Distributed Heterogeneous Multi Sensor Task Allocation Systems

This book presents the theory and applications of novel methods developed for multi-sensor systems. Today's real-world problems and applications in target detection require efficient, comprehensive and fault-tolerant multi-sensor allocation systems. This book discusses the advances in multi-agent systems and AI along with collaborative control theory and tools, and describes a dual-layer task allocation system that uses a new swarm intelligence algorithm for heterogeneous sensors and protocols to overcome problems of overloading, deception and tampering. Further, it examines the formulation and development of an allocation framework for a heterogeneous multi-sensor system for various real-world problems that require sensors with different performances to allocate multiple tasks, with unknown a priori priorities that arrive at unknown locations at unknown time. It explains how to decide which sensor to allocate to which tasks when and where. Lastly, it explains reliability and availability issues of task allocation systems, and includes methods for their optimization. The following features are enabled by the decentralized architecture described in this book: 1. Robustness to sensor failure (fault-tolerance) - the ability to continue operation despite partial failure in system components, 2. Quick response to dynamic conditions, 3. Efficient allocation of system members (sensors) - the efficiency is defined by performing allocation in minimal possible time, 4. Allocation of sensors to tasks in real time when information is not known a priori - allocation is an amount or portion of a resource assigned to a particular task, 5. Ability to deal with a limited range coverage of sensors, 6. Ability to allocate a limited number of sensors to treat dynamic tasks, 7. Ability to dynamically handle new tasks, 8. Ability to dynamically reallocate sensors to tasks, 9. Ability to accommodate addition/subtraction of sensors during operation (scalability), 10. Ability to accommodate heterogeneous sensors, and 11. Ability to allocate large numbers of sensors. These features are explained, measured, and evaluated by extensive simulations, and the results of these simulations are presented in this book. The book appeals to academics, researchers and graduate students as well as engineers and professionals and is relevant for various applications such as multi-agent systems, task allocation, optimization, target allocation, team formation, sensor network design, facility monitoring in industry, cyber security, fire monitoring, surveillance, and homeland security, among others.