Information fusion in multi-agent system based on reliability criterion

The final publication is available at Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-00369-6_13The paper addresses the problem of information fusion in Multi-Agent System. Since the knowledge of the process state is distributed between agents, the efficiency of the task performance depends on a proper information fusion technique applied to the agents. In this paper we study the case in which each agent has its own sensing device and is able to collect information with some certainty. Since the same information can be detected by multiple agents, the global certainty about the given fact derives from the fusion of information exchanged by interconnecting agents. The key issue in the method proposed, is an assumption that each agent is able to asses its own reliability during the task performance. The method is illustrated by the pick-up-and-collection task example. The effectiveness of the method proposed is evaluated using relevant simulation experiments.Mellado Arteche, M.; Skrzypczyk, K. (2013). Information fusion in multi-agent system based on reliability criterion. En Vision Based Systemsfor UAV Applications. Springer. 207-217. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-00369-6_13S207217Cheng, X., Shen, J., Liu, H., Gu, G.: Multi-robot Cooperation Based on Hierarchical Reinforcement Learning. In: Shi, Y., van Albada, G.D., Dongarra, J., Sloot, P.M.A. (eds.) ICCS 2007, Part III. LNCS, vol. 4489, pp. 90–97. Springer, Heidelberg (2007)Harmati, I., Skrzypczyk, K.: Robot team coordination for target tracking using fuzzy logiccontroller in game theoretic framework. Robotics and Autonomous Systems 57(1) (2009)Jones, C., Mataric, M.: Adaptive Division of Labor in Large-Scale Minimalist Multi-Robot Systems. In: Proc. of IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems, Las Vegas, pp. 1969–1974 (2003)Kaminka, G.A., Erusalimchik, D., Kraus, S.: Adaptive Multi-Robot Coordination: A Game-Theoretic Perspective. In: Proc. of IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation, Anchorage Convention District, Anchorage, Alaska, USA (2002)Kok, J.R., Spaan, M.T.J., Vlassis, N.: Non-communicative multi-robot coordination in dynamic environments. Robotics and Autonomous Systems 50(2-3), 99–114 (2005)Klusch, M., Gerber, A.: Dynamic coalition formation among rational agents. IEEE Intelligent Systems 17(3), 42–47 (2002)Kraus, S., Winkfeld, J., Zlotkin, G.: Multiagent negotiation under time constraints. Artificial Intelligence 75, 297–345 (1995)Kraus, S.: Negotiation and cooperation in multiagent environments. Artificial Intelligence 94(1-2), 79–98 (1997)Mataric, M., Sukhatme, G., Ostergaard, E.: Multi-Robot Task Allocation in Uncertain Environments. Autonomous Robots 14, 255–263 (2003)Schneider-Fontan, M., Mataric, M.J.: Territorial Multi-Robot Task Division. IEEE Transactionson Robotics and Automation 14(5), 815–822 (1998)Winkfeld, K.J., Zlotkin, G.: Multiagent negotiation under time constraints. Artificial Intelligence (75), 297–345 (1995)Wooldridge, M.: An Introduction to Multiagent Systems. Johnn Wiley and Sons Ltd., UK (2009) ISBN:978-0-470-51946-2Vail, D., Veloso, M.: Dynamic Multi-Robot Coordination. In: Schultz, A., et al. (eds.) Multi Robot Systems: From Swarms to Intelligent Automata, vol. II, pp. 87–98. Kluwer Academic Publishers, The Netherlands (2003)Gałuszka, A., Pacholczyk, M., Bereska, D., Skrzypczyk, K.: Planning as Artifficial Intelligence Problem-short introduction and overview. In: Nawrat, A., Simek, K., Świerniak, A. (eds.) Advanced Technologies for Intelligent Systems of National Border Security. SCI, vol. 440, pp. 95–104. Springer, Heidelberg (2013)Jędrasiak, K., Bereska, D., Nawrat, A.: The Prototype of Gyro-Stabilized UAV Gimbal for Day-Night Surveillance. In: Nawrat, A., Simek, K., Świerniak, A. (eds.) Advanced Technologies for Intelligent Systems of National Border Security. SCI, vol. 440, pp. 107–116. Springer, Heidelberg (2013)Galuszka, A., Bereska, D., Simek, K., Skrzypczyk, K., Daniec, K.: Application of graphs theory methods to criminal analysis system. Przeglad Elektrotechniczny 86(9), 278–283 (2010

Efficient exploration of unknown indoor environments using a team of mobile robots

Whenever multiple robots have to solve a common task, they need to coordinate their actions to carry out the task efficiently and to avoid interferences between individual robots. This is especially the case when considering the problem of exploring an unknown environment with a team of mobile robots. To achieve efficient terrain coverage with the sensors of the robots, one first needs to identify unknown areas in the environment. Second, one has to assign target locations to the individual robots so that they gather new and relevant information about the environment with their sensors. This assignment should lead to a distribution of the robots over the environment in a way that they avoid redundant work and do not interfere with each other by, for example, blocking their paths. In this paper, we address the problem of efficiently coordinating a large team of mobile robots. To better distribute the robots over the environment and to avoid redundant work, we take into account the type of place a potential target is located in (e.g., a corridor or a room). This knowledge allows us to improve the distribution of robots over the environment compared to approaches lacking this capability. To autonomously determine the type of a place, we apply a classifier learned using the AdaBoost algorithm. The resulting classifier takes laser range data as input and is able to classify the current location with high accuracy. We additionally use a hidden Markov model to consider the spatial dependencies between nearby locations. Our approach to incorporate the information about the type of places in the assignment process has been implemented and tested in different environments. The experiments illustrate that our system effectively distributes the robots over the environment and allows them to accomplish their mission faster compared to approaches that ignore the place labels

Personalized Content Preparation and Delivery for Universal Multimedia Access

This paper introduces a personalized content preparation and delivery framework for universal multimedia access. This framework has a wealth of potential applications in broadcasting, the World Wide Web and mobile telecommunication. Content preparation deals with the generation of summaries by automatic video analysis techniques, and with the annotation of content using MPEG7 for search and retrieval and SMIL for interactive video. The use of open standards favors interoperability with third-party applications and upcoming hardware. Content delivery handles individual user preferences, content selection, real-time content adaptation and streaming in a seamless way. The proposed framework has been implemented in the ECfunded R&D project PERSEO and tested by selected groups of end-users. Personalization, video summaries and the overall usability have been positively evaluated

Stress field evolution in the northwest Himalayan syntaxis, northern Pakistan

pp. 26International audienceWe have conducted a systematic inversion of striated fault planes throughout northern Pakistan in order to better depict the temporal and spatial variations in stress patterns. Two domains are evidenced at a regional scale, separated by the active Raikhot fault, the western boundary of the Nanga Parbat spur. West of this fault, a wrench-type stress field with σ1 axis oriented around N–S predominates in the Karakorum and in Kohistan. It predates Pliocene-Quaternary exhumation of Nanga Parbat and corresponds to the Miocene or earlier regional stress field related to Indian-Asian convergence. East of the Raikhot fault, compression parallel to the belt accounts for initiation of the Nanga Parbat anticlinorium after 5 Ma. It is followed by predominant post-2 Ma extension, both parallel to the belt and NNE–SSW oriented. Thus, in the N–W Himalayan syntaxis, multidirectional extension is juxtaposed on short timescales to shortening either parallel or perpendicular to the belt. Such juxtaposition could be characteristic of strain and stress partitioning during oblique convergence