Spatially Decomposed Searching by Heterogeneous Unmanned Systems

Unmanned vehicle control algorithms are continuously evolving, but may still overlook benefits of the intrinsic spatial separation offered in operations spanning multiple planes (aerial, ground/surface, underwater, etc.). We approach the problem of distributing a search space among heterogeneous vehicles over multiple planes from a distributed computing perspective. This yields a decomposition framework which we present with two sample search implementations: a distributed pheromone-based search, and a centralized auctioning search. Both algorithms operate similarly, incorporating differences among search vehicles and taking advantage of the inherent spatial separation between classes of vehicles to simplify searching. An Initial implementation of an auction-based search built on the decomposition framework is discussed along with potential future development