Cyber-physical system concepts for IT students

Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS), a.k.a. embedded systems, are becoming increasingly important within Information Technology. As the "Internet of Things" and ubiquitous mobile devices impact an ever-increasing segment of IT, it becomes imperative for IT students and professionals to appreciate the key concepts of CPS so that they can design IT systems. Special consideration should include aspects of networking, security and HCI within CPS and mixed systems. This report presents an introductory experience, targeted at first-year students in IT, to help them understand the key concepts of CPS that are relevant to IT professionals. The experience is offered within the context of a first-year class where a single lecture and a single short lab experience are assigned to introduce CPS concepts. The lecture and lab are designed to engage the students, help them understand the relevance of this discipline to IT professionals and give to them a taste of designing and working with CPS. The lab and lecture was designed as a combination demonstration and development experience. In the experience, students developed a working system within the one-hour lab available and explored several CPS and related IT concepts. Details of the lab design are presented. Student learning was assessed and learning results and student responses are presented.