Distributed Node Control for Multi-UAV Search Coordination
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing technologies face challenges in maximizing overall value through cooperative operation among multiple unmanned vehicles, as they struggle to efficiently manage information and optimize operations without central management, leading to suboptimal efficiency, search probability, and battery consumption.
Innovation Solution
A control apparatus that obtains state information from nodes, generates control information to optimize movement based on this data, and adjusts the spatial arrangement of nodes to enhance overall performance without centralized management.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a central management system is used to obtain information from all unmanned vehicles and solve optimization problems, then the overall value (search probability, efficiency) can be maximized, but the system complexity and communication time increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the centralized control system into multiple distributed control units, each responsible for a subset of unmanned vehicles. This segmentation allows the system to maintain optimization capabilities while reducing the complexity burden on any single control unit and enabling parallel information processing.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a hierarchical control structure that adds a temporal dimension to information collection, transitioning from synchronous to asynchronous information gathering. This allows the system to process information continuously without requiring all vehicles to report simultaneously, thereby reducing communication overhead while maintaining optimization effectiveness.
2Loss of information
If information is obtained synchronously from all unmanned vehicles, then complete state information is available for optimization, but the communication time and energy consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements periodic information collection at different hierarchical levels. Local control units collect information from their assigned vehicles periodically, and this aggregated information is then used by higher-level control units. This periodic action ensures information completeness while distributing the time cost across multiple smaller collection cycles rather than one large synchronous collection.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary information processing and filtering at local control units before aggregating data centrally. This preliminary action pre-processes raw information from unmanned vehicles, extracting only the most relevant state data, thereby reducing the total information volume that requires synchronous communication while maintaining optimization quality.
3Device complexity
If distributed operation is used among unmanned vehicles, then communication overhead is reduced, but the ability to maximize overall value is compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the control architecture into multiple autonomous control units, each managing a subset of unmanned vehicles. This segmentation enables distributed operation with reduced communication overhead while maintaining the ability to optimize overall system performance through coordinated control at each segment level.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent combines distributed autonomy with centralized coordination through a hierarchical structure. Local control units operate autonomously to reduce communication overhead, while periodically merging their decisions with global optimization goals. This merging ensures that distributed operations still contribute to maximizing overall system value.
4Productivity
If all unmanned vehicles communicate with the central system, then global optimization is achieved, but the energy consumption and communication load increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the communication network into multiple local control units, each handling a subset of vehicles. This segmentation reduces the total communication load on the central system and allows energy-efficient local processing, thereby reducing overall communication energy consumption while maintaining optimization effectiveness.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts and processes critical information locally at distributed control units before transmitting to the central system. This extraction of only essential state data reduces the volume of communicated information, thereby lowering energy consumption while preserving the optimization effectiveness that depends on key vehicle states.
Data Source
AI summary
Provided is a control apparatus includes, a state information obtainment unit configured for, with respect to each of at least some nodes including an assigned node among a plurality of nodes being mobile nodes, obtaining state information that represents a state related to a predetermined value corresponding to a position of each of the some nodes; a control information generation unit configured for generating control information for controlling movement of the assigned node based on the state information of each of the some nodes; and a control unit configured for controlling movement of the assigned node based on the control information.