Half-Day Workshops (Sunday Oct 5, 2025; Morning Session)
W01: AACC Training on Code of Conduct – Implicit Bias and Microagressions
Time: TBD
Location: TBD
Organizers: ADVANCEGeo Partnership, AACC
Abstract: This workshop will invite participants to engage in a confidential, respectful environment in which to learn about the concept of implicit biases and the ways in which those biases operate.
W02: Practical Methods for Real World Control Systems Canceled
Organizers: Daniel Y. Abramovitch, Agilent Technologies
Abstract: The proverbial “gap” between control theory and practice has been discussed since the 1960s, but it shows no signs of being any smaller today than it was back then. Despite this, the growing ubiquity of powerful and inexpensive computation platforms, of sensors, actuators and small devices, the “Internet of Things’, of automated vehicles and quadcopter drones, means that there is an exploding application of control in the world. Any material that allows controls researchers to more readily apply their work and/or allows practitioners to improve their devices through best practices consistent with well understood theory, should be a good contribution to both the controls community and the users of control. This workshop is intended as a small but useful step in that direction.
W03: Automated Driving on Rural Roads
Time: Sunday, 8:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Location: Brighton I
Organizers: Reza Langari, Texas A&M University; Francis Assadian, University of California, Davis; Alireza Talebpour, University of Illinois, Urbana.
Abstract: This workshop focuses on the breadth of issues involved in the development of autonomous vehicles for rural roads and includes a detailed presentation by the organizers on a multi-year project funded by the US Department of Transportation (USDOT) on this topic. The main presentation will address the fundamental issues in autonomous driving, namely i) localization, ii) perception, ii) decision logic, iv) control execution as well as v) validation/verification. Specific consideration will be given to the challenges faced on rural roads, which often include poorly paved, unmarked or poorly marked or entirely unpaved roads. The state of the art in the field across these areas is presented and open research issues are highlighted. Presentation includes the results of road tests and will address the limitations of the current sensor and compute technologies as we look to the future in this area.
Half-Day Workshops (Sunday Oct 5, 2025; Afternoon Session)
W04: Foundation Models for Control (FM4Control): Bridging Language, Vision, and Control
Time: Sunday, 1:00 PM – 5:00 PM
Location: Brighton II
Organizers: Xusheng Luo, Hanjiang Hu, and Changliu Liu, Carnegie Mellon University
Abstract: Foundation models (large–scale language models, LLMs, and vision–language models, VLMs) now demonstrate an ability to understand, reason about, and generate arti-facts tied to control systems. Leveraging them promises more natural human–machine interfaces, faster controller prototyping, and enhanced monitoring. Yet rigorous understanding of their capabilities, limitations, and safety implications remains scarce within the classical control community. This workshop gathers researchers from data–driven AI and control theory to chart a path that couples foundation–model expressiveness with principled modeling, estimation, and control.
W05: Computation for Real World Control Systems Canceled
Organizers: Daniel Y. Abramovitch, Agilent Technologies
Abstract: Computation is an essential component of implementing any real-world control system, but the details of how to make this work are often either left to the individual contributors to figure out or handed off to turn key vendors. This workshop intends to provide insights, methods, and concrete examples into three major pieces of this subject. First, the workshop will present recent tutorial material (ACC 2023) from the author on real-time computing issues for control systems. This material explains the principal factors affecting the four computing chains inside a feedback system. After this overview, the workshop will spend time on an often-neglected area of computation for control system measurements, whether they be used in the control loop operation or in the system identification used in model building for control. Finally, the workshop will hone in on specific programming methods and components in the controller itself, describing efficient implementation methods and structures. Together these three thrusts should equip the participant with tools that they can apply almost immediately in their work.
W06: Advancements in Modeling, Control, and Estimation for Functional Electrical Stimulation Systems
Time: Sunday, 1:00 PM – 6:00 PM
Location: Brighton I
Organizers: Mayank Singh, NC State University; Nitin Sharma, NC State University; Victor Duenas, Syracuse University
Abstract: This workshop aims to address critical Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES) challenges by showcasing advanced control methods, accurate physiological models, and state-of-the-art estimation techniques. Interactive sessions will facilitate collaboration, ultimately enhancing clinical applicability and patient outcomes in FES therapies. The workshop includes the following presentations:
- Multi-Modal Sensor Fusion and MPC: Combining ultrasound and sEMG data for fatigue-aware, personalized MPC.
- Hybrid Exoskeleton Control: Strategies for distributing assistance between FES and powered motors using adaptive allocation techniques.
- Motorized and FES-Induced Cycling: Implementing Lyapunov-based adaptive control for stable interaction between FES, motors, and voluntary effort.
- Teleoperated Cycling: Using teleoperation and steer-by-wire technologies to personalize therapeutic cycling and improve clinical outcomes
mecc2025.a2c2.org 