<s>
[ [ 	O
File:WFink	O
in	O
2007	O
5.jpg	O
|thumb|250px|right|	O
Tier-Scalable	O
Reconnaissance:Three-tiered	O
utilization	O
on	O
Mars	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
 ] ]	O
Tier-scalable	B-General_Concept
reconnaissance	I-General_Concept
is	O
the	O
term	O
for	O
an	O
approach	O
to	O
deploying	O
and	O
controlling	O
vehicles	O
in	O
multiple	O
areas	O
of	O
interest	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
in	O
the	O
exploration	O
of	O
planets	O
or	O
diverse	O
regions	O
on	O
Earth	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
tier-scalable	B-General_Concept
reconnaissance	I-General_Concept
paradigm	O
was	O
originated	O
by	O
Dr.	O
Wolfgang	O
Fink	O
et	O
al.Fink	O
W	O
,	O
Dohm	O
JM	O
,	O
Tarbell	O
MA	O
,	O
Hare	O
TM	O
,	O
Baker	O
VR	O
(	O
2005	O
)	O
Next-Generation	O
Robotic	O
Planetary	O
Reconnaissance	O
Missions	O
:	O
A	O
Paradigm	O
Shift	O
;	O
Planetary	O
and	O
Space	O
Science	O
,	O
53	O
,	O
1419	O
–	O
1426	O
at	O
the	O
California	O
Institute	O
of	O
Technology	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
At	O
the	O
other	O
extreme	O
,	O
orbiting	B-Application
satellites	I-Application
have	O
the	O
benefit	O
of	O
a	O
global	O
perspective	O
,	O
but	O
miss	O
much	O
surface	O
detailed	O
information	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Tier-scalable	B-General_Concept
reconnaissance	I-General_Concept
,	O
on	O
the	O
other	O
hand	O
,	O
distributes	O
the	O
burden	O
of	O
data	O
gathering	O
across	O
different	O
logical	O
tiers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
tier-scalable	B-General_Concept
reconnaissance	I-General_Concept
paradigm	O
is	O
not	O
limited	O
to	O
space	O
,	O
aerial	O
,	O
and	O
ground	O
applications	O
but	O
can	O
be	O
applied	O
as	O
well	O
to	O
water	O
,	O
subterranean	O
,	O
and	O
ocean	O
floor	O
scenarios	O
for	O
scientific	O
,	O
commercial	O
,	O
or	O
military	O
purposes	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
tier-scalable	B-General_Concept
reconnaissance	I-General_Concept
paradigm	O
is	O
also	O
highly	O
automated	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Tier-scalable	B-General_Concept
reconnaissance	I-General_Concept
missions	O
allow	O
access	O
to	O
targets	O
of	O
great	O
interest	O
on	O
planetary	O
bodies	O
,	O
something	O
which	O
is	O
not	O
currently	O
feasible	O
with	O
conventional	O
single-rover	O
or	O
single-orbiter	O
mission	O
designs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Tier-scalable	B-General_Concept
reconnaissance	I-General_Concept
missions	O
also	O
enable	O
spanning	O
larger	O
surface	O
areas	O
than	O
previously	O
possible	O
–	O
mimicking	O
the	O
way	O
geologists	O
explore	O
regions	O
on	O
Earth	O
–	O
and	O
therefore	O
allow	O
for	O
greater	O
data	O
return	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Consider	O
how	O
the	O
tier-scalable	B-General_Concept
paradigm	I-General_Concept
adapts	O
to	O
various	O
environmental	O
scenarios	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
Tier	O
3	O
:	O
Ground	O
sensor	B-Algorithm
webs	I-Algorithm
,	O
rovers	O
,	O
or	O
submersibles	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Tier	O
2	O
:	O
Ground-based	O
rovers	O
and	O
sensor	B-Algorithm
webs	I-Algorithm
.	O
</s>
<s>
Using	O
traditional	O
means	O
,	O
simultaneous	O
commanding	O
of	O
even	O
a	O
few	O
reconnaissance	O
vehicles	O
becomes	O
exceedingly	O
complex	O
,	O
and	O
so	O
the	O
logistical	O
and	O
computational	O
demands	O
of	O
the	O
tier-scalable	B-General_Concept
paradigm	I-General_Concept
scale	O
quickly	O
beyond	O
the	O
computers	O
able	O
to	O
fit	O
on	O
such	O
vehicles	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
tier-scalable	B-General_Concept
paradigm	I-General_Concept
,	O
ground-tier	O
vehicles	O
are	O
commanded	O
typically	O
through	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
local	O
airborne	O
vehicles	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
blimps	O
or	O
balloons	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Tier-scalable	B-General_Concept
reconnaissance	I-General_Concept
opens	O
access	O
to	O
geologic	O
sites	O
not	O
currently	O
feasible	O
to	O
visit	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
canyons	O
,	O
mountain	O
ranges	O
,	O
chaotic	O
and	O
rugged	O
terrain	O
,	O
impact	O
basins	O
and	O
craters	O
,	O
even	O
volcanoes	O
and	O
liquid	O
pools	O
or	O
lakes	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Potential	O
terrestrial	O
applications	O
include	O
Homeland	O
Security	O
,	O
border	O
control	O
,	O
battlefield	B-Application
surveillance	O
and	O
reconnaissance	O
,	O
telecommunications	O
relay	O
,	O
and	O
weather	O
observations	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
monitoring	O
of	O
military	O
checkpoints	O
,	O
standoff	O
detection	O
,	O
and	O
delivery/removal	O
of	O
explosives	O
such	O
as	O
landmine	O
cleanup	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
of	O
the	O
major	O
advantages	O
of	O
tier-scalable	B-General_Concept
reconnaissance	I-General_Concept
architectures	O
include	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
Also	O
,	O
tier-scalable	B-General_Concept
reconnaissance	I-General_Concept
reduces	O
driving	O
requirements	O
for	O
ground	O
vehicles	O
,	O
since	O
they	O
already	O
are	O
deployed	O
in	O
the	O
vicinity	O
of	O
where	O
they	O
need	O
to	O
be	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
ground-tier	O
vehicles	O
have	O
limited	O
onboard	O
computing	O
capabilities	O
,	O
since	O
they	O
off-load	O
data	B-General_Concept
analysis	I-General_Concept
to	O
a	O
primary	O
lander	O
or	O
higher	O
tiers	O
that	O
have	O
higher-grade	O
computing	O
equipment	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Conceptually	O
,	O
a	O
primary	O
lander	O
is	O
a	O
higher-grade	O
computing	O
engine	O
that	O
also	O
acts	O
as	O
a	O
communication	O
relay	O
,	O
much	O
like	O
a	O
planetary	O
internet	B-Protocol
router	I-Protocol
between	O
the	O
tiers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Thus	O
,	O
the	O
tier-scalable	B-General_Concept
reconnaissance	I-General_Concept
paradigm	O
,	O
by	O
its	O
inherent	O
architecture	O
,	O
is	O
an	O
extended	O
distributed	B-Architecture
computing	I-Architecture
topology	O
unto	O
itself	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Individual	O
components	O
of	O
the	O
tier-scalable	B-General_Concept
reconnaissance	I-General_Concept
paradigm	O
are	O
either	O
under	O
development	O
or	O
have	O
already	O
been	O
tested	O
and	O
proven	O
“	O
in	O
the	O
field.	O
”	O
These	O
include	O
orbiters	O
,	O
balloons	O
,	O
blimps	O
,	O
airships	O
,	O
and	O
ground-based	O
vehicles	O
such	O
as	O
rovers	O
and	O
landers	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
sensor	B-Algorithm
webs	I-Algorithm
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
biggest	O
challenge	O
,	O
however	O
,	O
appears	O
to	O
be	O
not	O
so	O
much	O
the	O
hardware	O
but	O
the	O
“	B-Application
intelligent	I-Application
”	I-Application
software	I-Application
that	O
would	O
enable	O
all	O
the	O
components	O
of	O
a	O
tier	B-General_Concept
scalable	I-General_Concept
mission	O
to	O
be	O
integrated	O
and	O
function	O
autonomously	O
.	O
</s>
