Decentralized Control of Three-Dimensional Mobile Robotic Sensor Networks

Decentralized control of mobile robotic sensor networks is a fundamental problem in robotics that has attracted intensive research in recent decades. Most of the existing works dealt with two-dimensional spaces. This report is concerned with the problem of decentralized self-deployment of mobile robotic sensor networks in three-dimensional environments. The first part of the report investigates the problem of complete sensing coverage in three-dimensional spaces. We propose a decentralized random algorithm to drive mobile robotic sensors on the vertices of a truncated octahedral grid for complete sensing coverage of a bounded 3D area. In the second part, we present a distributed random algorithm for search in bounded three-dimensional environments. Third, we study the problem of locating static and mobile targets in a bounded 3D space by a network of mobile robotic sensors. We introduce a novel decentralized bio-inspired random search algorithm for finding static and mobile objects in 3D areas. This algorithm combines the Levy flight random search mechanism with a 3D covering grid. This report studies the problem of 3D formation building in 3D spaces by a network of mobile robotic sensors. Decentralized consensus-based control law for the multi-robot system which results in forming a given geometric configuration from any initial positions in 3D environments is proposed. Convergence of the mobile robotic sensors to the given configurations are shown by extensive simulations. Moreover, a mathematically rigorous proof of convergence of the proposed algorithms to the given configurations are given.Comment: arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1402.5188 by other author

Underwater Sensor Barriers with Auction Algorithms

With current technologies submarines can thwart active or passive sonar detection. A viable alternative to detect submissible vessels is to use magnetic or acoustic sensors in close proximity to possible underwater pathways of them. This approach may require deploying large-scale underwater sensor networks to form barriers. We show new results for construction barriers in 3D sensor networks. First, we prove that barriers are unlikely to exist in a large 3D fixed emplacement sensor field where sensor locations follow a Poisson point process. We then derive the notion of 3D stealth distance to measure how far a submarine can travel in a sensor network without detection. Finally, we describe energy conserving approaches for constructing a 3D barrier using mobile nodes to detect intruders. We focus on developing an energy efficient matching of mobile sensors that move to cover gridpoints using auction algorithms. We compare our results of the auction approach to an optimal approach using simulations and show that the auction algorithm produces similar results to the optimal approach at a reduced computational expense. This provides a fruitful new approach to constructing barriers in 3D sensor networks. I