MRI Development: Heterogeneous, Autonomic Wireless Control Networks for Scalable Cyber-Physical Systems

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Proposal #: CNS 09-23518 Institution: University of DenverPI(s): Voyles, Richard M.; Denver, CO 80208-0000 Mangharam, Rahul; Anaraki Siavash Pourkamali; Rutherford, Matthew J.; Valavanis, Kimon P.Title: MRI/Dev.: Heterogeneous, Autonomic Wireless Control Networks for Scalable Cyber-Physical SystemsProject Proposed:This collaborative project, creating an instrument consisting of a new class of heterogeneous wireless sensor-actuator-controller platforms, facilitates a wide range of experimental research on Networked CyberPhysical Systems (CPS). A key aim is to arrive at standardization for hardware and software interfaces over the platform categories that will support protocols for time- and safety-critical applications. Involving four universities (U Denver, Notre Dame U., U Penn, and UT-Arlington), three categories of Networked CPS research platforms are developed across a wide range of hardware- and software-based runtime re-configuration. The goals also include developing standardized hardware and software interfaces across these platforms so that nodes may be plug-n-play, evolve parametrically and programmatically at runtime, and maintain timeliness and reliability as connected objects for control and actuation. Existing computational node prototypes from Penn and U Denver will be refined and harmonized to provide a suite of interoperable nodes. These nodes will have dual radios for the data-plane and a passive analog radio for fine-grained hardware-based global time synchronization to add determination. An Embedded Virtual Machine (EVM), a powerful distributed runtime system where virtual components and their properties are maintained across node boundaries, is introduced to maintain a set of functional invariants, such as control law and para-functional invariants such as timeliness constraints, fault tolerance and safety standard across a set of controllers given the spatio-temporal changes in the physical network. The EVM software allows tightly coupled communication and runtime control across the different hardware categories. Programming mechanisms treat the set of physical sensors, actuators, and controllers as a single virtual component and allow tasks to be assigned at runtime since the links, nodes, and topology of wireless systems are inherently unreliable. The system is expected to lower the barriers for research into reconfigurable computing across hardware, software, and virtual autonomic computing structures, heterogeneous sensor network timing, synchronization and task allocation strategies, and also serve as a springboard to applications in biomedical modeling, human surveillance and monitoring, and search and rescue robotics. Each node will interface to a suite of modular I/O devices with attendant sensors and actuators. Recent research activity on future wireless sensor networks and applications has been limited to open-loop sensing and monitoring giving rise to predominantly event-based, asynchronous platforms and systems software. Not much research has been devoted to heterogeneous wireless sensor networks that integrate across a range of computational and communication capabilities. When networks are integrated with higher-rate sensors (e.g., video surveillance), actuators with timeliness and safety constraints (e.g., real-time control), and networks requiring significant distributed in-network processing (e.g., video analytics and autonomous systems), investigators have to go beyond the platforms for low-rate sensors and applications for which time-stamping is sufficient. Consequently, heterogeneous wireless sensor networks that integrate computational and communication capabilities are necessary.Broader Impacts: The project, involving four institutions, provides a range of interoperable control nodes to develop applications from the MEMS/NEMS (Micro/Nano ElectroMechanical Systems) scale to the macro scale, develops building blocks for wireless control networks with applications in search and rescue, industrial automation, medical devices and vehicular control. Students are involved in developing the instrumentation.