The project will produce the following techniques/system to support monitoring of dynamic phenomena using a swarm robotic system. 1) design, develop, and evaluate algorithms for network-aware…

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has awarded a $399,282 Cooperative Agreement to the Trustees of the Colorado School of Mines, doing business as Colorado School of Mines, a public research university in Golden, Colorado. The contract is for the design, development, and evaluation of techniques and systems to support the monitoring of dynamic phenomena using a swarm robotic system. Key aspects include network-aware coordination of spacecraft for distributed data collection, sub-swarm aware data collection and dissemination, and monitoring of the spacecraft network. The contract does not have a set-aside designation and will be completed by April 30, 2022. As a leading research institution focused on science and engineering, Colorado School of Mines has extensive experience supporting federal agencies through contracts and grants, having received over $60 million in prime contracts since 2001 and $150 million in grants, primarily from NASA, the Department of Energy, and the National Science Foundation.

The project will produce the following techniques/system to support monitoring of dynamic phenomena using a swarm robotic system. 1) design, develop, and evaluate algorithms for network-aware coordination of spacecraft for distributed data collection. A unique aspect of this task is the network-awareness for the coordination algorithms, which is essential in having practical control algorithms for the spacecraft. 2) design, develop, and evaluate algorithms for sub swarm-aware data collection and dissemination to ensure high data delivery ratio and low latency. Effective grouping of sub-swarms is critical in eliminating long distance communication, saving energy, reducing latency and data loss, eventually increasing the total data collected within a certain time duration. 3) design, develop, and evaluate algorithms for monitoring of spacecraft network. When a spacecraft moves for a designated mission, its neighbors change, causing dynamic network topology. A fundamental support for integrated communication and control is to monitor the status of the spacecraft network. The main theme of this proposal is built on effective monitoring of network conditions. 4) system integration and evaluation. We will evaluate and demonstrate an integrated prototype system using a team of drones in edgar mine, an experimental underground mine owned by colorado school of mines (CSM). We will create a scenario in which a swarm of small robots must coordinate to use their sensors to observe and track a target in the mine. The evaluation in such a unique test bed is critical as IT is a perfect surrogate for space environment with challenging wireless network