Cyber-physical and networked sensor systems: challenges and opportunities

Rapid advancements in embedded systems, sensors and wireless communication technologies have led to the development of cyber-physical systems, pervasive computing and smart environments with important applications such as smart grids, sustainability, health care and security. Wireless sensor networks play significant role in building such systems as they can effectively act as the human-physical interface with the digital world through sensing, communication, computing and control or actuation. However, the inherent characteristics of wireless sensor networks, typified by resource constraints, high degree of uncertainty, heterogeneity and distributed control pose significant challenges. This tutorial will provide a guided tour of (i) the characteristics and applications of cyber-physical systems and sensor networks, (ii) associated technical challenges and opportunities, and (iii) novel algorithmic frameworks and solutions for data collection from sensor streams, sensor data fusion, multi-modal context recognition, and situation-aware decision making. The common goal is to minimize energy consumption (i.e., maximize life time) and increase information accuracy (i.e., context quality) in wireless sensor networks. The tutorial will be concluded with open issues and future directions of research.