Nonuniform Deployment of Autonomous Agents in Harbor-Like Environments

Abstract

We propose a nonuniform deployment strategy of a group of homogeneous autonomous agents in harbor-like environments. High value units berthed in the area need to be secured against external attacks. Defenders deployed in the area are expected to monitor, intercept, engage, and neutralize threats. In the framework of decentralized coordinated multi-agent systems, we model and simulate the optimal deployment of a group of mobile autonomous agents that accounts for a risk map of the area and the optimal trajectories that minimize the energy consumed to intercept a threat in a given area of interest. Theoretical results are numerically illustrated through simulations in a realistic harbor protection scenario.