Robust observability, control, & economics of complex cyber-physical networks

This dissertation deals with various aspects of cyber-physical system. As an example of cyber physical systems, we take transportation networks and solve various problems, namely: 1) Network Observability Problem, 2) Network Control Problem, and 3) Network Economics Problem. We have divided the dissertation into three parts which solve these three problems separately. First part of the dissertation presents a novel approach for studying the observability problem on a general network topology of a traffic network. We develop a new framework which investigates observability in terms of flow information on arcs and the routing information. Second part of the dissertation presents a feedback control design for a coordinated ramp metering problem for two consecutive on-ramps. We design a traffic allocation scheme for ramps based on Godunov's numerical method and using distributed model. Third part of the dissertation presents a novel approach to model Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) dynamics and establish a methodology for designing an optimal VMT tax rate. An Optimal control problem is formulated by designing a cost function which aims to maximize the generated revenue while keeping the tax rate as low as possible. Using optimal control theory, a solution is provided to this problem. To the best knowledge of authors all the three problems have not been solved using the methods proposed in this dissertation, and hence they are a novel contribution to the field.