Layered Control Architectures for Complex Networked Systems

未来的嵌入式实时控制系统将日益向无线化、分布式、规模化、混合化方向发展，将离散或数字元件与连续时间的非线性动态相结合。这种网络系统的复杂性提出了新的挑战，这些挑战在于通信、计算和控制的融合。在这个提案中，我们将研究处理复杂性、延迟、可靠性和其他问题的网络化实时控制系统的设计和分析。我们的目标是为网络控制系统开发独立于应用的控制策略，并使感知和执行与通信和计算相结合。我们的成果的潜在应用包括自动驾驶车辆和自主移动系统、远程建筑、远程手术、在危险和远程环境中工作、监视、搜救机器人、触觉设备和远程教育。我们的研究将集中在开发新的理论工具来分析和控制时变时滞的网络系统。在实施方面，我们将在内部设计和制造的系统上开展概念验证型实验，包括远程控制汽车和机器人的网络。

Future embedded real time control systems will increasingly be wireless, distributed, large-scale, and will be inherently hybrid, combining discrete or digital components with continuous time nonlinear dynamics. The complexity of such networked systems presents new challenges that lie at the confluence of communication, computing, and control. In this proposal we will investigate the design and analysis of networked real-time control systems treating complexity, delays, reliability, and other issues. Our goal is to develop control strategies for networked control systems that are application independent and enable the convergence of sensing and actuation with communication and computing. Potential applications of our results include autonomous vehicles and autonomous locomotion systems, remote construction, remote surgery, work in hazardous and remote environments, surveillance, search and rescue robots, haptic devices, and distance education. Our research will focus on the development of new theoretical tools for analysis and control of networked systems with time-varying delays. On the implementation side, we will develop proof-of concept type experiments on in-house designed and built systems, including networks of remotely controllable cars and robots.