Nature Inspired Target Reacquisition Strategies for Autonomous Vehicles in a Search Role

Abstract

Previous research by the authors has investigated the application of nature inspired search strategies and particle swarm optimisation to the guidance of autonomous vehicles in search roles. Findings suggest that nature inspired search strategies are beneficial under a wide range of search conditions. However, that research did not consider the potential for reacquisition of lost targets, which is especially of interest where the targets are travelling faster than the searching agents or in environments that allow for some means of visual or other sensory occlusion. This work investigates whether behaviours observed in nature can be applied to scenarios where target detection is lost. Through employing a variety of reacquisition strategies against a range of target movement types it is demonstrated that the overall effectiveness of the system can be improved in a variety of scenarios by incorporating nature inspired reacquisition strategies.