C2M2 would like to thank Dr. Richard R. Brooks, Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Clemson University, for taking part in our C2M2 Distinguished Speaker Series on September 18th, 2020.
Seminar Title
Autonomous Systems Need to be Designed using Game Theory
Seminar Abstract
In designing an autonomous system there are two possible approaches: (1) create a model of how everything is expected to work, use that for design and implementation, and hope for the best, or (2) assume that things will break, that some portions of the system will be unpredictable, and assume that some participants will try to game the system for their own advantage. This talk takes the second approach.
It builds on over 20 years of research funded by DARPA, ONR, AFOSR, OSD, NIST, US State Dept., NSF, and industry. We consider autonomy in combat systems and automotive applications. The case is made that control systems in these environments need to anticipate, and plan for, actions by others that counter the control systems’ goals. Examples are given that range from air combat in Bosnia to driving on highways.
Speaker Bio
R.R. Brooks is a Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Clemson University in Clemson, South Carolina. He received a Ph.D. in Computer Science from Louisiana State University and a B.A. in Mathematical Sciences from The Johns Hopkins University. Dr. Brooks also studied Operations Research at the Conservatoire National des Arts et Metiers in Paris, France.
He is a senior member of the IEEE. He wrote the books Disruptive Security Technologies with Mobile Code and Peer-to-Peer Networks and Introduction to Computer and Network Security: Navigating Shades of Gray and co-wrote Multi-Sensor Fusion. He co-edited both versions of Distributed Sensor Networks (with S. S. Iyengar).
Dr. Brooks’ security research funded by the US Department of State developed secure communications tools being used by activists and journalists avoiding repression by authoritarian regimes. He created tools for both exploiting and foiling side-channel attacks. His team has performed professional penetration testing for clients. The security research of his group is particularly tailored towards networks of embedded systems.
Dr. Brooks was PI of the Reactive Sensor Networks Project sponsored by the DARPA ITO Sensor Information Technology initiative, which explored collaborative signal processing to aggregate information moving through the network, and the use of mobile code for coordination among intelligent sensor nodes. Dr. Brooks was co-PI of a DARPA IXO JFACC program that used distributed discrete event controllers for air combat C2 planning. He coordinated a DARPA MURI program that uses cooperating automata in a cellular space to coordinate sensor network planning and execution.
Dr. Brooks was PI of an ONR URI on cybersecurity issues relating to mobile code and the construction of secure information infrastructures. Dr. Brooks’ research on computer and network security has been sponsored by ONR, DARPA, ARO, AFOSR, NIST, US Department of State, NSF, the US Department of State, and BMW Manufacturing Corporation.
His Ph. D. dissertation received an exemplary achievement certificate from the Louisiana State University graduate school. Dr. Brooks is an Associate Editor of Elsevier Computers and Security. He has a broad professional background with computer systems and networks. Dr. Brooks was head of the Pennsylvania State University Applied Research Laboratory Distributed Systems Department for over six years. He was the technical director of Radio Free Europe’s computer network for many years. His consulting clients include the French stock exchange authority and the World Bank.