Optimal control of networked robots

Wireless Sensor, Robot and UAV networks are the confluence point where the traditional fields of wireless communications, robotics and control theory meet. In this kind of networks, nodes collaborate to accomplish distributed sensing and actuation tasks. Leveraged by the control and mobility of actors, the networking process and applications embrace a whole new set of possibilities. Autonomous cooperative systems, made of intelligent devices (such as robots and UAVs), may deploy, repair and relocate sensors to improve coverage, build routes and fix network partition to ensure data communication, change network topology to shape routing patterns and balance energy consumption.