Speaker: Dan Stilwell

Abstract: This talk presents a mission concept in which a team of small, low-cost autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) monitors ship traffic and detects anomalous behavior near critical port infrastructure. We consider the following scenario: a team of AUVs transits undetected into the Chesapeake Bay to identify vessels that exhibit unusual behavior near a busy port. Using a probabilistic model derived from historical vessel transit data, the AUVs anchor themselves at locations where they can passively listen for and track passing ships while watching for atypical behavior. Outliers are reported in real time and may be collaboratively tracked over short distances. This mission requires advances in many areas of marine robotics, all of which are being pursued at the Center for Marine Autonomy and Robotics at Virginia Tech. These include novel AUV design, energy-aware autonomy, acoustic sensing, and distributed multi-agent coordination. Moreover, integrating all of these technologies and deploying them in the field requires broad expertise in the practical art of marine robotics. This talk will highlight recent progress and open challenges that are intended to motivate a few of the many areas that are ideal opportunities for future collaboration.
Bio: Dan Stilwell is a Professor in the Bradley Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Virginia Tech and the founding Director of the Center for Marine Autonomy and Robotics. He leads teams that develop next-generation autonomous underwater vehicles and the autonomy that allows them to operate reliably without human intervention. Several of his systems have been transitioned to the U.S. Navy. He earned his PhD in Electrical Engineering from Johns Hopkins University in 1999, an MS degree in Electrical Engineering from Virginia Tech, and a BS degree in Computer Engineering from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Dr. Stilwell’s research addresses fundamental challenges in multi-agent systems and practical applications in marine robotics. Recognition of Dr. Stilwell’s work includes the Office of Naval Research Young Investigator Program award, the National Science Foundation CAREER award, the Rudolph Kalman Best Paper award from the ASME Dynamics Systems and Control Division and the Research Excellence award from Virginia Tech. He is currently the Seale Coastal Zone Observatory Faculty Fellow