CAREER: Robust and Optimal Control of Interconnected Systems

Cornell University, Ithaca NY

Investigators

Abstract

This project is aimed at developing new tools and techniques for controlling large, interconnected systems, to transfer these methods to graduate students, researchers, and industry partners, and to develop innovative methods for control education at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. Many systems consist of similar units which directly interact with their nearest neighbors. Even when these units have tractable models and interact with their neighbors in a simple and predictable fashion, the resulting system often displays rich and complex behavior when viewed as a whole. There are many examples of such systems, including automated highway systems, formation flight of air vehicles and satellites, and in the limit as the size of the subsystems approaches zero, systems governed by partial differential equations. In order for any optimal control technique to be successful, the structure of the system must be exploited in order to obtain tractable algorithms. The bulk of the proposed research deals with developing new tools and techniques for control analysis and design for the large (and growing) class of systems that are comprised of many similar units that are locally interconnected. This will be achieved by adopting a multidimensional systems framework for modeling interconnected systems, and by developing control design and analysis tools based on multidimensional system models. In addition to a strong commitment to research, the PI is actively involved in education, both at the undergraduate and graduate level. There are two large efforts currently being directed by the PI to improve the engineering curriculum at Cornell University and to disseminate this information to educators at large: 1) Systems Engineering, and 2) the construction of a Multidisciplinary Systems and Control Laboratory for undergraduate and graduate education.