Multi agent control for space based interferometry

Agent systems have been accepted and used advantageously by computer scientists since<br/>their inception, but such systems have not been used so readily within the realms of control<br/>engineering or robotics. The work contained within this thesis investigates separated<br/>spacecraft interferometry in the context of a multi-agent system, under the influence of libration<br/>point orbital dynamics. The main focus is on the development of key agent skills,<br/>including state estimation, guidance, control and decision methods to attain the desired<br/>system output; within the consideration of decision methods, a comparison between centralized<br/>and distributed decisions is made. Whilst mainly focussing on the development<br/>of these skills, additional considerations pertinent to agent system development are also<br/>discussed.<br/><br/>A discrete time control method, integrating Kalman filtering with sliding mode control<br/>and using potential function guidance to achieve velocity tracking with six degrees of<br/>freedom, is developed for the purposes of controlling agent motion. Whilst developed for<br/>the purposes of spacecraft agent control, the presented methods are equally valid to any<br/>other vehicular agent system such as UAVs or AUVs if considering inter-agent regulation.<br/><br/>Centralized and distributed decision methods are developed to enable appropriate autonomous<br/>actions to be performed by the agent system. Primarily these actions include<br/>selective attainment and regulation of a non-natural orbits relative to a central agent to<br/>form an appropriate array configuration and instances of array reconfiguration to compensate<br/>for both failed agents and to maximize the mission duration.

Name dc:type.qualificationname

Ph.D.

Level dc:type.qualificationlevel

doctoral

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

University of Southampton

Year dc:date.issued

2009

Author dc:creator

• Lincoln, N.K.

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Veres, Sandor