| PROPOSAL NUMBER: | 03-T1.01-9834 (For NASA Use Only - Chron: 030166) |
| RESEARCH SUBTOPIC TITLE: | Information Technologies for System Health Management, Autonomy and Scientific Exploration |
| PROPOSAL TITLE: | Coordinated Control of Multi-Agent Systems in Rapidly Varying Environments |
| SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN (SBC): | RESEARCH INSTITUTION (RI): | ||
| NAME: | Scientific Systems Co Inc | NAME: | Brigham Young University |
|---|---|---|---|
| ADDRESS: | 500 West Cummings Park Suite 3000 | ADDRESS: | A-261 ASB |
| CITY: | Woburn | CITY: | Provo |
| STATE/ZIP: | MA 01801-6580 | STATE/ZIP: | UT 84602-1231 |
| PHONE: | (781) 933-5355 | PHONE: | (801) 422-6177 |
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER
(Name,Email)
Raman Mehra
rkm@ssci.com
U.S. Citizen or Legal Resident: Yes
TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)
In this STTR project Scientific Systems Company, Inc. (SSCI) and Brigham Young University (BYU) propose to design, implement, and test an Autonomous Coordinated Control And Management System (ACCAMS) for multiple Unmanned Air Vehicles (UAVs) engaged in cooperative missions under rapidly changing environment. Over the past few years, BYU has developed an effective approach for complex cooperative missions such as the coordinated multiple UAV rendezvous mission. In this project we plan to enhance this approach by integration of Failure Detection, Identification, and Reconfiguration (FDIR) algorithms, Achievable Dynamic Performance (ADP) estimation algorithms, and high level decision making logic to the control architecture. The integration of these algorithms allow the UAVs to make intelligent decisions in the presence of subsystem failures or external threats in an autonomous fashion. The FDIR algorithms detect and identify the failure when it occurs, and reconfigures the controller to continue the mission if possible. It also estimates the new ADP and pass this information to the upper layers to decide if the trajectory/path/mission need to be changed after the failure or threat has occurred. We also plan to conduct flight tests of the baseline coordinated control scheme to demonstrate the path planning and trajectory generation capabilities using the BYU fixed-wing UAV testbed during Phase I.
POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
Current applications of the proposed Autonomous Coordinated Control And Management system are in the area of intelligent autonomy for multiple Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) engaged in cooperative missions such as hazardous site inspection and combating forrest fire. Autonomous intelligent control systems will find wide applications in the military such as Suppression of Enemy Air Defense (SEAD) mission. Other potential applications are envisioned in the areas of robotics, and unmanned ground, underwater and surface vehicles.
POTENTIAL NON-NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
The proposed Autonomous Coordinated Control And Management system and related technologies are critical for realizing the vision of using a fleet of low-cost UAVs or spacecraft to replace expensive vehicles in many Earth observing or space exploration missions. The technologies developed under this project are expected to predict and prevent mechanical and software malfunctions, and reconfigure the control when they happen. Our technologies will also allow the vehicles to make intelligent decisions at higher-level autonomously, which will lead to higher mission success rate.