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Distributed Sensing and Cooperating Control for Swarms of Robotic vehicles
No full textDISTRIBUTED SENSING AND COOPERATING CONTROL FOR SWARMS OF ROBOTIC VEHICLES Key words: Distributed Sensing, Cooperative Control. ABSTRACT We discuss an approach to effectively control a large swarm of autonomous, robotic vehicles, as they per- form a search and tag operation. In particular, the robotic agents are to find the source of a chemical plume. The robotic agents work together through dis- tributed sensing and cooperative control. Distributed sensing is achieved through each agent sampling and sharing his information with others. Cooperative con- trol h accomplished by each agent u-sing its neighbors information to determine an update strategy. INTRODUCTION There is currently considerable interest in expanding the role of robotic vehicles in surveillance and inspec- tion; searching, following and t aggir-g and locating and identifying targets. In particular, researchers are beginning to focus on using small autonomous robotic vehicles for these tasks. This focus has been brought about largely because of the many recent advances in microelectronics and sensors, which include small, low power, CCD cameras; small microprocessors with ex- panded capabilities; autonomous navigation systems using GPS; and severrd types of small sensors. It seems likely that these technological advances will lead to in- expensive, easy to fabricate, autonomous vehicles out- fitted with an array of sensors. This, in turn, will allow researchers to consider teams, or even swarms, of these agents to perform a particular task. It is natural then to wonder how one might effectively control a team, or even a swarm, of robotic agents. In this paper, we discuss an approach to effectively control a large swarm of autonomous, robotic vehicles as they perform a search and tag operation. In par- ticular, the robotic agents are to find the source of a chemical plume. The robotic agents work together through distributed sensing and cooperative control. Distributed sensing is achieved through each agent sampling and sharing his information with others. Co- operative control is accomplished by each agent using its neighbors information to determine a control (or TECHNICAL DEVELOPMENT In this section we highlight the technical development of our distributed sensing and cooperative control ap- proach to effectively control a large swarm of au- tonomous, robotic vehicles. Recall that the agents are tasked with locating the chemical plume source within a chemical plume field. In our simulations, we assume that the agents are outfitted with a GPS sensor, which provides their cur- rent location, and a chemical "sniffer," which allows them to detect the strength of the chemical plume at their current location. Furthermore, we assume that the robots have onboard processing capability, and are able to communicate with one another via RF modems together with bit packing and error correction tech- niques, like those discussed by Lewis et al [4]. Thus, each agent is able to communicate and share informa- tion with all others (i.e., there is global communica- tion). In this mode, at a particular instant in time, the agents sample the chemical plume field and post this information and their current location for the oth- ers. The agents then assemble the information and de- termine a projected target of where they believe the chemical source is located. The position update for each agent is then based upon its current position and the position of the projected target
Quantum Monte Carlo simulations of disordered magnetic and superconducting materials
No full textOver the last decade, Quantum Monte Carlo (QMC) calculations for tight binding Hamiltonians like the Hubbard and Anderson lattice models have made the transition from addressing abstract issues concerning the effects of electron-electron correlations on magnetic and metal-insulator transitions, to concrete contact with experiment. This paper presents results of applications of "determinant" QMC to systems with disorder such as the conductivity of thin metallic films, the behavior of the magnetic susceptibility in doped semiconductors, and Zn doped cuprate superconductors. Finally, preliminary attempts to model the Kondo volume collapse in rare earth materials are discussed
A Characterization and Evaluation of Coal Liquefaction Process Streams
No full textThis is the Technical Progress Report for the fourteenth quatier of activities under DOE Contract No. DE-AC22-94PC93054. It covers the period October 1 through December 31, 1997'. Described in this report is the following activity: o CONSOL characterized 34 process stream samples from HTI Run PB-06, in which Black Thunder Mine coal, virgin plastics, plasticiderived pyrolysis oil, and Hondo vacuum resid were used as liquefaction feedstocks with dispersed catalyst
Electrostatic Beneficiation of Coal
No full textThis report outlines the progress made on the project during the second quarter of the second year, from January 1, 1995 to March 31, 1995. Work performed during this quarter is described in Section II. Work planned for the next quarter is described in section III
Heat capacity disk laser
No full textIn this paper we describe the concept, and the basic scaling relation ships of solid state heat capacity lasers. Intermediate between single shot and average power systems, the heat capacity concept scales solid state lasers to MW levels of burst power
Estimates of Refrigerator Loads in Public Housing Based on Metered Consumption Data
No full textThe New York Power Authority (NYPA), the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA), and the U.S. Departments of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and Energy (DOE) have joined in a project to replace refrigerators in New York City public housing with new, highly energy-efficient models. This project laid the ground work for the Consortium for Energy Efficiency (CEE) and DOE to enable housing authorities throughout the United States to bulk-purchase energy-efficient appliances. DOE helped develop and plan the program through the ENERGY STAR@ Partnerships program conducted by its Pacific Nofiwest National Laboratory (PNNL). PNNL was subsequently asked to conduct the savings evahations for 1996 and 1997. PNNL designed the metering protocol and occupant survey, supplied and calibrated the metering equipment, and managed and analyzed the data. The 1996 metering study of refrigerator energy usage in New York City public housing (Pratt and Miller 1997) established the need and justification for a regression-model-based approach to an energy savings estimate. The need originated in logistical difficulties associated with sampling the population and pen?orming a stratified analysis. Commonly, refrigerators[a) with high representation in the population were missed in the sampling schedule, leaving significant holes in the sample and difficulties for the stratified anrdysis. The just{jfcation was found in the fact that strata (distinct groups of identical refrigerators) were not statistically distinct in terms of their label ratio (ratio of metered consumption to label rating). This finding suggested a general regression model could be used to represent the consumption of all refrigerators in the population. In 1996 a simple two-coefficient regression model, a function of only the refrigerator label rating, was developed and used to represent the existing population of refrigerators. A key concept used in the 1997 study grew from findings in a small number of apartments metered in 1996 with a detailed protocol. Fifteen-minute time-series data of ambient and compartment temperatures and refrigerator power were analyzed and demonstrated the potential for reducing power records into three components. This motivated the development of an analysis process to divide the metered consumption into baseline load, occupant-associated load, and defrosting load. The baseline load is the consumption that would occur if the refrigerator were on but had no occupant usage load (no door-opening events) and the defrosting mechanism was disabled. The motivation behind this component reduction process was the hope that components could be more effectively modeled than the total. We reasoned that the components would lead to abetter (more general and more significant) understanding of the relationships between consumption, the characteristics of the refrigerator, and its operating environment
Turbulence studies in Tokamak boundary plasmas with realistic divertor geometry
No full textResults are presented from the 3D nonlocal electromagnetic turbulence code BOUT [1] and the linearized shooting code BAL[2] to study turbulence in tokamak boundary plasmas and its relationship to the L-H transition, in a realistic divertor plasma geometry. The key results include: (1) the identification of the dominant, resistive X-point mode in divertor geometry and (2) turbulence suppression in the L-H transition by shear in the ExB drift speed, ion diamagnetism and finite polarization. Based on the simulation results, a parameterization of the transport is given that includes the dependence on the relevant physical parameters
Synthesis of Pu-Doped Ceramic
No full textPlutonium-doped zircon containing about 10 wt% Pu was synthesized in this cooperative project between Russia and the United States conducted at the V. G. Khlopin Radium Institute. The sol-gel method was used for starting precursor preparation to provide complete mixing of initial components and to avoid dust formation inside the glove-box. The sol-gel process also gives interim Pu stabilization in the form of amorphous zirconium hydrosilicate (AZHS), which is a result of gel solidification. AZHS is a solid and relatively durable material that can be easy converted into crystalline zircon by pressureless sintering, thus avoiding significant radioactive contamination of laboratory equipment. A methanol-aqueous solution of tetraethoxysilane Si(OC2H5)4, Pu-nitrate, and zirconil oxynitrate was prepared in final stoichiometry of zircon (Zr,Pu)SiO4 80 wt% + zirconia (Zr,Pu)O2 20 wt%. Gelation occurred after 90 hours at room temperature. AZHS with excess of zirconia 20 wt% was obtained as an interim calcine product and then it was converted into zircon/zirconia ceramic by sintering at 1490 to 1500°C in air for different time periods. The samples obtained were studied by SRD and ESEM methods. It was found that both zircon yield and zircon cell parameters that are correlated with Pu incorporation depend on sintering time
Development of practical damage-mapping and inspection systems
No full textWe have developed and are continuing to refine semi-automated technology for the detection and inspection of surface and bulk defects and damage in large laser optics Different manifestations of the DAMOCLES system (Damage and Artifact Mapping Of Coherent-Laser-Exposed Substrates) provide an effective and economical means of being able to detect, map and characterize surface and bulk defects which may become precursors of massive damage in optics when subjected to high-fluence laser irradiation Subsequent morphology and evolution of damage due to laser irradiation can be tracked efficiently The strength of the Damocles system is that it allows for immediate visual observation of defects in an entire optic, which can range up to l-meter dimensions, while also being able to provide digital map and magnified images of the defects with resolutions better than 5 µm