Multi-bot Easy Control Hierarchy

The goal of our project is to create a software architecture that makes it possible to easily control a multi-robot system, as well as seamlessly change control modes during operation. The different control schemes first include the ability to implement on-board and off-board controllers. Second, the commands can specify either actuator level, vehicle level, or fleet level behavior. Finally, motion can be specified by giving a waypoint and time constraint, a velocity and heading, or a throttle and angle. Our code is abstracted so that any type of robot - ranging from ones that use a differential drive set up, to three-wheeled holonomic platforms, to quadcopters - can be added to the system by simply writing drivers that interface with the hardware used and by implementing math packages that do the required calculations. Our team has successfully demonstrated piloting a single robots while switching between waypoint navigation and a joystick controller. In addition, we have demonstrated the synchronized control of two robots using joystick control. Future work includes implementing a more robust cluster control, including off-board functionality, and incorporating our architecture into different types of robots

Evolution of Broad-line Emission from Active Galactic Nuclei

Apart from viewing-dependent obscuration, intrinsic broad-line emission from active galactic nuclei (AGNs) follows an evolutionary sequence: Type $1 \to 1.2/1.5 \to 1.8/1.9 \to 2$ as the accretion rate onto the central black hole is decreasing. This spectral evolution is controlled, at least in part, by the parameter $L_{\rm bol}/M^{2/3}$, where $L_{\rm bol}$ is the AGN bolometric luminosity and $M$ is the black hole mass. Both this dependence and the double-peaked profiles that emerge along the sequence arise naturally in the disk-wind scenario for the AGN broad-line region.Comment: MNRAS, to be publishe