Detection and containment policy of moving source in 2D diffusion processes using sensor/actuator network

We address the problem of detecting a moving source in 2D diffusion-advection process, often describing environmental processes, by utilizing a network of sensing devices judiciously located within the 2D spatial domain. These devices are assumed to have actuating capabilities aimed at containing the moving source by minimizing its effects on the process concentration. In order to increase the source-detecting abilities of the sensor network, these devices measure spatial gradients as opposed to only process concentration. Additionally, the monitoring scheme estimates the process state and at the same time introduces a power management scheme, whereby a subset of the available sensors within the network are kept active over a time interval while the remaining devices are kept dormant. Thus the resulting hybrid infinite dimensional system switches both the actuator, deemed more suitable to contain the source over the duration of a given time interval, and its associated control signal. Additionally, it also switches the set of active sensors that are used by the scheme. Simulation studies utilizing at each time at most 16% of the total sensors and having either a single actuator or 16% of the total actuators used to minimize the effects of the moving source are presented.