Pursuit-Evasion Games with Complex Systems in Complex Environments

要想在拟议的研究计划中取得成功，需要在两个基本问题上取得进展。首先，必须开发新的模型和计算工具，阐明分布式传感和决策任务中可用的信息结构。其次，必须设计利用这些结构来设计有效的追踪-逃避策略的算法。这些算法为跟踪等许多SAN应用提供了健壮且可验证的解决方案。为了确保这些结果的实际适用性，他们将适应两个应用程序（跟踪和监视），可以建模为追求逃避游戏和传感器-执行器network.Broader ImpactsDue的追求逃避游戏的众多应用，这个项目的结果是感兴趣的一些社区，包括控制理论，经济学和博弈论，除了algorithmscommunity。追捕-逃避游戏的进展将有助于使这些社区更接近，并将导致更丰富的思想交叉授粉。为了促进这一点，这项研究的成果将作为一份图表散发。该项目的结果也直接适用于一些涉及传感器-执行器网络的自动化任务，因此，它们将通过分布式传感和决策的进展参与下一代自动化技术的形成。特别是，他们的效用将通过与位于撒玛利亚医院的东北健康中心合作，在一个监测老年人的原型系统上进行演示（Troy，NY），该项目专门从事远程护理技术。该项目对研究和教育的整合的贡献将是双重的：首先，实验性的追求-逃避游戏设置将被用来吸引少数民族和女性学生从当地中小学到新的推广计划。伦斯勒理工学院校园附近的学校（特洛伊公立高中、特洛伊中学和第14公立学校）的学生中有一半是代表性不足的少数民族。推广计划将包括追求逃避游戏，学生将发挥对实验SAN设置。简单的追逃游戏的解决方案将激发学生对科学和数学的兴趣。第二，将开发一个新的研究生课程，名为“传感器执行器网络的追逐-逃避游戏”。在本课程中，学生将获得分布式传感，控制，优化和博弈论的理论背景和技能;并通过在实验装置上测试他们的算法来应用这些技能。

Intellectual MeritSuccess in the proposed research plan requires progress in two fundamental issues. First, new modelsand computational tools that shed light onto the structure of the information available in distributed sensingand decision making tasks must be developed. Second, algorithms which exploit these structures to designefficient pursuit-evasion strategies must be designed. These algorithms provide robust and provable solutions to many SAN applications such as tracking. To ensure the practical applicability of these results, they will be adapted for two applications (tracking and surveillance) which can be modeled as pursuit-evasion games and implemented on a sensor-actuator network.Broader ImpactsDue to numerous applications of pursuit-evasion games, the results of this project are of interest to anumber of communities including control theory, economics and game theory in addition to the algorithmscommunity. Progress in pursuit-evasion games will help in bringing these communities closer and will leadto a richer cross-pollination of ideas. To facilitate this, the output of this research will be disseminated as amonograph. The results of this project are also directly applicable to a number of automation tasks involvingsensor-actuator networks and therefore, they will participate in the formation of the next generation ofautomation technologies through progress in distributed sensing, and decision making. In particular, theirutility will be demonstrated on a prototype system for monitoring the elderly through a collaboration withNortheast Health, located in the Samaritan Hospital (Troy, NY) which specializes in remote care technologies.The contribution of this project to the integration of research and education will be twofold: First, theexperimental pursuit-evasion game setup will be utilized to attract minority and female students from localprimary and secondary schools to new outreach programs. Half of the student population in schools adjacentto Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute's campus (Troy Public High School, Troy Middle School and PublicSchool 14) are under-represented minorities. The outreach programs will include pursuit-evasion gameswhere the students will play against the experimental SAN setup. Solutions to simple pursuit-evasion gameswill stimulate the students' interests in science and mathematics. Second, a new graduate course titled"Pursuit-Evasion Games with Sensor Actuator Networks" will be developed. In this course, students willgain theoretical background and skills in distributed sensing, control, optimization and game theory; andapply these skills by testing their algorithms on the experimental setup.