Cognitive Dynamic Systems: A Review of Theory, Applications, and Recent Advances

The field of cognitive dynamic systems (CDSs) is an emerging area of research, whereby engineering learns from neuroscience. Under this framework, engineering systems are configured in a manner that mimics the human brain and improves the utility and performance of traditional systems. In essence, a CDS builds on Fuster’s paradigm of cognition and is fulfilled with the presence of five cognitive processes: the perception-action cycle, memory, attention, intelligence, and language. When augmented with these processes, a system can be classified as a CDS and is afforded the capabilities of processing information and learning from experience through continued interactions with the environment. Tremendous benefit from adopting the CDS framework has been observed in the literature, especially in the fields of cognitive radio and cognitive radar. More recently, the framework has been extended to other areas, such as control theory, risk control, and the Internet of Things; where the potential for drastic performance improvements has been evident in the literature. This comprehensive article presents a thorough background and exposition of the CDS framework and each field where it has been applied. In addition, we provide a comprehensive review of the recent advancements and related works in each domain by summarizing the key facts relating to the methodologies, findings, and limitations of the surveyed papers. Our novel contributions involve being the first source of centralized information on this topic and forming the foundation for future research efforts by presenting suggestions regarding worthwhile avenues for further investigation.