Supporting Temporal Coordination in Wirelessly Networked Control Systems: Fundamental Theory, Algorithms, Architecture, and Experimentation

智力优势：当网络计算机与物理世界交互时，传感器测量的一致时间戳问题和执行器的时间协调问题成为高性能的核心技术问题。在控制系统中，状态估计器需要精确的时间戳信息，分布式控制动作必须在时间上协调。这对传感器网络也很重要，例如，基于飞行时间的定位，以及通信网络，其中插槽同步和分组调度导致更大的吞吐量。然而，时钟同步有一些基本的限制。这个项目研究在时钟同步中什么是基本可行的或不可行的。它还研究了与系统大小相适应的算法。更广泛的影响：控制系统广泛应用于工业，包括过程控制和制造业，以及汽车和飞机等平台。我们正处于第三代网络控制系统的尖端，它结合了自数字控制出现以来四十年来取得的所有技术进步-强大的计算硬件，复杂的软件和网络系统。它将导致易于部署和可重新配置的大规模控制系统，预计将对未来的大型项目（如智能交通系统或能源电网）以及提高关键行业（如汽车行业）的效率非常重要，其中汽车已经配备了大约50台嵌入式计算机。该项目将培训研究生，在一年一度的工程开放日上接待数百名来自当地高中的学生，并在公开文献中传播结果。

Intellectual Merit: When networked computers interact with the physical world, the problem of consistent time-stamping of sensor measurements, and temporal coordination of actuators, emerges as a core technical problem for high performance. In control systems, state-estimators need accurately time-stamped information, and distributed control actions must be coordinated temporally. It is also important for sensor networks, e.g., localization based on time of flight, and communication networks, where slotted synchronization and packet scheduling lead to greater throughputs. However, there are fundamental limitations to clock synchronization. This project investigates what is fundamentally feasible or infeasible in clock synchronization. It also investigates algorithms that scale well with system size.Broader Impact: Control systems are widespread in industries, including process control and manufacturing, and platforms such as cars and aircraft. We are on the cusp of a third generation of networked control systems that combines all the technological advances made in the forty years since the advent of digital control -- powerful computational hardware, complex software, and networked systems. It will lead to large scale control systems that are easily deployable and reconfigurable, and expected to be of great importance for future large scale projects such as smart transportation systems or energy grids, as well as for greater efficiencies in critical industries, such as the automobile industry, where cars already feature about 50 embedded computers. This project will train graduate students, host hundreds of students from local high schools at the annual Engineering Open House, and disseminate results in the open literature.