CAREER: Information-driven distributed coordination of mobile sensor networks in dynamic scenarios

具有控制、通信、传感和计算能力的低成本、高度自动驾驶汽车的出现，为移动传感器网络在广泛应用中的部署铺平了道路。例子包括环境监测、海洋学研究、高压力、快速部署行动和民用基础设施的健康监测。在这些设想的应用中，许多关键过程发生在时间和空间尺度上，不能用当前的方法有效地采样。移动传感器网络有望提供丰富的现场时空数据，从而彻底改变动态自然现象的检测、估计和监测。与分布式数据融合功能集成的可控移动性将使传感器网络能够提供广泛的空间覆盖范围，实时响应短期事件，并跟踪远离固定站点的关键过程。分布式数据融合的最新技术只考虑静态网络，因此不能直接适用于自组织的、动态变化的移动网络。在网络系统的运动协调的艺术状态只开发了集中的方法来估计和信号处理。由于这些限制，当前的移动网络过于僵化，无法应对许多关键物理过程的小规模特征和快速演化特征。知识价值。该项目的主要目标是为执行空间分布传感任务的移动网络综合可扩展协调算法。将收集数据的信息内容最大化的分布式策略将使未来的传感器网络能够以快速、自主和最佳的方式适应不断变化的条件。为了使这一愿景成为现实，该项目将解决移动网络在动态场景中收集的分布式、原位数据聚合，以及信息驱动的、可扩展的网络移动性协调，以最佳地执行所需的传感任务。研究计划将采用一种雄心勃勃的综合方法，由三个重点组成：(i)一个健全、统一的框架，使不同的合作战略可以严格地形式化和比较。这项工作将通过组合执行更基本目标的更简单算法，促进复杂传感任务合作策略的模块化设计；（ii）评估协调算法的正确性、稳健性和可扩展性的系统理论工具。为了评估综合通信、运动和传感场景下性能和能量分配之间的最佳权衡，本研究将评估协作策略和空间分布任务的复杂性度量；（iii）新颖、系统的设计方法，允许将全球感知任务分解为单个代理的局部目标。这项工作旨在综合容错、可扩展的算法，这些算法在执行数据融合和估计任务的移动网络的可实现性能、操作时间和能源消耗方面处于极限。创新的技术方法建立在PI和合作者的一系列非常有希望的结果之上，这些结果依赖于协作和拓扑控制、自动机和混合系统理论、机器人、无线通信和运筹学等学科。更广泛的影响。在这项工作中开发的技术将有助于设计自主和高效的移动网络，执行国土安全、工业流程、医疗保健和环境中的关键任务。拟议的研究将导致横切和协同技术适用于实时信息收集和数据开发非常重要的各种场景。研究结果将分别与蒙特雷湾水族馆研究所和美国宇航局艾姆斯合作，转移到海洋学和灾害管理应用中。建议的教育活动已纳入研究计划，包括以下措施：(i)透过设计项目、暑期实习和工程研究示范，让本科生参与研究；（ii）开设“运动协调”本科课程和“合作移动网络”研究生课程；（iii）在加州州立数学与科学暑期学校为高中生开设控制和机器人课程，并在加州大学圣何塞分校附近的社区学院开设说明性和研究性讲座。研究和教育材料将通过一个互动网站提供给高中教师、科学界和公众。还将进行广泛传播的定期活动（期刊出版物、会议发言、讲稿）。基于教育过程和学生成果的教育活动评估将与ucscc卓越教学中心合作完成。将特别注意将包容性教学实践纳入日常教育活动，以解决有关代表性不足的学生的留校问题。

Project SummaryThe emergence of low-cost, highly-autonomous vehicles equipped with control, communication, sensingand computing capabilities is paving the way for the deployment of mobile sensor networks in a wide rangeof applications. Examples include environmental monitoring, oceanographic research, high-stress, rapid de-ployment operations, and health monitoring of civil infrastructure. In these envisioned applications, manycritical processes occur at temporal and spatial scales that cannot be effectively sampled with current ap-proaches. Mobile sensor networks hold the promise to provide the rich, in-situ spatio-temporal data needed torevolutionize the detection, estimation, and monitoring of dynamic natural phenomena. Controlled mobilityintegrated with distributed data fusion capabilities will enable sensor networks to provide broad spatial cov-erage, react to short-lived events in real time, and track key processes that occur away from fixed sites.The state of the art in distributed data fusion only considers static networks, and therefore is not directlyapplicable to ad-hoc, dynamically changing mobile networks. The state of the art in motion coordinationof networked systems has only developed centralized approaches to estimation and signal processing. As aresult of these limitations, current mobile networks are too rigid to cope with the small-scale features andthe rapid evolution characteristic of many key physical processes.Intellectual Merit. The major objective of this project is the synthesis of scalable coordination algorithmsfor mobile networks performing spatially-distributed sensing tasks. Distributed strategies that maximize theinformation content of collected data will allow future sensor networks to adapt to changing conditions in arapid, autonomous and optimal fashion. To make this vision a reality, this project will address the distributed,in-situ aggregation of data collected by mobile networks in dynamic scenarios, and the information-driven,scalable coordination of the network mobility to optimally perform the required sensing tasks.The research plan will adopt an ambitious integrative approach composed of three thrusts: (i) a sound,unifying framework where different cooperative strategies can be rigorously formalized and compared. Thiseffort will facilitate the modular design of cooperative strategies for complex sensing tasks via the combinationof simpler algorithms performing more basic objectives; (ii) system-theoretic tools to evaluate the correctness,robustness and scalability properties of coordination algorithms. To assess the optimal trade-offs betweenperformance and energy allocation in combined communication, motion, and sensing scenarios, this researchwill evaluate complexity measures for cooperative strategies and spatially-distributed tasks; and (iii) novel,systematic design methodologies that allow to break down global sensing tasks into local objectives forindividual agents. This effort seeks to synthesize fault tolerant, scalable algorithms that sit at the limits onthe achievable performance, operational time and energy consumption of mobile networks conducting datafusion and estimation tasks. The innovative technical approach builds on a set of very promising results bythe PI and collaborators, hinging upon disciplines such as cooperative and topology control, automata andhybrid systems theory, robotics, wireless communications, and operations research.Broader Impacts. The techniques developed in this work will help design autonomous and efficient mobilenetworks performing critical tasks in homeland security, industrial processes, health care and the environment.The proposed research will lead to crosscutting and synergistic technologies applicable to a wide rangeof scenarios where real-time information gathering and data exploitation are important. The results willbe transferred to oceanographic and disaster management applications in collaboration with the MontereyBay Aquarium Research Institute, and NASA Ames, respectively.The proposed educational activities are integrated into the research plan and consist of the followinginitiatives: (i) involvement of undergraduate students in research via design projects, summer internshipsand engineering research demonstrations in a newly-created laboratory environment; (ii) development of anundergraduate course on \Motion Coordination" and a graduate course on \Cooperative Mobile Networks";(iii) offering of a course on control and robotics in the California State Summer School for Mathematics andScience for high-school students, and expository and research talks at community colleges near UCSC. Re-search and educational materials will be made available to high-school teachers, the scientific community andthe general public via an interactive website. Regular activities for broad dissemination (journal publications,conference presentations, lecture notes) will also be pursued. The evaluation of the educational activities,based on the educational process and the students' outcomes, will be done in collaboration with the UCSCCenter for Teaching Excellence. Special attention will be paid to integrate inclusive teaching practices intothe daily educational activity to address retention issues concerning underrepresented students.