Tyler Summers

Fulbright U.S. Alumni Postgraduate Scholar

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"An autonomous vehicle formation can be thought of as a team of vehicles working together to accomplish a task without human intervention. Control of these vehicles is an exciting and innovative new research area that lies at the intersection of the rapidly advancing fields of communications, sensing and control theory."

Tyler Summers is one of fifteen Americans to be granted a Fulbright Postgraduate Scholarship to Australia in 2007. Tyler, a mechanical engineering graduate from the Texas Christian University and aerospace engineering graduate from The University of Texas at Austin, will study at the Australia National University (ANU) in Australia’s capital city, Canberra.

Tyler’s Fulbright research entitled Control of Autonomous Vehicle Formations will be the foundation for his doctoral dissertation.

“I propose to develop a new theory for control of autonomous vehicle formations with Dr Brian Anderson in the College of Engineering and Computer Science at the ANU. Examples of these formations could include groups of cars automatically navigating through city traffic or a swarm of unmanned aircraft performing a military reconnaissance and surveillance mission in an unknown hostile environment.”

“The question of how control of autonomous vehicle formations can be done in a decentralised fashion is open and has important implications for future applications.”

Dr Anderson, who Tyler will study with, is a Fulbright Alumnus, has held 48 visiting academic appointments and is one of the most distinguished members of the global engineering community.

“I am enormously excited about this unique opportunity allowing me not only to conduct innovative research with an eminent scholar of the field, but also allowing me to learn from someone who epitomizes international collaboration in the global field of engineering.”

On Tyler’s return to the U.S. he plans to finish his PhD in Aerospace Engineering at the University of Texas and to pursue a research career developing control theory for innovative applications and to teach at a university. “I hope to someday pass along this passion and excitement to the next generation of engineers and galvanise them into utilising their own creativity and innovation in the engineering field.”

To date Tyler has also been recgonised for his academic performance through a number of awards, including the Thrust 2000 Graduate Fellowship (2005), Columbia Crew Memorial Scholarship (2004), Texas Space Grant Consortium Scholarship (2003) and the TCU Chancellor’s Scholarship (2000-2004).