Cooperative standoff tracking of uncertain moving targets using active robot networks

This paper presents a coordination scheme for standoff tracking of an uncertain moving target by cooperating mobile robots with range and bearing sensors. An algorithm is described that transforms a guidance vector field developed for loitering about circular patterns into a vector field that tracks ellipses. Specific elliptical tracking patterns are developed based on the covariance matrix of a stochastic estimation process. Simulation results demonstrate the ability of two aerial robots to coordinate their orbit around an uncertain target moving with constant velocity.