CAREER: Guidance and Control of Fish Shoals using Bio-Mimetic Robots

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Many control strategies for multi-vehicle teams and mobile sensor networks directly stem from a mathematical understanding of the collective behavior of animal groups. Schooling of fish, flocking of birds, herding of social ungulates, and patterns of traffic flow in human crowds inspire algorithms for coordinating robotic systems. However, the relationship between engineering and nature has been largely one-directional until now. This Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) research program aspires to "close the loop" between engineering and nature by a multidimensional study of engineered guidance and control of fish shoals through bio-mimetic robotic fish. This work will improve the current understanding of complex multi-agent dynamical systems, with potential impact on multi-vehicle robotics, animal behavior science, aquacultural engineering, and fish protection methods.This CAREER program will develop a comprehensive dynamical systems framework for studying leadership effectiveness in fish shoals comprising of live and bio-mimetic robotic fish. Different mechanisms for robot leadership enforcement, including the replication of key traits of live shoal leaders and the use of controlled stimuli, such as sound, water flow, light, and chemicals, to the fish population, will be investigated. Behavioral models and mathematical methods for analysis and control of complex networks will be advanced to understand and control the dynamics of fish shoals. The fish shoal guidance problem will be formulated as a pinning control problem over a weighted time-varying proximity network. Miniaturized robotic fish will be developed using multifunctional sensors and actuators based on emerging smart materials, such as ionic polymer metal composites. The proposed research will be integrated with an innovative educational experience at a local large animal aquarium for elementary, middle, and high school students, including those from under-represented groups. The objective of this experience is to inspire young minds in pursuing careers in engineering and sciences.