CSR: Small: Cascading Failures Modeling and Mitigation in the Internet of Things

University Of Massachusetts, Dartmouth, North Dartmouth MA

Investigators

Abstract

Cascading failures take place when a single incident triggers successive malfunction of system components in a chain reaction. Without timely and effective mitigation mechanisms, cascading failures often cause catastrophic impacts on the entire system and even the environment and society. There is a big gap between the existing cascading failure theories and realities in the Internet of Things (IoT) systems. This project aims to make breakthroughs in the IoT cascading failure and reliability research to bridge the gap, mitigating serious consequences caused by the failures. In addition, the project has educational components with the goals to help increase participation of underrepresented minorities, particularly women in computing and engineering, and to integrate research and education through new curriculum development and research training of both graduate and undergraduate students. The overarching objective of this project is to enhance the reliability and robustness of IoT-based systems by developing efficient cascading failure modeling and analysis methods as well as effective mitigation strategies to strengthen IoT systems’ resilience to cascading failures. Specifically, the project will (1) develop new comprehensive mathematical models to characterize the complex physical mechanism of cascading failures in IoT; (2) create efficient and scalable reliability evaluation methodologies to provide an accurate and fast prediction of the IoT system reliability considering impacts of cascading failures and various dependencies; (3) develop innovative in-process and multi-phase mitigation mechanisms to effectively respond to cascading failures and prevent or at least alleviate their consequence; and (4) evaluate and validate the proposed research using case studies of real-world IoT-based systems as well as publications evaluated by independent peers and experts. The proposed cascading failure models and mitigation strategies, and reliability analysis methods are fundamental contributions to the body of knowledge on the reliable and robust design and operation of modern and evolving IoT-based systems. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.