Control of Networked Multi-Agent Decision Systems

现实世界中合作控制系统的例子包括：用于搜救行动的机器人和无人驾驶飞机，用于军事监视和攻击任务的自主车辆，以及形成空间望远镜分布式大口径的一系列卫星。根据任务的不同，需要协调的运动可能是精确的队形或所谓的集群，这可以从一群鸟或一群鱼的运动中看到。这项研究将研究互联系统在各种现实情况下的动态行为，例如代理之间的部分或完全通信故障。该项目将解决三类问题：(1)高性能的暂态行为，(2)网络引起的延迟和丢包，(3)自治代理数量过多的情况。该项目的智力优势在于它有助于理解控制一组连接系统及其交互行为的问题。该项目更广泛的影响在于网络协同控制研究的跨学科性质。在这一领域开发的技术将不可避免地影响到包括控制、通信和计算机在内的广泛的工程学科，从而提高获奖机构的研究能力。

Real-world examples of cooperative control systems include:robots and unmanned aircraft in search and rescue operations, autonomous vehicles for military surveillance and attack missions, and an array of satellites to form a distributed large aperture of a space telescope. Depending on the mission, the motion to be coordinated may be an exact formation or so-called flocking which can be seen in the motion of a flock of birds or a school of fish. The proposed research will investigate dynamic behavior of interconnected systems under various realistic situations such as partial orcomplete communication failures between agents. The project will solve three categories of problems: (1)high performance transient behavior, (2)network-induced delay and packet-loss, and (3)the case when the number of autonomous agents is excessively large.The intellectual merit of this project lies in its contribution to the understanding of the problem of controlling an array of connected systems and their interactive behavior. The broader impact of the project lies in the inter-disciplinary nature of networked cooperative control research. Technologies developed in this area will inevitably impact a wide range of engineering disciplines including controls, communications, and computers enhancing the research capability of the awardee institution.