COOPERATIVE UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLE (UAV) SEARCH IN DYNAMIC ENVIRONMENTS USING STOCHASTIC METHODS
Matthew Flint · OhioLink ETD Center (Ohio Library and Information Network) · 2005
Within this dissertation, the problem of the control of the decentralized path planning decision processes of multiple cooperating autonomous aerial vehicles engaged in search of an uncertain environment is considered.The environment is modeled in a probabilistic fashion, such that both a priori and dynamic information about it can be incorporated.The components of the environment include both target information and threat information.Using the information about the environment, a computationally feasible decision process is formulated that can decide, in a near optimal fashion, which path a searching vehicle should take, using a dynamic programming algorithm with a limited look ahead horizon, with the possibility to extend the horizon using Approximate Dynamic Programming.A planning vehicle must take into account the effects of its (local) actions on meeting global goals.This is accomplished using a passive and predictive cooperation scheme among the vehicles.Lastly, a flexible simulator has been developed, using sound simulation analysis methods, to simulate a UAV search team, which can be used to create statistically valid results demonstrating the effectiveness of the model and solution methods.I would like to thank my co-advisor, Dr. Marios Polycarpou, for introducing me to the wonderful world of cooperative control and UAV's.He offered me an interesting project to work on all the way back at the start of my Masters Degree, and it has only gotten more interesting the more we have worked on it.I would especially like to thank him for sticking with me through the sometimes turbulent life and death of the MICA program.I would also like to thank my co-advisor, Dr. Emmanuel Fernandez.His class on Stochastic Optimal control was a watershed moment in my graduate career, and the resulting introduction into the world of Operations Research has really opened a lot of doors for me.His support and guidance is definitely appreciated.Next, I would like to thank my Ph.D. committee members for taking the time to review and critique the dissertation proposal and the dissertation itself.I know that it is a lot of work, and it is much appreciated.In particular, I'd like to thank Dr. Jeffrey Kharoufeh for making a very thorough review of the dissertation and making it much stronger as a result.And lastly, I would like to thank the Dept. of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Computer Science, since it has hosted me for over 10 years