Enforcing Security on Autonomous Vehicle Searches Through the Quantification of Opacity
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Authors
Schonewille, Bryony
Date
Type
thesis
Language
eng
Keyword
Discrete Event Systems , Opacity , Security , Autonomous Vehicles
Alternative Title
Abstract
Recently, topics of security have been explored in the field of discrete-event systems (DES). By modelling these systems with DES, the evolution of the processes can be captured, allowing for different vulnerabilities to be noticed. The DES field also provides a different set of tools which can generate new strategies to tackle the security problems in these systems. The motivating problem that this work focuses on is a group of autonomous vehicles traversing some terrain while trying to cooperatively complete a task such as searching for a target. This work shows that strategies can be employed that remove the need for communication under certain conditions. When no such strategy can be developed, it can be useful to have a tool to classify a system’s security. In DES, this has traditionally been captured by the notion of opacity. Unfortunately, this framework has many limitations. Opacity can only be applied to systems with a specific secret and it cannot tell you how obscured a system is. To address these failings, this work develops the concept of degree of opacity. This framework can measure the degree to which a system is secure based on a supplied criterion. It also can be applied to systems as a whole eliminating the dependency on a specific secret. Degree of opacity is a more general version of opacity and can be handled in similar ways. Degree of opacity can be enforced using supervisory control to produce a minimally restrictive supervisor. Alternatively, what is communicated to a vehicle or observed by a vehicle can be controlled, rather than restricting the vehicle’s movements. Unfortunately, non-monotonicity of observability means that it cannot be easily used to enforce degree of opacity like controllability was. To combat this, a strategy called transition pairing is developed which allows monotonicity to be achieved. This strategy is applied to construct an algorithm to pick which communications can be communicated to achieve a target degree of opacity.
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Queen's University's Thesis/Dissertation Non-Exclusive License for Deposit to QSpace and Library and Archives Canada
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Copying and Preserving Your Thesis
This publication is made available by the authority of the copyright owner solely for the purpose of private study and research and may not be copied or reproduced except as permitted by the copyright laws without written authority from the copyright owner.
Attribution 3.0 United States
ProQuest PhD and Master's Theses International Dissemination Agreement
Intellectual Property Guidelines at Queen's University
Copying and Preserving Your Thesis
This publication is made available by the authority of the copyright owner solely for the purpose of private study and research and may not be copied or reproduced except as permitted by the copyright laws without written authority from the copyright owner.
Attribution 3.0 United States