The little computers that make many everyday devices work will work better in the future, thanks to a Penn research grant.

Computer scientists at the University have received nearly $2.2 million from the U.S. government’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency to fund three years of research aimed at improving the reliability of the tiny computers embedded in everything from toasters to airplanes. The team that will conduct the research is led by Insup Lee, Ph.D., professor of computer and information science. The team’s work lies at the intersection of computer science, which usually focuses on discrete changes, and control theory, which deals with continuously changing systems.