The cyberphysical systems Cyber-Physical System, CPS K to what will be given by merge of the Internet of people, things and services
Integration of the information technologies and concepts which are actively developing in the 21st century creates premises to formation of local and even national cyberphysical systems. In material which especially for TAdviser was prepared by the journalist Leonid Chernyak, it is told about modern understanding of an essence of such systems and the history of their emergence.
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What is a cyberphysical system
The cyberphysical systems (Cyber-Physical System, CPS) are the systems consisting of the different natural objects, artificial subsystems and managing controllers allowing to provide such education as a unit. In CPS close connection and coordination between computing and physical resources is provided. Computers exercise monitoring and control of physical processes using such feedback loop where the events in the physical systems have an impact on calculations and vice versa.
The complexity of such tasks leads to a thought that this is not about creation of automated systems, larger, than existing where computers are integrated or built-in in these or those physical devices or systems. The speech about harmonious coexistence of two types of models. On the one hand are traditional engineering models (mechanical, construction, electric, biological, chemical, economic and others), and with another - models computer.
Predecessors of CPS can be considered real-time embedded systems, distributed computing systems, automated control systems for technical processes and objects, wireless sensor networks.
From the technical point of view of CPS have much in common with structures like grid, implemented by means of Internet of Things (Internet of Things, IoT), the Industry 4.0, industrial Internet of Things (Industrial Internet), the intercomputer interaction (Machine-to-Machine, M2M), foggy and cloud computing (fog and cloud computing). But it is impossible to limit to these technical means representation of CPS at all. For these complex systems new cybernetic approaches to modeling as models are the central moment in science and engineering are required.
The German academy Acatech already speaks about perspectives of national cyberphysical platforms which consist of three types of networks:
- Internet of people
- Internet of Things
- Internet of services
According to the German academicians, perspective of emergence of the cyberphysical systems and formation on their basis the Industries 4.0 infringe on the interests of society in general therefore should be considered not only in technical, and in broader sociocultural aspect, taking into account the demographic and other happening changes.
The scope of CPS extends practically to all human activities, including all variety of the industrial systems, transport, power and military systems, all types of life support systems from medicine to smart houses and the cities and also many economic systems.
Creation of the full CPS systems in the long term will lead approximately to the same changes in interaction with the physical world as to what the Worldwide network led in due time.
Premises of emergence of the cyberphysical systems
It is possible to speak about several main technical premises which made CPS possible:
The first — growth of number of devices with the built-in processors and means of data storage: the sensor networks working in all extended technical infrastructures; medical equipment; smart houses, etc.
The second — the integration allowing to reach the greatest effect a join path of separate components in the big systems: Internet of Things (IoT), World Wide Sensor Net, smart habitats (Smart Building Environment), defense systems of the future.
The third — restriction of cognitive capabilities of the person which evolve more slowly, than machines. In this regard without fail there comes the moment when people are not able to cope with information volume any more, required for decision making, and some part of actions needs to be transferred to CPS, having brought the person from guidance loop (human out of loop).
At the same time in some cases CPS can enhance analytical skills of the person therefore there is a need for creation of the interactive systems of new level saving the person in a guidance loop (human in the loop).
Dangerous simplification in understanding of an essence of the cyberphysical systems
There is an obvious danger of the simplified understanding of what is the cyberphysical systems. Its essence that the accent becomes on the second root, and the first is perceived at some intuitive, commonly accepted level. Therefore it is worth getting rid of the stereotypic perception of the root "cyber" which took roots in mass consciousness.
At the beginning of the 21st century we everywhere to meetings such words as Cyberbullying (school network violence), Cybercrime (Network crime), Cyberterrorism (network terrorism), Cyberwarfare (network weapon) and many others. There were also their Russian-speaking analogs and even with a heroic shade "cyberteam" and pioneer "kiberyat". All this the alluvial phenomena which are not connected not in which way with cybernetics.
If not to be beyond this vulgar paradigm, then it will not be possible to realize primitiveness of determination of CPS from Russian-speaking Wikipedia: "A cyber-physical system (engl. cyber-physical system) — the information and technology concept meaning integration of computing resources into physical processes. In such system sensors, the equipment and information systems are connected throughout all chain of value creation which is beyond one enterprise or business. These systems interact with each other with the help of standard Internet protocols for forecasting, self-adjustment and adaptation to changes".
According to authors of this article, CPS all integrate literally: Big Data and analytics, robots, computer vision, clouds, Internet of Things and even augmented reality and 3D - printing. But where in such treatment cybernetics? What, a root the cyber is taken just for effect?
Alas, so it developed that on a lack of erudition as in the general, and the special editions "kiber" use as a synonym to the word "network" for emotional gain, and in the context which does not have any relation to cybernetics. Approximately the same happens to words "center" and "epicenter". Remember a pathos stamp "we in epicenter of events". Sounds! Though Epi means a projection of the center of an earthquake to a surface.
We are obliged by the established nonsense in use of the word "cyber" American Canadian to the writer William Gibson, more precisely than his fantastic trilogy Sprawl trilogy, and still in no small measure that writing who loves is inappropriate to use beautiful words. And, of course, the special gratitude for discredit of the idea of cybernetic approach in representation of public is deserved by many venerable scientists considering themselves by kibernetika. They fairly tried to deform in own favor heritage great, taken the first steps in cybernetics.
Let's compare to English-speaking Wikipedia. There to be said that in CPS use cross-disciplinary approaches, in CPS cybernetics, a mekhnotronik, the theory and management practice by specific processes integrate. CPS differs in more developed communications between computing and physical elements therefore the architecture similar to Internet of Things (IoT) is used from the usual built-in systems.
Thorny road of cybernetics as sciences
In formation of cybernetics as sciences were and there were features. Owing to the objective reasons in it the strong foundation was not laid. Though, however, it is possible that in his classical naukovedchesky understanding it is also impossible to create. Great founders – Norbert Wiener, Ludwig von Bertalanffi, William Eshbi, Gregory Beytson, Humberto Maturana and others did not leave behind works which it is possible to recognize fundamental.
Even you should not exaggerate value of well-known "red book" of Winer. "Cybernetics" is a document of the time. In the 21st century, unfortunately, the book is interesting only from the historical point of view. Since then cybernetics and related it the general systems theory were and remain the peculiar academic province which does not have strict determinations. Circuits of this province were planned at the cross-disciplinary seminars known as Macy conferences passing annually from 1940 to 1960. The modest center of the congresses Macy - the former women's country boarding school located near New York.
About the level of discussions and their variety it is possible to judge at least by the photo given below. In modern conditions it is difficult to imagine collected under the same roof stars of such value.
At the Macy conferences there was some kind of "national epos": two scientific approaches - "cybernetic" and "system", significantly different from more widespread and commonly accepted analytical approach. The general for both is that they separate such things as logic, thinking method, the argumentation from specific area to which this approach can be applied. Let's tell, cybernetic approach can be equally applied to psychotherapy, biology and automatic control of aircraft.
The difference between two approaches consists that system approach is focused on structure and model of a system, and cybernetic is focused on functions of a system, on how control of separate actions is exercised and as separate nodes interact among themselves. But as the structure of a system and its function are inseparable among themselves, about the theory of systems and cybernetics it is possible to speak as about two parties of one medal.
The lack of the expressed postulates resulted in variety of interpretations of cybernetics. At us since the USSR technocratic idea of cybernetics as about science about the general patterns of receiving, storage, transfer and information transform affirmed as the complex managing systems, whether it be machines, live organisms or society. It can oppose determination of Stafford Bira most of all known for the failure Kibersin project for Chile in the period of Salvador Allende's government: "The cybernetics is an art of the organization".
Across Beytson cybernetics it "the field of mathematics dealing with problems of management, recursiveness and information, concentrated on the connected forms and images". Maturana offered: "Art and science of understanding" (The science and art of understanding). Its determination was a little expanded by Rodney Donaldson: "Art and science of understanding of that, properly to understand" (The science and art of the understanding of understanding).
Strangely enough, but the definition of cybernetics, most suitable to the cyberphysical systems, was given by Roy Ascot, the artist, the researcher, the theorist of art, one of pioneers of the cybernetic and telematic directions in the modern art. It sounds so: "Art of interaction in dynamic networks". The last determination of cybernetics perfectly meets expectations of CPS.
After grandiose progress of fiftieth or seventieth of the 20th century in cybernetics the decline band began. The truth in the USSR there were such strange original new growths as technical, agricultural, legal cybernetics, but it is not counted. Some time ago there was "a cybernetics of the second order". Emergence of the second generation of cybernetics is connected with the American erudite Gregory Beytson famous for the system approach to psychology, and the Chilean biologists Humberto Maturana and Francisco Varela, authors of the theory of an avtopoezis (autopoiesis)[1].
Full-scale cybernetic approach was not implemented, most likely, because of insufficiency of technical capabilities which now in CPS there is a lot of.
Premises to the theory of the cyberphysical systems are stated in article "to The Past, Present and Future of Cyber-Physical Systems: A Focus on Model" professor Edward Li from the University of California in Berkeley[2].
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