Sovinsky, Michael Charles (2007-04). Dynamical formulations and control of an automatic retargeting system. Master's Thesis. Thesis uri icon

abstract

  • The Poincare equations, also known as Lagrange's equations in quasi coordinates, are revisited with special attention focused on a diagonal form. The diagonal form stems from a special choice of quasi velocities that were first introduced by Georg Hamel nearly a century ago. The form has been largely ignored because the quasi velocities create so-called Hamel coefficients that appear in the governing equations and are based on the partial derivative of the mass matrix factorization. Consequently, closed-form expressions for the Hamel coefficients can be difficult to obtain and relying on finite-dimensional, numerical methods are unattractive. In this thesis we use a newly developed operator overloading technique to automatically generate the Hamel coefficients through exact partial differentiation together with numerical evaluation. The equations can then be numerically integrated for system simulation. These special Poincare equations are called the Hamel Form and their usefulness in dynamic modeling and control is investigated. Coordinated control algorithms for an automatic retargeting system are developed in an attempt to protect an area against direct assaults. The scenario is for a few weapon systems to suddenly be faced with many hostile targets appearing together. The weapon systems must decide which weapon system will attack which target and in whatever order deemed sufficient to defend the protected area. This must be performed in a real-time environment, where every second is crucial. Four different control methods in this thesis are developed. They are tested against each other in computer simulations to determine the survivability and thought process of the control algorithms. An auction based control algorithm finding targets of opportunity achieved the best results.

publication date

  • December 2005