Robust and decentralized task assignment algorithms for UAVs

This thesis investigates the problem of decentralized task assignment for a fleet of UAVs. The main objectives of this work are to improve the robustness to noise and uncertainties in the environment and improve the scalability of standard centralized planning systems, which are typically not practical for large teams. The main contributions of the thesis are in three areas related to distributed planning: information consensus, decentralized conflict-free assignment, and robust assignment. Information sharing is a vital part of many decentralized planning algorithms. A previously proposed decentralized consensus algorithm uses the well-known Kalman filtering approach to develop the Kalman Consensus Algorithm (KCA), which incorporates the certainty of each agent about its information in the update procedure. It is shown in this thesis that although this algorithm converges for general form of network structures, the desired consensus value is only achieved for very special networks. We then present an extension of the KCA and show, with numerical examples and analytical proofs, that this new algorithm converges to the desired consensus value for very general communication networks. Two decentralized task assignment algorithms are presented that can be used to achieve a good performance for a wide range of communication networks. These include the Robust Decentralized Task Assignment (RDTA) algorithm, which is shown to be robust to inconsistency of information across the team and ensures that the resulting decentralized plan is conflict-free. A new auction-based task assignment algorithm is also developed to perform assignment in a completely decentralized manner where each UAV is only allowed to communicate with its neighboring UAVs, and there is no relaying of information. In this algorithm, only necessary information is communicated, which makes this method communication-efficient and well-suited for low bandwidth communication networks. The thesis also presents a technique that improves the robustness of the UAV task assignment algorithm to sensor noise and uncertainty about the environment. Previous work has demonstrated that an extended version of a simple robustness algorithm in the literature is as effective as more complex techniques, but significantly

[1]  E. Feron,et al.  Safe receding horizon path planning for autonomous vehicles , 2002 .

[2]  James A. McHugh,et al.  Algorithmic Graph Theory , 1986 .

[3]  J. Ledyard,et al.  A NEW AND IMPROVED DESIGN FOR MULTI-OBJECT ITERATIVE AUCTIONS , 1999 .

[4]  R.W. Beard,et al.  Multi-agent Kalman consensus with relative uncertainty , 2005, Proceedings of the 2005, American Control Conference, 2005..

[5]  Steven R. Rasmussen,et al.  Task allocation for wide area search munitions , 2002, Proceedings of the 2002 American Control Conference (IEEE Cat. No.CH37301).

[6]  R. Varga.  Geršgorin And His Circles , 2004 .

[7]  J. How,et al.  Coordination and control experiments on a multi-vehicle testbed , 2004, Proceedings of the 2004 American Control Conference.

[8]  E.M. Atkins,et al.  A survey of consensus problems in multi-agent coordination , 2005, Proceedings of the 2005, American Control Conference, 2005..

[9]  David A. Schoenwald,et al.  Decentralized control of cooperative robotic vehicles: theory and application , 2002, IEEE Trans. Robotics Autom..

[10]  Jonathan P. How,et al.  An unbiased Kalman consensus algorithm , 2006, 2006 American Control Conference.

[11]  M. Alighanbari,et al.  Decentralized Task Assignment for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles , 2005, Proceedings of the 44th IEEE Conference on Decision and Control.

[12]  Randal W. Beard,et al.  Synchronization of Information in Distributed Multiple Vehicle Coordinated Control , 2003 .

[13]  Asif Khalak,et al.  Frequency domain control synthesis for time-critical planning , 2003, 2003 European Control Conference (ECC).

[14]  Eugene Seneta,et al.  Non‐Negative Matrices , 1975 .

[15]  R. Rockafellar,et al.  Optimization of conditional value-at risk , 2000 .

[16]  Xiaodong Wang,et al.  Decentralized sigma-point information filters for target tracking in collaborative sensor networks , 2005, IEEE Transactions on Signal Processing.

[17]  Tanya Khovanova,et al.  Decentralized Control Using Global Optimization (DCGO) , 2007 .

[18]  M. Moser,et al.  An Algorithm for the Multidimensional Multiple-Choice Knapsack Problem , 1997 .

[19]  Anthony M. Kwasnica,et al.  A New and Improved Design for Multiobject Iterative Auctions , 2005, Manag. Sci..

[20]  Allen L. Soyster,et al.  Technical Note - Convex Programming with Set-Inclusive Constraints and Applications to Inexact Linear Programming , 1973, Oper. Res..

[21]  Miodrag Potkonjak,et al.  On the sensitivity of incremental algorithms for combinatorial auctions , 2002, Proceedings Fourth IEEE International Workshop on Advanced Issues of E-Commerce and Web-Based Information Systems (WECWIS 2002).

[22]  Hugh F. Durrant-Whyte,et al.  Information-theoretic approach to decentralized control of multiple autonomous flight vehicles , 2000, SPIE Optics East.

[23]  Donald Goldfarb,et al.  Robust Portfolio Selection Problems , 2003, Math. Oper. Res..

[24]  Rodney Teo,et al.  Decentralized overlapping control of a formation of unmanned aerial vehicles , 2004, Autom..

[25]  P. Krokhmal,et al.  Portfolio optimization with conditional value-at-risk objective and constraints , 2001 .

[26]  M. Alighanbari,et al.  Robust planning for coupled cooperative UAV missions , 2004, 2004 43rd IEEE Conference on Decision and Control (CDC) (IEEE Cat. No.04CH37601).

[27]  Melvyn Sim,et al.  Robust Discrete Optimization , 2003 .

[28]  J.N. Tsitsiklis,et al.  Convergence in Multiagent Coordination, Consensus, and Flocking , 2005, Proceedings of the 44th IEEE Conference on Decision and Control.

[29]  Gilbert Laporte,et al.  Classical Heuristics for the Capacitated VRP , 2002, The Vehicle Routing Problem.

[30]  A. Richards,et al.  Decentralized robust receding horizon control for multi-vehicle guidance , 2006, 2006 American Control Conference.

[31]  Phillip R. Chandler,et al.  Decentralized Control for an Autonomous Team , 2003 .

[32]  Marios M. Polycarpou,et al.  Cooperative real-time search and task allocation in UAV teams , 2003, 42nd IEEE International Conference on Decision and Control (IEEE Cat. No.03CH37475).

[33]  Jonathan P. How,et al.  Coordination and control of multiple UAVs with timing constraints and loitering , 2003, Proceedings of the 2003 American Control Conference, 2003..

[34]  Cornelius T Leondes,et al.  THEORY AND APPLICATIONS OF KALMAN FILTERING , 1970 .

[35]  Marios M. Polycarpou,et al.  A cooperative search framework for distributed agents , 2001, Proceeding of the 2001 IEEE International Symposium on Intelligent Control (ISIC '01) (Cat. No.01CH37206).

[36]  Jonathan P. How,et al.  Multi-Task Allocation and Path Planning for Cooperating UAVs , 2003 .

[37]  Yanli Yang,et al.  Decentralized cooperative search by networked UAVs in an uncertain environment , 2004, Proceedings of the 2004 American Control Conference.

[38]  Timothy W. McLain,et al.  Multiple UAV cooperative search under collision avoidance and limited range communication constraints , 2003, 42nd IEEE International Conference on Decision and Control (IEEE Cat. No.03CH37475).

[39]  Keum-Shik Hong,et al.  Decentralized information filter in federated form , 2003, SICE 2003 Annual Conference (IEEE Cat. No.03TH8734).

[40]  Luca Francesco Bertuccelli.  Robust planning for heterogeneous UAVs in uncertain environments , 2004 .

[41]  Dimitri P. Bertsekas,et al.  The Auction Algorithm for Assignment and Other Network Flow Problems: A Tutorial , 1990 .

[42]  Jonathan P. How,et al.  Filter-Embedded UAV Task Assignment Algorithms for Dynamic Environments , 2004 .

[43]  Jie Lin,et al.  Coordination of groups of mobile autonomous agents using nearest neighbor rules , 2003, IEEE Trans. Autom. Control..

[44]  Dimitris Bertsimas,et al.  Probabilistic Combinatorial Optimization: Moments, Semidefinite Programming, and Asymptotic Bounds , 2004, SIAM J. Optim..

[45]  Arkadi Nemirovski,et al.  Robust solutions of uncertain linear programs , 1999, Oper. Res. Lett..

[46]  Yanli Yang,et al.  Evidential map-building approaches for multi-UAV cooperative search , 2005, Proceedings of the 2005, American Control Conference, 2005..

[47]  R. Beard,et al.  Consensus of information under dynamically changing interaction topologies , 2004, Proceedings of the 2004 American Control Conference.

[48]  David C. Parkes,et al.  Iterative Combinatorial Auctions: Theory and Practice , 2000, AAAI/IAAI.

[49]  Richard M. Murray,et al.  Consensus problems in networks of agents with switching topology and time-delays , 2004, IEEE Transactions on Automatic Control.

[50]  Shouyang Wang,et al.  Risk control over bankruptcy in dynamic portfolio selection: a generalized mean-variance formulation , 2004, IEEE Transactions on Automatic Control.

[51]  Toramatsu Shintani,et al.  BiddingBot: a multiagent support system for cooperative bidding in multiple auctions , 2000, Proceedings Fourth International Conference on MultiAgent Systems.

[52]  Wright-Patterson Afb,et al.  Hierarchical Control for Autonomous Teams , 2001 .

[53]  Dimitri P. Bertsekas,et al.  The Auction Algorithm for Assignment and Other Network Flow Problems , 1991 .

[54]  Rachid Alami,et al.  A distributed tasks allocation scheme in multi-UAV context , 2004, IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation, 2004. Proceedings. ICRA '04. 2004.

[55]  Melvyn Sim,et al.  Robust linear optimization under general norms , 2004, Oper. Res. Lett..

[56]  M. Pachter,et al.  Complexity in UAV cooperative control , 2002, Proceedings of the 2002 American Control Conference (IEEE Cat. No.CH37301).

[57]  Chi-Jen Lin,et al.  Sensitivity analysis of the optimal assignment , 2003, Eur. J. Oper. Res..

[58]  R. Olfati-Saber,et al.  Distributed Kalman Filter with Embedded Consensus Filters , 2005, Proceedings of the 44th IEEE Conference on Decision and Control.

[59]  Jonathan P. How,et al.  Robust Decentralized Task Assignment for Cooperative UAVs , 2006 .

[60]  Mehdi Alighanbari,et al.  Task assignment algorithms for teams of UAVs in dynamic environments , 2004 .

[61]  John N. Tsitsiklis,et al.  Parallel and distributed computation , 1989 .

[62]  Régis Vincent,et al.  Task inference and distributed task management in the Centibots robotic system , 2005, AAMAS '05.

[63]  Charles R. Johnson,et al.  Matrix analysis , 1985, Statistical Inference for Engineers and Data Scientists.

[64]  R. Olfati-Saber,et al.  Consensus Filters for Sensor Networks and Distributed Sensor Fusion , 2005, Proceedings of the 44th IEEE Conference on Decision and Control.

[65]  J. Wolfowitz.  Products of indecomposable, aperiodic, stochastic matrices , 1963 .

[66]  Garud Iyengar,et al.  Robust Dynamic Programming , 2005, Math. Oper. Res..

[67]  Reza Olfati-Saber,et al.  Consensus and Cooperation in Networked Multi-Agent Systems , 2007, Proceedings of the IEEE.

[68]  Alexei Makarenko,et al.  Information-theoretic coordinated control of multiple sensor platforms , 2003, 2003 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (Cat. No.03CH37422).

[69]  Thia Kirubarajan,et al.  Estimation with Applications to Tracking and Navigation: Theory, Algorithms and Software , 2001 .

[70]  Meir Pachter,et al.  Distributed Control for Multiple UAVs with Strongly Coupled Tasks , 2003 .

[71]  Dessislava A. Pachamanova.  A robust optimization approach to finance , 2002 .

[72]  Panos M. Pardalos,et al.  Robust Decision Making: Addressing Uncertainties in Distributions , 2003 .

[73]  A Gerodimos,et al.  Robust Discrete Optimization and its Applications , 1996, J. Oper. Res. Soc..

[74]  Robert J. Vanderbei,et al.  Robust Optimization of Large-Scale Systems , 1995, Oper. Res..

[75]  Wright-Patterson Afb,et al.  UAV Cooperative Path Planning , 2000 .

[76]  Dongxu Li,et al.  A Robust Hierarchical Approach To Multi-stage Task Allocation Under Uncertainty , 2005, Proceedings of the 44th IEEE Conference on Decision and Control.

[77]  William McEneaney,et al.  CONTROL FOR UAV OPERATIONS UNDER IMPERFECT INFORMATION , 2002 .

[78]  Melvyn Sim,et al.  Robust discrete optimization and network flows , 2003, Math. Program..

[79]  Myungsoo Jun,et al.  Convergence properties of continuous-time Markov chains with application to target search , 2005, Proceedings of the 2005, American Control Conference, 2005..

[80]  J. Willard,et al.  Simultaneous Area Search and Task Assignment for a Team of Cooperative Agents , 2003 .

[81]  Raman K. Mehra,et al.  An Autonomous Hierarchical Control Architecture for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles , 2002 .