NewVectors Projects
Wide Area Sensor Project (WASP)
The Wide Area Sensor Project (WASP) seedling study is a small exploratory effort intended to shape a program around the vision of swarming autonomous robotic platforms performing complex distributed imaging and sensing tasks. NewVectors successfully executed the Large Embedded Networks (LEN) project within WASP from August 2002 until December 2003. Its focus was to develop robust and flexible coordination of configurations of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in complex missions.
LEN combined the expertise of NewVectors researchers from three distinct areas:
- NewVectors’ Agent-based Complex Systems Group (EMG) Practice Area studied the feasibility of coordinating dynamic teams of UAV (unmanned aerial vehicles) to perform the various phases of a sensing mission including the configuration of stable and optimal sensing formations. This team addressed spatial, temporal, and activity coordination issues in two specific scenarios: searching and imaging metal objects hidden under foliage and reconfiguring receiver formations for improved localization of radio sources. The team developed simulations of robust and flexible swarming behavior in these scenarios.
- NewVectors’ Environmental and Emerging Technologies Division (EETD) tackled issues that arise from performing coherent Radio Frequency (RF) sensing on small UAVs with limited knowledge of their position and noisy control of their movements. Through formal analyses and simulation, the RF Sensing team demonstrated that high-quality synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imaging is not only feasible under such challenging scenarios, but that the requirements on the sensing and communication hardware could be met by current cellular phone technology. The team also concluded that existing auto focus techniques may be adapted to improve image quality significantly.
- Military experts from NewVectors’ Modeling, Simulation, Decision Support Practice Area supported the project by providing real-world constraints and preferences that shape the definition of relevant Concepts of Operation (ConOps) of WASP-style systems.