Cyber–physical system

In cyber-physical systems, physical and software components are deeply intertwined, able to operate on different spatial and temporal scales, exhibit multiple and distinct behavioral modalities, and interact with each other in ways that change with context.

[2][8] Precursors 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.

[3][8] 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.

Ongoing advances in science and engineering improve the link between computational and physical elements by means of intelligent mechanisms, increasing the adaptability, autonomy, efficiency, functionality, reliability, safety, and usability of cyber-physical systems.

[9] This will broaden the potential of cyber-physical systems in several directions, 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. in healthcare monitoring and delivery).

This effort takes a holistic approach to next generation design, and considers the resilience aspects that are not well quantified, such as cyber security,[21] human interaction and complex interdependencies.

Today, in a marketplace where rapid innovation is assumed to be essential, engineers from all disciplines need to be able to explore system designs collaboratively, allocating responsibilities to software and physical elements, and analyzing trade-offs between them.