultaneous measurements at different locations, we show how a multi-robot team is able to speed up the search process resulting in a collaborative information theoretic search strategy. We validate our proposed strategies in both simulations and experiments.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Information Theoretic Source Seeking Strategies for Multiagent Plume Tracking in Turbulent Fields

Hajieghrary

Mox

Hsieh

2017

JMSE

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“…Source-seeking with mobile agents has been studied for a number of fairly general signal fields and vehicle models [2][3][4][5]. While the concepts proposed in some of these references can be applied to the specific problem of seeking an RF source, we find that exploiting the properties of the RF field and the sensing architecture gives us substantial benefits.…”

Section: Avionics Podmentioning

confidence: 99%

RF source-seeking by a micro aerial vehicle using rotation-based angle of arrival estimates

Venkateswaran

Isaacs

Fregene

et al. 2013

2013 American Control Conference

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Abstract-We investigate a computationally and memory efficient algorithm for radio frequency (RF) source-seeking with a single-wing rotating micro aerial vehicle (MAV) equipped with a directional antenna. The MAV is assumed to have no knowledge of its position and to have only an estimate of orientation through a magnetometer. A key novelty of our approach is in exploiting the rotation of the MAV and the directionality of its RF antenna to derive estimates of the angle of arrival (AOA) at each rotation. The MAV then follows the estimated direction until the next rotation is complete. We prove convergence of this greedy algorithm under rather weak assumptions on the noise associated with the AOA estimates, using recent results on the property of recurrence for systems governed by stochastic difference inclusions. These convergence results are supplemented by simulations quantifying the amount of excess travel, relative to the straight line distance to the source. Indoor experiments using Lockheed Martin's Samarai MAV demonstrate the efficacy of the greedy algorithm both for static source-seeking, and for the more challenging problem of tracking a moving source.

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“…In [11], a source seeking problem for an autonomous vehicle modeled as a nonholonomic unicycle is addressed, whereas [12][13][14] look into the problem of source seeking when direct gradient information of the measured quantity is unavailable.…”

Section: Active Sensing and Source Seekingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The work in [13] induces source seeking behavior without direct gradient information by mimicking E. Coli bacteria. Finally, the authors of [14] propose a hybrid control strategy to locate a radiation source utilizing radiation intensity measurements only.…”

Section: Active Sensing and Source Seekingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Information Surfing for Radiation Map Building

Abdallah¹,

Cortez²,

Tanner³

et al. 2011

International Journal of Robotics and Automation

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We develop a control scheme for a group of mobile sensors to map radiation over a given planar polygonal region. The advantage of this methodology is that it provides quick situational awareness regarding radiation levels, which is being updated and refined in real-time as more measurements become available. The control algorithm is based on the concept of information surfing, where navigation is done by following information gradients, taking into account sensing performance and the dynamics of the observed process. It is tailored to cases of weak radioactivity, where source signals may be buried in background. We steer mobile sensors to locations which are critical points of a function that quantifies the information content of the measured signal, while * Corresponding author the time-asymptotic properties of the selected information metric facilitate the stability of the group motion. Information surfing allows for reactive mobile sensor network behavior and adaptation to environmental changes, as well as human retasking. Computer simulations and experiments are conducted to verify the asymptotic behavior of the robot group, and its distributed sensing and mapping capabilities.Key words: Sensor networks, cooperative control, radiation sensing MotivationThis work is motivated by the emerging threat of contamination from a malicious attack or accidental release of radioactive material. In such a case, a radiation map can be a valuable tool for rescue, response, and cleanup efforts. Although our focus is on an unexpected release of nuclear contaminants, our methods can also be applied to a wide range of other problems such as nuclear forensics and non proliferation, where robots could investigate the possibility that fissile material has been processed, by searching for small specks of that material.Existing technology in radiation detection is not well suited for the type of scenario described. Currently, searching for radiation sources is usually either done manually, by operators waving radiation counters in front of them as they walk, or by stationary portal monitors. The latter technology is used to detect radioactive sources in cargo or shipping containers at places such as ports of entry.Handheld radiation detectors do not provide any visual or statistical data map of the area in question. If human operators are used in the nuclear forensics problem, it is unlikely that their counters register any measurement at all, coming from a small amount of radioactive material or shielded special nuclear material (snm). Portal monitor systems on the other hand, while able to address the problem of scanning cargo for radioactive sources, lack the mobility needed when measurements are taken over a large area. Related ResearchExisting control design methods for multiple mobile robot coordination apply to problems ranging from topological mapping to formation and flocking tasks, as well as reconfigurable sensor networks. Sensor network deploymentReference [1] employs potential fields to reconfigure a mobile se...

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Optimotaxis: A Stochastic Multi-agent Optimization Procedure with Point Measurements

Cited by 75 publications

References 28 publications

Information Theoretic Source Seeking Strategies for Multiagent Plume Tracking in Turbulent Fields

Information Theoretic Source Seeking Strategies for Multiagent Plume Tracking in Turbulent Fields

RF source-seeking by a micro aerial vehicle using rotation-based angle of arrival estimates

Information Surfing for Radiation Map Building

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