Collaborative Robot Tracking of Geophysical Flows: How Local Measurements Discover Global Structures

• Author: Ira B. Schwartz, US Naval Research laboratory.


• Names of other authors: M. Ani Hsieh, Eric Forgoston, T. William Mather.


• Oral or poster: oral.


• Downloadable presentation/poster: click here.


• Abstract:
  Tracking Lagrangian coherent structures and transport in dynamical systems is important for many applications such as oceanography and weather prediction. In this talk, I will present a collaborative robotic control strategy designed to track stable and unstable manifolds associated with Lagrangian coherent structures. The technique, which is based on nonlinear dynamical systems ideas, does not require global information about the fluid dynamics, and is based on local sensing, prediction, and correction. The collaborative control strategy is implemented on a team of three robots to track coherent structures and manifolds on static flows as well as a noisy time-dependent model of a wind-driven double-gyre often seen in the ocean. I will present simulation and experimental results and discuss theoretical guarantees of the collaborative tracking strategy.