A strategy for improving observability with mobile robots

Many surveillance and reconnaissance tasks make use of multi-cameras in order to ensure that a particular mission is accomplished. These networks of cameras are useful as they can reduce the cost of human observers, are continuously observant (unlike humans who may fall asleep on the job), and can be implemented for a fairly low cost. However, in many scenarios, it does not make sense or may not be possible to have a fixed camera installation because the surveillance may only be needed for a short duration or it may take too long to do a proper install and observation is needed now. In terms of short terms and immediacy, mobile robots acting as a camera network provide an interesting middle ground. They can be deployed quickly to cover immediate needs, and they can be packed up and moved to another area if needs change. However, as the duration of the mission in which they are used increases, the robotic team will run out of power. This paper addresses some of the issues with keeping a surveillance team active while their batteries drain. Multiple task-reallocation methods are used in conjunction with an analysis of the effects of fixed vs mobile docking stations. Simulations were run requiring the team to provide camera coverage of a group of mobile "pedestrians" moving dynamically through a scene and the results are presented.