Multi-objective optimization of sensor quality with efficient marine vehicle task execution

This paper describes the in-field operation of two interacting autonomous marine vehicles to demonstrate the suitability of interval programming (IvP), a novel mathematical model for multiple-objective optimization. Broadly speaking, IvP coordinates competing control needs such as primary task execution that depends on a sufficient position estimate, and vehicle maneuvers that will improve that position estimate. In this work, vehicles cooperate to improve their position estimates using a sequence of vehicle-to-vehicle range estimates from acoustic modems. Coordinating primary task execution and sensor quality maintenance is a ubiquitous problem, especially in underwater marine vehicles. This work represents the first use of multiobjective optimization in a behavior-based architecture to address this problem