Information Fusion Using Characteristic Linear System in Multi-robot Search and Rescue Task

We introduce automatic information fusion methods for the multi-robot urban search and rescue (USAR) operations. We represent the overlapping reports from robots using an underdetermined linear system called characteristic linear system. Approximate solutions for the characteristic linear system can be used to estimate the number of victims in particular locations, as well as to detect inconsistent reports. This multi-robot information fusion is conducted continuously; as robots collectively generate more reports, the accuracy of the estimation improves. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our solution using data from the USAR operation domain.

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