About
Welcome to the Laboratory for Autonomy, Control, Information, and Systems (LACIS). The multidisciplinary research performed at the LACIS of the University of South Florida is focused on the discovery of novel control, information, and decision systems that reveal next-generation advanced autonomous vehicles and robotic swarms (multiagent systems). These systems are envisioned to elevate our society and perform safety-critical scientific, civilian, and military applications. Specifically, we place a strong emphasis on both system-theoretical research and experimentation for addressing fundamental and open real-world technological problems. Our research is particularly focused on adaptive and robust control, distributed estimation and control, and resilient and secure autonomy, where these areas have been sponsored by AFOSR, AFRL, ARL, ARO, ControlX, DARPA, MDA, NASA, NSF, and ORAU. We have also closely involved in many innovative education and outreach events to disseminate new research and education results at no cost.
Director
Dr. Tansel Yucelen
Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
The complete research portfolio, teaching materials, and publication archive associated with the LACIS are hosted at: www.tanselyucelen.com
For general inquiries, use: yucelen@lacis.team
- Faculty at University of South Florida (2016-Now)
- Co-Founder and Principal Engineer at ControlX (2021-Now)
- 60+ Honors and Awards
Research
Adaptive and robust control
Development of architectures ensuring predictable performance in uncertain mechanical and aerospace systems using adaptive control, symbiotic control, finite-time control.
Distributed estimation and control
Distributed and decentralized control of multiagent systems, formation flight, cooperative engagement, event-triggered control, and resilience to adversarial or misbehaving agents.
Resilient and secure autonomy
Cyber-physical systems, human-in-the-loop systems, learning systems, resilient unmanned ground and aerial vehicles, and secure urban air mobility operations.
Recent project themes
- Adaptive hypersonic vehicle control
- Multiagent coordination and resilient decentralized control
- Urban air mobility and eVTOL control
- Autonomous navigation in challenging environments
- Experimental testbed for autonomous eVTOL control
- AI-controlled gust wind tunnel
More details
Full project and patent lists, technical papers including new emerging areas (e.g., neuromorphic control, reinforcement learning and control, data-driven control, and control under resource constraints), course materials (e.g., control systems, adaptive control and learning, multiagent systems, regression and control, and reinforcement learning), and current and former LACIS member lists are available at: www.tanselyucelen.com
Vehicles and Facilities
Research vehicles
- Aerospace engineering: Multiple multirotor platforms (small, medium, full-scale)
- Mechanical engineering: Multiple ground robots (small and medium-scale) and other experimental systems
Experimental testing
- Indoor laboratory environment at University of South Florida
- Pilot Country Airport at Spring Hill, Florida
Open Positions
We are always looking for exceptional Ph.D. students (and extraordinary B.S. and M.S. students) with creative skills and a solid background in systems and control. These students are expected to perform high-quality scholarly work on our research areas listed above. Our intention is to give strong guidance to maximize the chances of our students to build a rewarding career. If you are interested in joining the LACIS to do transformative discoveries to make the impossible happen, please send an email to Dr. Tansel Yucelen and include i) your curriculum vitae, ii) a concise paragraph explaining your theoretical and experimental experience related to systems and control, iii) a list of your undergraduate and graduate courses taken (with your grades) related to systems and control, and iv) one of your (published) papers. Please also include contact information (name, affiliation, and email) of your current advisor and at least one other reference.