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The goal of this program is to develop mechanisms for the adaptive control of a distributed system. This capability will provide the means for an Autonomous Oceanographic Sampling Network (AOSN) to effectively control its group of vehicles and instrument platforms (VIPs) in the face of changing mission requirements, a changing pool of available agents, and a dynamic environment. The major objectives of this project are to do the following: (1) Develop a set of high-level protocols for the organization and reorganization of a group of underwater vehicles and nonmobile instrument platforms (VIPs), (2) Design and implement a simulator to model the aggregate behavior of a system of VIPs conducting a mission in accordance with the protocols, (3) Develop and conduct experiments on the simulator to show the feasibility of this approach, and (4) Design and implement VIP capabilities as generic behaviors., See also ADM002252. Prepared in cooperation with the University of Maine, Dept. of Computer Science, Orono, ME.

The long-term goal of this program is to investigate those technologies that will enable the use of solar energy to power Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs). The program is focused on an investigation of our ability to extract sufficient energy from the sun's radiation to power an AUV and our ability to efficiently manage the collection, storage, and utilization of that energy such that an AUV is able to perform tasks required during a mission. It is expected that, at the conclusion of this phase of the program, we will understand not only the relevant technologies, but also the advantages, methods of implementation, and limitations of their use on solar AUVs., See also ADM002252.

A cross disciplinary session was organized by the Autonomous Undersea Systems Institute (AUSI) as part of the 10th International Symposium on Unmanned Untethered Submersible Technology. The Symposium was held at the New England Center at the University of New Hampshire during the period of September 5 - 11, 1997. This special session was organized to promote cross disciplinary interchange of ideas, technology, and research advances between AUV investigators and Bio-engineering researchers. Fifteen papers were presented during this session and was attended by fifty people approximately equally divided between AUV investigators and Bio-engineering researchers. This report is a compilation of the papers presented at the special session on Bio-Engineering. Feedback from attendees was very positive in terms of the two groups exchanging technology and ideas. A major suggestion from many attendees was to integrate the bio-engineering papers into the regular symposium, rather than have the session somewhat separate, to allow for more time to assimilate each others concepts and to provide more interpersonal discussion time.