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Erick J. Rodríguez-Seda
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My research focuses on the development of control solutions for Networked Control Systems (NCSs). The term NCS refers to a time-critical and safety-critical control process where the control feedback loop is closed via a real-time communication network. A typical NCS is comprised of multiple spatially distributed nodes (e.g., sensors, actuators, computers, and controllers) that can send and receive information (e.g., commands and measurement signals) through a shared communication network. The end goal is to regulate the output of one or multiple processes. Examples of NCSs include marine vessels, unmanned vehicles, water plants, power grids, and smart buildings, among many others.

Example of NCS

The use of a shared communication network among subsystems provides several advantages from a design and operational perspective including scalability, modularity, redundancy, and lower production, maintenance, and operational costs. Yet, its use also presents several challenges such as the scheduling of common resources and the loss of real-time data integrity and availability due to communication delays, data losses, and noisy signals. In addition, the use of a shared communication network increases the vulnerability of the control process to cyber attacks by adding an additional point of entry (i.e., a vector of attack) for malicious agents. Failure to protect the NCS against any of these communication and security issues can lead to catastrophic consequences for the regulated process.

My research has been focused in developing and studying control strategies that eliminate or mitigate the negative effects that these communication and security issues can have on the performance of various types of NCSs. More precisely, my research efforts can be divided in four main thrust areas:
  • The stable teleoperation of physical systems subject to communication delays;
  • The safe coordination and collision-free transit of teams of unmanned vehicles;
  • The use of event-based control for the efficient scheduling of control tasks; and
  • The detection of cyber attacks in NCS and the recovery of stability after an attack.
Research Grants
Title: Dynamic Area Coverage Control by Mobile Sensor Networks: An Autonomic Communication- and Energy-Aware Approach
Funding Source: Office of Naval Research, Code 531, FY2019 – FY2021
Description: This project will study and develop decentralized, self-reconfiguring, and self-organizing cooperative control algorithms for heterogeneous groups of mobile sensors in area coverage control applications taking into consideration the agents’ limited sensing range, communication capabilities, and energy resources. Area coverage control applications of interest to the US military forces include reconnaissance, force protection, multi-target pursuit, disaster relief, border security, and environmental sampling.
Title: Autonomic Cyber-Physical Systems: Resilience to Cyber Attacks
Funding Source: Office of Naval Research, Code 31, FY2018 – FY2020
Description: Cyber-physical systems (CPS) combine sensing, control, and actuation in a continuous feedback loop to design complex systems that have many applications from industrial plants to navy platforms to home automation. Given the close interaction between the cyber- and physical components of such systems, they are vulnerable to wider range of cyber-attacks that can have a deleterious effect on a nation’s infrastructure. The key to making a  CPS system secure is building vigilance and adaptivity at various layers of the CPS hierarchy. To this end, the researchers propose an autonomic computing approach for networked CPS to implement resilient behavior in the event of cyber attacks
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