PLANET · PLAtform for the deployment and operation of heterogeneous NETworked cooperating objects

Efficient deployment and management has been identified as one of the main problems for the acceptance of new technologies based on Cooperating Objects (COs). The goal of PLANET is to provide an integrated planning and maintenance platform that enables the deployment, operation and maintenance of heterogeneous networked COs in an efficient way. The main objective of the project particularly emphasizes the capability of the platform to support deployment and operation strategies for large-scale systems composed of unmanned ground and aerial vehicles cooperating with wireless sensor/actuator networks.<br/>PLANET addresses the design methodology and development of the platform as well as the algorithms required to support the deployment and maintenance of heterogeneous systems with mobile and static nodes. The most challenging algorithms that will form the core functionality of the PLANET platform are: optimal planning to achieve optimal coverage; network-centric, cooperative sensing/actuation; cooperative transportation and retrieval of nodes; data muling techniques; secure, non-intrusive monitoring of the network for failures and possible threats; synthetic network simulation; user interface algorithms for the efficient usage of the platform by non-experts. All of these have to be solved in the presence of rather adverse conditions (high mobility, ad-hoc and dynamic resource changes, etc.) and taking into account the QoS requirements of the applications.<br/>The PLANET platform will be validated in two scenarios: An environmental and wildlife monitoring application deployed in the Doñana Biological Reserve (Spain); and the management of a highly automated airfield which could be used as the operating base of unmanned vehicles for the previous application. Both scenarios, although complementary, have very different requirements regarding the QoS needed from the system and, thus, enable the PLANET platform to show its adaptation and self-organization capabilities in diverse settings.