A research team led by North Carolina A&T State University will develop control systems for a new dimension in battlefield strategy: large teams of unmanned vehicles.

The five-year project will expand the use of autonomous vehicles, such as drones, to a larger scale and more diverse missions. It will be funded by a $5 million grant from the U.S. Air Force.

The vision is to manage future battlefields with autonomous vehicles working together in the air, on the ground, on the water and/or underwater. The vehicles could be controlled remotely by human operators or they could maneuver autonomously in complex environments. Teams of autonomous vehicles working in concert with soldiers, sailors and fliers would be capable of a variety of cooperative missions, such as surveillance and reconnaissance.

Dr. Abdollah Homaifar, Duke Energy Eminent Professor of computer engineering at N.C. A&T and leader of the project says, “The concept of systems of vehicles is new. It’s about teaming and cooperation among the autonomous vehicles.

“Teams of these vehicles could provide an advantage on the battlefield, but we need to learn how to move beyond controlling, for example, one drone at a time, and how they can work together. These are complex systems that will operate together in extreme conditions.”

The funding will allow A&T to establish a multi-disciplinary Center for Testing, Evaluation and Control of Heterogeneous Large-Scale Autonomous Vehicles. A&T’s partners on the project will be the University of Texas at San Antonio and Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute, a national tribal community college, in Albuquerque, N.M.

The project will build on the team’s years of research in robotics, control, machine learning and expert systems. It will focus on three related areas: modeling, analysis and control of autonomous vehicles, led by Dr. Mo Jamshidi of UTSA; resilient control and communication for large-scale systems of autonomous vehicles, led by Dr. Ali Karimoddini of A&T; and testing, evaluation and verification, led by Dr. Younho Seong of A&T. The results will be integrated by Dr. Fatemeh Afghah at A&T.

In addition, the team will develop an education and outreach program to bring the team’s work to the classroom and to foster public awareness. Dr. John Kelly of A&T and Dr. Nader Vadiee of Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute will lead that work. Vadiee is project director for the college’s NASA Tribal College and University Experiential Learning Opportunities program.

Applications of the team’s technology won’t be limited to the military.

“The results can be extended to other classes of systems of systems such as smart grids, transportation systems, air-traffic control systems, and more,” Homaifar says.

For the second consecutive year, North Carolina A&T State University will recognize and reward the accomplishments of staff during the University Employee Recognition and Awards Program.

Staff members will be recognized and awarded in five categories: leadership, team work, performance, customer service and Aggie Pride (Going the Extra Mile). The awards were created as an effort to highlight excellence in various areas and job functions across the university.

Permanent, full-time SPA and EPA non-faculty employees of N.C. A&T who have three consecutive years of service as a permanent, full-time employee are eligible for nomination. Senior academic administrative officers (Tiers I and II) are ineligible.

Employees are nominated by their respective college/school or division by a permanent employee (all nominators must be permanent employees of A&T). Self-nominations will be disqualified.

Nominations are submitted to the University Employee Recognition Committee. One winner will be named for each award, pending the receipt of qualified nominations. (Note: Incomplete packets will be disqualified.)

All nominees will be invited to attend a banquet. The winner of each category will receive a plaque and a check for $1,000.

Descriptions and selection criteria for each award, characteristics of recipients, nomination process and nomination forms are available on the university’s website on the Division of Human Resources’ page. The deadline for the receipt of nomination packets is Thursday, May 7, by 5 p.m. Mail or deliver packets to the following:

University Employee Recognition Committee Chair
N.C. A&T State University
Division of Human Resources
1020 East Wendover Building
Greensboro, NC 27411