Effective Coverage Control using Dynamic Sensor Networks

This paper studies the problem of dynamically covering a given region D in R2 using a set of N mobile sensor agents. First, a novel problem formulation is proposed that addresses a number of important multi-agent missions. The coverage goal, which is to cover a given search domain using mobile sensors such that each point is surveyed for a certain preset level, is then stated in a mathematically precise problem statement. Control laws are then developed that are guaranteed to meet this goal. The control laws are local in the sense that each agent makes use of information available from a subset of the other agents with which it can communicate. Several numerical examples are provided to illustrate the main ideas.