Decentralized Identification and control of networks of coupled mobile platforms through adaptive synchronization of chaos

In this talk, I present an application of adaptive synchronization of chaos to detect changes in the topology of a mobile robotic network. I assume that the network may evolve in time due to the relative motion of the mobile robots and due to unknown environmental conditions, such as the presence of obstacles in the environment. I consider that each robotic agent be equipped with a chaotic oscillator whose state is propagated to the other robots through wireless communication, with the goal of synchronizing the oscillators. I introduce an adaptive strategy that each agent independently implements to (i) estimate the net coupling of all the oscillators in its neighborhood and (ii) synchronize the state of the oscillators onto the same time evolution. I show that by using this strategy synchronization can be attained and changes in the network topology can be detected. II go one step forward and consider the possibility of using this information to control the mobile network. I propose the application of this technique to the problem of maintaining a formation between a set of mobile platforms, which operate in an inhomogeneous, uncertain, and time-varying environment. I further discuss the importance of using chaotic oscillators for improved security in this and other applications and the potential usefulness of chaos sync for the design of secure protocols for recognition of mobile agents.
Francesco Sorentino received a PhD in Control Engineering from the University of Naples Federico II (Italy). He was first a postdoc and then visiting assistant professor in the Nonlinear Dynamics & Chaos Group at the University of Maryland at College Park. From 2008 to 2011 he was assistant professor at the University of Napoli Parthenope. In 2012, he joined the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of New Mexico. His research primarily focuses on cutting-edge topics in Nonlinear Dynamics and Chaos Theory.