0000000000130774
AUTHOR
Antonio Bicchi
A scalable platform for safe and secure decentralized traffic management of multiagent mobile systems
In this paper we describe the application of wireless sensor networking techniques to address the realization of a safe and secure decentralized traffic management system. We consider systems of many heterogeneous autonomous vehicles moving in a shared environment. Each vehicle is assumed to have different and possibly unspecified tasks, but they cooperate to avoid collisions. We are interested in designing a scalable architecture capable of accommodating a very large and dynamically changing number of vehicles, guaranteeing their safety, the achievement of their goals, and security against potential adversaries. By properly distributing and revoking cryptographic keys we are able to protec…
A Rough-Terrain Casting Robot for the ESA Lunar Robotics Challenge
This paper describes the design and implementation of DAVID, a lunar vehicle developed for the European Space Agency (ESA) Lunar Robotics Challenge, presenting severe terrain negotiation and sample acquisition challenges. We discuss in some detail two of the main innovative aspects of our entry to the challenge, i.e. the locomotion system and the sample acquisition system. Motivated by the challenge specifications, a range of different locomotion systems were considered, among which we chose a simple, rugged and effective wheeled system. We provide an account of the choice of five different types of wheels, which were designed, analyzed and experimentally tested in conditions similar to the…
Steering dynamical systems with finite plans and limited path length
Complex dynamical systems can be steered by using symbolic input plans. These plans must have a finite descriptive length, and can be expressed by means of words chosen in an alphabet of symbols. In this way, such plans can be sent through a limited capacity channel to a remote system, where they are decoded in suitable control actions. The choice of this symbols is essential to efficiently encode steering plans. To this aim, in this paper, we state the problem of finding symbols maximizing the interval of points reachable by the system along paths with constrained length. We focus on the problem with two symbols, and compare the results with those produced by plans not accounting for the l…
Dynamic Distributed Intrusion Detection for Secure Multi-Robot Systems
A general technique to build a dynamic and distributed intrusion detector for a class of multi–agent systems is proposed in this paper, by which misbehavior in the motion of one or more agents can be discovered. Previous work from the authors has focused on how to distinguish the behavior of a misbehaving agent in a completely distributed way, by developing a solution where agents act as local monitors of their neighbors and use locally sensed information as well as data received from other monitors at a particular time. In this work, we improve the system detection capability by allowing monitors to use information collected at different instants and thus realizing a dynamic state observer…
Decentralized Deployment of Mobile Sensors for Optimal Connected Sensing Coverage
In this paper, we address the optimal connected sensing coverage problem, i.e., how mobile sensors with limited sensing capabilities can cooperatively adjust their locations so as to maximize the extension of the covered area while avoiding any internal “holes”, areas that are not covered by any sensor. Our solution consists in a distributed motion algorithm that is based on an original extension of the Voronoi tessellation.
Robust Network Agreement on Logical Information
Abstract Logical consensus is an approach to distributed decision making which is based on the availability of a network of agents with incomplete system knowledge. The method requires the construction of a Boolean map which defines a dynamic system allowing the entire network to consent on a unique, global decision. Previous work by the authors proved the method to be viable for applications such as intrusion detection within a structured environment, when the agent's communication topology is known in advance. The current work aims at providing a fully distributed protocol, requiring no a priori knowledge of each agent's communication neighbors. The protocol allows the construction of a r…
Convergence Analysis of Distributed Set-Valued Information Systems
This paper focuses on the convergence of information in distributed systems of agents communicating over a network. The information on which the convergence is sought is not rep- resented by real numbers, as often in the literature, rather by sets. The dynamics of the evolution of information across the net- work is accordingly described by set-valued iterative maps. While the study of convergence of set-valued iterative maps is highly complex in general, this paper focuses on Boolean maps, which are comprised of arbitrary combinations of unions, intersections, and complements of sets. For these important class of systems, we provide tools to study both global and local convergence. A distr…
Set-valued consensus for distributed clock synchronization
This paper addresses the clock synchronization problem in a wireless sensor network (WSN) and proposes a distributed solution that consists of a form of consensus, where agents are able to exchange data representing intervals or sets. The solution is based on a centralized algorithm for clock synchronization, proposed by Marzullo, that determines the smallest interval that is in common with the maximum number of measured intervals. We first show how to convert such an algorithm into a problem involving only operations on sets, and then we convert it into a set–valued consensus. The solution is valid for more general scenarios where agents have uncertain measures of e.g. the position of an o…
Design and control of a novel 3D casting manipulator
This paper focuses on casting manipulation and presents an innovative mechanism that allows objects placed in a three-dimensional space to be reached with a relatively small robot. Casting manipulation is a technique by which a robotic end-effector is thrown and its ballistic flight is controlled through a tether cable so as to reach a target object. Previous work presented a solution that is viable only when the position of the target object is perfectly known or aligned with the throwing plane. Our work extends the technique by use of a novel mechanical design of the arm, and a suitable control scheme for the flight of the end-effector, which makes it applicable for objects placed at gene…
Distributed Consensus on Boolean Information
Abstract In this paper we study the convergence towards consensus on information in a distributed system of agents communicating over a network. The particularity of this study is that the information on which the consensus is seeked is not represented by real numbers, rather by logical values or sets. Whereas the problems of allowing a network of agents to reach a consensus on logical functions of input events, and that of agreeing on set–valued information, have been separately addressed in previous work, in this paper we show that these problems can indeed be attacked in a unified way in the framework of Boolean distributed information systems. Based on a notion of contractivity for Bool…
Distributed estimation and control of water distribution networks by logical consensus
In this study we present a methodology for backflow detec- tion through the interpretation of results from a network of Automatic Meter Reading. The approach is based on the so– called logical consensus theory and consists of a distributed failure detection and system reconfiguration. The effective- ness of the proposed method is showed through simulation within a prototypical water distribution network.
Logical Consensus for Distributed Network Agreement
In this paper we introduce a novel consensus mechanism where agents of a network are able to share logical values, or Booleans, representing their local opinions on e.g. the presence of an intruder or of a fire within an indoor environment. Under suitable joint conditions on agents? visibility and communication capability, we provide an algorithm generating a logical linear consensus system that is globally stable. The solution is optimal in terms of the number of messages to be exchanged and the time needed to reach a consensus. Moreover, to cope with possible sensor failure, we propose a second design approach that produces robust logical nonlinear consensus systems tolerating a maximum n…
Local Monitor Implementation for Decentralized Intrusion Detection in Secure Multi–Agent Systems
This paper focuses on the detection of misbehav- ing agents within a group of mobile robots. A novel approach to automatically synthesize a decentralized Intrusion Detection System (IDS) as well as an efficient implementation of local monitors are presented. In our scenario, agents perform possi- bly different independent tasks, but cooperate to guarantee the entire system’s safety. Indeed, agents plan their next actions by following a set of logic rules which is shared among them. Such rules are decentralized, i.e. they depend only on configurations of neighboring agents. However, some agents may not be acting according to this cooperation protocol, due to spontaneous failure or tampering.…
Visual-based Feedback Control of Casting Manipulation
In this paper, we present a method to control casting manipulation by means of real-time visual feedback. Casting manipulation is a technique to deploy a robotic end-effector at large distances from the robot’s base, by throwing the end-effector and controlling its ballistic flight using forces transmitted through a light tether connected to the end-effector itself. The tether cable can also be used to retrieve the end-effector and exert forces on the robot’s environment. Previous work has shown that casting manipulation is able to catch objects at a large distance, proving it viable for applications such as sample acquisition and return, rescue, etc. In previous experiments, the position o…
Consensus-based Distributed Intrusion Detection for Multi-Robot Systems
This paper addresses a security problem in robotic multi-agent systems, where agents are supposed to cooperate according to a shared protocol. A distributed Intrusion Detection System (IDS) is proposed here, that detects possible non-cooperative agents. Previous work by the authors showed how single monitors embedded on-board the agents can detect non- cooperative behavior, using only locally available information. In this paper, we allow such monitors to share the collected information in order to overcome their sensing limitation. In this perspective, we show how an agreement on the type of behavior of a target-robot may be reached by the monitors, through execution of a suitable consensu…
A self-routing protocol for distributed consensus on logical information
In this paper, we address decision making problems, depending on a set of input events, with networks of dynamic agents that have partial visibility of such events. Previous work by the authors proposed so-called logical consensus approach, by which a network of agents, that can exchange binary values representing their local estimates of the events, is able to reach a unique and consistent decision. The approach therein proposed is based on the construction of an iterative map, whose computation is centralized and guaranteed under suitable conditions on the input visibility and graph connectivity. Under the same conditions, we extend the approach in this work by allowing the construction o…
Decentralized classification in societies of autonomous and heterogenous robots
This paper addresses the classification problem for a set of autonomous robots that interact with each other. The objective is to classify agents that “behave” in “different way”, due to their own physical dynamics or to the interaction protocol they are obeying to, as belonging to different “species”. This paper describes a technique that allows a decentralized classification system to be built in a systematic way, once the hybrid models describing the behavior of the different species are given. This technique is based on a decentralized identification mechanism, by which every agent classifies its neighbors using only local information. By endowing every agent with such a local classifie…
Towards the Design of Robotic Drivers for Full-Scale Self-Driving Racing Cars
Autonomous vehicles are undergoing a rapid development thanks to advances in perception, planning and control methods and technologies achieved in the last two decades. Moreover, the lowering costs of sensors and computing platforms are attracting industrial entities, empowering the integration and development of innovative solutions for civilian use. Still, the development of autonomous racing cars has been confined mainly to laboratory studies and small to middle scale vehicles. This paper tackles the development of a planning and control framework for an electric full scale autonomous racing car, which is an absolute novelty in the literature, upon which we report our preliminary experim…
Identification of Distributed Systems with Logical Interaction Structure
This paper focuses on the structure identification problem for a class of networked systems, where the interaction among components or agents is described through logical maps. In particular, agents are heterogeneous cooperating systems, i.e. they may have different individual dynamics and different interaction rules depending on input events. While we assume that the individual agents' dynamics are known, each agent has partial knowledge of the logical map encoding the interaction of another agent with its neighbors. Based on the so-called algebraic normal form for binary functions, we present a technique by which the network structure described by a logical function can be dynamically est…
On the Robust Synthesis of Logical Consensus Algorithms for Distributed Intrusion Detection
We introduce a novel consensus mechanism by which the agents of a network can reach an agreement on the value of a shared logical vector function depending on binary input events. Based on results on the convergence of finite--state iteration systems, we provide a technique to design logical consensus systems that minimize the number of messages to be exchanged and the number of steps before consensus is reached, and that can tolerate a bounded number of failed or malicious agents. We provide sufficient joint conditions on the input visibility and the communication topology for the method's applicability. We describe the application of our method to two distributed network intrusion detecti…
Distributed Intrusion Detection for the Security of Industrial Cooperative Robotic Systems
Abstract This paper addresses the problem of detecting possible intruders in a group of autonomous robots which coexist in a shared environment and interact with each other according to a set of common rules. We consider intruders as robots which misbehave, i.e. do not follow the rules, because of either spontaneous failures or malicious reprogramming. Our goal is to detect intruders by observing the congruence of their behavior with the social rules as applied to the current state of the overall system. Moreover, in accordance with the fully distributed nature of the problem, the detection itself must be performed by individual robots, based only on local information. We present a general …
Symbolic control for underactuated differentially flat systems
In this paper we address the problem of generating input plans to steer complex dynamical systems in an obstacle-free environment. Plans considered admit a finite description length and are constructed by words on an alphabet of input symbols, which could be e.g. transmitted through a limited capacity channel to a remote system, where they can be decoded in suitable control actions. We show that, by suitable choice of the control encoding, finite plans can be efficiently built for a wide class of dynamical systems, computing arbitrarily close approximations of a desired equilibrium in polynomial time. Moreover, we illustrate by simulations the power of the proposed method, solving the steer…
Tolerating malicious monitors in detecting misbehaving robots
This paper considers a multi–agent system and focuses on the detection of motion misbehavior. Previous work by the authors proposed a solution, where agents act as local monitors of their neighbors and use locally sensed information as well as data received from other monitors. In this work, we consider possible failure of monitors that may send incorrect information to their neighbors due to spontaneous or even malicious malfunctioning. In this context, we propose a distributed software architecture that is able to tolerate such failures. Effectiveness of the proposed solution is shown through preliminary simulation results.
Decentralized intrusion detection for secure cooperative multi-agent systems
In this paper we address the problem of detecting faulty behaviors of cooperative mobile agents. A novel decentralized and scalable architecture that can be adopted to realize a monitor of the agents’ behavior is proposed. We consider agents which may perform different independent tasks, but cooperate to guarantee the entire system’s safety. Agents plan their next actions by following a set of rules which is shared among them. Such rules are decentralized, i.e. they dictate actions that depend only on configurations of neighboring agents. Some agents may not be acting according to this cooperation protocol, due to tampering or spontaneous failure. To detect such misbehaviors we propose a so…