Human-Centered Systems and Control Lab

How can we detect potential errors in autonomous systems, and in human interaction with autonomous systems, at the design stage, as opposed to after testing and implementation?

Our research focuses on providing assurances of safety and optimality in autonomous cyber-physical systems, despite uncertainty in the environment and in human interaction with the autonomous system. We seek to make autonomous systems truly human-centric, in a manner that can accommodate the heterogeneity and variability of humans, without sacrificing reliability or performance.

Large Projects

NSF CPS Frontier in Cognitive Autonomy: Turning novices into experts

Design of autonomous cyber-physical systems to be highly responsive to human cognitive state, through psychophysiological sensing, learning, and control.

NASA University Leadership Initiative in Assured Autonomy for Aviation Transformation

Creating future aviation systems with safe, trustworthy machine learning in the loop.

NSF EPSCoR NM Smart Grid

Next-generation electric power production and delivery through creation of a SMART electric grid (one that is Sustainable, Modular, Adaptive, Resilient, and Transactive).

AFRL TEAMS: Tools for Enabling Autonomous Multi-Vehicle Satellites

Algorithms to enable verification of on-board learning based control.

NSF BRITE Fellow: Autonomous Systems that Accommodate Human Perception and Reasoning about Uncertainty

Control framework for autonomous systems that accommodates the inevitable unpredictability of human actions, as well as the effects on human decision- making of uncertainty in the dynamics and action of the system.

Undergraduate Opportunities

Summer Intensive Research Internship (SIRI)

During this summer research internship, students are introduced to an inclusive academic research environment in cyber-physical systems (CPS) that encourages participation in graduate programs or employment in CPS-related fields. During this eight week endevour, students gain hands-on experience in conducting research, exposure to state-of-the-art research and engineering fields, as well as learning about graduate school preperation.

Introductory Research Experience in Autonomy and Control Technologies

Introductory Research Experience in Autonomy and Control Technologies is a two week research program for students majoring in Engineering (Aerospace, Computer, Electrical, and Mechanical), Computer Science, Mathematics, and Statistics. REACT is jointly funded through the NASA University Leadership Initiative in Safe Aviation Autonomy, the NASA University Leadership Initiative in Autonomous Systems, and the NSF CPS Frontier in Cognitive Autonomy. Spend part of your summer at The University of Texas at Austin performing cutting-edge research in world-class laboratories.