CSR---CPS: Design of Robust and Energy Efficient Cyber-Physical Systems Using Dynamical Systems and Control Theory

Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station, College Station TX

Investigators

Abstract

This research effort is focused on developing formal methods for modeling dynamics and supporting robustness analysis of cyber-physical systems, using tools from dynamical systems theory, control theory and computer science. Specifically, the project addresses the need to develop efficient techniques for uncertainty propagation that exists due to operational uncertainties arising from time-varying task sets and control impediments present in cyber-physical systems. The approach is to abstract cyber-physical systems as distributed embedded systems with heterogeneous architecture platforms and multi-functional paradigms. Such abstractions are required to accomplish real-time, multi-mode operations with tasks allocated at run-time, and in the presence of uncertainty. The operational uncertainties considered include those due to varying task loads caused by operational mode changes, the failure of a few elements when deployed in a hostile environment, transient computational overloads and communication delays. Key technical thrusts in this research include developing methods for uncertainty management in embedded systems based on methods of ergodic theory, set-oriented numerical techniques, multi-scale Markov chain approximations of dynamics and spectral graph partitioning and aggregation concepts; modeling of cyber-physical tasks using sampling methods and finite horizon estimation techniques; and providing Lyapunov certificates for robust performance of cyber-physical systems. Using such a framework in system development is expected to significantly improve the reliability of cyber-physical systems.