Resilient control systems: A multi-agent dynamic systems perspective

“Resilience” describes how systems operate at an acceptable level of normalcy despite disturbances or threats. In this paper we first consider the interdependencies inherent in critical infrastructure systems and how resilience mitigates associated risks and then define “resilience” in distinction from convention control engineering. We then introduce the concepts “agent” and “multi-agent systems” (MAS) to consider the distributed nature of critical infrastructure control systems and illustrate the application of computational intelligence to MAS event-based dynamics (management, coordination) and time-based dynamics (execution) to manage policy and coordinate assets. In addition, we consider the optimal stabilization of the MAS and suggest the extension of graph theory to MAS execution layers. The closing discussion provides an overview of how to achieve critical infrastructure resilience through advanced control engineering.