Networking，Sensing and Control for Networ.pdfVIP

IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON SYSTEMS, MAN, AND CYBERNETICS—PART C: APPLICATIONS AND REVIEWS, VOL. 37, NO. 2, MARCH 2007 157 Guest Editorial Networking, Sensing, and Control for Networked Control Systems: Architectures, Algorithms, and Applications HE accelerated integration and convergence of communi- remain open and to be answered. Even from the perspective of Tcations, computing, and control over the last decade has in- control aspect alone, we need to think about what the new direc- spired researchers and practitioners from a variety of disciplines tion for research and application in this age of connected world to become interested in the emerging field of networked control would be. One potential approach is to extend the concept of systems (NCS). In general, an NCS consists of sensors, actua- “programming on demand” with agent programming to “control tors, and controllers whose operations are distributed at differ- on demand” with agent-based control (so-called ABC) [2]. In ent geographical locations and coordinated through information other words, can we liberate control algorithms that are fixed to exchanged over communication networks. Some typical charac- controlled plants to control agents that are free and mobile in a teristics of those systems are reflected in their asynchronous op- connected world? Once this is accomplished, various innovative erations, diversified functions, and complicated organizational methods based on connectivity can be employed for control and structures. The widespread applications of the Internet have been management, e.g., using “local simple, remote complex” prin- one of the major driving forces for research and development cip