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arXiv · 1402.0051

Distributed Algorithms for Stochastic Source Seeking with Mobile Robot Networks: Technical Report

Nikolay A. Atanasov·Jerome Le Ny·George J. Pappas
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Abstract

Autonomous robot networks are an effective tool for monitoring large-scale environmental fields. This paper proposes distributed control strategies for localizing the source of a noisy signal, which could represent a physical quantity of interest such as magnetic force, heat, radio signal, or chemical concentration. We develop algorithms specific to two scenarios: one in which the sensors have a precise model of the signal formation process and one in which a signal model is not available. In the model-free scenario, a team of sensors is used to follow a stochastic gradient of the signal field. Our approach is distributed, robust to deformations in the group geometry, does not necessitate global localization, and is guaranteed to lead the sensors to a neighborhood of a local maximum of the field. In the model-based scenario, the sensors follow the stochastic gradient of the mutual information between their expected measurements and the location of the source in a distributed manner. The performance is demonstrated in simulation using a robot sensor network to localize the source of a wireless radio signal.

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Nikolay A. Atanasov, Jerome Le Ny, George J. Pappas. 2014-02-01. Distributed Algorithms for Stochastic Source Seeking with Mobile Robot Networks: Technical Report. https://arxiv.org/abs/1402.0051

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