Nicholas Kottenstette PhD - VANDERBILT - ISIS

My most up to date publication list is available at : www.isis.vanderbilt.edu/biblio/author/168

Contact Information

Nicholas Kottenstette PhD
Research Scientist
Vanderbilt - ISIS
1025 16th Ave S, Suite 102
Nashville, TN 37212
Cell: (615) 932-9000
Office: (615) 322-3162
Fax: (615) 343-7440

nkottens-at-isis-dot-vanderbilt-dot-edu

I am a Research Scientist at Vanderbilt University - ISIS.  I am a senior member of IEEE and hold a MS from the Mechanical Engineering Department at MIT and a PhD in Electrical Engineering from The University of Notre Dame.

Research Interests

My research develops constructive resilient networked control principles for Cyber Physical Systems.  The principles I've developed apply to non-linear affine systems, including fixed wing aircraft, quadrotor aircraft, robotic, thermal, semiconductor manufacturing, alternative energy generation, digital signal processing, and suspension systems.  I am author or coauthor of over 50 publications, including 14 US patents.  I am now working on a groundbreaking result showing these nonlinear affine systems can be expressed through what I term "m-Triangular Systems".  The m-Triangular System renders possible a well-posed, distributed, continuous-time, nonlinear control law which can be applied to nonlinear affine systems.  This control law creates a strictly-output passive system which can then be integrated into a multirate discrete time networked control architecture.  This robust architecture permits a discrete time strictly passive lag compensator to determine the desired output of the strictly-output system.  Thus, we can integrate unmanned aircraft into the NextGen system in which the lag compensator is located at the ground-control station.  We can now safely control the inertial position of these aircraft despite communication time varying delays and data loss.

Publications Highlights

Cyber Physical Systems: ( https://wiki.isis.vanderbilt.edu/CPS/index.php/Publications )

  • Kottenstette, N., H. LeBlanc, E. Eyisi, and J. Porter, A Backstepping Control Framework for m-Triangular Systems, , Nashville, Institute for Software Integrated Systems, pp. 1-13, 04/28/2011
    url: http://www.isis.vanderbilt.edu/node/4275
    file: http://www.isis.vanderbilt.edu/sites/default/files/sop_bstep_press.pdf
  • N. Kottenstette, H. LeBlanc, E. Eyisi, and X. Koutsoukos, “Multi-rate networked control of conic systems,” Institute for
    Software Integrated Systems, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, Technical Report ISIS-09-108, 09/2009 http://www.isis.vanderbilt.edu/node/4120 .
  • N. Kottenstette, X. Koutsoukos, J. Hall, P. J. Antsaklis, J. Sztipanovits, “Passivity-Based Design of Wireless Networked Control Systems for Robustness To Time-Varying Delays”, 29th IEEE Real-Time Systems Symposium (RTSS 2008), Barcelona, Spain, December, 2008.
  • N. Kottenstette, J. Hall, X. Koutsoukos, J. Sztipanovits, P. J. Antsaklis “Design of Networked Control Systems Using Passivity”, (under review) IEEE Transactions on Control Systems Technology
  • N. Kottenstette, X. Koutsoukos, J. Hall, J. Sztipanovits, P. J. Antsaklis “Passivity-Based Design of Wireless Networked Control Systems Subject to Time-Varying Delays”, Technical Report, ISIS-08-904, Institute For Software Integrated Systems Vanderbilt University August, 2008.
  • X. Koutsoukos, N. Kottenstette, J. Hall, J. Sztipanovits, P. J. Antsaklis, “Passivity-Based Control Design of Cyber-Physical Systems” International Workshop on Cyber-Physical Systems - Challenges and Applications (CPS-CA’08), Santorini Island, Greece, June 2008.

High Confidence Systems:

Networked Control Systems:

  • Kottenstette, N., and N. Chopra, "Lm2-stable digital-control networks for multiple continuous passive plants", Technical Report, Nashville, TN, Institute for Software Integrated Systems, Vanderbilt University, pp. 1-14, 04/2009.
  • N. Kottenstette, P. J. Antsaklis, “Wireless Digital Control of Continuous Passive Plants Over Token Ring Networks”. (International Journal of Robust and Nonlinear Control - Special Issue on Control with Limited Information).
  • Kottenstette N., Hall J., Koutsoukos X., Antsaklis P., Sztipanovits J., "Digital Control of Multiple Discrete Passive Plants Over Networks", Technical Report, Nashville, TN, Institute for Software Integrated Systems, Vanderbilt University, pp. 1-14, 03/2009 power_junction_tr.pdf
  • Kottenstette N., Hall J., Koutsoukos X., Antsaklis P., Sztipanovits J., "Digital Control of Multiple Discrete Passive Plants Over Networks", (under review in Int. J. of Systems, Control and Communications Special Issue on “Progress in Networked Control Systems”), pp. 1-15, submitted: 03/2009
  • N. Kottenstette, P. J. Antsaklis, “Wireless Control Systems Subject to Actuator Constraints”, 47th IEEE Conference on Decision and Control (CDC 2008), Cancun, Mexico, December, 2008.
  • N. Kottenstette, P. J. Antsaklis, “Control of Multiple Networked Passive Plants With Delays and Data Dropouts”, 2008 American Control Conference (ACC 2008), Seattle, WA, June, 2008.
  • N. Kottenstette, P. J. Antsaklis, “Design of Digital Control Networks for Continuous Passive Plants Subject To Delays and Data Dropouts”. (to submit IEEE Transactions on Automatic Control)
  • N. Kottenstette, P. J. Antsaklis, “Stable Digital Control Networks for Continuous Passive Plants Subject to Delays and Data Dropouts,” Proceedings of the 46th IEEE Conference on Decision and Control, December 2007.
  • N. Kottenstette, P. J. Antsaklis, “Communication in automation, including networking and wireless,” in Springer Handbook of Automation, editor Shimon Nof. ( http://www.nd.edu/~pantsakl/publications/2008-02-18-additions/373-Handbo... )
  • N. Kottenstette and P. J. Antsaklis, "Digital Control Networks for Continuous Passive Plants Which Maintain Stability Using Cooperative Schedulers", ISIS Technical Report ISIS-2007-002, March 2007 ( http://www.nd.edu/~isis/techreports/isis-2007-002.pdf ).
  • N. Kottenstette and P. J. Antsaklis, “neclab: The networked embedded control lab,” in Workshop on Networked Embedded Sensing and Control, Lecture Notes in Control and Information Sciences, Springer, October 2005.

US Patents:

  1. 7,136,767: Apparatus and method for calibration of mass flow controller ( http://www.patentstorm.us/patents/7136767.html )
  2. 7,120,542: Flow monitoring system ( http://www.patentstorm.us/patents/7120542.html )
  3. 7,007,707: Mass flow ratio system and method ( http://www.patentstorm.us/patents/7007707.html )
  4. 7,004,191: Apparatus and method for mass flow controller with embedded web server ( http://www.patentstorm.us/patents/7004191.html )
  5. 6,948,508: Apparatus and method for self-calibration of mass flow controller ( http://www.patentstorm.us/patents/6948508.html )
  6. 6,932,098: Apparatus and method for pressure fluctuation insensitive mass flow control ( http://www.patentstorm.us/patents/6932098.html )
  7. 6,868,862: Apparatus and method for mass flow controller with a plurality of closed loop control
    code sets ( http://www.patentstorm.us/patents/6868862.html )
  8. 6,868,723: Thermal anemometry mass flow measurement apparatus and method ( http://www.patentstorm.us/patents/6868723.html )
  9. 6,810,308: Apparatus and method for mass flow controller with network access to diagnostics ( http://www.patentstorm.us/patents/6810308.html )
  10. 6,766,260: Mass flow ratio system and method ( http://www.patentstorm.us/patents/6766260.html )
  11. 6,712,084: Apparatus and method for pressure fluctuation insensitive mass flow control ( http://www.patentstorm.us/patents/6712084.html )