A cyber-physical system (CPS) is a system featuring a tight combination of, and coordination between, the system’s computational and physical elements. Today, a pre-cursor generation of cyber-physical systems can be found in areas as diverse as aerospace, automotive, chemical processes, civil infrastructure, energy, healthcare, manufacturing, transportation, entertainment, and consumer appliances. This generation is often referred to as embedded systems. In embedded systems the emphasis tends to be more on the computational elements, and less on an intense link between the computational and physical elements.
Unlike more traditional embedded systems, a full-fledged CPS is typically designed as a network of interacting elements with physical input and output instead of as standalone devices.[1] The notion is closely tied to concepts of robotics and sensor networks. The expectation is that in the coming years ongoing advances in science and engineering will improve the link between computational and physical elements, dramatically increasing the adaptability, autonomy, efficiency, functionality, reliability, safety, and usability of cyber-physical systems. The advances will broaden the potential of cyber-physical systems in several dimensions, including: intervention (e.g., collision avoidance); precision (e.g., robotic surgery and nano-level manufacturing); operation in dangerous or inaccessible environments (e.g., search and rescue, firefighting, and deep-sea exploration); coordination (e.g., air traffic control, war fighting); efficiency (e.g., zero-net energy buildings); and augmentation of human capabilities (e.g., healthcare monitoring and delivery).[2]
The US National Science Foundation (NSF) has identified cyber-physical systems as a key area of research.[3] Starting in late 2006, the NSF and other United States federal agencies sponsored several workshops on cyber-physical systems.[4][5][6][7][8][9][10]
Examples
Common applications of CPS typically fall under sensor-based systems and autonomous systems. For example, many wireless sensor networks monitor some aspect of the environment and relay the processed information to a central node. Other types of CPS include autonomous automotive systems, medical monitoring, process control systems, distributed robotics, and automatic pilot avionics.
A real-world example of such a system is the Distributed Robot Garden at MIT in which a team of robots tend a garden of tomato plants. This system combines distributed sensing (each plant is equipped with a sensor node monitoring its status), navigation, Manipulation and wireless networking.
Another example is MIT's ongoing CarTel project where a fleet of taxis collecting real-time traffic information in the Boston area. Together with historical data, this information is then used for calculating fastest routes for a given time of the day.
References
- ^ Lee, Edward (January 23, 2008). "Cyber Physical Systems: Design Challenges". University of California, Berkeley Technical Report No. UCB/EECS-2008-8. Retrieved 2008-06-07.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^ "Cyber-physical systems". Program Announcements & Information. The National Science Foundation, 4201 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, Virginia 22230, USA. 2008-09-30. Retrieved 2009-07-21.
{{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ Wolf, Wayne (November 2007). "The Good News and the Bad News (Embedded Computing Column". IEEE Computer. Retrieved 2008-06-09.
- ^ "NSF Workshop On Cyber-Physical Systems". Retrieved 2008-06-09.
- ^ "Beyond SCADA: Networked Embedded Control for Cyber Physical Systems". Retrieved 2008-06-09.
- ^ "NSF Cyber-Physical Systems Summit". Retrieved 2008-08-01.
- ^ "National Workshop on High-Confidence Automotive Cyber-Physical Systems". Retrieved 2008-08-03.
- ^ "National Workshop on Composable and Systems Technologies for High-Confidence Cyber-Physical Systems,". Retrieved 2008-08-04.
- ^ "National Workshop on High-Confidence Software Platforms for Cyber-Physical Systems (HCSP-CPS),". Retrieved 2008-08-04.
- ^ "New Research Directions for Future Cyber-Physical Energy Systems". Retrieved 2009-06-05.
Further reading
- NSF Workshop On Cyber-Physical Systems
- Edward A. Lee, Cyber-Physical Systems - Are Computing Foundations Adequate?
- Paulo Tabuada, Cyber-Physical Systems: Position Paper
- Rajesh Gupta, Programming Models and Methods for Spatio-Temporal Actions and Reasoning in Cyber-Physical Systems
- CPS Community, CPS Workshops
External links
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