A task-priority based control approach to distributed data-driven ocean sampling

The paper illustrates the basic ideas and relevant algorithmic developments underlying the proposal for a task-priority based control approach to distributed data-driven ocean sampling applications. This approach is deemed allowing a better formalization of the overall motion problem of the involved team of agents; that apart the ultimate mission objective, also result characterized by other different control objectives directly related with both operability and safety aspects of the entire sampling system. Also, the proposed approach, other than leading to a unifying algorithmic structure, also seems allowing to foresee good possibilities for different types of downgrading toward efficient decentralized implementations

Adaptive on-line planning of environmental sampling missions with a team of cooperating autonomous underwater vehicles

This contribution introduces two algorithms for adaptive on-line planning of oceanographic missions to be performed in cooperation by a team of AUVs. The mission goal is defined in terms of accuracy in the reconstruction of the environmental field to be sampled. Adaptive cooperative behaviour is achieved by each vehicle in terms of locally evaluating the smoothness of the sampled field, and selecting the next sampling point in order to achieve the desired accuracy; smoothness evaluation and accuracy estimation have been proposed either in terms of analytical formulation related to field estimation with RBFs, or in terms of empirically derived fuzzy-like rules. Simulative results show that the vehicles team does behave as expected, increasing the spatial sampling rate as an increase in the environmental variability is detected. The number of samples required by both algorithms is sensibly inferior to those needed by sampling the area at equally spaced locations, as in the case of off-line, nonadaptive planners

Assessing the suitability of ship design for human factors issues associated with evacuation and normal operations

Evaluating ship layout for human factors (HF) issues using simulation software such as maritimeEXODUS can be a long and complex process. The analysis requires the identification of relevant evaluation scenarios; encompassing evacuation and normal operations; the development of appropriate measures which can be used to gauge the performance of crew and vessel and finally; the interpretation of considerable simulation data. In this paper we present a systematic and transparent methodology for assessing the HF performance of ship design which is both discriminating and diagnostic. The methodology is demonstrated using two variants of a hypothetical naval ship