Optimization and Control

One of the major challenges of human compatible power systems is that they must meet varying power profiles. That is, a system such as a personal reconnaissance rover may require a high peak power for a very short burst (perhaps to get over an obstacle) and then very low power for a long time as it goes into simple telemetry mode. The power system must then be sized for the peak load, which may not be the most efficient choice for low power use. We envision, therefore, intelligent and adaptive optimization of multi-mode and multi-agent devices that maximize performance over the entire duty cycle demand. Appropriate sensors, actuators, mode switching, and control concepts are needed to accomplish this goal. It is also likely that extremely high levels of control will be needed to make some power systems operate in regimes that are compatible with the human body. It is possible, for example, to burn fuel at very low temperature, but the process is unstable and can be maintained only for closely controlled input conditions.