Intelligence = Complex Control

With an objective of complete autonomy, total automation technology tries to maintain a target system under complete control. This is necessary to attain specific operating conditions that are needed in for truly dependable systems in determinate situations. Think for example in nuclear power plants, life support systems, extra-planetary vehicles, etc.

Traditional control technologies are adequate for control purposes in predefined operation conditions. Some approaches to control systems try to enhance control system behaviour in uncertain situations (adaptive, robust, stochastic control, etc.). Uncertainty comes from the outer environment through imperfect perception, from the inner environment or even from the knowledge used to perform control or the controller itself.

Controlled systems, environments and control implementations are complex in almost all real situations worth mentioning. Human-based supervisory control systems are the common way to increase the percentage of plant operating time. 

But humans fail; in some cases they are even not present. An a big question arises: What can we do to increase the autonomy degree of the machines? 

The answer is clear: better control i.e. more intelligence i.e more understanding of what's going on. Intelligence is just having better control for bodies. Look at the following definition from a well known dictionary:

in.tel.li.gence n [ME, fr. MF, fr. L intelligentia, fr. intelligent-, intelligens intelligent] (14c) 1 a (1): the ability to learn or understand or to deal with new or trying situations: reason; also: the skilled use of reason (2): the ability to apply knowledge to manipulate one's environment or to think abstractly as measured by objective criteria.

intelligence 
  = deal properly with new situations 
  = autonomous control

Intelligent autonomous systems have minds that are Complex Control Systems.

Research

My research is focused in Autonomous Systems Engineering. I like to consider it as a mixture of classic topics in cybernetics, artificial intelligence, automatic control and epistemology. 

Research topics:

• Autonomy and Cybernetics
• Intelligent control
• Distributed artificial Intelligence
• Complex control systems
• Distributed real-time systems
• Conscious control systems

Find more information at the Autonomous Systems Laboratory public web site.

Recent Talks

From Feedback to Consciousness. Steps in Complex Control
at Exystence Consciousness and Complexity Workshop 2003 (PDF 0.9 MB)

Scalable Distributed Intelligence
plenary talk at the IEEE International Symposium on Intelligent Control 2003 (PDF 1.9 MB)

Recent papers

A sample of papers from different conferences.

A Pattern Schema for Complex Controllers
at IEEE Emergent Technologies for Factory Automation ETFA'2003 (PDF 50 KB)

Systems and Consciousness  
at Towards a Science of Consciousness Conference TSC'2001 (PDF 1.9 MB)

CORBA for Control Systems  
at IFAC New Technologies for Computer Control NTCC'2001(PDF 1.9 MB)

Fridges, Elephants, and the Meaning of  Autonomy and Intelligence
at IEEE International Symposium on Intelligent Control ISIC'2000(PDF 515 KB)

Plantwide Risk Management using Distributed Objects
at IFAC SAFEPROCESS'2000 (PDF 349 KB)

Recent Reports

Self-aware Control Systems
Research white-paper for the Bioinspired Intelligent Information Systems Call

CORBA Control Systems Engineering Handbook
A technical report produced coming from the HRTC Project that is a first step towards a real handbook for CCS (PDF 5.6 MB)

OMG Control Systems RFI
The Control Systems Working Group of the OMG is requesting information relevant for CORBA technology specification in the field of control systems (PDF 258 KB).

Recent Books

A complete list of publications can be found here.

Recent Activities

I have been the organiser (with Aaron Sloman and Ron Chrisley) of the Models of Consciousness Workshop held in Birmingham on September 1.3.

Have a look at the programme or the final report.

Teaching

Travel

Some Pictures

Other Activities

		International Federation of Automatic Control Comité Español de IFAC IFAC TC on Computers & Control
		Object Management Group OMG Real-time Platform Special Interest Group OMG Control Systems Working Group OMG Utilities DSIG
		Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers IEEE Robotics and Automation Society IEEE Systems, Man and Cybernetics Society IEEE Control Systems Society IEEE Computer Society
		Association of Computing Machinery ACM Special Interest Group on Artificial Intelligence
		American Association for Artificial Intelligence
		Asociación Española para la Inteligencia Artificial

Trying to Find Me?

Snail mail (or walk, or car)

Ricardo Sanz
Universidad Politecnica de Madrid
ETS Ingenieros Industriales
c/ Jose Gutierrez Abascal 2
E-28006 Madrid
SPAIN

Phone

Immobile Phone   +34 91 336 30 61 Mobile Phone    +34 630 89 11 63 Fax   +34 91 336 30 10

E-mail

Ricardo.Sanz  at  aslab.org
Ricardo.Sanz  at  etsii.upm.es
Ricardo.Sanz  at  ieee.org

Some Links

Cybernetics Dictionary
Through The Looking Glass
A Discussion of the OMA  
IEEE Task Force on Intelligent Control Report