Autonomous adaptive acoustic relay positioning
Thesis: S.M., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Mechanical Engineering, 2013.
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | eng |
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Massachusetts Institute of Technology
2014
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/85504 |
| _version_ | 1811074344982413312 |
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| author | Cheung, Mei Yi, Ph. D. Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| author2 | Franz S. Hover. |
| author_facet | Franz S. Hover. Cheung, Mei Yi, Ph. D. Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| author_sort | Cheung, Mei Yi, Ph. D. Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| collection | MIT |
| description | Thesis: S.M., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Mechanical Engineering, 2013. |
| first_indexed | 2024-09-23T09:47:36Z |
| format | Thesis |
| id | mit-1721.1/85504 |
| institution | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| language | eng |
| last_indexed | 2024-09-23T09:47:36Z |
| publishDate | 2014 |
| publisher | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | mit-1721.1/855042020-03-30T22:11:19Z Autonomous adaptive acoustic relay positioning Cheung, Mei Yi, Ph. D. Massachusetts Institute of Technology Franz S. Hover. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Mechanical Engineering. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Mechanical Engineering Mechanical Engineering. Thesis: S.M., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Mechanical Engineering, 2013. Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. Includes bibliographical references (pages 75-79). We consider the problem of maximizing underwater acoustic data transmission by adaptively positioning an autonomous mobile relay so as to learn and exploit spatial variations in channel performance. The acoustic channel is the main practical method of underwater wireless communication and improving channel throughput and reliability is key to improving the capabilities of underwater vehicles. Predicting the performance of the acoustic channel in the shallow-water environment is challenging and usually requires extensive modeling of the environment. However, a mobile relay can learn about the unknown channel as it transmits. The relay must balance searching unknown sites to gain more information, which may pay off in the future, and exploiting already-visited sites for immediate reward. This is a classic exploration vs. exploitation problem that is well-described by a multi-armed bandit formulation with an elegant solution in the form of Gittins indices. For an autonomous ocean vehicle traveling between distant waypoints, however, switching costs are significant. The multi-armed bandit with switching costs has no optimal index policy, so we have developed an adaptation of the Gittins index rule with limited policy enumeration and asymptotic performance bounds. We describe extensive shallow-water field experiments conducted in the Charles River (Boston, MA) with autonomous surface vehicles and acoustic modems, and use the field data to assess performance of the MAB decision policies and comparable heuristics. We find the switching-costs-aware algorithm offers superior real-time performance in decision-making and efficient learning of the unknown field. by Mei Yi Cheung. S.M. 2014-03-06T15:46:47Z 2014-03-06T15:46:47Z 2013 2013 Thesis http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/85504 871003747 eng M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission. http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582 79 pages application/pdf Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| spellingShingle | Mechanical Engineering. Cheung, Mei Yi, Ph. D. Massachusetts Institute of Technology Autonomous adaptive acoustic relay positioning |
| title | Autonomous adaptive acoustic relay positioning |
| title_full | Autonomous adaptive acoustic relay positioning |
| title_fullStr | Autonomous adaptive acoustic relay positioning |
| title_full_unstemmed | Autonomous adaptive acoustic relay positioning |
| title_short | Autonomous adaptive acoustic relay positioning |
| title_sort | autonomous adaptive acoustic relay positioning |
| topic | Mechanical Engineering. |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/85504 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT cheungmeiyiphdmassachusettsinstituteoftechnology autonomousadaptiveacousticrelaypositioning |