Abstract
This grant supports the 2nd CPS National Principal Investigators Meeting, held August 1-2, 2011, at the Gaylord National Hotel, National Harbor, Maryland. The purpose of this meeting is to review research progress, enhance research interaction among projects funded under the NSF Cyber-Physical Systems program, and to provide a forum for stakeholders in academia, industry and federal agencies to review new developments in CPS foundations and domains. It provides an opportunity for the CPS community to promote new, emerging applications, and to collectively identify technology gaps and barriers.
Performance Period: 08/01/2011 - 07/31/2012
Institution: Electrical and Computer Engineering Department Heads Association
Sponsor: National Science Foundation
Award Number: 1145923
Abstract
This project, generalizing mean-field approaches from physics and chemistry for integrated design of scalable, network resource aware, distributed control strategies for multi-agent robotic systems, aims to develop macroscopic models that retain salient features of the underlying multi-agent robotic system and use these models in the design of distributed control strategies. For complex cyber physical systems, this promises to provide a novel design methodology that is potentially applicable to a large class of systems and, therefore, will result in foundational knowledge of use to the community at large. This high-risk, high-reward project integrates ideas from physics, chemistry, control theory, and robotics to develop new theoretical foundations for the design, validation, and improvement of coordination strategies for multi-agent robotic systems.
The project's intellectual merit lies in the ensemble approach towards the design, validation, and improvement of cyber physical systems. Mean-field methods provide a system-level abstraction of the underlying distributed system while retaining the salient features of the various agent-level interactions. The generalization of these models to ensembles of interacting engineered systems provides new methods for designing distributed controllers that are sensitive to changing network resources and whose performance can be predicted and adjusted to achieve both the desired short-term and long-term performance specifications.
Broader Impacts: The broader impacts of this project are twofold. First, the mean-field approach takes into account network resource usage and management, providing an integrated strategy for designing scalable decentralized control and coordination strategies. Second, different from biologically-inspired approaches, the mean-field approach enables the design of distributed coordination strategies whose performance can be systematically predicted and tuned to meet detailed performance specifications. This has the potential to unify various existing multi-agent coordination approaches. The research outcomes will be disseminated through publications in technical conferences and journals and incorporated into the PI's existing undergraduate and graduate curriculum and K-12 outreach efforts targeted at increasing female participation in STEM fields.
Performance Period: 09/01/2011 - 06/30/2014
Institution: Drexel University
Sponsor: National Science Foundation
Award Number: 1143941
Abstract
Cyber-physical systems (CPS) are becoming the key enabler in many engineering domains from traffic management to autonomous vehicles. Concurrency, failures, and their interactions with the physical environment make it challenging to wrestle a high level of confidence from such systems. This project develops a reusable middleware service which enables the creation of verified and hence reliable distributed CPS by pushing the state-of-the-art in two directions:
(1) Existing distributed services cannot be practically implemented because of high communication costs incurred in the face of dynamic failures and changes. This project develops a Group Communication Service (GCS) which can be implemented with reasonable resources and which guarantees automatic recovery after failures (stabilization).
(2) Existing verification techniques focus on non-distributed CPS, and in general systems with failures, message delays, etc., are unlikely to be amenable to automated analysis. For applications built with the GCS, the project develops a suite of verification tools that exploit stabilization, compositionality, abstraction-refinement, and delay insensitivity of applications.
These core research tasks will lead to fundamental advances in design and verification of hybrid and distributed systems.
The outcomes of this project are expected to bolster the dependability of emerging applications in autonomous vehicles and factories, and intelligent surveillance systems, while keeping the development costs acceptable through automation. Through industry collaborations, the research outcomes will be translated into engineering practices. The educational component will provide course and lab modules for graduate, undergraduate, and high-school students with the aim of unifying the physical and the computational viewpoints in the systems curriculum. Through active recruitment and mentoring, women and minority students will be prepared for careers in scientific research.
Performance Period: 02/01/2011 - 01/31/2018
Institution: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Sponsor: National Science Foundation
Award Number: 1054247
Abstract
The Cyber-Physical Systems Virtual Organization (CPS-VO) was founded by NSF in 2010 to: (i) facilitate and foster interaction and exchanges among CPS PIs and their teams; (ii) enable sharing of artifacts and knowledge generated by the projects with the broader engineering and scientific communities; and (iii) facilitate and foster collaboration and information exchange between CPS researchers and industry. During the last five years, the CPS-VO has become the focal point of the CPS community in the US and it has played a significant role in catalyzing CPS research world-wide. The CPS-VO Portal serves as a central information repository and as a collaboration platform for the rapidly growing research community. It is the home to ~200 special interest groups, reaches ~10,000 members, and includes ~20,000 webpages and ~24,000 files capturing the first 8 years of CPS history (as of 1-Oct-2015). This proposal looks to envision how the CPS-VO will be transformed over the next few years into a resource which becomes a "destination for doing" rather than a repository and collaboration capability.
In this proposal we address the next phase of development of the CPS-VO: (1) changing the Portal from being a passive information repository and collaboration platform to becoming an active resource as research tool for CPS, (2) serving as an integration platform for open source CPS tools and models emerging from the research community and (3) making the Portal an active resource for CPS education. Active Resources encapsulate the new capabilities of the CPS-VO. Research teams may contribute to Active Resources on three different levels: (a) end-to-end design and simulation tool chains and test beds including model repositories, tools and web-based user interfaces to access resources, (b) individual tools that can be integrated into design flows, and (c) models and code integrated into open repositories. The proposal will spur CPS community growth through conducting series of student competitions to be held in the first two years building on the unmanned air vehicle design studio from UPenn that will allow students and researchers to study the physical design, dynamics and control of quad rotors, a multi-model simulation system from Vanderbilt facilitating the virtual integration of embedded software for control, estimation, planning, and coordinated, dynamic flight of multiple micro air vehicles. In addition, the CPS VO will extend outreach to the community to identify new and emerging VO needs and provide enhanced user experience through redesign of the user facing portal and integration of new information management technologies.
Janos Sztipanovits
Dr. Janos Sztipanovits is currently the E. Bronson Ingram Distinguished Professor of Engineering at Vanderbilt University. He is founding director of the Institute for Software Integrated Systems (ISIS). His current research interest includes the foundation and applications of Model-Integrated Computing for the design of Cyber Physical Systems. His other research contributions include structurally adaptive systems, autonomous systems, design space exploration and systems-security co-design technology. He served as program manager and acting deputy director of DARPA/ITO between 1999 and 2002 and he was member of the US Air Force Scientific Advisory Board between 2006-2010. He was founding chair of the ACM Special Interest Group on Embedded Software (SIGBED). Dr. Sztipanovits was elected Fellow of the IEEE in 2000 and external member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences in 2010. He graduated (Summa Cum Laude) from the Technical University of Budapest in 1970 and received his doctorate from the Hungarian Academy of Sciences in 1980.
Performance Period: 10/01/2015 - 09/30/2020
Institution: Vanderbilt University
Sponsor: National Science Foundation
Award Number: 1521617
Project URL
Project URL
Abstract
As self-driving cars are introduced into road networks, the overall safety and efficiency of the resulting traffic system must be established and guaranteed. Numerous critical software-related recalls of existing automotive systems indicate that current design practices are not yet up to this challenge. This project seeks to address this problem, by developing methods to analyze and coordinate networks of fully and partially self-driving vehicles that interact with conventional human-driven vehicles on roads. The outcomes of the research are expected to also contribute to the safety of other cyber-physical systems with scalable configurable hierarchical structures, by developing a mathematical framework and corresponding software tools that analyze the safety and reliability of a class of systems that combine physical, mechanical and biological components with purely computational ones.
The project research spans four technical areas: autonomous and human-controlled collaborative driving; scheduling computations over heterogeneous distributed computing systems; security and trust in V2X (Vehicle-to-Vehicle and Vehicle-to-Infrastructure) networks; and Verification & Validation of V2X systems through semi-virtual environments and scenarios. The integrating aspect of this research is the development of a distributed system calculus for Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) that enables modeling, simulation and analysis of collaborative vehicular systems. The development of a comprehensive framework to model, analyze and test reconfiguration, hierarchical control, security and trust differentiates this research from previous attempts to address the same problem. Educational and outreach activities include integration of project research in undergraduate and graduate courses, and a summer camp at Ohio State University for high-school students through the Women in Engineering program.
Performance Period: 01/01/2015 - 12/31/2017
Sponsor: National Science Foundation
Award Number: 1446730
Abstract
The goal of this research is to develop fundamental theory, efficient algorithms, and realistic experiments for the analysis and design of safety-critical cyber-physical transportation systems with human operators. The research focuses on preventing crashes between automobiles at road intersections, since these account for about 40% of overall vehicle crashes. Specifically, the main objective of this work is to design provably safe driver-assist systems that understand driver?s intentions and provide warnings/overrides to prevent collisions. In order to pursue this goal, hybrid automata models for the driver-vehicles-intersection system, incorporating driver behavior and performance as an integral part, are derived from human-factors experiments. A partial order of these hybrid automata models is constructed, according to confidence levels on the model parameters. The driver-assist design problem is then formulated as a set of partially ordered hybrid differential games with imperfect information, in which games are ordered according to parameter confidence levels. The resulting designs are validated experimentally in a driving simulator and in large-scale computer simulations.
This research leverages the potential of embedded control and communication technologies to prevent crashes at traffic intersections, by enabling networks of smart vehicles to cooperate with each other, with the surrounding infrastructure, and with their drivers to make transportation safer, more enjoyable, and more efficient. The work is based on a collaboration among researchers in formal methods, autonomous control, and human factors who are studying realistic and provably correct warning/override algorithms that can be readily transitioned to production vehicles.
Performance Period: 11/01/2012 - 10/31/2016
Institution: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Sponsor: National Science Foundation
Award Number: 1239182
Project URL
Abstract
Until now, the cyber component of automobiles has consisted of control algorithms and associated software for vehicular subsystems designed to achieve one or more performance, efficiency, reliability, comfort, or safety goals, primarily based on short-term intrinsic vehicle sensor data. However, there exist many extrinsic factors that can affect the degree to which these goals can be achieved. These factors can be determined from: longer-term traces of in-built sensor data that can be abstracted as triplines, socialized versions of these that are shared amongst vehicle users, and online databases. These three sources of information collectively constitute the automotive infoverse.
This project harnesses this automotive infoverse to achieve these goals through high-confidence vehicle tuning and driver feedback decisions. Specifically, the project develops software called Headlight that permits the rapid development of apps that use the infoverse to achieve one or more goals. Advisory apps can provide feedback to the driver in order to ensure better fuel efficiency, while auto-tuning goals can set car parameters to promote safety. Allowing vehicles and such apps to share vehicle data with others and to use extrinsic information results in novel information processing, assurance, and privacy challenges. The project develops methods, algorithms and models to address these challenges.
Broader Impact - This project can have significant societal impact by reducing carbon emissions and improving vehicular safety, can spur innovation in tuning methods and encourage researchers to experiment with this class of cyber-physical systems. The active participation of General Motors will strongly facilitate technology transfer. The program has outreach through internships, course material, high school and undergraduate involvement, and through creating an open infrastructure usable by diverse developers.
Performance Period: 10/01/2013 - 09/30/2019
Sponsor: National Science Foundation
Award Number: 1330118
Abstract
The objective of this project is to research tools to manage uncertainty in the design and certification process of safety-critical aviation systems. The research focuses on three innovative ideas to support this objective. First, probabilistic techniques will be introduced to specify system-level requirements and bound the performance of dynamical components. These will reduce the design costs associated with complex aviation systems consisting of tightly integrated components produced by many independent engineering organizations. Second, a framework will be created for developing software components that use probabilistic execution to model and manage the risk of software failure. These techniques will make software more robust, lower the cost of validating code changes, and allow software quality to be integrated smoothly into overall system-level analysis. Third, techniques from Extreme Value Theory will be applied to develop adaptive verification and validation procedures. This will enable early introduction of new and advanced aviation systems. These systems will initially have restricted capabilities, but these restrictions will be gradually relaxed as justified by continual logging of data from in-service products.
The three main research aims will lead to a significant reduction in the costs and time required for fielding new aviation systems. This will enable, for example, the safe and rapid implementation of next generation air traffic control systems that have the potential of tripling airspace capacity with no reduction in safety. The proposed methods are also applicable to other complex systems including smart power grids and automated highways. Integrated into the research is an education plan for developing a highly skilled workforce capable of designing safety critical systems. This plan centers around two main activities: (a) creation of undergraduate labs focusing on safety-critical systems, and (b) integration of safety-critical concepts into a national robotic snowplow competition. These activities will provide inspirational, real-world applications to motivate student learning.
Performance Period: 10/01/2013 - 09/30/2016
Institution: Tufts University
Sponsor: National Science Foundation
Award Number: 1329341
Abstract
This project focuses on the formal design of semi-autonomous automotive Cyber Physical Systems (CPS). Rather than disconnecting the driver from the vehicle, the goal is to obtain a vehicle where the degree of autonomy is continuously changed in real-time as a function of certified uncertainty ranges for driver behavior and environment reconstruction. The highly integrated research plan will advance the science and engineering for CPS by developing methods for (1) reconstructing 3D scenes which incorporate high-level topological and low-level metric information, (2) extracting driver behavioral models from large datasets using geometry, reasoning and inferences, (3) designing provably-safe control schemes which trade-off real-time feasibility and conservatism by using the evidence collected during actual driving.
Assisting humans in controlling complex and safety-critical systems is a global challenge. In order to improve the safety of human-operated CPS we need to provide guarantees in the reconstruction of the environment where the humans and the CPS operate, and to develop control systems that use predictive cognitive models of the human when interacting with the CPS. A successful and integrated research in both areas will impact not only the automotive sector but many other human-operated systems. These include telesurgery, homeland security, assisted rehabilitation, power networks, environmental monitoring, and all transportation CPS. Graduate, undergraduate and underrepresented engineering students will benefit through classroom instruction, involvement in the research and a continuous interaction with industrial partners who are leaders in the field of assisted driving.
Performance Period: 10/01/2012 - 09/30/2015
Institution: University of California at Berkeley
Sponsor: National Science Foundation
Award Number: 1239323
Project URL
Project URL
Abstract
The objective of this research is to prove that cyber-physical systems are safe before they are deployed. The approaches the research investigates are extensions of approaches used to test communications protocols. The problems with cyber-physical systems are that 1) they are much more complicated than communications protocols, 2) time is a more critical component of these systems, and 3) in a competitive environment there are likely to be many implementations that must interoperate.
The complexity of communications protocols is reduced by using a layered architecture. Each layer provides a well defined service to the next layer. This research is developing multi-dimensional architectures that reflect the different ways that the cyber-physical system interacts with the physical world. The techniques are evaluated on a driver-assisted merge protocol. An architecture for the merge protocol has four dimensions organized as stacks for communications, external sensors, vehicle monitoring and control, and timing. This architecture will also be useful during standardization.
Timing increases verification complexity by increasing the number of potential execution paths. The research conducted in this project explores how to reduce the number of paths by synchronizing clocks and using simultaneous operations. This approach is reasonable because of the timing accuracy now available with GPS. A two step verification process is used that creates an unambiguous model of the cyber-physical system, first proving that the model is safe, then checking that each implementation conforms to the model. This reduces the number and cost of tests for a three-party merge protocol. Specifically, assuming there are N implementation versions for different manufacturers and models, this approach reduces the number of necessary interaction tests, which would be cubic in N, to a single model verification and N conformance tests.
Nicholas Maxemchuk
Nicholas F. Maxemchuk
Education
· Ph.D. Doctor of Philosophy, Systems Engineering, University of Pennsylvania, May 1975.
· M.S. Moore School of Electrical Engineering, University of Pennsylvania, May 1970.
· B.S. Bachelor of Electrical Engineering, The City College of New York, June 1968. (Graduated Magna Cum Laude).
Academic Experience
· 2001 - Present Full Professor Columbia University
· 2008 - Present Chief Researsher IMDEA Networks, Madrid
· University of Melbourne, Visiting Academic Oct. 99.
· Opponent: KTH Sweden, June 1997.
· Department Visiting Committee, Comp. Sci., University of Texas at Austin 1989-92.
Non-Academic Experience
· 2009-2012 Consultant NYC MTA
· 2008 Chief Scientist Telcordia
· 2007-2010 Consultant Bell Labs, Murray Hill, NJ
· Technical Advisory Board - start-upEnrichnet 2000-2002
· 1996 - 2001 Technology Leader AT&T Research Labs
· Technical Advisory Board start-up - BrightLink Networks 1998->2001
· 1984 - 1996 Department Head AT&T Bell Laboratories
· 1976 - 1984 MTS Bell Labs
· 1968 - 1976 MTS RCA David Sarnoff Res. Cntr.
Current Membership in Professional Organizations
· IEEE, Eta Kappa Nu and Tau Beta Pi
Honors and Awards
· 2006 IEEE Koji Kobayashi Award for Computer and Communications
· 1997 William R. Bennett Prize Paper Award for S. Low, N. F. Maxemchuk, S. Paul, "Anonymous Credit Cards and Its Collusion Analysis," IEEE Trans. on Networking, dec. 1996, vol. 4, no.6, pp 809-816
· 1996 R&D 100 Award for "Document Copying Deterrent System"
· 1989 Elected Fellow of the IEEE
· 1988 Leonard G. Abraham Prize Paper Award, for N. F. Maxemchuk, "Routing in the Manhattan Street Network," IEEE Trans. on Commun., May 1987, vol. COM-35, no. 5, pp. 503-512., also s elected for IEEE ComSoc 50th anniv. iss.
· Selected for IEEE ComSoc 50th anniv. iss., and included in the DQDB standard, E. L. Hahne, A. K. Choudhury, N. F. Maxemchuk, "DQDB Networks With and Without Bandwidth Balancing," IEEE Trans. on Commun., Vol. 40, No. 7, July 1992, pp 1192-1204
Performance Period: 10/01/2013 - 09/30/2016
Institution: Columbia University
Sponsor: National Science Foundation
Award Number: 1329593