Cooperative control of heterogeneous robotic systems

Establishing a cooperative heterogeneous robotic system comprising autonomous vehicles operating in air, on ground and on/under water is a challenging task that can significantly contribute solving complex problems related to environmental monitoring (e.g. prediction, prevention and recovery from natural disasters) and security (e.g. border control, fight against terrorism). This paper presents a short overview of a project that involves cooperative control of heterogeneous robotic systems at the University of Zagreb Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing. An overview of the vehicles to be used in the heterogeneous systems is given and the envisioned scenario of neutralization of suspicious underwater objects is presented. Tasks of each vehicle are described and emphasis is placed on the actions and communication routes that are required to ensure cooperative behavior.