Cluster Space Control of Autonomous Surface Vessels Utilizing Obstacle Avoidance and Shielding Techniques

PAUL MAHACEK; IGNACIO MAS; CHRISTOPHER KITTS

Monterey, CA

Congreso; IEEE/OES Autonomous Underwater Vehicles Conference; 2010

IEEE/Oceanic Engineering Society

Multi-robot systems offer many advantages overa single robot system including redundancy, coverage andflexibility. One of the key technical challenges in fielding multirobotsystems for real-world applications is the coordinationand relative motion control of the individual units. The clusterspace control technique addresses the motion control challengeby providing formation control and promoting the simplifiedspecification and monitoring of the motion of mobile multirobotsystems. Previous work has established this approachand has experimentally verified its use for dynamic marinesurface vessels consisting of 2 or 3 robots and with varyingimplementations ranging from automated cluster trajectorycontrol to human-in-the-loop piloting. In this researchprogram, we apply the cluster space control technique to alarger group of marine vessels and include both obstacleavoidance and threat detection with shielding formations. Theresulting system is capable of autonomous navigation utilizinga centralized controller, currently implemented via a shorebasedcomputer, that wirelessly receives ASV data and relayscontrol commands. Using the cluster space control approach,these control commands allow a cluster supervisor to oversee aflexible and mobile perimeter formed by the ASV cluster or todetect a threat and establish a shield between the operationand the threat. Theoretical formulation and simulation resultsdemonstrating these capabilities are provided, and plans forfuture work are discussed.