Conflict resolution for multi-agent hybrid systems

Abstract

A conflict resolution architecture for multi-agent hybrid systems with emphasis on air traffic management systems (ATMS) is presented. In such systems, conflicts arise in the form of potential collisions which are resolved locally by inter-agent coordination. This results in a decentralized architecture in which safety issues are resolved locally and central agencies, such as air traffic controllers, focus on global issues such as efficiency and optimal throughput. In order to allow optimization of agents' objectives, inter-agent coordination is minimized by noncooperative conflict resolution methods based on game theory. If noncooperative methods are unsuccessful, then cooperative methods in the form of coordinated maneuvers are used to resolve conflicts. The merging of inter-agent coordination, which is modeled by discrete event systems, and agent dynamics, which are modeled by differential equations, results in hybrid systems.