Computational and Information Sciences Directorate Research Areas

Autonomous Networked Systems

Advisor: Brian M. Sadler (brian.sadler@us.army.mil)
Adelphi, Maryland

Key words: autonomous systems, collaboration, networking, intelligence, perception

Research is needed to meet significant challenges in networked autonomous systems, including collaborative behaviors, intelligence, and perception.  Achieving increasing levels of autonomy in Army systems is a critical step forward for tactical application of mobile agents for sensing, surveillance, situational awareness, localization, and communications.  Algorithms and architectures must be developed, simulated, and experimentally tested in realistic scenarios.  In the near term, steps beyond teleoperation are desired to relieve the human operator while enhancing mission effectiveness.  In the longer term, ensembles of agents will be deployed with minimal human interaction, to carry out tactical tasks such as surveillance, tracking, mapping, and deploying sensor networks.  Significant challenges include operating in complex indoor/outdoor environments, designing for heterogeneous multiple agents and their optimal interaction, interplay of air and ground agents, tradeoffs in complexity and communications, limited energy, and maintaining communications networks while carrying out collaborative tasks.