A New Computing Paradigm for Energy-Efficient Collaboration in Underwater Sensor Networks

The infusion and maturation of the Micro Electro Mechanical System (MEMS), computation, and wireless communication technologies have advanced the development of undersea distributed sensor systems. To realize the exciting potentials of distributed sensor systems, the fundamental problems of optimal sensor attribute selection and optimal sensor deployment have to been solved. This is a typical multi-objective optimization and control problem that results in an optimal design to best balance the conflicting performance objectives and to dynamically adapt to changes of environment conditions. In this proposal, Intelligent Automation Inc. (IAI), with the support of Wayland Applied Math and University of Tennessee, proposes to develop an intelligent agent-based generic model framework that provides a state space model of distributed sensor systems. The general distributed sensor framework is capable of supporting various sensing and environment models, the METROC/C4I infrastructure, and optimal sensor system design and management. The development will be based on IAI’s innovative Cybele agent infrastructure. This work is closely coupled with the Navy’s DASEE (Distributed ASW Sensor Employment and Evolution) effort, in which a rather general adaptive open architecture control framework is defined to address specific problems such as optimal design and deployment of distributed ASW sensors in complex and dynamic environments.