CPS: Small: Control Design for CyberPhysical Systems Using Slow Computing

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CPS:Small:Control Design for CyberPhysical Systems Using Slow ComputingThe objective of this research is to develop principles and tools for thedesign of control systems using highly distributed, but slow, computationalelements. The approach of this research is to build an architecture thatuses highly parallelized, simple computational elements incorporatingnonlinearities, time delay and asynchronous computation as integral designelements. Tools for the design of non-deterministic protocols will bedeveloped and demonstrated using an existing multi-vehicle testbed atCaltech.The motivation for using "slow computing" is to develop new feedback controlarchitectures for applications where computational power is extremelylimited. Examples of such systems are those where the energy usage of thesystem must remain small, either due to the source of power available(e.g. batteries or solar cells) or the physical size of the device(e.g. microscale and nanoscale robots). A longer term application area isin the design of control systems using novel computing substrates, such asbiological circuits. A critical element in both cases is the tight couplingbetween the dynamics of the underlying process and the temporal propertiesof the algorithm that is controlling it.The implementation plan for this project involves students from multipledisciplines (including bioengineering, computer science, electricalengineering and mechanical engineering) as well as at multiple experiencelevels (sophomores through PhD students) working together on a set ofinterlinked research problems. The project is centered in the Control andDynamical Systems department at Caltech, which has a strong record ofrecruiting women and underrepresented minority students into its programs.