Distributed Planning Strategies to Ensure Network Connectivity for Dynamic Heterogeneous Teams

This paper presents a cooperative distributed planning algorithm that ensures network connectivity for a team of heterogeneous agents operating in dynamic and communication-limited environments. The algorithm, named CBBA with Relays, builds on the Consensus-Based Bundle Algorithm (CBBA), a distribut...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:IEEE journal on selected areas in communications 2012-06, Vol.30 (5), p.861-869
Main Authors: Ponda, S. S., Johnson, L. B., Kopeikin, A. N., Han-Lim Choi, How, J. P.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Algorithms
Base stations
Bundling
communication relays
Computer simulation
Constraining
Construction
Distributed cooperative planning
Dynamics
Heuristic algorithms
network connectivity
Networks
Planning
Prediction algorithms
Real time systems
Relays
Resource management
Studies
task allocation
Tasks
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Summary:This paper presents a cooperative distributed planning algorithm that ensures network connectivity for a team of heterogeneous agents operating in dynamic and communication-limited environments. The algorithm, named CBBA with Relays, builds on the Consensus-Based Bundle Algorithm (CBBA), a distributed task allocation framework developed previously by the authors and their colleagues. Information available through existing consensus phases of CBBA is leveraged to predict the network topology and to propose relay tasks to repair connectivity violations. The algorithm ensures network connectivity during task execution while preserving the distributed and polynomial-time guarantees of CBBA. By employing under-utilized agents as communication relays, CBBA with Relays improves the range of the team without limiting the scope of the active agents, thus improving mission performance. The algorithm is validated through simulation trials and through experimental indoor and outdoor field tests, demonstrating the real-time applicability of the approach.
ISSN:0733-8716
1558-0008
DOI:10.1109/JSAC.2012.120603