ADVANCE - Fellow

在这个准备好的高级研究员奖中，PI计划调查“网络和控制”的一般领域，这可以分为两个子领域。第一个子领域考虑通信网络的控制，它属于更广泛的信息技术领域。第二个子领域是网络控制系统（NCS），其中一个或多个控制回路通过串行通信通道关闭。本建议的重点是后一分领域。NCS的理念是将多输入、多输出控制系统技术引入点对点布线的高成本应用领域。在过去的五年里，PI一直致力于研究NCS的稳定性、编码、估计、摄动和应用问题。本研究的应用包括主动、智能、动态网络的控制与通信；分布式传感器系统；安全可靠的无线通信；以及多车辆编队的控制。PI将与华盛顿大学的另外两位机器人教授合作一个项目，目标是使机器人群体在非结构化条件下有效地工作，并在人类的密切协调和控制下工作。有许多活动需要用机器人代替人类（“枯燥、肮脏和/或危险”的任务）。机器人团队，在一个未知的，也许是敌对的环境中操作，可以潜在地完成重要的任务，如监视，态势感知和理解，损害评估，搜索和救援，等等。然而，这样一个团队的指挥和控制需要人类主管和机器人团队之间的有效耦合。此外，人类的感觉、运动和规划能力超过了可预见的自主机器人。因此，人和机器人的有效结合可能比完全由人类或完全由机器人组成的团队产生更高的绩效。实现这一愿景需要移动机器人传感、规划和控制领域的研究取得基本进展，以及多机器人的人机界面。PI在这个项目中的工作将侧重于多机器人通信和控制。PI积极参与西澳大学的社区外展活动。在过去的学年里，PI举办了三次外展活动。第一个是为一群西雅图基督教青年会的青少年举办的长达3小时的移动机器人研讨会。第二个是通过海岸线社区学院的“拓展视野日”项目，为十几岁的女孩举办为期三小时的移动机器人研讨会。PI还在移动机器人实验室举办了为期两天的年度EE部门开放日。在过去的一学年，PI开发了三门关于移动机器人的高级顶点设计课程。PI计划改进这些课程，并在下一学年重新教授这些课程。PI计划研究上述两个领域。这将涉及与西澳大学电气工程系和计算机科学与工程系的其他教授和学生合作。为了达到ADVANCE的目标，PI计划每年资助一名女研究生。PI目前是西澳大学女性科学与工程（WiSE）项目的研究生导师。PI还将担任情感表达系女性独立研究项目的顾问。西澳大学电气工程系拥有大部分必要的基础设施，以支持PI和研究生进行拟议的研究。

In this prepared ADVANCE Fellow award the PI plan to investigate the general area of "networks and control," which can be broken down into two subareas. The first subarea considers the control of communication networks, which falls into the broader field of information technology. The second subarea is networked control systems (NCS), where one or more control loops is closed via a serial communication channel. The focus of this proposal is in the latter subarea. The idea of NCS is to bring multiple-input, multiple-output control system technology to application areas where the prohibitive cost of point-to-point wiring had previously barred its use. The PI has worked for the past five years on research that covers stability, encoding, estimation, perturbation and application issues for NCS. Applications of this research include control and communications of active, intelligent, dynamic networks; distributed sensor systems; secure, reliable wireless communication; and control of multi-vehicle formations. The PI will work with two other robotics professors at UW on a project with the goal of enabling groups of robots to work effectively under unstructured conditions and with close coordination and control by humans. There are many activities where it is desirable to substitute robots for humans ("dull, dirty and/or dangerous" tasks). Teams of robots, operating in an unknown and perhaps hostile environment can potentially accomplish important missionssuch as surveillance, situation awareness and understanding, damage assessment, search and rescue, and others. However, command and control of such a team requires effective coupling between the human supervisor and the robot teams. Furthermore, the sensory, motor and planning capabilities of the human exceed those of foreseeable autonomous robots. Therefore, an effective combination of the human and robot can potentially produce higher performance than a team composed entirely of humans or entirely of robots. Realizing this vision requires basicadvances in research in the fields of mobile robotic sensing planning and control, as well as human interfaces to multiple robots. The PI's work on this project will focus on multi-robot communication and control.The PI is actively involved with community outreach at UW. During the past academic year, the PI has hosted three outreach events. The first was a 3-hour long workshop on mobile robotics for a group of Seattle YMCA teenagers. The second was three hour-long workshops on mobile robotics for teenage girls through the Shoreline Community College "Expanding Your Horizons Day" program. The PI also hosted a two-day open house in the Mobile RoboticsLaboratory for the annual EE Department Open House.This past academic year, the PI developed three new senior-level capstone design courses on mobile robotics. The PI plans to improve the courses and teach them again in the upcoming academic year.The PI plans to research the two areas listed above. This will involve working with other professors and students in the UW Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and Engineering departments. To meet the ADVANCE goal the PI plans to support a woman graduate student each year. The PI is currently a graduate student mentor in the UW Women in Science and Engineering (WiSE) program. The PI will also be an advisor for independent study projects from women in the EE department. The UW EE Department has most of the required infrastructure to support the PI and graduate students to perform the research proposed.