Biologically-Inspired Swarm pErception and Control Technology (BISECT)

SSCI, University of Pennsylvania (UPenn, Dr. Amanda Prorok and Prof. V. J. Kumar) and Arizona State University (ASU, Prof. Stephen Pratt) propose to carry out initial analysis, development, implementation and testing of the Biologically-Inspired Swarm pErception and Control Technology (BISECT). The proposed BISECT capability addresses the problem of synthesizing optimal control policies for heterogeneous swarms to execute multiple parallel tasks that demand specialized skill sets, despite the presence of neutral and/or adversarial swarms hindering the mission. Four key capabilities will be developed: (1) design of control policies that result in desired outcomes of emergent behaviors, (2) identification of control policies and intents of neutral/adversarial swarms, (3) incorporation of identified control policies and intents into the design, and (4) implementation of active perception and control strategies to actively pursue information and adapt own behaviors. We will put particular emphasis on defining the gray-zone missions best suited for our swarm technology.