Abstract

The integration of digital connectivity with physical processes in IoT environments has enabled sensors and actuators to interact with each other over the physical space. However, IoT environments have complex physical interactions between actuators and sensors that create new classes of vulnerabilities. Unfortunately, traditional IoT security measures ignore such complex physical interactions and fail to achieve sufficient breadth and fidelity to uncover these vulnerabilities, causing poor accuracy and false alarms.

We discuss an approach that is used in the design of state estimators used in safety-critical positioning, navigation, and timing systems used for aerospace applications. A key requirement in the design of these estimator is being able to demonstrate that they satisfy stringent safety standards established by certification authorities. While these standards are normally performance requirements given in stochastic terms, proving compliance with them requires a combination of analytical and experimental approaches. This presentation will discuss the challenges associated with designing these estimators. The tradeoff between safety and performance will be described and discussed in detail. As a case study, we will describe a synthetic air data estimator designed as a backup for the traditional pitot-static systems used in an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV). In closing, we describe some of the open research question associated with the application of sensing and state estimation to the design of safety-critical avionics. 

Bio

Demoz Gebre-Egziabher is a professor in the Department of Aerospace Engineering and Mechanics at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. At the University of Minnesota, he teaches courses in aerospace systems and directs a research lab focusing on the design of multi-sensor navigation and attitude determination systems for aerospace vehicles. He is the current director of the NASA/Minnesota Space Grant Consortium. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Navigation (ION) and an associate fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA). From 1990 to 1996 he was an officer in the United States Navy where he served as a system engineer on the staff of the Naval Sea Systems Command division of naval reactors in Washington D.C. Dr. Gebre-Egziabher holds a B.S in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Arizona, a M.S in Mechanical Engineering from the George Washington University and a Ph.D. in aeronautics and astronautics from Stanford University. He is a registered professional engineer (mechanical engineering)