Problems in Distributed Sensing and Control

当前对分布式传感和控制的兴趣已经导致图论思想在分析和合成各种期望的机器人团队和移动的传感器组行为（诸如群集、重新集结、达成共识）以及与分布式平均、搜索和救援、环境监测、安全、通信、通信和其他任务相关联的各种传感和通信任务的问题上的应用非常迅速地增加。虽然这种使用图论和系统理论相结合对这些问题的深入攻击已经进行了大约十年，但在未来几年可能会显着扩大。其中一个例子是，人们对一个称为结构可控性的旧概念及其在涉及群集、复杂社交网络和网络安全的新问题中的应用重新产生了兴趣。另一个是在分布式计算程序的发展，以解决基本的数值问题，如估计参数的线性系统，或解决一个系统的可能的非线性代数方程组的兴趣爆炸。还有一个是最近的理论工作，一些人集中在协调网络的移动的机器人和移动的传感器通过基于刚性的形成控制。概括而言，这是我们建议在其中开展工作的三个问题领域。该项目将至少以两种不同的方式促进教学、培训和学习。首先，参与该项目的研究生将被要求参加并在技术会议上展示结果。第二，项目研究生将有助于并参与一个短期课程的主题，我们设想组织和给予接近项目结束。从技术角度讲，该项目将在三个方面解决分布式传感和控制问题。首先，我们的任务是在图论方面的特征显着更一般的概念结构可控性比目前正在追求的。第二，任务是开发分布式和异步算法求解系统的非线性函数方程，包括para-contractions在一个给定的网络的自主代理，假设有限的代理和时变网络之间的通信。 第三个任务是探索各种算法，用于控制传感器和移动的机器人的有向和无向刚性编队的分布式方式。我们的目标是解决测量误差和代理之间的参数差异的鲁棒性问题，并试图找到一种方法来避免最近发现的基本鲁棒性问题与无向编队控制。

Current interest in distributed sensing and control has led to a very rapid increase in the application of graph theoretic ideas to problems of analyzing and synthesizing a variety of desired robotic team and mobile sensor group behaviors such as swarming, rendezvousing, reaching a consensus, as well as well as a variety of sensing and communication tasks associated with distributed averaging, search and rescue, environmental monitoring, security, etc. While this in-depth assault on these problems using a combination of graph theory and system theory has been underway for about a decade, it is likely to significantly expand in the years to come. One example of this is the resurgence of interest in an old concept called structural controllability and its applications to new problems involving swarming, complex social networks and network security. Another is the explosion of interest in the development of distributed computational procedures for addressing basic numerical problems such as estimating parameters of a linear system, or solving a system of possibly nonlinear algebraic equations. Still another is the recent theoretical work by a number of individuals focused on the coordination of networks of mobile robots and mobile sensors by means of rigidity-based formation control. In broad terms these are the three problem areas within which we propose to work. This project will promoting teaching, training and learning in at least two different ways. First, graduate students involved in the project will be expected to attend and present there results at technical meetings. Second, project graduate students will contribute to and participate in a short course on the topic which we envision organizing and giving towards the end of the project. In more technical terms, this project will address distributed sensing and control on three fronts. First the task is to characterize in graph theoretic terms a significantly more general notion of structural controllability than the one currently being pursued. Second, task is to develop distributed and asynchronous algorithms for solving systems of nonlinear functional equations including para-contractions across a given network of autonomous agents assuming limited communication between agents and time-varying networks. The third task is to explore various algorithms for controlling both directed and undirected rigid formations of sensors and mobile robots in a distributed manner. The goal is to address the question of robustness to measurement errors and parameter discrepancies among agents and attempt to find a way to avoid the recently discovered fundamental robustness issue with undirected formation control.