The objective of this research is to develop methods to monitor and ensure the robustness of a class of cyber-physical systems termed "physical networks," such as electric, water, sewage, and gas networks. The approach is to analyze such networks using the mathematical formalism of graphical models. The project models a physical network as a graph, whose variables have a concrete physical interpretation, such as voltage, satisfying known physical laws, such as Kirchoff laws. The machinery of graphical models is used to develop methods to monitor and ensure the robustness of such networks, using the electric power network as a representative. By studying puzzling network-wide interactions, the project has the potential to clarify the role of complexity in large scale networks. Potential contributions will be made to the fields of distributed inference algorithms and fast numerical methods. Physical networks play a crucial role in modern society, and yet, often exhibit fragile behavior, such as black-outs in electric power networks, resulting in economic loss, as well as causing a security risk. This project seeks to understand the robustness behavior of such networks and to train a broad class of students in their theory and practice. Results from this research are to be incorporated into courses and disseminated via research publications. The Carnegie Mellon Conference on the Electricity Industry allows students to interact with faculty and electricity industry veterans. Interaction with the electricity industry aims to provide it with an understanding of cyber-intelligence, to ensure effective robustness monitoring capabilities in the power grid.

The objective of this research is to scale up the capabilities of fully autonomous vehicles so that they are capable of operating in mixed-traffic urban environments (e.g., in a city such as Columbus or even New York or Istanbul). Such environments are realistic large-city driving situations involving many other vehicles, mostly human-driven. Moreover, such a car will be in a world where it interacts with other cars, humans, other external effects, and internal and external software modules. This is a prototypical CPS with which we have considerable experience over many years, including participation in the recent DARPA Urban Challenge. Even in the latter case, though, operation to date has been restricted to relatively “clean” environments (such as multi-lane highways and simpler intersections with a few other vehicles). The approach is to integrate multidisciplinary advances in software, sensing and control, and modeling to address current weaknesses in autonomous vehicle design for this complex mixed-traffic urban environment. All work will be done within a defined design-and-verification cycle. Theoretical advances and new models will be evaluated both by large-scale simulations, and by implementation on laboratory robots and road-worthy vehicles driven in real-world situations. The research address significant improvements to current methods and tools to enable a number of formal methods to move from use in limited, controlled environments to use in more complex and realistic environments. The theory, tools, and design methods that are investigated have potential application for a broad class of cyber-physical systems consisting of mobile entities operating in a semi-structured environment. This research has the potential to lead to safer autonomous vehicles and to improve economic competitiveness, the nation's transportation infrastructure, and energy efficiency. The richness of the domain means that expected research contributions can apply not only to autonomous vehicles but, also, to a variety of related cyber-physical systems such as service robots in hospitals and rescue robots used after natural disasters. The experimental research laboratory for the project is used for undergraduate and graduate courses and supports new summer outreach projects for high-school students. Research outcomes are integrated with undergraduate and graduate courses on component-based software.

This project is developing techniques for secured real-time services for cyber-physical systems. In particular, the research is incorporating real-time traffic modeling techniques into the security service, consequently enhancing both system security and real-time capabilities in an adverse environment. While this proposed methodology has not yet been fully tested, it is potentially transformative. To defend against traffic analysis attacks, the research is developing algorithms that can effectively mask the actual operational modes of cyber-physical applications without compromising the guaranteed quality of service. This is achieved by using the traffic modeling theory, developed by the PIs, to precisely manage the network traffic at the right time and the right place. This traffic modeling theory can also help in develop efficient attack detection and suppression methods that can identify and restrain an attack in real-time. The proposed methods are expected to be more effective, efficient, and scale-able than traditional methods.

The objective of this research is to understand the loosely coupled networked control systems and to address the scientific and technological challenges that arise in their development and operation. The approach is to (1) develop a mathematical abstraction of the CPS, and an online actuation decision model that takes into account temporal and spatial dependencies among actions; (2) develop algorithms and policies to effectively manage the system and optimize its performance with respect to applications' QoS requirements; and (3) develop an agent-based event-driven framework to facilitate engineers easily monitor, (re)configure and control the system to achieve optimized results. The developed methodologies, algorithms, protocols and frameworks will be evaluated on testbeds and by our collaborating institution. The project provides fundamental understanding of loosely coupled networked control systems and a set of strategies in managing such systems. The components developed under this project enables the use of wireless-sensor-actuator networks for control systems found in a variety of disciplines and benefits waterway systems, air/ground transportation systems, power grid transmission systems, and the sort. The impact of this project is broadened through collaborations with our collaborating institution. This project provides a set of strategies and tools to help them meet the new standards. The inter-disciplinary labs and curriculum development at both undergraduate and graduate level with an emphasis on CPS interdisciplinary applications, theoretical foundations, and CPS implementations prepare our students as future workforce in the area of CPS applications.

The objective of this research is to study, develop and implement a comprehensive set of techniques that will eventually enable automobiles to be driven autonomously. The approach taken is to (a) address cyber-physical challenges of reliable, safe and timely operations inside the automobile, (b) tackle a range of physical conditions and uncertainties in the external environment, (c) enable real-time communications to and from the automobile to other vehicles and the infrastructure, and (d) study verification and validation technologies to ensure correct implementations. Intellectual Merits: The project seeks to make basic research contributions in the domains of safety-critical real-time fault-tolerant distributed cyber-physical platforms, end-to-end resource management, cooperative vehicular networks, cyber-physical system modeling and analysis tools, dynamic object detection/recognition, hybrid systems verification, safe dynamic behaviors under constantly changing operating conditions, and real-time perception and planning algorithms. Multiple intermediate capabilities in the form of active safety features will also be enabled. Broader Impacts: Automotive accidents result in about 40,000 fatalities and 3 million injuries every year in the USA. The global annual cost of road injuries is $518 billion. Many accidents are due to humans being distracted. Autonomous vehicles controlled by ever-vigilant cyber-physical systems can lead to significant declines in accidents, deaths and injuries. Autonomous vehicles can also offload driving chores from humans, and make time spent in automobiles more productive. Vehicular networks can help find the best possible routes to a destination in real-time. Broader impacts in this area are amplified by the project's partnerships with companies in the transportation and agricultural technology industries, and in information technology. Broader impacts are also sought through demonstrations and outreach to attract students into science and technology, and in particular to cyber-physical systems research.

The objective of this research is to develop advanced distributed monitoring and control systems for civil infrastructure. The approach uses a cyber-physical co-design of wireless sensor-actuator networks and structural monitoring and control algorithms. The unified cyber-physical system architecture and abstractions employ reusable middleware services to develop hierarchical structural monitoring and control systems. The intellectual merit of this multi-disciplinary research includes (1) a unified middleware architecture and abstractions for hierarchical sensing and control; (2) a reusable middleware service library for hierarchical structural monitoring and control; (3) customizable time synchronization and synchronized sensing routines; (4) a holistic energy management scheme that maps structural monitoring and control onto a distributed wireless sensor-actuator architecture; (5) dynamic sensor and actuator activation strategies to optimize for the requirements of monitoring, computing, and control; and (6) deployment and empirical validation of structural health monitoring and control systems on representative lab structures and in-service multi-span bridges. While the system constitutes a case study, it will enable the development of general principles that would be applicable to a broad range of engineering cyber-physical systems. This research will result in a reduction in the lifecycle costs and risks related to our civil infrastructure. The multi-disciplinary team will disseminate results throughout the international research community through open-source software and sensor board hardware. Education and outreach activities will be held in conjunction with the Asia-Pacific Summer School in Smart Structures Technology jointly hosted by the US, Japan, China, and Korea.

Abstract The objective of this research is to develop advanced distributed monitoring and control systems for civil infrastructure. The approach uses a cyber-physical co-design of wireless sensor-actuator networks and structural monitoring and control algorithms. The unified cyber-physical system architecture and abstractions employ reusable middleware services to develop hierarchical structural monitoring and control systems. The intellectual merit of this multi-disciplinary research includes (1) a unified middleware architecture and abstractions for hierarchical sensing and control; (2) a reusable middleware service library for hierarchical structural monitoring and control; (3) customizable time synchronization and synchronized sensing routines; (4) a holistic energy management scheme that maps structural monitoring and control onto a distributed wireless sensor-actuator architecture; (5) dynamic sensor and actuator activation strategies to optimize for the requirements of monitoring, computing, and control; and (6) deployment and empirical validation of structural health monitoring and control systems on representative lab structures and in-service multi-span bridges. While the system constitutes a case study, it will enable the development of general principles that would be applicable to a broad range of engineering cyber-physical systems. This research will result in a reduction in the lifecycle costs and risks related to our civil infrastructure. The multi-disciplinary team will disseminate results throughout the international research community through open-source software and sensor board hardware. Education and outreach activities will be held in conjunction with the Asia-Pacific Summer School in Smart Structures Technology jointly hosted by the US, Japan, China, and Korea.

The objective of this research is to develop a new approach for composition of safety-critical cyber-physical systems from a small code base of verified components and a large code base of unverified commercial off-the-shelf components. The approach is novel in that it does not require generating the entire code base from formal languages, specifications, or models and does not require verification to be applied to all code. Instead, an explicit goal is to accommodate large amounts of legacy code that is typically too complex to verify. The project introduces a set of verified component wrappers around existing unverified code, such that specified global system properties hold. The intellectual merit of the project lies in its innovative approach for managing component interactions. Unexpected interactions are the primary source of failure in cyber-physical systems. A fundamental conceptual challenge is to understand the different interaction spaces of cyber-physical system components and determine a set of trigger conditions when certain interactions must be restricted to prevent failure. The project develops analysis techniques that help understand the different interaction types and provides component wrappers to restrict them when necessary. Broader impact lies in significantly reducing the design and composition effort for the next generation of safety-critical embedded systems. A variety of student projects are being offered to undergraduates and graduate students. The researchers especially encourage women and minorities to participate. Outreach activity, such as hosting K-12 students on school field/science days, further strengthen the educational component. Technology transfer to John Deere is expected.

This project has two closely related objectives. The first is to design and evaluate new Cyber Transportation Systems (CTS) applications for improved traffic safety and traffic operations. The second is to design and develop an integrated traffic-driving-networking simulator. The project takes a multi-disciplinary approach that combines cyber technologies, transportation engineering and human factors. While transportation serves indispensible functions to society, it does have its own negative impacts in terms of accidents, congestion, pollution, and energy consumption. To improve traffic safety, the project will develop and evaluate novel algorithms and protocols for prioritization, delivery and fusion of various warning messages so as to reduce drivers? response time and workload, prevent conflicting warnings, and minimize false alarms. To improve traffic operations, the project will focus on the design of next generation traffic management and control algorithms for both normal and emergency operations (e.g. during inclement weather and evacuation scenarios). Both human performance modeling methods and human subjects? experimental methods will be used to address the human element in this research. As the design and evaluation of CTS applications requires an effective development and testing platform linking the human, transportation and cyber elements, the project will also design and develop a simulator that combines the main features of a traffic simulator, a networking simulator and a driving simulator. The integrated simulator will allow a human driver to control a subject vehicle in a virtual environment with realistic background traffic, which is capable of communicating with the driver and other vehicles with CTS messages. Background traffic will be controlled by a realistic driver model based on our human factors research that accounts for CTS messages? impact on driver behavior. Intellectual Merits: The project explicitly considers human factors in the design and evaluation of CTS safety and operations applications, a topic which has not received adequate attention. Moreover, the proposed integrated simulator represents a first-of-a-kind simulator with unique features that can reduce the design and evaluation costs of new CTS applications. Broader Impacts: The proposed research can improve the safety, efficiency and environmental-friendless of transportation systems, which serve as the very foundation of modern societies and directly affects the quality of life. The integrated simulator will be used as a tool for teenage and elderly driver education and training, and to inspire minority, middle and high school students to pursue careers in math, science, and computer-related fields

The objective of this research is to develop advanced distributed monitoring and control systems for civil infrastructure. The approach uses a cyber-physical co-design of wireless sensor-actuator networks and structural monitoring and control algorithms. The unified cyber-physical system architecture and abstractions employ reusable middleware services to develop hierarchical structural monitoring and control systems. The intellectual merit of this multi-disciplinary research includes (1) a unified middleware architecture and abstractions for hierarchical sensing and control; (2) a reusable middleware service library for hierarchical structural monitoring and control; (3) customizable time synchronization and synchronized sensing routines; (4) a holistic energy management scheme that maps structural monitoring and control onto a distributed wireless sensor-actuator architecture; (5) dynamic sensor and actuator activation strategies to optimize for the requirements of monitoring, computing, and control; and (6) deployment and empirical validation of structural health monitoring and control systems on representative lab structures and in-service multi-span bridges. While the system constitutes a case study, it will enable the development of general principles that would be applicable to a broad range of engineering cyber-physical systems. This research will result in a reduction in the lifecycle costs and risks related to our civil infrastructure. The multi-disciplinary team will disseminate results throughout the international research community through open-source software and sensor board hardware. Education and outreach activities will be held in conjunction with the Asia-Pacific Summer School in Smart Structures Technology jointly hosted by the US, Japan, China, and Korea.