CPS: Medium: Collaborative Research: A CPS Approach to Robot Design

在许多重要的情况下，分析地预测物理系统的行为是不可能的。例如，物理系统的三维性质使得即使是最简单的系统也无法表达封闭形式的解析解。这使得实验成为设计新的网络物理系统（CPS）的主要方式。由于物理原型和实验通常成本高昂且难以进行，因此以建模和仿真形式进行的“虚拟实验”可以极大地加速CPS的创新。不幸的是，主要的技术挑战经常阻碍建模和仿真的有效性。本项目为克服这些挑战奠定了基础和工具。该项目将机器人技术作为CPS的一个重要的原型类，并由四个关键任务组成：1)编译和分析机器人建模和仿真的基准套件；2)开发与网络物理模型相关的元理论，以及机器人建模和仿真的工具和测试平台；3)使用两个最先进的机器人平台验证项目的研究成果，这些平台包含了新的控制技术，并且需要新的编程技术来充分发挥其潜力4)开发包含项目研究成果和试验台的课程材料。为了加速包括中风康复和假肢在内的广泛领域的创新，该项目正在为机器人开发新的控制概念以及建模和仿真技术。除了新的数学基础、模型和验证方法之外，该项目还将开发软件工具和使用它们的系统方法。项目培养博士研究生4名；开发了一门关于网络物理系统建模和仿真的新课程，平衡了控制和编程概念；还包括向公众和少数族裔服务的K-12项目提供外展服务。

In many important situations, analytically predicting the behavior of physical systems is not possible. For example, the three dimensional nature of physical systems makes it provably impossible to express closed-form analytical solutions for even the simplest systems. This has made experimentation the primary modality for designing new cyber-physical systems (CPS). Since physical prototyping and experiments are typically costly and hard to conduct, "virtual experiments" in the form of modeling and simulation can dramatically accelerate innovation in CPS. Unfortunately, major technical challenges often impede the effectiveness of modeling and simulation. This project develops foundations and tools for overcoming these challenges. The project focuses on robotics as an important, archetypical class of CPS, and consists of four key tasks: 1) Compiling and analyzing a benchmark suite for modeling and simulating robots, 2) Developing a meta-theory for relating cyber-physical models, as well as tools and a test bed for robot modeling and simulation, 3) Validating the research results of the project using two state-of-the-art robot platforms that incorporate novel control technologies and will require novel programming techniques to fully realize their potential 4) Developing course materials incorporating the project's research results and test bed.With the aim of accelerating innovation in a wide range of domains including stroke rehabilitation and prosthetic limbs, the project is developing new control concepts and modeling and simulation technologies for robotics. In addition to new mathematical foundations, models, and validation methods, the project will also develop software tools and systematic methods for using them. The project trains four doctoral students; develops a new course on modeling and simulation for cyber-physical systems that balances both control and programming concepts; and includes an outreach component to the public and to minority-serving K-12 programs.