Subject Overview

Cyber-Physical Systems integrates computation, communication, sensing, actuation and physical processes. The subject develops the theoretical, engineering and managerial knowledge required to model, design, implement, verify, secure and govern intelligent connected systems in mechatronics.

Learning Goal

Students will be able to analyze physical–digital interactions; design real-time networked control architectures; integrate embedded, edge, cloud and AI technologies; evaluate safety, security and performance; and manage the responsible lifecycle of industrial cyber-physical systems.

Syllabus

1. Foundations of Cyber-Physical Systems

Learning Objective: Define CPS terminology, characteristics, historical development and relationships with embedded systems, mechatronics, IoT, automation and Industry 4.0.

Category: foundation

2. Physical Processes and System Dynamics

Learning Objective: Model mechanical, electrical, thermal and fluid processes using differential equations, state-space representations, transfer functions and energy-based principles.

Category: foundation

3. Discrete, Continuous and Hybrid-System Models

Learning Objective: Represent CPS behavior using finite-state machines, discrete-event systems, hybrid automata, concurrency, composition and abstraction.

Category: core

4. Embedded Computing and Real-Time Systems

Learning Objective: Explain processors, microcontrollers, operating systems, scheduling, interrupts, timing constraints, concurrency and hardware–software co-design.

Category: core

5. Sensors, Actuators and Data Acquisition

Learning Objective: Select and integrate sensors, actuators, signal conditioning, sampling, calibration, filtering and data-acquisition interfaces while accounting for uncertainty.

Category: core

6. Feedback Control and Networked Control Systems

Learning Objective: Design and evaluate feedback, state estimation, digital control, distributed control and networked control under delay, packet loss and resource constraints.

Category: core

7. Communication Networks and Industrial Protocols

Learning Objective: Analyze wired and wireless communication, latency, synchronization, quality of service, fieldbuses, industrial Ethernet, OPC UA, MQTT, time-sensitive networking and 5G/6G connectivity.

Category: application

8. CPS Architectures, Interoperability and Integration

Learning Objective: Develop layered, component-based, service-oriented and distributed architectures using interfaces, middleware, reference models, standards and systems-of-systems principles.

Category: core

9. Edge–Cloud Platforms, IoT and Digital Twins

Learning Objective: Integrate edge, fog and cloud computing; manage device connectivity and data pipelines; and construct digital twins for monitoring, simulation and lifecycle optimization.

Category: contemporary

10. CPS Data Analytics and Artificial Intelligence

Learning Objective: Apply signal analytics, anomaly detection, predictive maintenance, machine learning, computer vision and reinforcement learning while assessing data quality, explainability and deployment constraints.

Category: application

11. Dependability, Safety and Resilience

Learning Objective: Evaluate reliability, availability, maintainability, fault tolerance and resilience using hazard analysis, FMEA, fault trees, redundancy and functional-safety standards.

Category: core

12. Cybersecurity and Privacy

Learning Objective: Perform threat modeling and risk assessment; implement secure architectures, authentication, encryption, access control, secure updates and incident response for operational technology.

Category: core

13. CPS Engineering Lifecycle, Verification and Validation

Learning Objective: Apply requirements engineering, model-based systems engineering, simulation, co-simulation, hardware-in-the-loop testing, formal verification, DevOps and configuration management.

Category: application

14. Industrial Applications and Digital Transformation

Learning Objective: Evaluate CPS solutions in smart manufacturing, robotics, autonomous vehicles, energy, buildings, healthcare and agriculture, including business value, investment, operations and implementation decisions.

Category: strategic

15. Governance, Ethics and Future CPS

Learning Objective: Address accountability, privacy, safety responsibility, sustainability, standards and regulatory compliance, and assess emerging developments including autonomous systems, human–CPS collaboration, federated intelligence, 6G and quantum-enabled technologies.

Category: contemporary