NetSE: Small:Autonomous Wireless Swarms: Integrating Science and Engineering

这个项目将促进人们对一群可以共同完成复杂任务的简单车辆的理解。罗西教授和沈教授的灵感来自群居动物，如鸟群和鱼群，它们使用简单的规则进行交流，协调行动，并为整个群体做出决定。在生物学和技术应用中发现的规则之间可能存在重大差异。例如，鸟类通过视觉提示来协调运动，而联网的机器人则通过无线通信来协调活动。这两种类型的交流提供了不同类型的信息，并有不同的限制。教授们。沈和罗西对自主水下机器人特别感兴趣，因为他们面临着通信质量低或不规律以及位置信息差的挑战。沈和罗西将把数学建模和分析与工程应用相结合，研究具体问题。首先，他们将探索群体中的领导力，以了解群体中的少数个体如何影响整个群体的决策。其次，他们将研究在背景流存在的情况下的蜂群行为，以了解洋流如何扭曲或分解在平静条件下有效的蜂群。第三，他们将研究威胁避免策略，以了解当个体无法躲避时，复杂的运动如何保护蜂群。最后，他们将研究海洋中营养物质或污染物等标量场的协调检测。教授们。沈和罗西将围绕这些问题建立一个跨学科的研究团队，让数学和计算机科学的学生参与进来。

This project will advance the understanding of swarms of simple vehicles that can collectively accomplish complex tasks. Prof. Rossi and Shen take their inspiration from social animals such as flocks of birds and schools of fish that communicate using simple rules to coordinate motion and make decisions for the entire group. There can be significant differences between rules found in biology and technological applications. For instance, birds coordinate motion with visual cues whereas networked robots coordinate activities using wireless communication. These two types of communication provide different kinds of information and have different limitations. Profs. Shen and Rossi are particularly interested in autonomous underwater vehicles because they face the challenge of low or irregular communication quality and poor position information.Profs. Shen and Rossi will combine mathematical modeling and analysis with engineering applications to study specific problems. First, they will explore leadership within swarms to understand how small numbers of individuals within a swarm can shape decision making for the entire group. Second, they will study swarm behavior in the presence of background flows to understand how currents can distort or disassemble swarms that would be effective in calm conditions. Third, they will study threat avoidance strategies to understand how complex motion can protect a swarm when individual evasion is impossible. Finally, they will study coordinated detection of a scalar field such as nutrients or contaminants in the ocean. Profs. Shen and Rossi will create an interdisciplinary research team around these problems involving students from both mathematics and computer science.