Human Motion Trajectory Prediction: A Survey

With growing numbers of intelligent autonomous systems in human environments, the ability of such systems to perceive, understand and anticipate human behavior becomes increasingly important. Specifically, predicting future positions of dynamic agents and planning considering such predictions are key tasks for self-driving vehicles, service robots and advanced surveillance systems. This paper provides a survey of human motion trajectory prediction. We review, analyze and structure a large selection of work from different communities and propose a taxonomy that categorizes existing methods based on the motion modeling approach and level of contextual information used. We provide an overview of the existing datasets and performance metrics. We discuss limitations of the state of the art and outline directions for further research.Comment: Submitted to the International Journal of Robotics Research (IJRR), 37 page

Audere est Facere: Reconsidering Proactivity and Examining its Impact on Teams

Proactivity has become one of the most prominent phenomena in organizational behavior over the last twenty-five years. Scholars have established several different methods of assessing proactivity as a dispositional trait, and identified numerous different types of proactive behaviors. Further, interest in proactivity as a phenomenon within and among teams has been an area of growing recent interest. However, the literature is plagued with a number of problems that limit our understanding of proactivity and impede the growth of the field. At the conceptual level, scholars frequently lament the lack of theoretical unity and the proliferation of overlapping constructs that results from the lack of parsimony. Likewise, at the team-level, little is known so far about how proactivity arises within and benefits teams, despite growing research in that area. This work addresses these prominent issues in three parts. The first part of this dissertation directly addresses the lack of theoretical synthesis by offering social cognitive theory (SCT) as a unifying framework for understanding proactivity, and suggesting a theoretical typology of agentic behaviors drawing from the core properties of human agency offered by SCT (i.e., intentionality, forethought, and self-reactiveness). The second part of this work proposes a model of team-oriented proactivity upon team task performance as mediated by team coordination. Results suggest that team coordination is the critical factor in converting team-oriented proactivity into team task performance, and that proactivity has curvilinear effects on team performance, with a positive effect from low to moderate levels, but a diminishing effect at high and very high levels of proactivity. In the final part of this dissertation, I investigate how proactivity arises within work teams and contributes to emergent team states and important team outcomes. Specifically, I suggest behavioral contagion as a mechanism by which proactivity arises within teams, and develop hypotheses for the effect of team-oriented proactive behaviors upon team emergent states and, subsequently, team viability, and task performance. Testing this model with results from a lab study reveals that perceptions of team-oriented proactive behavior within the team significantly influences team processes and, to a lesser extent, team performance outcomes

Proceedings, MSVSCC 2016

Proceedings of the 10th Annual Modeling, Simulation & Visualization Student Capstone Conference held on April 14, 2016 at VMASC in Suffolk, Virginia

Linear Regression Models Applied to Imperfect Information Spacecraft Pursuit-evasion Differential Games

Within satellite rendezvous and proximity operations lies pursuit-evasion differential games between two spacecraft. The extent of possible outcomes can be mathematically bounded by differential games where each player employs optimal strategies. A linear regression model is developed from a large data set of optimal control solutions. The model is shown to map pursuer relative starting positions to final capture positions and estimate capture time. The model is 3.8 times faster than the indirect heuristic method for arbitrary pursuer starting positions on an initial relative orbit about the evader. The linear regression model is shown to be well suited for on-board implementation for autonomous mission planning

A review of Multi-Agent Simulation Models in Agriculture

Multi-Agent Simulation (MAS) models are intended to capture emergent properties of complex systems that are not amenable to equilibrium analysis. They are beginning to see some use for analysing agricultural systems. The paper reports on work in progress to create a MAS for specific sectors in New Zealand agriculture. One part of the paper focuses on options for modelling land and other resources such as water, labour and capital in this model, as well as markets for exchanging resources and commodities. A second part considers options for modelling agent heterogeneity, especially risk preferences of farmers, and the impacts on decision-making. The final section outlines the MAS that the authors will be constructing over the next few years and the types of research questions that the model will help investigate.multi-agent simulation models, modelling, agent-based model, cellular automata, decision-making, Crop Production/Industries, Environmental Economics and Policy, Farm Management, Land Economics/Use, Livestock Production/Industries,

Proceedings, MSVSCC 2015

The Virginia Modeling, Analysis and Simulation Center (VMASC) of Old Dominion University hosted the 2015 Modeling, Simulation, & Visualization Student capstone Conference on April 16th. The Capstone Conference features students in Modeling and Simulation, undergraduates and graduate degree programs, and fields from many colleges and/or universities. Students present their research to an audience of fellow students, faculty, judges, and other distinguished guests. For the students, these presentations afford them the opportunity to impart their innovative research to members of the M&S community from academic, industry, and government backgrounds. Also participating in the conference are faculty and judges who have volunteered their time to impart direct support to their students’ research, facilitate the various conference tracks, serve as judges for each of the tracks, and provide overall assistance to this conference. 2015 marks the ninth year of the VMASC Capstone Conference for Modeling, Simulation and Visualization. This year our conference attracted a number of fine student written papers and presentations, resulting in a total of 51 research works that were presented. This year’s conference had record attendance thanks to the support from the various different departments at Old Dominion University, other local Universities, and the United States Military Academy, at West Point. We greatly appreciated all of the work and energy that has gone into this year’s conference, it truly was a highly collaborative effort that has resulted in a very successful symposium for the M&S community and all of those involved. Below you will find a brief summary of the best papers and best presentations with some simple statistics of the overall conference contribution. Followed by that is a table of contents that breaks down by conference track category with a copy of each included body of work. Thank you again for your time and your contribution as this conference is designed to continuously evolve and adapt to better suit the authors and M&S supporters. Dr.Yuzhong Shen Graduate Program Director, MSVE Capstone Conference Chair John ShullGraduate Student, MSVE Capstone Conference Student Chai

Parameter Study of an Orbital Debris Defender using Two Team, Three Player Differential Game Theory

The United States Air Force and other national agencies rely on numerous space assets to project their doctrine. However, space is becoming an increasingly congested, contested, and competitive environment. A common risk mitigation strategy for the orbit debris problem is either performing evasive maneuvers, or placing additional shielding on the satellite before launch. Current risk mitigation strategies have significant consequences to satellite operators and may not produce sufficient risk mitigation. This research poses that an orbital debris defender, which would defend the primary satellite from orbital debris, may be a more effective risk mitigation strategy. By assuming the worst case scenario, an optimally performing pursuer, this research can show when and how often the defender can intercept debris. The results of this research provide the performance trade space for the orbital debris defender, and additional recommendations to future satellite designers. Additionally, this researched derived a way to generate a pseudo cooperation between defender and evader. This cooperation between evader and defender is a new way to solve differential games, and is not limited to the space domain considered herein