A distributed and integrated method for cooperative mission planning of multiple heterogeneous UAVs

2018 ◽  
Vol 90 (9) ◽  
pp. 1403-1412
Author(s):  
Weinan WU ◽  
Naigang Cui
Keyword(s):  
Degrees Of Freedom ◽  
Planning Process ◽  
Feasible Solution ◽  
Optimal Solution ◽  
Path Following ◽  
Mission Planning ◽  
Planning Problem ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Integrated Method ◽  
Operating Rate

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to develop a distributed and integrated method to get a fast and feasible solution for cooperative mission planning of multiple heterogeneous unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Design/methodology/approach In this study, the planning process is conducted in a distributed framework; the cooperative mission planning problem is reformulated with some specific constraints in the real mission; a distributed genetic algorithm is the algorithm proposed for searching for the optimal solution; genes of the chromosome are modified to adapt to the heterogeneous characteristic of UAVs; a fixed-wing UAV’s six degrees-of-freedom (DOF) model with a path following method is used to test the proposed mission planning method. Findings This method not only has the ability to obtain good feasible solutions but also improves the operating rate vastly. Research limitations/implications This study is only applied to the case where the communication among UAVs is linked during the mission. Practical implications This study is expected to be practical for a real mission because of its fast operating rate and good feasible solution. Originality/value This solution is tested on a fixed-wing UAV’s 6-DOF model by a path following method, so it is believable from the perspective of an autonomous UAV guidance and control system.

scholarly journals A Constraint-based Mission Planning Approach for Reconfigurable Multi-Robot Systems

2018 ◽  
Vol 21 (62) ◽  
pp. 25
Author(s):  
Thomas M Roehr
Keyword(s):  
Degrees Of Freedom ◽  
Resource Constraints ◽  
Mission Planning ◽  
General Nature ◽  
Planning Problem ◽  
Modular Systems ◽  
Planning Approach ◽  
Robot Systems ◽  
Revised Definitions ◽  
Multi Robot

The application of reconfigurable multi-robot systems introduces additional degrees of freedom to design robotic missions compared to classical multi-robot systems. To allow for autonomous operation of such systems, planning approaches have to be investigated that cannot only cope with the combinatorial challenge arising from the increased flexibility of modular systems, but also exploit this flexibility to improve for example the safety of operation. While the problem originates from the domain of robotics it is of general nature and significantly intersects with operations research. This paper suggests a constraint-based mission planning approach, and presents a set of revised definitions for reconfigurable multi-robot systems including the representation of the planning problem using spatially and temporally qualified resource constraints. Planning is performed using a multi-stage approach and a combined use of knowledge-based reasoning, constraint-based programming and integer linear programming. The paper concludes with the illustration of the solution of a planned example mission.

Mechanization of static mechanical systems inspection planning process

2015 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 227-248 ◽  
Author(s):  
R.M. Chandima Ratnayake
Keyword(s):  
Industrial Development ◽  
Planning Process ◽  
Solution Space ◽  
Mechanical Equipment ◽  
Planning Problem ◽  
Inspection Planning ◽  
Suggested Approach ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Static Mechanical

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to review the evolution of inspection and maintenance (I&M) practices used for aging and newly built oil and gas (O&G) facilities. It also proposes a framework and an approach for mechanizing inspection planning to perform preventive maintenance (PM) activities, taking technical condition (TC) and relative degradation (RD) into consideration. Design/methodology/approach – The paper systematically collects, categorizes, and analyzes the published literature of both researchers and practitioners. It also utilizes industrial experience that has been accrued and utilized from inspection planning practices for static mechanical equipment on aging O&G production plants. Findings – The paper defines significant issues in I&M of O&G assets related to: different philosophies; stakeholders’ requirements trade-off; dependability and asset deterioration challenges; items interacting with inspection planning mechanization processes and I&M optimization approaches. A framework is identified to mechanize the inspection planning process in order to reduce the effect arising from human involvement, while improving the effective utilization of data from different sources. The suggested approach improves the quality of an inspection program, while minimizing the variability and cost to the engineering contractors as well as to the owners of O&G facilities. Practical implications – The mechanization of inspection planning (MIP) is vital to have inspection programs with uniform quality. The currently employed inspection practices face challenges in maintaining uniform quality from one inspection program to another due to the variability present in the planning process, especially among the different inspection planning engineers. The suggested fuzzy logic-based MIP supports the minimization of the variability and increases the quality of inspection programs. Originality/value – The paper provides a comprehensive review of research contributions and industrial development efforts. These will be useful to the life cycle stakeholders in both academia and industry in understanding the inspection planning problem and solution space within the O&G asset I&M context.

Heuristic for the new coordinated dynamic demand lot-size and delivery planning problem

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lin Wang ◽  
Lu Peng ◽  
Rui Liu ◽  
Ligang Cui ◽  
Shan Liu
Keyword(s):  
Optimal Solution ◽  
Planning Problem ◽  
Total System ◽  
Lot Size ◽  
Dynamic Demand ◽  
Setup Cost ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Inventory Costs ◽  
Delivery Planning ◽  
Delivery Policy

Purpose The purpose of this study is to propose a new coordinated dynamic demand lot-size and delivery planning problem (CDLSDP), in which the delivery policy is integrated into the coordinated dynamic demand lot-size problem (CDLSP). Design/methodology/approach As a non-deterministic polynomial complete (NP-complete) problem, this CDLSDP seems difficult to be solved by a polynomial-time method. To handle this problem effectively and efficiently, a four-phase heuristic that balances the setup and inventory costs in the coordinating and delivery stages is designed to find near-optimal solutions. Findings Numerous computational experiments show that the proposed four-phase heuristic is effective and efficient. For 1,800 experiments with different scales, and different joint setup costs, solutions by the proposed heuristic have an average gap no more than 1.34% from the optimal solution. Research limitations/implications To decrease total system cost, the CDLSDP optimizes the time-phased replenishment and delivery schedule, which includes joint setup cost, item setup, delivery and inventory cost, for each period. An effective and efficient four-phase heuristic is designed to solve the CDLSDP. Originality/value Compared with the traditional CDLSP, the delivery policy is considered by the new CDLSDP. Moreover, the proposed four-phase heuristic is a good candidate for solving the CDLSDP.

Residents’ perception towards tourism impacts in Kashmir

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Asif Hamid Charag ◽  
Asif Iqbal Fazili ◽  
Irfan Bashir
Keyword(s):  
Planning Process ◽  
Economic Impacts ◽  
Tourism Development ◽  
Policy Framework ◽  
Social Implications ◽  
Cultural Economic ◽  
Tourism Impacts ◽  
Content Type ◽  
City Tourism ◽  
Significant Difference

Purpose The purpose of this study is to understand the residents’ perception towards environmental, social, cultural and economic impacts of tourism development in Kashmir. Design/methodology/approach The research instrument containing 27 items pertaining to six variables is adopted from the literature. A mix-method survey approach is used to solicit residents’ perceptions regarding environmental, social, cultural and economic impacts of the current level of tourism development. A total of 326 useful responses were subjected to descriptive statistics, analysis of variance (ANOVA) and post hoc analysis using SPSS (Version 22.0). Findings In general, the negative and positive impacts of tourism development are well perceived by the residents. The results indicate that the residents display positive perception regarding economic impacts, however, social and environmental impacts are negatively perceived. Furthermore, barring level of education, the study found no significant difference in the residents’ perception towards tourism impacts (environmental, social, cultural, economic, quality of life and cost of living). Research limitations/implications The paper identifies perceived impacts and issues of tourism development thereby, proposing possible mitigating measures. Also, the study identifies the need to develop a comprehensive policy framework addressing the issues related to the resident’s negative feelings towards tourism impacts. Further, the study envisages the need for engaging residents in developing a progressive and participatory planning process for future tourism activities in the area. Social implications The study offers critical social implications for city tourism development. It suggests a community-based approach should be adopted to sensitize residents about the positive benefits of tourism. Originality/value The study is a novel attempt concerning residents’ residents perceptual differences towards tourism impacts. Furthermore, this study investigated socio-cultural impacts of tourism under two separate categories for better understanding. in doing so, this study provides finer understanding of perception of residents towards tourism impacts in Indian context. The findings of the study will prove critical for different stakeholders in developing future tourism framework and policies in the region.

scholarly journals Optimum Distribution System Expansion Planning Incorporating DG Based on N-1 Criterion for Sustainable System

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (12) ◽  
pp. 6708
Author(s):  
Hamza Mubarak ◽  
Nurulafiqah Nadzirah Mansor ◽  
Hazlie Mokhlis ◽  
Mahazani Mohamad ◽  
Hasmaini Mohamad ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Power Systems ◽  
Distribution System ◽  
Industrial Revolution ◽  
Optimal Solution ◽  
Search Space ◽  
Planning Problem ◽  
System Expansion ◽  
Optimum Distribution ◽  
Optimal Sizing ◽  
Expansion Planning

Demand for continuous and reliable power supply has significantly increased, especially in this Industrial Revolution 4.0 era. In this regard, adequate planning of electrical power systems considering persistent load growth, increased integration of distributed generators (DGs), optimal system operation during N-1 contingencies, and compliance to the existing system constraints are paramount. However, these issues need to be parallelly addressed for optimum distribution system planning. Consequently, the planning optimization problem would become more complex due to the various technical and operational constraints as well as the enormous search space. To address these considerations, this paper proposes a strategy to obtain one optimal solution for the distribution system expansion planning by considering N-1 system contingencies for all branches and DG optimal sizing and placement as well as fluctuations in the load profiles. In this work, a hybrid firefly algorithm and particle swarm optimization (FA-PSO) was proposed to determine the optimal solution for the expansion planning problem. The validity of the proposed method was tested on IEEE 33- and 69-bus systems. The results show that incorporating DGs with optimal sizing and location minimizes the investment and power loss cost for the 33-bus system by 42.18% and 14.63%, respectively, and for the 69-system by 31.53% and 12%, respectively. In addition, comparative studies were done with a different model from the literature to verify the robustness of the proposed method.

scholarly journals Modeling and Simulation of Mission Planning Problem for Remote Sensing Satellite Imaging

2018 ◽  
Vol 179 ◽  
pp. 03024 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yao Pan ◽  
Zhong Ming Chi ◽  
Qi Long Rao ◽  
Kai Peng Sun ◽  
Yi Nan Liu
Keyword(s):  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Time Window ◽  
Constraint Satisfaction Problem ◽  
Optimal Path ◽  
Time Constraint ◽  
Mission Planning ◽  
Planning Problem ◽  
Satellite Imaging ◽  
Problem Model ◽  
Remote Sensing Satellite

Mission planning problem for remote sensing satellite imaging is studied. Firstly, the time constraint satisfaction problem model is presented after analyzing the characteristic of time constraint. Then, An optimal path searching algorithm based on the discrete time window is proposed according to the non-uniqueness for satellite to mission in the visible time window. Simulation results verify the efficiency of the model and algorithm.

Workspace, dexterity and dimensional optimization of microhexapod

2015 ◽  
Vol 35 (4) ◽  
pp. 341-347 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Rouhani ◽  
M. J. Nategh
Keyword(s):  
Degrees Of Freedom ◽  
Optimization Problem ◽  
Screw Theory ◽  
Design Parameters ◽  
Dimensional Synthesis ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Workspace Analysis ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Flexure Joints ◽  
6 Degrees Of Freedom

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to study the workspace and dexterity of a microhexapod which is a 6-degrees of freedom (DOF) parallel compliant manipulator, and also to investigate its dimensional synthesis to maximize the workspace and the global dexterity index at the same time. Microassembly is so essential in the current industry for manufacturing complicated structures. Most of the micromanipulators suffer from their restricted workspace because of using flexure joints compared to the conventional ones. In addition, the controllability of micromanipulators inside the whole workspace is very vital. Thus, it is very important to select the design parameters in a way that not only maximize the workspace but also its global dexterity index. Design/methodology/approach – Microassembly is so essential in the current industry for manufacturing complicated structures. Most of the micromanipulators suffer from their restricted workspace because of using flexure joints compared to the conventional ones. In addition, the controllability of micromanipulators inside the whole workspace is very vital. Thus, it is very important to select the design parameters in a way that not only maximize the workspace but also its global dexterity index. Findings – It has been shown that the proposed procedure for the workspace calculation can considerably speed the required calculations. The optimization results show that a converged-diverged configuration of pods and an increase in the difference between the moving and the stationary platforms’ radii cause the global dexterity index to increase and the workspace to decrease. Originality/value – The proposed algorithm for the workspace analysis is very important, especially when it is an objective function of an optimization problem based on the search method. In addition, using screw theory can simply construct the homogeneous Jacobian matrix. The proposed methodology can be used for any other micromanipulator.

Optimum Path Planning for Mechanical Manipulators

1981 ◽  
Vol 103 (2) ◽  
pp. 142-151 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Y. S. Luh ◽  
C. S. Lin
Keyword(s):  
Path Planning ◽  
Feasible Solution ◽  
Computing Time ◽  
Inequality Constraints ◽  
Programming Algorithm ◽  
Planning Problem ◽  
Linear Inequality Constraints ◽  
Nonlinear Inequality ◽  
Angular Velocities ◽  
Nonlinear Inequality Constraints

To assure a successful completion of an assigned task without interruption, such as the collision with fixtures, the hand of a mechanical manipulator often travels along a preplanned path. An advantage of requiring the path to be composed of straight-line segments in Cartesian coordinates is to provide a capability for controlled interaction with objects on a moving conveyor. This paper presents a method of obtaining a time schedule of velocities and accelerations along the path that the manipulator may adopt to obtain a minimum traveling time, under the constraints of composite Cartesian limit on linear and angular velocities and accelerations. Because of the involvement of a linear performance index and a large number of nonlinear inequality constraints, which are generated from physical limitations, the “method of approximate programming (MAP)” is applied. Depending on the initial choice of a feasible solution, the iterated feasible solution, however, does not converge to the optimum feasible point, but is often entrapped at some other point of the boundary of the constraint set. To overcome the obstacle, MAP is modified so that the feasible solution of each of the iterated linear programming problems is shifted to the boundaries corresponding to the original, linear inequality constraints. To reduce the computing time, a “direct approximate programming algorithm (DAPA)” is developed, implemented and shown to converge to optimum feasible solution for the path planning problem. Programs in FORTRAN language have been written for both the modified MAP and DAPA, and are illustrated by a numerical example for the purpose of comparison.

Extended and experimenting: library learning commons service strategy and sustainability

2016 ◽  
Vol 37 (4/5) ◽  
pp. 265-274 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Gunter King
Keyword(s):  
Planning Process ◽  
Academic Library ◽  
Historical Review ◽  
Academic Librarians ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Research Engagement ◽  
Learning Commons ◽  
Library Research ◽  
The Commons

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to share a compelling example of a library’s willingness to develop and design itself as an open-ended process. Design/methodology/approach – The case study provides a historical review of the library’s founding design, and an overview of the process and approach to redesign. The study contextualizes the library within current academic library research and literature. Findings – This paper explores the research, engagement and planning process behind the library’s exploration of new models and service configurations. The project was an engaged, inclusive, transparent, library-led process. The commons reestablishes the library as the “nerve center” of the campus. Originality/value – The paper offers an update to a 1969 report, and later book by Robert Taylor on the Harold F. Johnson Library at Hampshire College, designed as a prototype of an academic library. This paper will be of value to academic librarians, administrators, and historians.

Configuration Robustness Analysis of the Optimal Design of Cable-Driven Manipulators

2016 ◽  
Vol 8 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Joshua T. Bryson ◽  
Xin Jin ◽  
Sunil K. Agrawal
Keyword(s):  
Optimal Design ◽  
Stochastic Optimization ◽  
High Dimension ◽  
Degrees Of Freedom ◽  
Robustness Analysis ◽  
Optimal Solution ◽  
Design Parameters ◽  
Robot Leg ◽  
Robot Performance

Designing an effective cable architecture for a cable-driven robot becomes challenging as the number of cables and degrees of freedom of the robot increase. A methodology has been previously developed to identify the optimal design of a cable-driven robot for a given task using stochastic optimization. This approach is effective in providing an optimal solution for robots with high-dimension design spaces, but does not provide insights into the robustness of the optimal solution to errors in the configuration parameters that arise in the implementation of a design. In this work, a methodology is developed to analyze the robustness of the performance of an optimal design to changes in the configuration parameters. This robustness analysis can be used to inform the implementation of the optimal design into a robot while taking into account the precision and tolerances of the implementation. An optimized cable-driven robot leg is used as a motivating example to illustrate the application of the configuration robustness analysis. Following the methodology, the effect on robot performance due to design variations is analyzed, and a modified design is developed which minimizes the potential performance degradations due to implementation errors in the design parameters. A robot leg is constructed and is used to validate the robustness analysis by demonstrating the predicted effects of variations in the design parameters on the performance of the robot.

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