A Cooperative Multiagent Probabilistic Framework for Search and Track Missions

In this work, a robust and scalable cooperative multiagent searching and tracking (SAT) framework is proposed. Specifically, we study the problem of cooperative SAT of multiple moving targets by a group of autonomous mobile agents with limited sensing capabilities. We assume that the actual number of targets present is not known a priori and that target births/deaths can occur anywhere inside the surveillance region; thus efficient search strategies are required to detect and track as many targets as possible. To address the aforementioned challenges, we recursively compute and propagate in time the SAT density. Using the SAT density, we then develop decentralized cooperative look-ahead strategies for efficient SAT of an unknown number of targets inside a bounded surveillance area.