Kiam Tian SEOW

Visiting Professor @ Robot Intelligence Technology Lab

School of Electrical Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST)

373-1, Gusung-Dong, Yusung-Gu, Daejeon 305-701, South Korea

Email:

Hello! Welcome to my academic website. I am currently the leading cofounder and Chief Innovation Officer of a FinTech startup based in Singapore. I was formerly on the full-time academic staff of the School of Computer Science and Engineering (SCSE) at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (Feb, 2003 – Feb, 2014), and continued there as an adjunct associate professor (Jul, 2014 – Jun, 2016). As a (non-residential) visiting professor, I continue to spend time on academic research, and currently focus on temporal logic control of discrete-event systems, blockchain networks, and real-time hierarchical system modeling for supervisory control. I remain active in the many professional activities of the IEEE, besides research collaboration at KAIST.

Education: PhD, Electrical & Electronics Engineering, Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore, March 1998

 

Research Statement:

 

Computing today is essentially about 1) using massively parallel, networked, hardware processors configured as servers and clients, and 2) software programming to organize and coordinate to utilize these processors, on which to 3) develop and efficiently run algorithms and routines to sense, decide, and act, executing tasks so as to 4) effectively deliver human-defined services. Task execution entails computation in the cyber, control and actuation of motorized systems and devices in the physical, or a cyber-physical combination.

 

Computing on systems and devices is currently witnessing a paradigm shift, from developing algorithms to deliver human-defined services, to developing & training AI-enabled algorithms that attempt to understand and deliver the services, in ways better than humans or humans alone can.


Computing plays a crucial role in supporting the transition to and sustaining a smart economy.

In the overarching area of computing, I work on modeling and controlling discrete systems founded on the fundamental space of states, events, or both. The goal is to build computing systems (or computers) that can make and execute the right set of decisions [commands, controls, or allocations], to efficiently and effectively deliver human-defined services on our behalf – partially, if not fully. In understanding how we might do that, I study and apply concepts of supervisory control, collaborative and coordinating agents, and system organization, and use formal languages and automata, temporal logic, formal methods, and more generally, artificial intelligence (AI), optimization techniques, and discrete mathematics.

 

Research Interests:

Research Areas:

  • Supervisory control of discrete-event systems

  • Blockchain science & engineering

  • Cyber-physical & real-time systems

  • Multiagent coordination

  • AI robotics

  • Artificial intelligence

  • Intelligent transportation systems

  • Manufacturing automation & logistics

 

 Current Ph.D Student:
  • None

Graduated Research Students:

  • Quang Ha NGO, NTU Ph.D. (CE), 2017
  • Amrith DHANANJAYAN, NTU Ph.D. (CE), 2013
  • Da SONG, NTU M.Sc. (DMT), 2013
  • Manh Tung PHAM, NTU Ph.D. (CE), 2011
  • Chaw Lin CHAW, NTU M.Sc. (DMT), 2010
  • Bao Chau LE DINH, NTU M.Eng. (CE), 2008

Selected and Recent Publications:

 

Books

  1. J.H. Kim, D.H. Kim, Y.J. Kim and K.T. Seow,  Soccer Robotics, Springer Tracts in Advanced Robotics (STAR Series),  Springer-Verlag, Heidelberg, Germany,  ISBN: 3-540-21859-9, September 2004.

  2. C.G. Leedham and K.T. Seow,  Embedded Real-Time Systems: Introductory Concepts and Tools, Pearson-Prentice Hall, ISBN-10  981-06-7746-4 (268 pages), August 2006. (This was the textbook written and used for an undergraduate "Real-Time Systems" course at the School of Computer Engineering, NTU.)

Articles

  1. K.T. Seow, “Supremal Marker-Controllable Subformula of a Given Canonical Temporal-Safety Formula,” IEEE Access, vol. 10, pp. 66300--66320, June 2022, USA. Published online 15 June 2022. Author’s remark: This paper builds on the foundation of marker-progressive supervisory control laid in Journal paper [2] – about ensuring a specification of 'constant marker progress under temporal safety' for a class of fair discrete-event systems (DES's). It shows that, under commonly met conditions in practice, marker-progressive control synthesis can be made by some weakest fixpoint computation in the same natural-language motivated algebra of linear-time temporal logic (LTL) as writing the specification. This provides the unique opportunity for control synthesis, of exploiting not only the role of fair events in DES's, but also the human readability of LTL formulas and the associated, syntax-based calculational approach that is transparent.

  2. K.T. Seow, “Supervisory Control of Fair Discrete-Event Systems: A Canonical Temporal Logic Foundation,” IEEE Transactions on Automatic Control, vol. 66, no. 11, pp. 5269--5282, November 2021, USA. Published online 10 November 2020. Author’s remark: This Transactions paper presents a basic theory of marker-progressive supervisory control for a class of fair discrete-event systems (DES's) in the linear-time temporal logic (LTL) of Manna & Pnueli. Marker-progressive supervisory control in LTL – the control of temporal safety for constant marker progress -- is conceptually a generalization and refinement of multitasking and standard nonblocking control in formal languages & finite automata. The theory sheds light on how event fairness in DES's coachieves constant progress to markers with (temporal-safety) supervision that exists. This paper lays an LTL foundation for a syntax-based calculational approach to control synthesis; this syntax-based logic approach is presented in Journal paper [1].

  3. K.T. Seow, “Supervisory Control of Blockchain Networks,” IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man and Cybernetics: Systems, vol. 50, no. 1, pp. 159--171, January 2020, USA. Published online 20 February 2019. Author’s remark: By a Satoshi Nakamoto blockchain model formulation and control synthesis, this Transactions paper renders blockchain networks amenable to discrete-event systems & control thinking and methods.

  4. Q.H. Ngo and K.T. Seow, “A Hierarchical Consistency Framework for Real-Time Supervisory Control,” Discrete Event Dynamic Systems: Theory & Applications, vol. 28, no. 3, pp. 375--426, September 2018, Springer USA. Published online 27 March 2018. Click here for the official full-text, view-only copy. Authors’ remark: This long journal paper presents the theoretical “discovery” of timed control abstractions for hierarchical consistency of real-time discrete-event systems. This research could contribute to our clearer understanding of real-time abstractions in designing hierarchically consistent cyber-physical systems.

  5. A. Dhananjayan and K.T. Seow, “A Formal Transparency Framework for Validation of Real-Time Discrete-Event Control Requirements Modeled by Timed Transition Graphs,” IEEE Transactions on Human-Machine Systems, vol. 45, no. 3, pp. 350--361, June 2015, USA.

  6. A. Laude, P. Aniyath, K.T. Seow, J.W. Kwok, H.B. Fam, W.J. Heng, D. Rajan, “Computer-aided evaluation of cataract surgery: A metric comparison of continuous circular capsulorhexis by trainee and specialist surgeons,” Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science, vol. 56, no. 7, article no. 132, June 2015, USA. (A journal of The Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology.)

  7. Q.H. Ngo and K.T. Seow, “Command and Control of Discrete-Event Systems: Towards On-line Hierarchical Control Based on Feasible System Decomposition,” IEEE Transactions on Automation Science and Engineering, vol. 11, no. 4, pp. 1218--1228, October 2014, USA. Authors’ remark: It is interesting to note that the controllable/uncontrollable system decomposition result, presented in this 2014 Transactions paper for discrete-event control systems, is reminiscent of a classical Kalman decomposition result for linear time-invariant (LTI) control systems.

  8. A. Dhananjayan and K.T. Seow, “A Metric Temporal Logic Specification Interface for Real-Time Discrete-Event Control,” IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man and Cybernetics: Systems, vol. 44, no. 9, pp. 1204--1215, September 2014, USA.

  9. K.T. Seow, “Organizational Control of Discrete-Event Systems: A Hierarchical Multi-World Supervisor Design,” IEEE Transactions on Control Systems Technology, vol. 22, no. 1, pp. 23--33, January 2014, USA. Author’s remark: In his opinion, the breakthrough of this 2014 Transactions paper is the unconventional founding of an online dynamic programming recursive control law for hierarchical multi-world supervisory control. In the multi-world control hierarchy considered, the top level (level N+1) is a completely virtual or cyber world; the base level (level 0) is a completely real or physical world while an intermediate level is a mixed cyber and physical world.

  10. M.T. Pham, K.T. Seow and C.H. Foh, “Towards Intelligent Datacenter Traffic Management: Using Automated Fuzzy Inferencing for Elephant Flow Detection,” International Journal of Innovative, Computing Information and Control, vol. 10, no. 5, pp. 1669--1685, October 2014, UK. Author’s remark: This 2014 journal paper proposes FuzzyDetec, an automated decision-making module driven by simple fuzzy rules emulating human expertise in elephant flow (EF) threshold classification for multipath datacenters. Based on information feedback on current datacenter network conditions, FuzzyDetec can continually adjust and readjust an appropriate value for the EF (detection) threshold. As shown by simulations, this can leverage on a promising elephant flow detection system architecture called Mahout, enabling Mahout to perform even better with an online auto-adjustable EP threshold instead of a fixed threshold in continuous datacenter operations.

  11. D. Wong, K.T. Seow, C.H. Foh and R. Kanagavelu, “Towards Reproducible Performance Studies of Datacenter Network Architectures Using An Open-Source Simulation Approach,” Proceedings of the IEEE Global Communications Conference (GLOBECOM’13), December 2013, Atlanta, GA, USA. (Acceptance rate: 37% or 841/2272)

  12. A. Dhananjayan, K.T. Seow and C.H. Foh, “Lyapunov Stability Analysis of Load Balancing in Datacenter Networks,” Proceedings of the IEEE Globecom 2013 Workshop - Management of Emerging Networks and Services (IEEE MENS’13), December 2013, Atlanta, GA, USA.

  13. M.T. Pham, A. Dhananjayan and K.T. Seow, “On Specification Transparency: Towards A Formal Framework for Human Designer Comprehensibility of Discrete-Event Control Specifications in Finite Automata,” IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man and Cybernetics: Systems, vol. 43, no. 1, pp. 139--148, January 2013, USA.

  14. M.T. Pham and K.T. Seow, “Multiagent Conflict Resolution Planning,” Proceedings of the IEEE International Conference on Systems, Man and Cybernetics (SMC’13), October 2013, Manchester, UK.

  15. A. Dhananjayan and K.T. Seow, “On Specification Informatics in Discrete-Event Systems: State-Transparency for Clarity of Finite Automata as Control Specifications,” Proceedings of the International Conference on Informatics in Control, Automation and Robotics (ICINCO'12), July 2012, Rome, Italy. (Full Paper, Acceptance rate: 11%)

  16. M.T. Pham and K.T. Seow, “Discrete-Event Coordination Design for Distributed Agents,” IEEE Transactions on Automation Science and Engineering, vol. 9, no. 1, pp. 70--82, January 2012, USA.

  17. K.T. Seow, N.H. Dang and D.-H. Lee,  “A Collaborative Multiagent Taxi-Dispatch System,” IEEE Transactions on Automation Science and Engineering, vol. 7, no. 3, pp. 607--616, July 2010, USA. Authors’ remark: There is vast research and commercial interest in novel automated ways of (distributed) taxi dispatch and ridesharing (e.g., by Uber, Grab), in an almost explosive manner that the authors could not have anticipated back in 2006 when they first embarked on this research. It is hoped that the ideas and motivations in this 2010 Transactions paper and related work on intelligent transportation-service systems (see Journal papers [18,26,29]) could help inspire fresh ideas or be utilized in some smart way to disruptively modernize our real-world transportation-service systems, and deliver better and sustainable benefits to both service users and providers.

  18. K.T. Seow and D.-H. Lee, “Performance of Multiagent Taxi-Dispatch on Extended-Runtime Taxi Availability: A Simulation Study,” IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Transportation Systems, vol. 11, no. 1, pp. 231--236, February 2010, USA.

  19. M.T. Pham and K.T. Seow, “On-line Coordination: Event Interaction and State Communication between Cooperative Agents,” Proceedings of the IEEE/WIC/ACM International Conference on Intelligent Agent Technology (IAT'09), September 2009, Milan, Italy. (Acceptance rate: 18%)

  20. K.T. Seow, M.T. Pham, C. Ma and M. Yokoo, “Coordination Planning: Applying Control Synthesis Methods for a Class of Distributed Agents,” IEEE Transactions on Control Systems Technology, vol. 17, no. 2, pp. 405--415, March 2009, USA. Author’s remark: This 2009 Transactions paper presents a formal connection between supervisory control synthesis for discrete-event systems (DES's) in the engineering field of control and local coordination (interface) planning for distributed (discrete-event) agents in the computing field of multiagent systems. Importantly, this connection leads to a new multiagent planning framework based on control synthesis methods. The conference version of this paper appeared in AAMAS 2004.

  21. K.T. Seow, K.M. Sim, Y.S. Ong and E.P. Sulaiman, “A BDI Assignment Protocol with New Cooperative-Concession Strategies,” IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man and Cybernetics: Part A,  vol. 38, no. 3, pp. 688--697, May 2008, USA.

  22. K.T. Seow, “Integrating Temporal Logic as a State-Based Specification Language for Discrete-Event Control Design in Finite Automata,” IEEE Transactions on Automation Science and Engineering, vol. 4, no. 3, pp. 451--464, July 2007, USA. Author’s remark: Consider a logical discrete-event system (DES) modeled by a finite(-state), deterministic automaton augmented with propositional state variables. Then any control specification expressible for the DES model by a propositional (linear-time) temporal logic (PTL) formula (in terms of the defined state variables) is necessarily a response PTL formula. This 2007 Transactions paper "contextualizes" state-based response-PTL translation to deterministic, finite, discrete-event automata. Importantly, this lays the formal foundation of a translation interface for writing useful control specifications (in response PTL) for control synthesis of DES’s in finite automata. Using this interface promotes the discipline of establishing a synergistic relation between marking states in a DES (to represent the completion of design tasks) and specifying readable control requirements (on how tasks should be temporally executed to completion), and can thus facilitate a well-understood control design especially important for critical systems. A translation extension to metric temporal logic to support control synthesis of real-time DES’s in timed transition graphs is also presented in a recent Transactions paper (see Transactions paper [8] above).

  23. B.C. Le Dinh and K.T. Seow, “Unifying Distributed Constraint Algorithms in a BDI Negotiation Framework,” Proceedings of the International Conference on Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems (AAMAS’07), May 2007, Honolulu, Hawai’i, USA. (Acceptance rate: 22%)

  24. K.T. Seow and K.M. Sim, “Decentralized Assignment Reasoning Using Collaborative Local Mediation,” IEEE Transactions on Knowledge and Data Engineering, vol. 18, no. 11, pp. 1576--1580, November 2006, USA.

  25. K.T. Seow, “Syntax-Based Synthesis for Temporal-Safety Supervision,” Automatica, vol. 41, no. 11, pp. 1965--1972, November 2005, Elsevier, USA.

  26. K.T. Seow and M. Pasquier, “Supervising Passenger Land-Transport Systems,” IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Transportation Systems, vol. 5, no. 3, pp. 165--176, September 2004, USA. Author’s remark: The basic idea of using supervisory control theory for auto-managing passenger-service vehicles – an idea conceptualized well before its time in this 2004 Transactions paper – might prove useful for managing fleets of autonomous ridesharing service vehicles in the near future.

  27. K.T. Seow, “Existence Characterizations of Temporal-Safety Supervisors,” IEEE Transactions on Automatic Control, vol. 47, no. 10, pp. 1779--1783, October 2002, USA. Author’s remark: Perhaps the most illuminating of findings in this 2002 Transactions paper is the supremal controllability characterization result expressly showing the existence of a minimal system 'controllability' constant for temporal-safety.

  28. K.T. Seow and K.Y. How, “Collaborative Assignment : A Multiagent Negotiation Approach Using BDI Concepts,” Proceedings of the International Conference on Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems (AAMAS’02), July 2002, Bologna, Italy. (Acceptance rate: 26%)

  29. K.T. Seow and M. Pasquier, “Vehicle Route-Sequence Planning Using Temporal Logic,” International Journal of Artificial Intelligence for Engineering Design, Analysis and Manufacturing (AIEDAM), vol. 16, no. 1, pp. 31--38, January 2002, Cambridge University Press, U.K. Author’s remark: The simple framework presented in this 2002 journal paper could contribute to planning vehicle travel routes for the modern practice of ridesharing.

  30. K.T. Seow and R. Devanathan, “A Temporal Logic Approach to Discrete Event Control for the Safety Canonical Class,” Systems and Control Letters, vol. 28, no. 4, pp. 205--217, August 1996, Elsevier Science, The Netherlands. Author’s remark: This 1996 journal paper contains the first-known elegant formulation and investigation of discrete-event system controllability for canonical temporal-safety as a readable formula that naturally draws out the essence of the concept, laying a clear and precise logic foundation for syntax-based control synthesis in linear-time temporal logic.

  31. K.T. Seow and R. Devanathan, “A Temporal Framework for Assembly Sequence Representation and Analysis,” IEEE Transactions on Robotics and Automation, vol. 10, no. 2, pp. 220--229, April 1994, USA.

Full Publication List

Teaching Statement:

 

I strive to maintain high quality teaching and effective mentoring of students. I derive satisfaction from being able to communicate difficult ideas and concepts in simple uncluttered ways, usually through examples, and using power point animation to “visually” roll out the explanation gradually. In essence, my style is often to make students think through - systematically - the important approaches to problems.

 

Courses Taught

Professional Services:

 

Journal Editorial Board

Technical Committee

Technical Program Committee (2013-2014)

Research Paper Reviewer (Since 2002)

Research Honors:

Honors from Research Collaboration, and Teaching, Research Supervision and Undergraduate Mentoring & Tutoring:

 

Last updated on 08 June 2022.