Control of Sensory Perception in a Mobile Navigation Problem

The problem of controlling sensory input and perception for use in mobile navigation is addressed in this paper. The proposed solution offers several advantages compared with existing methods in the literature. First, the proposed solution is based on a stochastic dynamic-programming algorithm that guarantees cost efficiency of the real-time sensory-perception controller by solving a constrained optimization problem. Second, a new and unique discrete-event model of mobile navigation is presented. The model is task independent, and can be used in a wide range of applications. Third, the discrete events become a natural common representational format for the sensors, which further extends the applicability of the proposed solution. Fourth, the sensing aspect of discrete-event systems has often been neglected in the literature. In this paper, we present a unique approach to on-line discrete-event identification.