The objective of this EArly-Concept Grant for Exploratory Research (EAGER) project is to conduct an exploratory study of a research platform capable of validating theories of system design. The research platform will eventually be a cyberphysical system testbed where nominal and faulty behavior of the hardware, software, and human control subsystems can be experimentally observed and compared to predicted behavior by different design analysis theories. This platform will enable the development of a scientific process for design theory validation, explore the nature of nominal and faulty emergent behavior, and expand research into fault detection and system health management. This project is developing the platform through design, construction, and use of a small-scale testbed incorporating an autonomous robot team, software, and human interface and control. This exploratory study will address the feasibility of a cyberphysical testbed, establish a baseline for design theory validation on an example analysis theory, and provide preliminary data necessary for developing a more complex testbed.
If successful, this research will establish a general process for system design theory validation through experimentation. Further, the small-scale research platform developed in this work will provide insight into testing and predicting emergent behavior in systems and be used as a validation and evaluation tool to support collaborative research in the systems design community. The validation metrics that will be developed in this work can be used to optimize tools and methods in ongoing research to address the complex nature of failure in cyberphysical systems.
