On Discrete-Time Pursuit-Evasion Games With Sensing Limitations

In this paper, we address discrete-time pursuit-evasion games in the plane where every player has identical sensing and motion ranges restricted to closed disks of given sensing and stepping radii. A single evader is initially located inside a bounded subset of the environment and does not move until detected. We propose a sweep-pursuit-capture pursuer strategy to capture the evader and apply it to two variants of the game. The first involves a single pursuer and an evader in a bounded convex environment, and the second involves multiple pursuers and an evader in a boundaryless environment. In the first game, we give a sufficient condition on the ratio of sensing to stepping radius of the players that guarantees capture. In the second, we determine the minimum probability of capture, which is a function of a novel pursuer formation and independent of the initial evader location. The sweep and pursuit phases reduce both games to previously studied problems with unlimited range sensing, and capture is achieved using available strategies. We obtain novel upper bounds on the capture time and present simulation studies that address the performance of the strategies under sensing errors, different ratios of sensing to stepping radius, greater evader speed, and a different number of pursuers.      

Randomized pursuit-evasion in a polygonal environment

This paper contains two main results. First, we revisit the well-known visibility-based pursuit-evasion problem, and show that in contrast to deterministic strategies, a single pursuer can locate an unpredictable evader in any simply connected polygonal environment, using a randomized strategy. The evader can be arbitrarily faster than the pursuer, and it may know the position of the pursuer at all times, but it does not have prior knowledge of the random decisions made by the pursuer. Second, using the randomized algorithm, together with the solution to a problem called the "lion and man problem" as subroutines, we present a strategy for two pursuers (one of which is at least as fast as the evader) to quickly capture an evader in a simply connected polygonal environment. We show how this strategy can be extended to obtain a strategy for a polygonal room with a door, two pursuers who have only line-of-sight communication, and a single pursuer (at the expense of increased capture time).     

A cooperative pursuit-evasion game in wireless sensor and actor networks

This paper studies the problem of the pursuit-evasion game under the wireless sensor and actor networks (WSANs). In order to plan paths for pursuers to capture an evader in the pursuit-evasion game, a novel multi-step cooperative strategy is presented. Under this strategy, the pursuit-evasion game is studied in two stages. In the first stage we assume that the evader is always static in the workplace, and in the second stage the evader will move once it senses the existence of pursuers. A Daisy-Chain Formation algorithm and a sliding mode-based method are presented to control the pursuit. Based on Lyapunov stability theory, the proposed algorithm is proved to be convergent. At last, simulation results are provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.     

复杂三维多面体环境中空地协作追逃问题

结合无人机(UAV)的空中移动和无人车(UGV)的地面移动特点,本文提出了一种UAV/UGV空地协作系统,并且针对其在复杂地形中的追逃问题,提出了一种复杂三维多面体环境中UAV/UGV空地协作追逃策略.首先介绍了UAV/UGV空地协作系统的结构与协作追逃问题描述.接着将边界值问题(BVP)改进并离散化作为博弈走法生成器.然后,针对逃方已知追方位置,而追方只具备直线视野(LOS)的不利条件,分析了最坏情况.逃方策略在保证最大生存条件下尽可能获得博弈胜利.追方策略根据逃方状态分成3种情况进行讨论:逃方处于追方的视野范围内、逃方刚刚消失于追方视野以及追方完全丢失逃方的情况.最后,对比仿真结果说明了本文算法的有效性,并分析了追逃结果的影响因素.由于地形是非凸的并且充满障碍,因此该策略虽不能保证追方一定能够胜利,但在最坏情况下是最优的.     

Simple Group Pursuit Subject to Phase Constraints and Data Delay

The problem of the simple pursuit of a single evader by a group of pursuers subject to phase constraints is considered. It is assumed that the pursuers receive information about the evader’s control and affect the control system with a time delay. Sufficient conditions for the solvability of the pursuit problem are obtained.     

Cooperative Multiple Pursuers against a Single Evader

This paper considers a pursuit-evasion game for non-holonomic systems where a group of pursuers attempts to capture an evader in a bounded connected domain. The problem is challenging because all vehicles have the same maneuvering capability in terms of speed and turn radius constraint. The paper initially discusses a simple approach for holonomic systems that is based on the minimization of the safe-reachable area (the area containing the set of points to where an evader can travel without being caught). This idea is then extended to develop a pursuit-evasion strategy for non-holonomic systems. However, solving such a problem is computationally intractable. Therefore, we propose a computationally efficient algorithm to obtain approximate solutions. This paper also proposes an alternative approach to obtain a simple yet effective solution to the cooperative pursuit problem that is based on missile guidance laws. As there is no analytical proof of capture, we empirically evaluate the performance of the algorithms and perform a comparative study using solutions obtained from umpteen simulations. A total of four different cooperative pursuit strategies and three different evader strategies are taken into account for the comparative study. In the process, an evader strategy which is superior to that based on the optimization of safe-reachable area is also identified.     

多追捕者-单-逃跑者追逃问题实现成功捕获的约束条件

针对包含有n个追捕者及1个逃跑者的2维平面多机器人追逃问题,对实现成功捕获的约束条件进行了研究.经过理论分析得出:在机器人拥有全局视野的情况下,即使单一逃跑者性能优于每个追捕者,只要满足追捕者与逃跑者的速率比大于sin(π/n),逃跑机器人落在追捕机器人所构成的凸多边形内部且逃跑者和追捕者构成的相邻追-逃阿波罗尼奥斯圆满足两两相交(相切)这2个约束条件,则追捕者通过选择合适的追捕策略就一定可以实现成功抓捕.此外,还给出了在此约束条件下的追捕者和逃跑者的追逃策略.多组仿真实验同样证明了本文提出的约束条件是正确的.     

Scalable and practical pursuit-evasion with networked robots

In this paper, we consider the design and implementation of practical pursuit-evasion games with networked robots, where a communication network provides sensing-at-a-distance as well as a communication backbone that enables tighter coordination between pursuers. We first develop, using the theory of zero-sum games, an algorithm that computes the minimal completion time strategy for pursuit-evasion when pursuers and evaders have same speed, and when all players make optimal decisions based on complete knowledge. Then, we extend this algorithm to when evader are significantly faster than pursuers. Unfortunately, these algorithms do not scale beyond a small number of robots. To overcome this problem, we design and implement a partition algorithm where pursuers capture evaders by decomposing the game into multiple multi-pursuer single-evader games. We show that the partition algorithm terminates, has bounded capture time, is robust, and is scalable in the number of robots. We then describe the design of a real-world mobile robot-based pursuit evasion game. We validate our algorithms by experiments in a moderate-scale testbed in a challenging office environment. Overall, our work illustrates an innovative interplay between robotics and communication.     

Two weak pursuers in a game against a single evader

We consider an antagonistic differential game where the first player controls the actions of two pursuers that aim to minimize, at a given time instant their miss with respect to an evader. The second (maximizing) player is identified with the evader. We study the case when dynamic capabilities of pursuers are less than the capabilities of the evader. We propose a quasioptimal control method for the first player with switching lines. We also show modeling results.     

To a nonstationary group pursuit problem with phase constraints

We consider two linear nonstationary pursuit-evasion problems with one evader and a group of pursuers under the conditions that the players have equal dynamic abilities and that the evader cannot leave a certain set. We prove that if the number of pursuers is less than the space dimension, then the evader can avoid capture in the interval [t ₀,∞).