CPS: Small: Control Subject to Human Behavioral Disturbances

Abstract: The objective of this research is to develop an integrated methodology for control system design in situations where disturbances primarily result from routine human behavior, as, for example, in future artificial pancreas systems where meals and exercise are the main disturbances affecting blood glucose concentration. The approach is to recognize that human behavioral disturbances (i) are generally random but cannot be treated as zero-mean white noise processes and (ii) occur with statistical regularity but cannot be treated as periodic due to natural variation in human behavior. This emerging class of problems requires (i) the derivation of new mathematical representations of disturbances for specific applications and (ii) the formulation of new stochastic control models and algorithms that exploit statistical regularity in the disturbance process. The intellectual merit of the proposed research stems from the fact that it explicitly recognizes a new class of disturbances, human behavioral disturbances, seeking to develop an integrated approach to statistically characterizing and responding to future perturbations, adapting gracefully to uncertainty about the future. The anticipated research outcomes will be relevant in diverse fields, including stochastic hybrid control and human automation interaction. As a broader implication, the proposed research will enable the design of future field deployable artificial pancreas systems, potentially improving the lives of 1.5 million Americans suffering from Type 1 diabetes. With help from the two graduate students funded by the project, the principle investigator will supervise a Capstone design course, exposing undergraduates to various aspects of control under human behavioral disturbances.