1. Prof. Shinji Hara

Title: Glocal (Global/Local) Control Analysis and Synthesis: from fundamental theory to practical applications.

Abstract: There are a lot of large-scale networked dynamical systems that can be regarded as multi-agent systems in a variety of fields including control. One of the ideas to properly handle such systems is "Glocal (Global/Local) Control," which means that the global objective is achieved mainly by local actions of measurement and control cooperatively. This is a new control framework for realizing smart cities. The key for the development is hierarchically networked dynamical systems with multiple resolutions in time and space depending on the layer, and one of the important issues is how to compromise the global and local control objectives. The main purpose of this talk is to show that several new ideas, by exploiting the special structure of the target networked systems, enable us to develop scalable methods for control analysis and design. The proposed methods are based on the powerful theory in classical, modern, and robust control, and the effectiveness is confirmed through practical applications. The talk starts with explanations of the background, the idea, and the concept of glocal control as the introduction. The first part is concerned with analysis of hierarchically decentralized control for networked dynamical systems by focusing on the stability and robust stability. The second part is devoted to a type of hierarchical optimal control based on the standard LQ optimal control, which gives a systematic way of compromising the global and local objectives. In the third part, a fairly general framework for investigating the trade-off between the global and local achievable performances by utilizing a novel setting in the standard robust control. Finally, some remarks on the future research direction are addressed.

Shinji Hara received the B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. in engineering from Tokyo Institute of Technology, Japan, in 1974, 1976, and 1981, respectively. In 1984, he joined Tokyo Institute of Technology as an Associate Professor and served as a Full Professor for ten years. From 2002 to 2017 he was a Full Professor in the Department of Information Physics and Computing at the University of Tokyo. He is Professor Emeritus of Tokyo Institute of Technology and the University of Tokyo. His current research interests are in robust control, decentralized cooperative control for large-scale networked dynamical systems, system biology, and glocal control.

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2. Prof. Reza Hoseinnezhad

Title: Recent Advances in Stochastic Sensor Control for Multi-Object Systems: A Random Finite Set-Based Approach

Abstract: In many engineering applications, there are time-varying number of objects with unknown states, and time-varying state-dependent measurements (corrupted with noise and false alarms) are available at each time step. The problem of estimating the number and states of the objects using the measurements is a multi-object estimation problem and the solution is called a multi-object system. This talk presents examples of applications in need of a multi-object system and focuses on those applications where the measurement source (sensors) can be controlled. Then overviews the most recent solutions for sensor control in multi-object systems, concentrated on deciding on best control actions that are most likely to return accurate and reliable measurements for multi-object estimation.

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3. Prof. Abdelhak M. Zoubir

Title: Advances in Robust Statistics for Signal Processing

Abstract: Robust statistics continue to gain importance due to an increase of impulsive measurement environments and outliers in practical engineering systems. Classical estimation and detection theories do not apply in such situations and robust statistical methods are sought for. The talk aims at discussing the most recent advances in robust statistics and at showing their power to solving signal processing problems. First, we highlight the motivation for using robust statistics in real-life situations and how robust statistics can be expected to remedy problems in such practical systems. We then introduce some definitions of robustness and discuss some robust estimators. The second part of the talk concerns robust detection. The theoretical treatment is supported by applications in various areas of signal and antenna array processing.

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4. Prof. João Pedro F. Trovão

Title: MULTI-SOURCE ENERGY MANAGEMENT FOR LAND AND SEA VEHICLES

Abstract: Sustainable mobility aims to achieve the most efficient use of energy systems by promoting the modes of transportation that can reduce energy usage (mostly imported fossil fuels) and environmental impacts. Electric and hybrid powertrains or propulsions play a fundamental role in land and sea sustainable mobility due to their very high efficiency and much smaller local/global emission levels compared to traditional internal combustion engine powertrains and energy production systems. In this lecture, state-of-the-art research of our e-TESC laboratory is presented, which covers a vast range of key technologies of land and sea electric vehicles (EVs), focused multi-sources energy management. In the last decade, battery characteristics have evolved greatly and new ways of storing energy have been developed, such as fuel cells and supercapacitors (SCs). Energy Storage Systems (ESSs) presently available for EVs have either high specific energy (HSE) or high specific power (HSP), but not both. However, their combinations and configurations are still being researched and further improvements are requested by EV end-users. A reliable EV solution should therefore harness the advantages of these distinct ESSs (e.g., batteries and SCs) through their effective management control. Proper coordination should take advantage of the most suitable energy sources. More energy efficient EVs with multiple ESSs are addressed with the specific features on coupled usage of battery and SCs under various vehicle conditions/operations. On other hand, sea vehicles are responsible for almost 3% of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions worldwide and this figure is expected to grow due to market expansion. The International Maritime Organization (IMO) aims to lower GHG emissions by 50% and improve ship efficiency by 70% compared to the 2008 baseline. While shipowners are having more difficulties to comply with new policies, shore power is attracting attention. A road towards green maritime shipping by proposing shore power, also known as cold ironing or alternative marine power, as a key measure to decarbonize the industry is discussed with a theoretical description of shore power along with a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) analysis of the technology is discussed. Also, a multi-objective approach to select and size a multi-source shore power system for bulk carriers to minimize capital expenditure (CAPEX) and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions of the auxiliary system is presented. This approach is versatile, considering most of the possible shore power source systems in a single model for real scenarios. The methodology is used in a case study of a bulk carrier with three different load profiles.