Cyber-Physical Systems
Cyber-Physical Systems or "smart" systems are co-engineered interacting networks of physical and computational components. These systems will provide the foundation of our critical infrastructure, form the basis of emerging and future smart services, and improve our quality of life in many areas.
Cyber-physical systems will bring advances in personalized health care, emergency response, traffic flow management, and electric power generation and delivery, as well as in many other areas now just being envisioned. Other phrases that you might hear when discussing these and related CPS technologies include:
- Internet of Things (IoT)
- Industrial Internet
- Smart Cities
- Smart Grid
- "Smart" Anything (e.g., Cars, Buildings, Homes, Manufacturing, Hospitals, Appliances)
The NIST Engineering Laboratory, through its Cyber-Physical Systems and Smart Grid Program Office, is leading a NIST-wide program to advance Cyber-Physical Systems. Our program is moving forward on four fronts:
- The Cyber-Physical Systems Public Working Group (CPS PWG), formed by NIST in 2014, brings together experts to help define and shape key aspects of CPS to accelerate its development and implementation within multiple sectors of our economy. Through its five subgroups, the CPS PWG has prepared a CPS Framework.
- The Global City Teams Challenge is an initiative to advance the deployment of Internet of Things (IoT) technologies within a smart city environment. Nearly 100 teams or "action clusters" are pursuing projects related to energy, transportation, public safety, and other key sectors.
- The International Technical Working Group on IoT-Enabled Smart Cities Framework (IES-Cities Framework[RW3] ) is comparing and distilling current architectural efforts among the many smart city projects currently under way around the world. The goal is to produce a consensus framework document of common architectural features that will help cities employ interoperable and scalable smart city solutions that will meet the needs of their communities.
- CPS research and standards development are carried out in multiple NIST Laboratories, including programs in advanced manufacturing, cybersecurity, buildings and structures, disaster resilience, and smart grid. A key goal for 2016 is to design and begin development of a CPS testbed to characterize CPS equipment, systems, performance, and standards.
Upcoming and Recent Developments
Global City Teams Challenge SuperCluster Workshop on City Platform (February 7-8, 2017)
Global City Teams Challenge SuperCluster Workshop on Transportation (February 1-2, 2017)
- Global Cities Team Challenge 2016 Kick-Off Conference
- Global City Teams Challenge (GCTC) – Program Details
- Global City Teams Challenge Tech Jam (February 2015)
- Global City Teams Challenge Kick-off (September 2014)
- 08/11-12/2014 NIST Cyber-Physical Systems Public Working Group Workshop
- 06/30/2014 NIST Cyber-Physical Systems Public Working Group Kickoff Webinar
- 06/11/2014 The Internet’s Next Big Idea: Connecting People, Information, and Things
- 06/11/2014 SmartAmerica Expo
- 06/10/2014 SmartAmerica Challenge: Harnessing the Power of the Internet of Things
- 04/04/2013 Designed-in Cybersecurity for Cyber-Physical Systems Workshop