Implicit collaboration of sensor systems
Kenneth J. Hintz · Proceedings of SPIE, the International Society for Optical Engineering/Proceedings of SPIE · 2004
The concept of goal lattices for the evaluation of potential sensor actions can be used to cause a multiplicity of heterogeneous sensor systems to collaborate. Previously goal lattices have been used to compute the value to a sensor system of taking a particular action in terms of how well that action contributes to the accomplishment of the topmost goals. This assumes that each sensor system is autonomous and only responsible to itself. If the topmost goals of each sensor system's goal lattice has adjoined to it two additional goals, namely "collaboration" and "altruism", then the value system is extended to include servicing requests from other systems. Two aircraft on a common mission can each benefit from measurements taken by the other aircraft either to confirm their own measurements, to create a pseudo-sensor, or to extend the area of coverage. The altruism goal indicates how much weight a sensor management system (SMS) will give in responding to a measurement request from any other system. The collaboration goal indicates how much weight will be given to responding to a measurement request from specific systems which are defined as being part of a collaborating group. By varying the values of the altruism and collaboration goals of each system, either locally or globally, various levels of implicit cooperation among sensor systems can be caused to emerge.