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 the design of innovative routing, planning and coordination strategies for robot networks, and their application to oceanography. The approach is organized in three synergistic thrusts: (1) the application of queueing theory and combinatorial techniques to networked robots performing sequential tasks, (2) the design of novel distributed optimization and coordination schemes relying only on asynchronous and asymmetric communication, (3) the design of practical routing and coordination algorithms for the USC Networked Aquatic Platforms. In collaboration with oceanographers and marine biologists, the project aims to design motion, communication and interaction protocols that maximize the amount of scientific information collected by the platforms. This proposal addresses multi-dimensional problems of relevance in Engineering and Computer Science by unifying fundamental concepts from multiple cyberphysical domains (robotics, autonomy, combinatorics, and network science). Our team has expertise in a broad range of scientific disciplines, including control theory and theoretical computer science and their applications to multi-agent systems, robotics and sensor networks. The proposed research will have a positive impact on the emerging technology of autonomous and reliable robotic networks, performing a broad range of environmental monitoring and logistic tasks. Our educational and outreach objectives are manifold and focus on (1) integrating the proposed research themes into undergraduate education and research, e.g., via the existing NSF REU site at the USC Computer Science Department, and (2) mounting a vigorous program of outreach activities, e.g., via a well-developed collaboration with the UCSB Center for Science and Engineering Partnerships.

The objective of this research is to develop formal verification tools for human-computer interfaces to cyber-physical systems. The approach is incorporating realistic assumptions about the behavior of humans into the verification process through mathematically constructed "mistake models" for common types of mistakes committed by the operator during an interactive task. Exhaustive verification techniques are used to expose combinations of human mistakes that can lead to system-wide failures. The techniques are evaluated using case studies involving medical device interfaces. The problem of verifying human-machine interfaces requires new approaches that combine rigorous formal verification techniques with the empirical human-centered approach to user-interface evaluation. The research addresses challenges of integrating empirical user-study data into formal game-based models that describe common types of operator mistakes. Using these models to detect subtle flaws in user-interface design is also a challenge. It is well-known that a poorly designed interface will enable harmful operator errors, which remain a major cause of failures in a wide variety of safety-critical cyber-physical systems. This project will automate user-interface verification by detecting likely defects, early in the design process. Open source verification tools will be made freely available to the community at large. The ongoing research will be integrated into a set of graduate-level computer science courses focused on the theme of "Safety in Human Computer Interfaces". Results from the project will also be integrated into educational materials for the ongoing eCSite GK12 project with the goal of promoting awareness of user-interface design issues amongst high school students.

The objective of this research is to develop an atomic force microscope based cyber-physical system that can enable automated, robust and efficient assembly of nanoscale components such as nanoparticles, carbon nanotubes, nanowires and DNAs into nanodevices. The proposed approach is based on the premise that automated, robust and efficient nanoassembly can be achieved through tip based pushing in an atomic force microscope with intermittent local scanning of nanoscale components. In particular, in order to resolve temporally and spatially continuous movement of nanoscale components under tip pushing, we propose the combination of intermittent local scanning and interval non-uniform rational B-spline based isogeometric analysis in this research. Successful completion of this research would lead to foundational theories and algorithmic infrastructures for effective integration of physical operations (pushing and scanning) and computation (planning and simulation) for robust, efficient and automated nanoassembly. The resulting theories and algorithms will also be applicable to a broader set of cyber physical systems. If successful, this research will lead to leap progress in nanoscale assembly, from prototype demonstration to large-scale manufacturing. Through its integrated research, education and outreach activities, this project will provide advanced knowledge in cyber-physical systems and nanoassembly for students from high schools to graduate schools and will increase domestic students? interest in science and engineering and therefore strengthen our competitiveness in the global workforce.

The objective of this research is the creation of a coastal observing system that enables dense, in situ, 4D sensing through networked, sensor-equipped underwater drifters. The approach is to develop the technologies required to deploy a swarm of autonomous buoyancy controlled drifters, which are vehicles that can control their depth, but are otherwise carried entirely by the ocean currents. Such Lagrangian sampling promises to deliver a wealth of new data, ranging from applications in physical oceanography (mapping 3D currents), biology (observing the dispersion of larvae and nutrients), environmental science (tracking coastal pollutants and effluents from storm drains), and security (monitoring harbors and ports). This observing system fundamentally requires accurate positions of the drifters (to interpret the spatial correlations of data samples), swarm control algorithms (to achieve desired sampling topologies), and wireless communication (to coordinate between the individual drifters). This research will create distributed techniques to self-localize the drifter swarm, novel swarm control algorithms that enable topology manipulation while purely leveraging the stratified flow environment, and efficient wireless underwater communication for information sharing. This project has significant societal impact and educational elements. Underwater drifter swarms will enable novel insights into a wide array of scientific questions, including understanding plankton transport, accumulation and dispersion as well as monitoring harmful algal blooms. Undergraduates will play an active role in many aspects of this project, thereby offering them a uniquely interdisciplinary experience. Finally, outreach to high school students will occur through the UCSD COSMOS summer program.

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 new methods for verifying the safety of complex cyber-physical systems based on information derived from the wide variety of models and methods used throughout the design process. The approach is based on a new formalism to represent the architecture of systems with cyber components, physical components, and interconnections between these domains. Diverse engineering models of different aspects of the system will be associated through the cyber-physical architecture for the complete system. Formal logic will be developed to express and reason about inter-model consistency and to infer system-level properties from information derived from the domain-specific models. The project's intellectual merit lies in the creation of a comprehensive, unified framework for verifying properties of systems rich in both cyber and physical components. The new formal logic will make it possible to integrate information from the wide range of engineering domains and technical expertise required to design complex systems. This will lead to a principled, rigorous approach to system-level verification engineering for real-world cyber-physical systems. The application of the new methodology to verify the safety of cooperative intersection collision avoidance systems will have immediate impact on emerging technologies for safer automobile systems. A new interdisciplinary course in engineering and computer science on system-level design of cyber-physical systems will prepare a new cadre of graduates with the cross-cutting skills needed to develop safety-critical systems. Innovative educational modules will also be developed to inspire pre-college students to pursue education and careers in engineering and computer science.

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 new principles and techniques for adaptive operation in highly dynamic physical environments, using miniaturized, energy-constrained devices. The approach is to use holistic cross-layer solutions that simultaneously address all aspects of the system, from low-level hardware design to higher-level communication and data fusion algorithms to top-level applications. In particular, this work focuses on body area sensor networks as emerging cyber-physical systems. The intellectual merit includes producing new principles regarding how cyber systems must be designed in order to continually adapt and respond to rapidly changing physical environments, sensed data, and application contexts in an energy-efficient manner. New cross-layer technologies will be created that use a holistic bottom-up and top-down design -- from silicon to user and back again. A novel system-on-a-chip hardware platform will be designed and fabricated using three cutting-edge technologies to reduce the cost of communication and computation by several orders of magnitude. The broad impact of this project will enable the wide range of applications and societal benefits promised by body area networks, including improving the quality and reducing the costs of healthcare. The technology will have broad implications for any cyber physical system that uses energy constrained wireless devices. A new seminar series will bring together experts from many fields (including domain experts, such as physicians and healthcare professionals). The key aspects of this work that deal with healthcare have the potential to attract women and minorities to the computer field.

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.