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Control Systems in the presence of Computational Problems

TECoSA Seminar with Professor Martina Maggio (Saarland University and Lund University)

Time: Thu 2022-10-06 15.00 - 16.00

Video link: https://kth-se.zoom.us/j/66857695267

Language: English

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ABSTRACT: Feedback control is pervasive in our lives, as it often lays the foundation of technology we daily interface with. Control systems are at the core of the energy distribution infrastructure, govern the behavior of vehicles, and are embedded into household appliances like washing machines. Controllers usually use sensors, that provide information about the physical environment, to calculate the values that actuators should assume to fulfill specific requirements. For example, adaptive cruise control systems use the throttle to automatically adjust the vehicle’s speed, while maintaining a safe distance from vehicles ahead.

The actuator values are calculated using hardware and software. Hence, the computation of the new control signals is subject to accidental faults, systematic issues, and software bugs. However, in many cases, these computational problems can safely be ignored. This talk will introduce the problem of analyzing the behavior of control software subject to computational problems, and verifying when no corrective action is needed, i.e., when the control software is able to fulfill the system requirements despite the presence of computational problems.

BIO: Martina Maggio is a Professor at the Computer Science Department, Saarland University since March 2020 and also an Associate Professor at the Department of Automatic Control, Lund University since 2017. She completed her Ph.D. at Politecnico di Milano, working with Alberto Leva on the applications of control-theoretical tools for the design of computing systems. During her Ph.D. she spent one year as a visiting graduate student at the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory at MIT, working with Anant Agarwal and Hank Hoffmann on the Self-Aware Computing project. In 2019, she spent a sabbatical year at Bosch Corporate Research in Renningen, Germany, working with Dirk Ziegenbein and Arne Hamann on the verification and validation of control systems in presence of deadline misses and computational faults.

TECoSA hosts a guest speaker on the first Thursday of each month during term time. The seminars are free and all are welcome to attend. This Autumn, all seminars will be available via Zoom (with some also IRL at KTH Campus). Please see the TECoSA Seminar Series homepage for details! www.tecosa.center.kth.se/tecosa-seminar-series/

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Last changed: Sep 15, 2022