Defining a common control language for multiple autonomous vehicle operation

Presents a communication and coordination approach associated with multiple autonomous systems operations. With the extension of autonomous operations to a heterogeneous group of vehicles and with the request from human operators for override control, the need for a common control language (CCL) to facilitate real-time control is critical. The primary goal is to establish a standard interface from one agent to another for exchange of information and task delegation. Agents can be varied in configuration and capabilities. The CCL should provide a "low overhead" for participation of new types of agents to join operationally and "talk" using this language, to define a language that allows clear expression of intent from one agent to another, to extend the CCL to capture new capabilities, and to allow a human operator to interact easily. An ideal framework for the CCL is data-driven, supporting both networking strategies for the of multiple autonomous vehicles and inter-agent communication. Such framework may be obtained through an extension of behavior-based control design. Basic behaviors can be "strung" together to perform high-end mission goals and these same behavior definitions can become the kernels for the CCL. Initially operator interaction may be high but the goal is to deploy and observe.