A feedback-trained autonomous control system for heterogeneous search and rescue applications

Abstract

Due to the environment in which operation occurs, earch and rescue (SAR) applications present a challenge to autonomous systems. A control technique for a heterogeneous multi-robot group is discussed. The proposed methodology is not fully autonomous; however, human operators are freed from most control tasks and allowed to focus on perception tasks while robots execute a collaborative search and identification plan. Robotic control combines a centralized dispatch and learning system (which continuously refines heuristics used for planning) with local autonomous task ordering (based on existing task priority and proximity and local conditions). This technique was tested in a SAR analogous (from a control perspective) environment.