ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND DATA SCIENCE
The Center for Cyber-Physical Systems (C2PS), led by Prof. Ernesto Damiani, was established as an interdisciplinary research Center within Khalifa University in July 2018. C2PS carries out applied and theoretical research to support Cyber-Physical System (CPS) operations, including Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices and protocols, cybersecurity, edge-cloud computational architectures and applied Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) for data modeling and analytics. C2PS scientific engagement follows 3C Architecture -AI/Cognition, Cyber, and Connection- which is the guideline toward future smart systems and the basis for predicting research and future trends.
Cognition and Artificial Intelligence
Cognition/Artificial Intelligence and Big Data Analytics are strategic responses to two major challenges of modern times: the exponential growth in the volume of ambient data, particularly in the context of IoT, and the ongoing shift from assisted to autonomous systems. C2PS promotes a holistic vision of Artificial Intelligence that integrates and automates the design of data acquisition, data processing and Machine Learning stages of Big Data pipelines to be deployed in key vertical domains like energy, transportation, and healthcare.
Developing on the TOREADOR approach, for which Prof. Damiani was awarded the IEEE ICWS Stephen Yau Award in 2016, C2PS researchers have developed a transparent methodology for automatically evolving complex data-driven applications (“AI designing AI”). This methodology facilitates human users and decision makers to gain trust in the outcome of AI systems, and improve human ability to recruit and develop AI models depending on the task at hand.
Cyber and Connection
Cyber and Connection research at C2PS starts from the notion that complex, data-driven IoT environments need to be secured, ensuring the privacy and integrity of the sensitive data they acquire to feed AI models with. Proper cybersecurity and safeguards must be put in place to prevent AI entities from becoming security holes themselves. C2PS focuses on techniques for establishing trust among IoT devices, edge processors, cloud-based AI applications and the other components of the CPS ecosystem. This goal is pursued via C2PS’s general framework for IoT trust based on Blockchain, as well as via certified post-quantum security confidentiality, integrity, and authentication protocols.
Cybersecurity
Cybersecurity research at C2PS will enable devices that are too tiny or lack the power to run conventional security protocols (including encryption primitives) to achieve message confidentiality and integrity, as well as to authenticate among themselves and to the core. Also, C2PS will investigate assurance and compliance of highly autonomous systems like self-driving vehicles and UAVs.
