Special Sessions

SPECIAL SESSIONS

INDUSTRY-SPONSORED SESSIONS:

Title: Controls & Optimization - Technologies to help products be more "Green"

Sponsor:

Speakers: Minesh Shah and other speakers from GE Global Research

Time: Wednesday, 11.30am-12.30pm (Lunch provided)

Location: Olympic

Industry Contact: Minesh Shah, Manager, Automation and Controls Laboratory

Abstract:

Products in markets such as aviation, power generation, and transportation, to name a few, are continually being challenged to deliver increased performance with improved reliability and lower life cycle cost. In the area of life cycle cost, a key product differentiator is energy efficiency, which has become a critical factor due to raising energy costs. The desired approach to improving efficiency of products is through the design phase. However, design entitlement is rarely achieved due to operational conservatism, which is required to address issues such as uncertainties in system dynamics, product variation, and product degradation. At General Electric, advanced control technologies are playing a prominent role in achieving design entitlement associated with energy efficiency. In addition, the application of control technologies is creating new design and product opportunities in the context of energy efficiency. In this seminar, researchers from the Automation & Controls Laboratory of GE Global Research will discuss a wide range of applications where controls and optimization technologies have allowed products to reduce their energy usage, thereby, allowing them to be more “green”. Examples of applications include model-predictive control for combined cycle power plants, optimal trajectory generation and closed loop train control, and integration of design and control for wind turbines. For each application, the end-customer & market drivers, the control technology development, and results from field implementation will be presented.

Title: “Modernization of Air Traffic Management and Control—a Global Perspective.”

Sponsor:

Speakers: Don Bateman, Rosa Weber, and Datta Godbole

Time: Wednesday, 11.30am-12.30pm (Lunch provided)

Location: Cascade IA

Industry Contact: Datta Godbole, Director, Aerospace Advanced Technology

Abstract:

With increasing globalization and worldwide prosperity, demand for air travel is expected to grow three-fold in the next 20 years. Today’s approach to air traffic control—a manually intensive, centralized process that relies on ground-based controllers—is not scalable to such projected levels. The dramatic increase in expected future traffic density will necessitate greater use of automation and will give rise to challenging problems in distributed multi-vehicle coordination and control. In this session, we will review the current air traffic management scenario and upcoming modernization R&D and deployment initiatives. Developments in the U.S., Europe, and the emerging regions of the Middle East, India and China will be discussed. Presentations in the session will also highlight two specific sets of problems, one focused on safety and another on capacity improvement of air travel. The session will conclude with an overview of upcoming research programs funded by FAA, NASA, Eurocontrol, and the European Commission.

Title: "Career & Collaboration opportunities in Aerospace, Building and Power System Controls at UTRC"

Sponsor:

Speakers: Andrzej Banaszuk and Scott A. Bortoff

Time: Wednesday, 11.30am-12.30pm (Lunch provided)

Location: Adams

Industry Contact: Subbarao Varigonda, Group Leader, Control Systems

Abstract:

United Technologies Corporation (UTC) is a diversified corporation serving three primary markets: Aerospace, buildings and power. Our businesses include Pratt & Whitney, Sikorsky and Hamilton Sundstrand (aircraft engines, helicopters and aerospace power systems), Carrier, Otis and UTC Fire & Security (HVAC systems, elevators and escalators and building fire and security systems) and UTC Power (stationary and transportation fuel cell power plants). Our products require increasingly sophisticated dynamic modeling and control to achieve the levels of performance demanded by our customers. The most challenging control problems are highly multidisciplinary and require a collaborative, concurrent engineering approach. United Technologies Research Center (UTRC) has a history of meeting these challenges by assembling integrated teams drawing talent from our business units, UTRC and academic partners who come together to deliver innovative modeling and control solutions and technologies with both business and academic impact.

In this presentation, we will highlight two successful academic / industrial collaborations that exemplify this collaborative approach to controls engineering. The first involves product development of a 150kW stationary fuel cell power plant. This system includes a fuel processing system, fuel cell stack, thermal management system and electric power conditioning requiring expertise ranging from chemistry, mechanical and electrical engineering and thermal and electric loads. The transient requirements were demanding and called for precise and robust coordination of air and fuel flows. In a multi-year effort, UTRC and its partners developed physics-based, control-oriented dynamic models and used them for limits of performance analysis, control algorithm development, observer design, robustness analysis and software validation. The effort led to a successful prototype demonstration and also peer-reviewed conference and journal publications.

The second example involves control and estimation for safe and immune buildings. The business opportunity lies in integrating HVAC and security systems to increase energy efficiency and also improve security. In these problems, contaminant transport and the dynamics of people movement are coupled spatial-temporal, multi-scale, multi-physics problems. A multidisciplinary, academic / industrial team has been applying probabilistic methods such as Markov Learning methods to capture behaviors of people movement, together with dynamical system theory to obtain lower order representations of transport. The challenge lies in integrating the methodologies and exploiting advances in sensor technologies to develop a system useful for real-time estimation and closed loop control.

The session will present an overview of modeling and control at UTC, provide details for each of these projects, and close with a panel-style question and answer session.

Title: “Panel Discussion: What skills do controls engineering graduates need to have for industry?”

Sponsor:

Speakers: Industry Panelists:

Jacob Apkarian, PhD, Founder and CTO, Quanser Inc.

Greg Stewart, PhD (Tentatively accepted)
Principal Research Scientist - Control Engineering Research and Development, Honeywell Automation & Control Solutions

Michael Dudzic (Tentatively accepted), General Manager, Arcelor Mittal Dofasco

Andrzej Banaszuk , PhD (Tentatively accepted), Research Engineer, Controls Technology, United Technologies Research Center

Michael R Moan, PhD (Tentatively accepted), Intelligence and Information Systems Division, Science and Technology Group, Raytheon

Academia Panelists:

Bozenna Pasik-Duncan, PhD (Tentatively accepted), Professor, Department of Mathematics, University of Kansas

Academic Panelist #2 – YangQuan Chen, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Dept. of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Utah State University

Time: Wednesday, 11.30am - 1.00pm (Lunch provided)

Location: St Helens

Industry Contact: Rohit Shenoy, Control Systems Tools Marketing

Abstract:

This panel aims to uncover controls engineering graduate requirements from a variety of industries including automotive, aerospace and process. Industry representatives will share their opinions with leading educators in an effort to bridge the gap between academia and the needs of industry currently, and over the next few decades. The panel will focus on the relevance of specific controls concepts such as PID; while tools for teaching and practical application development will be covered for applications such as mechatronics project design, rapid control prototyping, and hardware-in-the-loop simulations. Panelists will also aim to address key questions pertaining to the effects shifting economic forces and demographics will have on their industries and hence their future requirements for controls engineering graduates.

Title: "Control Opportunities in Energy Conversion and Storage Systems"

Sponsor:

Speakers: Dr. Jasim Ahmed (Robert Bosch Research and Technology Center, North America)

Dr. Andrews Burton (Robert Bosch Research and Technology Center, North America)

Dr. Aleksandar Kojic (Robert Bosch Research and Technology Center, North America)

Dr. Rainer Nitsche (Robert Bosch Corporate Research, Advance Engineering - Hardware)

Hakan Yilmaz (Robert Bosch Gasoline Systems)

Time: Wednesday, 6.30pm - 8:30pm (Dinner provided)

Location: Olympic

Industry Contact: Aleksandar Kojic

Abstract:

The Bosch group is a leading global supplier of technology and services. In 2007, 272,000 associates generated sales of 46.1 b€ (69 b$) in the areas of automotive, industrial, consumer goods and building technology. During the same year, Bosch invested 3.6 b€ (5.4 b$) for R&D and applied for over 3,000 patents. In the spirit of our corporate slogan “Invented for life,” our global R&D is committed towards the efficient use of energy and other resources. In this Bosch session, we will present some of these activities.

Energy Modeling, Control and Computation Program (EMC²)

The EMC² program focuses on developing energy storage and conversion technologies that enable Bosch to meet the environmental challenges of the 21st century of reducing emissions and increasing efficiency. Our current focus is on novel combustion concepts, batteries and distributed energy generation devices. The common methodology that we employ in our topics is to develop physically-based models. These models range from computational intensive models such as fundamental ab initio models for battery materials or reactive fluid flow models for engine simulations to more simpler models that can be used in real-time applications. We use these models to optimize our designs, and to develop feedback control algorithms that in many applications enable these technologies and optimize their performance.

Smart Sensing and Control for Home Applications

With both energy prices and demand increasing worldwide, there is a greater need for residential building technology solutions that minimize energy consumption without sacrificing comfort. This can be achieved by incorporating advanced sensing with behavioral prediction algorithms to generate meaningful inputs for home automation control strategies. The resulting system would provide a comfortable, energy efficient home environment that requires minimal user interaction. From a control perspective, the problem is one of optimization and resource allocation. We will discuss some of the pitfalls of current home automation products as well as highlight feasibility requirements for residential, non-intrusive smart sensing and control systems.

Internal Model Control Strategies for Automotive Applications

A new design of Internal Model Controllers (IMC) for nonlinear systems is presented based on the right inverse of the plant model. The right inverse, combined with a linear filter, is constructed using nonlinear geometric control methods. The industrial feasibility of the control concept is shown for a nonlinear multivariable IMC control loop of a two-stage turbocharged diesel engine and a permanent magnet synchronous machine.

Flex Fuel Vehicle Systems: Market Trends, Legislations, Current and Future Bosch Technologies

This presentation gives an overview of power-train market trends and technology solutions in regards to fuel economy, and performance, and outlines the challenges and system solutions for flex fuel applications. Bosch global technology solutions for flex fuel capability and enabling systems and components as well as advanced powertrains for flex fuel operation are discussed.

Title: Low Cost and Embedded Control Technology for Mobile Applications

Sponsor:

Speakers: Jeannie Sullivan Falcon Ph.D., Principal Engineer, Control and Simulation, National Instruments

Masayoshi Tomizuka, Ph.D., Cheryl and John Neerhout, Jr. Distinguished Professor, Mechanical Engineering Department, University of California at Berkeley

Tsu-Chin Tsao, Ph.D., Professor, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department, University of California at Los Angeles

Todd Murphey, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Colorado at Boulder

Time: Wednesday, 6.30pm - 8:30pm (Dinner provided)

Location: St. Helens

Industry Contact: Jeannie Sullivan Falcon, Ph.D., Senior Engineer, Control and Simulation

Abstract:

A graphical system design platform for embedded control can incorporate both real-time processors and reconfigurable hardware. Software tools used for graphical system design must allow for both graphical and textual programming methods. Traditional programming and scripting languages such as C/C++ and VHDL may be included as needed within an open development platform.

By integrating graphical system design software with modular, off-the-shelf hardware devices and targets, a system designer can quickly move from design and simulation to prototyping and deployment. This session will introduce graphical system design methodologies along with software and hardware tools for embedded control. Demonstrations of low cost and mobile devices will be given to show how software may be re-used throughout the development process. The speakers will discuss several educational and research problems which have been addressed with these tools.

SESSIONS BY FEDERAL FUNDING AGENCIES

Title: Dynamics and Control at AFOSR: Challenges and Future Directions

Agency: AFOSR

Speakers: Dr. Fariba Fahroo, AFOSR –Directorate of Mathematics, Information and Life Sciences

Time: Thursday, 8.00pm-10.00pm

Location: St Helens

Abstract:

The National Science Foundation is focusing on “transformative” research and on encouraging “high risk” at the cutting edge instead of “sure thing” projects that promise only incremental advances. The goal of the session is to bring together researchers and students attending ACC and inform them about the NSF merit review process. Several reviewers who have served on NSF panels will share their experiences and provide some perspective on the proposal review process.

All ACC participants are invited to attend this informative session.

Title: Dynamics and Control Research in NASA Aeronautics

Agency: NASA

Panelists: Kalmanje Krishnakumar, Integrated Resilient Aircraft Control Project, Aviation Safety Program

Peter Ouzts, Hypersonics Project, Fundamental Aeronautics Program Diana Acosta, Subsonic Fixed-wing Project, Fundamental Aeronautics Program

Time: Thursday, 8.00pm-10.00pm

Location: Olympic

Abstract:

NASA is the nation's leading government organization for aeronautical research. The research portfolio spans ten projects across fundamental aeronautics, next generation air transportation systems, and aviation safety. The core research areas include aerodynamics, aeroacoustics, materials and structures, propulsion, dynamics and control, sensor and actuator technologies, advanced computational and mathematical techniques, and experimental measurement techniques.

In this panel, we will discuss selected dynamics and control research topics as defined under the current NASA project plans. Some of these topics are (1) validated multidisciplinary integrated aircraft control design tools and techniques for enabling safe flight in the presence of adverse conditions; (2) predict and model flight characteristics of novel configurations and within unconventional flight regimes; (3) development of novel actuation and feedback techniques for engines and flight control; (4) technologies for improved aircraft performance, enabling intelligent and robust control of unconventional configurations (such as hybrid wing body, cruise efficient short take-off and landing, and high performance intelligent engines) and active control of components for improved propulsion efficiency and lower emissions; (5) models, analysis tools and design methodologies that permit the design of Highly Reliable Reusable Launch Systems (HRRLS) and integration of control relevancy into the overall hypersonic vehicle conceptualization, sizing, and design process; (6) rotorcraft flight dynamics and control with integrated solution of handling qualities and dynamics for problems such as variable-speed rotors, heavy-lift configurations, and on-blade control; and (7) precision guidance, navigation, and control capabilities to enable data collection and evaluation for rotorcraft flight experiments, including studies of acoustic properties, vehicle dynamics modeling, noise reduction, and terminal-area operations.

Title: NSF Merit Review: How The Proposal Review and Funding Recommendations are Made

Agency: NSF

Speakers: Dr. Kishan Baheti, Program Manager, Control, Division of Electrical, Communications & Cyber Systems (ENG/ECCS)

Dr. Maria Burka, Program Manager, Division of Chemical and Thermal Systems

Dr. Suhada Jayasuriya, Program Manager, Dynamical Systems, CMMI

Dr. Eduardo Misawa, Program manager, Control Systems, CMMI

Time: Friday, 11:30am-12.30pm

Location: Grand Crescent

Abstract:

All ACC participants are invited to attend this informative session.

SESSIONS ON EMERGING TOPICS

Title: Panel Discussion: Adaptive Neurocontrol: Are we on the right path?

Speakers: Dr. Kumpati S. Narendra, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA

Dr. Anuradha Annaswamy, MIT, Cambridge, MA, USA

Dr. Marios Polycarpou, University of Cyprus, Nicosia, Greece

Coordinator / Moderator: Dr. Anuradha Annaswamy

Time: Thursday, 6.30pm-7.30pm

Location: Adams

Abstract:

Advances in artificial neural networks in the past two decades have witnessed empirical demonstrations of their capabilities, followed by rigorous mathematical explanations of their validity. For example, in the 1980s, simulation studies revealed that neural networks could approximate very nearly all functions encountered in practical problems. In the following years it was conclusively shown by a number of authors that neural networks are universal approximators in a precise mathematical sense. Similarly, in 1990, it was suggested that neural networks could be used as identifiers and controllers in dynamical systems. Following this, extensive simulation studies were carried out, and empirical evidence began to accumulate demonstrating that neural networks could outperform conventional linear controllers in many applications. It once again became apparent that more formal methods grounded in mathematical systems theory would be needed to quantitatively assess the capabilities as well as the limitations of neurocontrol.

When neural networks are included as parts of nonlinear adaptive control systems, they raise stability questions which are, in general, not mathematically tractable. The difficulties encountered depend upon the class of plants considered, the prior information assumed of the nonlinearities encountered, the domain in the state space in which the trajectories are to lie,

and the conditions under which the neural networks are trained. During much of the 1990s, rigorous methods based on linearization were developed, which are valid in a neighborhood of the equilibrium state.

In recent years, numerous papers in prestigious journals have described solutions to very complex neurocontrol problems. The assumptions made in these papers, the methods proposed, the proofs presented, and the claims made of global asymptotic stability have raised concerns among many members of the research community. The presentations and panel discussion in the proposed special session will examine the above problems, assumptions, claims, and the fundamental questions involved.

Title: Systems Biology

Speakers: Mike Hensen, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA: Introduction and overview of the session

Followed by 4 presentations (25 minutes each)

1. Eric Schadt, Rosetta Inpharmatics, Seattle, WA: An integrative biology approach to reconstructing whole gene networks that predict complex system behavior

2. Christopher Rao, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL: Control motifs for intracellular networks

3. Peter Linsley, Rosetta Inpharmatics, Seattle, WA: Microarrays, microRNAs and cancer

4. Domitilla Del Vecchio, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI: Modularity in systems biology

Leonidas Bleris, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA: Concluding remarks and lead open discussion

Time: Thursday, 8:00pm-10.00pm

Location: Cascade IA

Abstract:

Biological organisms are systems that comprise of multiple, heterogeneous subunits that operate in a well-orchestrated manner. Although extremely complex, phenotypes such as cell division and environmental adaptation can be correlated to discrete changes that lead to a deterministic sequence of information transfer and processing within cells. Such information is encoded and transferred via multiple pathways, in different time-scales, and it is typically processed in parallel, by multi-component networks. Today, it is commonly accepted that a systemic approach based on cross-fertilization of theory and techniques from different disciplines will be essential to unravel the complexity of biological organisms. The integration of knowledge from engineering disciplines, and in particular of control theory to biology, may not only advance our scientific understanding but also lead to technologies that benefit our society. This session will cover recent developments in some of the central theoretical and experimental research themes of systems biology: reverse engineering of networks, properties of network motifs, micromanagers for gene regulation, and modularity in cells.

The first talk will introduce an integrative method that combines multiple types of large-scale molecular data, including genotypic, gene expression, transcription factor binding site, and protein-protein interaction data to reconstruct causal, probabilistic gene networks and predict complex system behavior. The importance of incorporating systematic sources of perturbations to infer causal relationships among genes will be emphasized. The second talk will provide a survey of system-theoretic approaches for dissecting intracellular networks and will introduce the concept of control motifs. While comprising a few relatively simple elements, motifs are often embedded in multi-component coarse-grained networks that exhibit complex behavior, and appear with different frequency as information processing components of transcription, developmental, signal transduction, and neuronal networks. Motifs not only provide a powerful framework for analyzing intracellular networks, but also help bridge the fields of biology and control, allowing tools and approaches from control theory to be applied to biology. The third talk will address current opportunities and issues in the development of microRNA therapeutics. MicroRNAs are regulatory RNAs that control numerous cellular processes. Attracting increasing attention recently, miRNAs are abundant in multicellular organisms and their operation as gene regulatory molecules is actively investigated. Finally, the fourth talk will introduce the concept of modularity and retroactivity in biology. The modularity property guarantees that the input/output behavior of a system does not change when it is connected to other systems, while retroactivity models the change of a module dynamics upon such interconnection. This is especially important in the field of synthetic biology where simple components are built and tested in isolation and then are connected to realize more complicated functionalities. Methods to mathematically quantify retroactivity in transcriptional networks and to attenuate its effect through the design of insulation devices will be presented.

Title: Glucose Control Technology: Applications to Patients with Diabetes and ICU Glucose Management

Speakers: Coordinator / Moderator: Dr. Eyal Dassau, University of California, Santa Barbara

Speakers: Dr. Francis J. Doyle III, University of California, Santa Barbara

Dr. Howard Zisser, Sansum Diabetes Research Institute

Dr. Bruce Buckingham, Stanford University

Dr. B. Wayne Bequette, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Time: Friday, 11.30am-12.30pm

Location: St. Helens

Abstract:

Glucose control is desirable not only for type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) patients but also for Intensive Care Unit (ICU) patients. Achieving tight glucose control has been shown to reduce long-term complications of T1DM and decrease morbidity and mortality in the ICU. This can be achieved by combining technological improvements in glucose sensing and insulin delivery with advanced control algorithms. This session will include leading investigators in the field, with a focus on collaboration between physicians and engineers to improve glucose control. The session will be divided into two parts: the first one will be related to glucose regulation in T1DM, the later will be on ICU glucose control.

T1DM patients rely on insulin therapy to control their blood glucose. Traditionally, this involves frequent capillary blood measurements and insulin injections. An innovative solution, in the form of an artificial pancreas, will allow flexibility and improved life style of T1DM patients. This concept is under investigation by a collaboration of physicians and engineers understanding the physiology of glucose management in the context of control. Technological advances include automated insulin pumps and continuous glucose measurement (CGM) systems. The missing link is a controller that will communicate with the pump and sensor and allow continuous glucose regulation and disturbance rejection for meals, physical activity and stress. Automated glycemic control will minimize the undesirable states of high and low glucose levels, thereby minimizing long and short term complications. An overview of model-based (MPC) and run-to-run control strategies, with emphasis on the implications of diabetes control management, based on simulated and real subject data will be given, with emphasis on current hurdles, including time delays in insulin action and glucose sensing, meal detection and modeling of individual insulin/glucose dynamics.

Critically ill individuals may have hyperglycemia and insulin resistance, even if they do not have diabetes. Healthy individuals have a fasting glucose concentration of approximately 80 mg/ dL, but patients suffering from stress hyperglycemia can have blood glucose values greater than 200 mg/dL. A landmark study by Van den Berghe et al. (2001) showed that maintaining blood glucose below 110 mg/dL reduced overall in-hospital mortality by 34%, bloodstream infections by 46%, and acute renal failure by 41% in surgical (predominately cardiac) ICU patients. Results were less dramatic in a medical ICU, where intensive glucose management did not improve mortality but did improve morbidity (Van den Berghe, 2006). In a recent study of ICU patients in septic shock (Brunkhorst, 2008), the rate of severe hypoglycemia (glucose level, ≤40 mg per deciliter) was higher in those receiving intensive glucose control than in the conventional-therapy group (17.0% vs. 4.1%, P<0.001), as was the rate of serious adverse events (10.9% vs. 5.2%, P = 0.01) and the study was stopped by the data safety monitoring board. In these studies glucose levels have been monitored every 1 to 4 hours, and on average about every 3 hours. The intermittent monitoring of glucose may predispose to a higher rate of hypoglycemia in these intensively treated patients. The ICU is an ideal place to implement closed-loop control, since the patients have 1:1 nursing, central lines for glucose monitoring, and insulin administration. The first step in implementing closed-loop control may be the use of CGM to "supervise" insulin administration. A clinical and engineering overview of protocols to regulate glucose control in the ICU using CGM with or without a closed-loop system will be given.

Title: The Impact of Offshoring on the US Economy - Policy and Model Analysis

Speakers: Janos Gertler, George Mason University

Ron Hira, Rochester Institute of Technology

Michael Raimondi, Global Insight

Organizer: Janos Gertler

Time: Friday, 11.30am-12.30pm

Location: Olympic

Abstract:

Offshoring is the process in which US companies set up production (service) outfits abroad where they employ local workers; some US facilities are closed or curbed and US workers are laid off. This is followed by (combined with) a second stage in which a part of the laid-off workers are rehired and production is expanded. Here several strategies are possible, including expanded domestic consumption of services, expanded exports or a coordinated growth.

We have built an input-output macro-model of the national economy, utilizing US government data published by BEA (Bureau of Economic Analysis, US Department of Commerce). The model consists of four sectors: manufacturing, services, government and individuals, and uses about 55 parameters.

As economic indicators, we considered four balances (income minus expenditures): the personal, corporate, government and international balance. We investigated the effect on these balances of several control parameters, such as the labor outsourcing ratio, the foreign-to-domestic wage ratio, the income replacement ratio and the rehiring ratio. We performed extrapolations from the reference model, by a combination of algebraic analysis and computer simulation.

Our main findings are:

1. Under off-shoring, the corporate balance is improving while the foreign trade deficit and the government deficit grow; the personal balance is decreasing and there is a rearrangement between wage earners and share holders.

2. Any rehiring improves the government balance.

3. Rehiring to increase production solely for domestic consumption increases the foreign trade deficit and erodes the personal balance.

4. Rehiring to increase production for export improves all four balances but the export increment has to exceed the wages paid to foreign workers.

5. An ideal scenario is expanding production so that domestic consumption and export are coordinated to maintain a zero foreign trade balance.

Some results of this work have been presented as a plenary lecture at an IFAC Symposium on Computational Economics in Istanbul, Turkey.

INTERACTIVE SESSIONS

The ACC-08 technical program includes interactive sessions in addition to traditional, lecture-style sessions. The interactive sessions will be held during the “A” and “B” slots on all three days of the conference. Each interactive session consists of up to 12 papers. Best presentation awards will be given for interactive sessions as well—up to two awards per session.

We reiterate that the identical review process was followed and identical criteria applied for papers that appear in interactive and lecture sessions.

IMPROMPTU SESSIONS

From 4 to 6 p.m. on Wednesday and Thursday, the interactive sessions room, Cascade II, will be available to A CC attendees for “impromptu” presentations and discussions. A maximum of 20 spaces will be available for each of these two sessions and will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. A sign-up sheet will be available by the conference registration area.

The impromptu session spaces are intended for two activities:

Presentations of too-new-for-formal-submission research. Attendees with new results to share are encouraged to present posters in the impromptu sessions. All conference attendees are encouraged to walk through these sessions to check out the new work on display.
Collaboration and discussion. Small groups can reserve spaces and use the facilities provided for discussions and for conducting research. Extra chairs and flip charts and markers will be available for this purpose.

We hope that conference attendees will find the impromptu sessions useful both for furthering/establishing research collaborations and for presenting new results.

TUTORIAL SESSIONS

Adaptive Control with Aerospace Applications (WeA06)

Organizers: Dr. Eugene Lavretsky (Boeing) and Dr. Anuradha Annaswamy (MIT)

Presenters:

Prof. Bob Narendra (Yale),
Prof. Petros Ioannou (USC),
Dr. Anuradha Annaswamy (MIT),
Prof. Miroslav Krstic (UCSD),
Prof. Naira Hovakimyan (VT),
Dr. Kevin A. Wise (Boeing),
Dr. Eugene Lavretsky (Boeing)

Wednesday, June 11

9:20am-11:20am

5th Avenue

This is a tutorial session devoted entirely to adaptive control with aerospace applications. The session presents historical background, introduction, overview, recent extensions, applications, lessons learned, and open problems in the design, analysis and technical transition of adaptive control theory and methods into aerospace applications.

The session begins with a historical summary and an overview of the now classical design and analysis methods for adaptive control, given by Prof. Bob. Narendra (Yale). Next, Prof. Petros Ioannou (USC) presents robust adaptive control methods in the presence of modeling errors and disturbances. The 3rd topic in the session, will be presented by Prof. Miroslav Krstic (UCSD) on adaptive methods for nonlinear ODEs and linear PDEs using backstepping design methodology. The 4th topic will be presented by Dr. Anuradha Annaswamy (MIT) on adaptive control methods in the presence of actuator anomalies ranging from loss of effectiveness to saturation and control failures. The 5th and final topic of the session is given by Dr. Kevin Wise (Boeing), Dr. Eugene Lavretsky (Boeing), and Prof. Naira Hovakimyan (VT). This presentation is focused on the recent theoretical results (L1 adaptive control design), as well as technical transition and flight verification of adaptive controllers for advanced aircraft and guided munitions. Lessons learned in adaptive design and analysis methods used on X-36 RESTORE, X-45A Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle (UCAV), JDAM MK-82, JDAM MK-84, and the Laser-JDAM munitions will be discussed.

Communication Challenges in Networked Control Systems (WeB06)

Organizer: Dr. Girish Nair, University of Melbourne, Australia

Presenters:

Dr. Girish Nair, University of Melbourne, Australia
Dr. James Moyne and Prof. Dawn Tilbury, University of Michigan, US
Prof. Karl H. Johansson, Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), Sweden
Prof. John Baillieul, Boston University, US

Wednesday, June 11

1:40pm-3:40pm

5th Avenue

For much of their history, communications and control have been regarded as largely separate disciplines. Though the advent of digital control led to the study of phenomena such as quantization noise, feedback policies were largely designed separately from the communication protocols that supported them. With high communication capacity this made sense, since overall analysis and design were simplified with negligible loss of control performance. However, as communications technology has become more ubiquitous, this modular approach has been challenged, first by the emergence of industrial control networks in the 1980s, and more recently by a growing number of applications in sensor networks and unmanned aerial vehicle coordination.

In these applications, multiple systems are controlled by using many geographically separated sensors and actuators communicating over a network of point-to-point links or a shared medium such as a wireless channel. The large number of transmitting nodes implies that even if overall communication capacity is large or latency is low, each node may effectively have only a small fraction of the available capacity, or have to compete with many other nodes for medium access. This can have a severe effect on the performance of the control policy, since quantization errors, varying communication delays, and bit errors become significant, and can then no longer be treated as small perturbations. Indeed, a major discovery of recent times was the existence of a minimum channel bit rate below which an unstable linear plant cannot be stabilized by any control policy.

Clearly, the full potential of a networked control system can only be achieved if the communication and control policies are not considered in isolation. The medium access policies, coding laws, and bit rate allocations should be designed with an eye on the overall control objective. Furthermore, as complete point-to-point connectivity between nodes is usually costly or impractical, it is crucial to understand the effect of network topology, and to characterize how information should flow through the system in order to achieve the desired goal, that is, which actuators need information from which sensors, and how quickly.

The aim of this tutorial session is to discuss some of the key theoretical and practical challenges in networked control. The session will commence with a 40 min talk (Nair) giving an overview of the basic theory of networked control with limited data rates, and also discussing some recent advances for noisy channels and cooperative networked control. This will be followed by three shorter talks (Moyne/Tilbury, Johansson and Baillieul) that will discuss emerging applications in industrial control, automotive control, and mobile agent coordination.

Modeling and Control of Hybrid Electric Vehicles (WeC06)

Organizers: Prof. Ardalan Vahidi (Clemson University)

Presenters:

Prof. Ardalan Vahidi (Clemson University)
Dr. Anthony Phillips and Dr. Ming Kuang (Ford Motor Company)
Prof. Huei Peng (University of Michigan)
Prof. Lino Guzzella (ETH, Zurich)
Prof. Giorgio Rizzoni (Ohio State University)

Wednesday, June 11

4:00pm-6:00pm

5th Avenue

This tutorial session on hybrid electric powertrains brings together university and industry experts to provide an overview of the history, current state of the technology, modeling, control and system integration challenges of hybrid powertrains..

While the first hybrid vehicle was introduced more than a century ago, more recent government regulations on vehicle emission levels, increased environmental awareness among people and increasing cost of gasoline fuel, have resulted in a growing interest in hybrid vehicle technologies in the past 15 years. Control engineers have played a key role in architecture selection, design of energy management strategy and system integration of hybrid powertrains; all challenging tasks because of the complex and dynamic multi-subsystem nature of hybrid energy systems. Over the past few years many different configurations, technologies and energy management strategies have been proposed, developed and some have been implemented on today’s hybrid vehicles.

The session begins by a tutorial overview of the topic by Prof. Ardalan Vahidi covering the history of hybrids, and providing a pedagogical description of the existing hybrid configurations, propulsion and energy storage technologies and modeling and control techniques. The second talk by Dr. Tony Phillips and Dr. Ming Kuang from Ford Motor Company, besides bringing interesting industry perspectives to the session, presents a new fundamental look at how hybrids improve fuel economy and the role of different powertrain configurations.. The third talk by Prof. Huei Peng focuses further on the more complex power-split hybrid configuration and presents a design process that enables systematic search through the three: configuration, design, and control dimensions for enhancing the fuel economy of a hybrid. In the fourth talk Professor Lino Guzzella takes a system-theoretic look at energy optimization of hybrids and exemplifies some of the theoretic concepts on the ETH PAC Car II vehicle, which holds the world record in fuel consumption according to the Shell Eco-marathon rules. The last presentation by Professor Giorgio Rizzoni concludes this session by taking a preview look at the future and how hybrid vehicles (also known as plug-in vehicles)s may play a role in a futuristic but realistic interconnected ``smart’’ energy grid.

Engineering the self-organizing behavior of molecular systems (ThA06)

Organizers:Martha Grover Gallivan and Eric Klavins

Presenters:

Prof. Martha Grover Gallivan, Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology

Prof. Pete Ludovice, Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology

Prof. Eric Klavins, Electrical Engineering, University of Washington

Prof. David Baker, Biochemistry, University of Washington

Thursday, June 12

9:20am-11:20am

5th Avenue

Systems of molecules, atoms, or nanoparticles interact and organize to create larger structures and materials. For example, a sequence of amino acids forms a protein, which interacts with other molecules in the cell to form a signaling network. As another example, the evolution of surface roughness during thin film deposition depends on the interactions between individual atoms. To control these processes, models having the appropriate level of abstraction are required. In some cases it is possible to derive high-level models directly from the details of the particle interactions, while in many other cases, performing the many-body simulations of a large collection of particles seems to be the only way to make predictions of the overall behavior of the system.

An increasing number of control systems researchers are interested in these types of system. This is due to several factors: the tools developed to manipulate dynamical systems have recently become applicable to highly complex systems; molecular engineering and biochemistry have become increasingly quantitative disciplines, in need of models and analytical tools; and, most importantly, the laboratory techniques to build and characterize molecular devices are maturing at a rapid pace.

In this tutorial session, the participants will review efforts in modeling and designing self-organizing molecular systems. The goal of the session is to introduce a variety of engineered molecular systems and the models used to describe their behaviors. The control theorist attending the session should take away a broader understanding of the intricacies of molecular modeling, an appreciation of several application domains where modeling and control is required, and a set of challenges in modeling, model-reduction and control appropriate for future research in control systems.

The format will be four 30 minute talks plus a 20 minute panel discussion with all four speakers at the end of the session. The first two talks focus on applications in materials, while the second two talks are on biomolecular systems.

Exploiting Constraints, Geometry, and Passivity for the Control of Bipedal Walking (ThB06)

Organizers: Eric R. Westervelt Eric R. Westervelt, Department of Mechanical Engineering, The Ohio State University

Presenters:

Mark W. Spong, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering,
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Benjamin Morris, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, University of Michigan

Thursday, June 12

1:40pm-3:40pm

5th Avenue

Bipedal walking-walking on two legs-has become a popular area of research because of the strong interest in the development of humanoid robots and the advantages of walking in environments with discontinuous support. Another important reason is the potential impact on the development of human assistive device, such as prosthetics, orthotics, and devices for rehabilitation.

The control of bipedal walking is a source of challenging control problems. The challenges arise from the models that describe walking and limited control authority. Models of bipedal walking are typically nonlinear, hybrid, high degree of freedom, and contain unilateral constraints. Each of these difficulties' effects can be mitigated by allowing only slow gaits, which are typically inefficient. However, when fast and efficient gaits are desired, these difficulties must be addressed in controller design.

This tutorial session will cover recent research developments in the control of fast and efficient robotic bipedal walking that use geometric and energy-based methods. In addition to these approaches, the session will cover an important, practical issue: the synthesis of controllers using numerical methods. Specifically, this session will address the following questions/topics in three presentations lasting 40 min each. What is the interest in the study of the control of bipedal walking? What are the challenges associated with the control of bipedal walking? How are bipedal robots modeled? What techniques may be used for computationally-efficient controller design?

Finally, the talks will address the controller design using constraints imposed via feedback, and the design of controllers using controlled symmetries, Routhian reduction, and passivity-based control.

Control law development for aircraft: An example of industry practice (ThC06)

Organizers: Dagfinn Gangsaas

Presenters:

James D. Blight, Northrop Grumman Corporation, San Diego, California

Fabricio Reis Caldeira, Empresa Brasileira de Aeronautica, S.A. Sao Jose dos Campos, SP, Brazil

Dagfinn Gangsaas, Aviation Consulting, Minden, Nevada

Thursday, June 12

4:00pm-6:00pm

5th Avenue

Control law development for aircraft has relied predominantly on one-loop-at-the time frequency response and root locus design techniques. This approach to control law design is essentially the same as that outlined by Bollay (1951). The methods have been used successfully for both single loop and multi loop control problems. The success and continued acceptance of this approach is evident by the fact that for most new aircraft today, the control laws for autopilot and primary flight control functions were or are being developed relying to a great extent on these techniques.

In spite of the availability of efficient computational algorithms and software (Matlab and other packages), the practicing control engineers in industry have been reluctant to adopt the more direct and formal multi loop design techniques. These techniques have their roots in the theories of optimal control developed by Pontryagin (Pontryagin et al. 1962) and Bellman (Bellman 1957). Since then there has been a proliferation of extensions and variations developed within the academic community mostly in terms of theory, and to a lesser extent in terms of real applications.

The first significant practical application of multivariable control techniques by the authors dates back to 1978. The material to be presented captures the cumulative experiences from many practical applications since then, some of which are summarized in “Practical control law design for aircraft using multivariable techniques”, Advances in Aircraft Control (Taylor & Francis 1996), but will include subsequent updates and lessons learned. The tutorial will draw on material taught one-on-one and as a formal course within industry, and will focus those concepts and techniques the authors have found most useful in practical applications. One tutorial presentation (40 min) will be followed by three 20 min long presentations. The session will conclude with a 20 min discussion.