Mobile target tracking with communication delays

Abstract

This paper presents a study of the effects of communication delays on tracking of mobile targets by networked uninhabited autonomous air vehicles (UAVs) using hospitability maps. Target detection is done using surrogate optimization-based search and coordination, and tracking is achieved using a constrained diffusion of probability density on the hospitability maps via solution of the Fokker-Planck equation. Each of the UAVs during its search sends its current position and the sensed information to all the other UAVs in the search area. Using this information, coordinated path planning and task allocation are performed. But in practice there always exist communication constraints; here, we concentrate on the effect of delays on coordinated tracking of mobile targets. When a communication delay exists in the transmission of position and sensor information of each UAV, the map built by surrogate search varies for each UAV, and this results in delayed target detection. With a delayed communication the task allocation for each vehicle can vary as well. The effectiveness of mobile target tracking via hospitability maps with communication delays is assessed through Monte Carlo simulations.