Fusing disparate information within the 4D/RCS architecture

In this paper, we show how the 4D/RCS (real-time control system) architecture incorporates and integrates multiple types of disparate information into a common, unifying framework. 4D/RCS is based on the supposition that different information modeling techniques offer different advantages. 4D/RCS allows for the capability to capture information in formalisms and at levels of abstraction that are suitable for the way that they are expected to be used. In the context of applying the 4D/RCS architecture to achieving the ultimate goal of the control of autonomous ground vehicle navigation, we describe the procedural and declarative types of information that have been developed and their respective values towards achieving the goal. Experimental results of information fusion within the 4D/RCS architecture are presented from the Demo III experimental unmanned vehicles (XUVs) in an extended series of demonstrations and field tests.