A reactive/deliberative planner using genetic algorithms on tactical primitives
Name
77536235-MIT.pdf
Description
Full printable version
Size
2.21 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
aa58227c7a9b03d22640690c4fa2f4f0
Author(s)
Thrasher, Stephen William
Advisor(s)
Christopher Dever and John Deyst.
Date Issued
2006
Publisher
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Abstract
Unmanned aerial systems are increasingly assisting and replacing humans on so-called dull, dirty, and dangerous missions. In the future such systems will require higher levels of autonomy to effectively use their agile maneuvering capabilities and high-performance weapons and sensors in rapidly evolving, limited-communication combat situations. Most existing vehicle planning methods perform poorly on such realistic scenarios because they do not consider both continuous nonlinear system dynamics and discrete actions and choices. This thesis proposes a flexible framework for forming dynamically realistic, hybrid system plans composed of parametrized tactical primitives using genetic algorithms, which implicitly accommodate hybrid dynamics through a nonlinear fitness function. The framework combines deliberative planning with specially chosen tactical primitives to react to fast changes in the environment, such as pop-up threats. Tactical primitives encapsulate continuous and discrete elements together, using discrete switchings to define the primitive type and both discrete and continuous parameters to capture stylistic variations. This thesis demonstrates the combined reactive/deliberative framework on a problem involving two-dimensional navigation through a field of threats while firing weapons and deploying countermeasures. It also explores the planner's performance with respect to computational resources, problem dimensionality, primitive design, and planner initialization. These explorations can guide further algorithm design and future autonomous tactics research.
Description
Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Aeronautics and Astronautics, 2006.
This electronic version was submitted by the student author. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 99-102).
Subjects
Aeronautics and Astronautics.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics
Terms of Use
M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.
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