Information-theoretic approach to decentralized control of multiple autonomous flight vehicles
Ben Grocholsky, Hugh F Durrant-Whyte, Peter W. Gibbens · Proceedings of SPIE, the International Society for Optical Engineering/Proceedings of SPIE · 2000
Decentralized systems require no central controller or center where information is fused or commands generated. Information theoretic ideas have been previously used to develop optimal fusion algorithms for decentralized sensing and data fusion systems. The work described in this paper aims to develop equivalent algorithms for the control of decentralized systems. The methods and algorithms described center on the use of mutual information gain as a measure in choosing control actions. Two example problems are described; area coverage for purposes of surveillance and navigation, and sensor management for cuing and hand-off operations. The motivation for this work is the control of multiple unmanned air vehicles (UAVs).