November 4, 2008 - Francesco Bullo

Title: Coordination of Robotic Networks

Abstract:
Motion coordination is an extraordinary phenomenon in biological systems and a powerful tool in man-made systems. Although individual agents have no global knowledge of the system, complex behaviors emerge from local interactions. The subject of this talk is the design of motion-enabled sensor networks, i.e., networks where nodal motions are purposefully induced in order to perform useful tasks. Example scenarios include how to deploy sensor nodes in points of interest and how to exploit mobility in target tracking or boundary estimation. The algorithms combine distributed feedback, information processing and geometric structures. The key technical challenge is the design of adaptive behaviors that tolerate asynchronicity and communication/process failures.