Cyber Physical Systems: Design Challenges

Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) are integrations of computation and physical processes. Embedded computers and networks monitor and control the physical processes, usually with feedback loops where physical processes affect computations and vice versa. The economic and societal potential of such systems is vastly greater than what has been realized, and major investments are being made worldwide to develop the technology. There are considerable challenges, particularly because the physical components of such systems introduce safety and reliability requirements qualitatively different from those in generalpurpose computing. Moreover, physical components are qualitatively different from object-oriented software comStandard abstractions based on method calls and threads do not work. This paper examines the challenges in designing such systems, and in particular raises the question of whether today’s computing and networking technologies provide an adequate foundation for CPS. It conclude...

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2008
• Where: ISORC
• Authors: Edward A. Lee
• Keywords: ISORC 2008, Physical Components, Physical Processes, Processes Affect Computations, Software Engineering