CAREER: Co-Design of Networking and Decentralized Control to Enable Aerial Networks in an Uncertain Airspace

与固定传感器、移动设备和缓慢移动的飞行器的联网不同，机载联网具有很高的移动性、严格的安全要求和不确定的空域环境，因此非常具有挑战性。机载联网非常重要，因为随着无人机的集成，国家空域系统日益复杂。该项目开发了一种创新的网络物理系统(CPS)理论框架，以实现机载联网，该框架利用直接的飞行对飞行通信来实现灵活的信息共享、安全机动和时间关键型任务的协调。该项目采用创新的联合设计方法，在不确定的异质环境中利用联网和分散移动控制的互惠互利。这种方法不同于通常的观点，即将物理流动性视为通信约束，将通信视为分散式移动控制的约束，将不确定环境视为两者的约束。相反，这里采取的方法是主动利用约束、不确定性和具有信息的新结构来实现高性能设计。协同设计的可扩展性、快速响应、可跟踪性和对不确定性的稳健性等特点促进了不确定条件下大规模网络决策的核心CPS科学的发展。本研究的技术进展将有助于CPS的移动联网、分散控制、实验设计和不确定条件下的通用实时决策等多个领域。将通过与各行业和国家实验室密切合作进行技术转让。这一新颖的研究方向也将成为激励CPS工作人员的独特背景。新的教材将使未来的CPS工作人员受益，因为他们拥有网络和控制方面的知识基础。将加强广泛的外联和宣传活动，包括本科生社团、K-12学校教学和公共活动，所有这些都源于PI目前的努力。

Airborne networking, unlike the networking of fixed sensors, mobile devices, and slowly-moving vehicles, is very challenging because of the high mobility, stringent safety requirements, and uncertain airspace environment. Airborne networking is important because of the growing complexity of the National Airspace System with the integration of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). This project develops an innovative new theoretical framework for cyber-physical systems (CPS) to enable airborne networking, which utilizes direct flight-to-to-flight communication for flexible information sharing, safe maneuvering, and coordination of time-critical missions.This project uses an innovative co-design approach that exploits the mutual benefits of networking and decentralized mobility control in an uncertain heterogeneous environment. The approach departs from the usual perspective that views physical mobility as communication constraints, communication as constraints for decentralized mobility control, and uncertain environment as constraints for both. Instead, approach taken here proactively exploits the constraints, uncertainty, and new structures with information to enable high-performance designs. The features of the co-design such as scalability, fast response, trackability, and robustness to uncertainty advance the core CPS science on decision-making for large-scale networks under uncertainty. The technological advances developed in this research will contribute to multiple fields, including mobile networking, decentralized control, experiment design, and general real-time decision making under uncertainty for CPS. Technology transfer will be pursued through close collaboration with industries and national laboratories. This novel research direction will also serve as a unique backdrop to inspire the CPS workforce. New teaching materials will benefit the future CPS workforce by equipping them with a knowledge base in networking and control. Broad outreach and dissemination activities that involve undergraduate student societies, K-12 school teaching, and public events, all stemming from the PI's current efforts, will be enhanced.