5 research outputs found
Research Naval Postgraduate School, v.13, no.1, February 2003
NPS Research is published by the Research and Sponsored Programs, Office of the Vice President and Dean of Research, in accordance with NAVSOP-35. Views and opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the Department of the Navy.Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited
The design and implementation of a multi-agent architecture to increase coordination efficiency in multi-AUV operations
This research addresses the problem of coordinating multiple autonomous underwater
vehicle (AUV) operations. An intelligent mission executive has been created that uses
multi-agent technology to control and coordinate multiple AUVs in communication
deficient environments. By incorporating real time vehicle prediction, blackboardbased
hierarchical mission plans and mission optimisation in conjunction with a simple
broadcast communication system this system aims to handle the limitations inherent in
underwater operations and intelligently control multiple vehicles. In this research
efficiency is evaluated and then compared to the current state of the art in multiple AUV
control. The research is then validated in real AUV coordination trials.
Results will show that compared to the state of the art the control system developed and
implemented in this research coordinates multiple vehicles more efficiently and is able
to function in a range of poor communication environments. These findings are
supported by in water validation trials with heterogeneous AUVs.
This thesis will first present an in depth state of the art of the related research topics
including multi-agent systems, collaborative robotics and autonomous underwater
vehicles. The development and functionality of this research will then be explained
followed by a detailed description of the experiments. Results are then presented both
for the simulated and real world trials followed by a discussion of the findings
Control and communication systems for automated vehicles cooperation and coordination
Menci贸n Internacional en el t铆tulo de doctorThe technological advances in the Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) are exponentially
improving over the last century. The objective is to provide intelligent and innovative services
for the different modes of transportation, towards a better, safer, coordinated and smarter
transport networks. The Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) focus is divided into two
main categories; the first is to improve existing components of the transport networks, while
the second is to develop intelligent vehicles which facilitate the transportation process. Different
research efforts have been exerted to tackle various aspects in the fields of the automated
vehicles. Accordingly, this thesis is addressing the problem of multiple automated vehicles
cooperation and coordination. At first, 3DCoAutoSim driving simulator was developed
in Unity game engine and connected to Robot Operating System (ROS) framework and
Simulation of Urban Mobility (SUMO). 3DCoAutoSim is an abbreviation for "3D Simulator
for Cooperative Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) and Automated Vehicles
Simulator". 3DCoAutoSim was tested under different circumstances and conditions, afterward,
it was validated through carrying-out several controlled experiments and compare
the results against their counter reality experiments. The obtained results showed the efficiency
of the simulator to handle different situations, emulating real world vehicles. Next
is the development of the iCab platforms, which is an abbreviation for "Intelligent Campus
Automobile". The platforms are two electric golf-carts that were modified mechanically, electronically
and electrically towards the goal of automated driving. Each iCab was equipped
with several on-board embedded computers, perception sensors and auxiliary devices, in
order to execute the necessary actions for self-driving. Moreover, the platforms are capable
of several Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) communication schemes, applying three layers of
control, utilizing cooperation architecture for platooning, executing localization systems,
mapping systems, perception systems, and finally several planning systems. Hundreds of
experiments were carried-out for the validation of each system in the iCab platform. Results
proved the functionality of the platform to self-drive from one point to another with minimal
human intervention.Los avances tecnol贸gicos en Sistemas Inteligentes de Transporte (ITS) han crecido de forma
exponencial durante el 煤ltimo siglo. El objetivo de estos avances es el de proveer de sistemas
innovadores e inteligentes para ser aplicados a los diferentes medios de transporte, con el fin
de conseguir un transporte mas eficiente, seguro, coordinado e inteligente. El foco de los ITS
se divide principalmente en dos categor铆as; la primera es la mejora de los componentes ya
existentes en las redes de transporte, mientras que la segunda es la de desarrollar veh铆culos
inteligentes que hagan m谩s f谩cil y eficiente el transporte. Diferentes esfuerzos de investigaci贸n
se han llevado a cabo con el fin de solucionar los numerosos aspectos asociados con
la conducci贸n aut贸noma. Esta tesis propone una soluci贸n para la cooperaci贸n y coordinaci贸n
de m煤ltiples veh铆culos. Para ello, en primer lugar se desarroll贸 un simulador (3DCoAutoSim)
de conducci贸n basado en el motor de juegos Unity, conectado al framework Robot Operating
System (ROS) y al simulador Simulation of Urban Mobility (SUMO). 3DCoAutoSim ha
sido probado en diferentes condiciones y circunstancias, para posteriormente validarlo con
resultados a trav茅s de varios experimentos reales controlados. Los resultados obtenidos
mostraron la eficiencia del simulador para manejar diferentes situaciones, emulando los
veh铆culos en el mundo real. En segundo lugar, se desarroll贸 la plataforma de investigaci贸n
Intelligent Campus Automobile (iCab), que consiste en dos carritos el茅ctricos de golf, que
fueron modificados el茅ctrica, mec谩nica y electr贸nicamente para darle capacidades aut贸nomas.
Cada iCab se equip贸 con diferentes computadoras embebidas, sensores de percepci贸n y
unidades auxiliares, con la finalidad de transformarlos en veh铆culos aut贸nomos. Adem谩s,
se les han dado capacidad de comunicaci贸n multimodal (V2X), se les han aplicado tres
capas de control, incorporando una arquitectura de cooperaci贸n para operaci贸n en modo
tren, diferentes esquemas de localizaci贸n, mapeado, percepci贸n y planificaci贸n de rutas.
Innumerables experimentos han sido realizados para validar cada uno de los diferentes sistemas
incorporados. Los resultados prueban la funcionalidad de esta plataforma para realizar
conducci贸n aut贸noma y cooperativa con m铆nima intervenci贸n humana.Programa Oficial de Doctorado en Ingenier铆a El茅ctrica, Electr贸nica y Autom谩ticaPresidente: Francisco Javier Otamendi Fern谩ndez de la Puebla.- Secretario: Hanno Hildmann.- Vocal: Pietro Cerr