As vehicles, cities and infrastructure become increasingly connected, the systems that control them are being pushed to the limit, not just of performance, but of resilience. Mohammad Pirani, a professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at uOttawa, focuses on building resilience within the core of these connected systems through control algorithms that ensure safety and stability of urban traffic flow.
Rethinking control in a connected world
Pirani’s research is at the intersection of control engineering, cybersecurity and intelligent infrastructure. It addresses resilient networked control systems (NCS), in which control loops are completed through digital communication networks. This means that critical data, like sensor measurements and control commands, are exchanged digitally, making the system faster and more flexible, but also more vulnerable to faults and cyberthreats.
“Vehicles today are essentially computers on wheels,” says Pirani. “That makes them powerful, but also susceptible to faults, delays, and cyber threats. We need to ensure that these systems perform reliably not just in ideal conditions, but in the presence of failures or malicious attacks.”
Unlike traditional control systems, which assume a predictable environment, Pirani’s approach accounts for disruptions. His team is developing physics-informed algorithms that incorporate data on how the system should behave physically, enabling rapid detection of anomalies and real-time corrections.
From algorithms to real-world applications
Pirani’s work is grounded in theory and aimed at real-world results. Over the years, he’s collaborated with major automotive companies like General Motors and Scania, and has contributed to the WATonoBus project, an autonomous shuttle developed at the University of Waterloo. His decision-making algorithms help the vehicle interact safely with pedestrians and human-driven vehicles.
Pirani’s research also addresses a critical challenge in the automotive industry, where certain key vehicle states, like lateral velocity or tire slip, can’t be directly measured. Using standard sensors found in most commercial vehicles, his estimation algorithms provide more accurate readings than conventional methods. These improvements boost vehicle traction and stability control, two essential components of active vehicle safety.
Pirani is working on scaling his research to smart city infrastructure, namely, urban traffic control systems. By combining physical modelling and data-driven methods, his team is improving the responsiveness and robustness of traffic signal networks. In collaboration with the City of Toronto, he has tested model predictive control (MPC) algorithms that have improved traffic, even in conditions when sensors fail. On-road testing based on these promising results is in preparation, a step toward more adaptive and cyber-resilient transportation systems.
Integrating cybersecurity into mobility systems
The notion of cyberattacks on vehicles is no longer theoretical. Research has shown that attackers can not only bypass a vehicle’s network security protections, but also erase evidence of the intrusion. While there’s been considerable progress in preventing such attacks, there’s still no widely adopted solution to ensure safety when an attacker reaches the control loop, the part of the system that governs how the vehicle behaves physically.
“My research focuses on that last line of defence,” says Pirani. “If an attacker does reach the control system, how can we ensure the vehicle still behaves in a safe and predictable way?”
Using knowledge of the vehicle’s physical dynamics, Pirani’s team is developing control strategies that recognize and respond to tampering. Even if an attacker feeds false data into the system, the algorithms can detect discrepancies between expected and actual behaviour and adjust accordingly.
This kind of resilience is crucial to public trust. As cities adopt more connected systems and automakers push toward greater autonomy, the ability to recover from faults and attacks becomes just as important as preventing them.
“My research focuses on that last line of defence. If an attacker does reach the control system, how can we ensure the vehicle still behaves in a safe and predictable way?”
Mohammad Pirani
Training talent and scaling impact
Pirani leads the Resilient Operation Assistant Systems (ROASys) group at uOttawa, which includes postdoctoral fellows and graduate students. Many work on real-world applications like traffic optimization and urban infrastructure resilience. Pirani gives students both a theoretical foundation and practical experience.
Some of the group’s research is moving towards commercialization, with algorithms showing strong potential for industry adoption in traffic control systems and automotive safety platforms.
“We are reaching the limits of traditional infrastructure,” he says. “We can’t just keep building more roads and highways. We need smarter, safer systems that can optimize traffic flow and road utilization, and that starts with resilient control.”
For Pirani, the long-term vision is clear: as our cities and vehicles evolve, cybersecurity and resilience must be built into the foundation, not added as an afterthought. From improving the reliability of autonomous vehicles to optimizing traffic flow, his work is helping create more secure intelligent transportation.
Get in touch
If you’re interested in collaborating on cybersecurity innovation in transportation systems, whether you're from academia or industry, you can email Professor Pirani.