CSR-CPS: Action Webs Seedling

信息物理系统（CPS）是计算与物理过程的集成。嵌入式计算机和网络在反馈回路中监视和控制物理过程，物理过程影响计算，反之亦然。这个“幼苗”项目研究了这些“行动网”背后的基本抽象概念。“许多用于计算和网络的抽象概念故意隐藏了物理世界的基本属性。这个项目评估并阐述了包含这些属性的模型。重点是分布式软件、网络和分布式控制系统，这些系统具有时间管理、健壮性和安全性的基本特性。该项目以传感器网络技术的丰富经验为基础，传感器网络技术通过在环境中嵌入低功耗计算、传感和通信来测量物理世界。传感器网络可以测量世界，而行动网络则更进一步，通过闭合循环，将物理动态与软件和网络的动态相结合。该项目侧重于计算与物理世界的相互作用。它批判性地考察了过去几十年来建立的计算基础，特别关注闭环网络物理系统中网络嵌入式软件的动力学。这个幼苗项目的目标是形成一个长期的研究议程，这将对美国的技术领导地位以及工程和计算机科学教育产生深远的影响。这些领域的课程发展非常缓慢，需要努力将计算与更深入物理世界的工程学科结合起来。

Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) are integrations of computation with physical processes. Embedded computers and networks monitor and control physical processes in feedback loops where physical processes affect computations and vice versa. This seedling project studies the fundamental abstractions behind such ``action webs.'' Many of the abstractions for computing and networking deliberately hide essential properties of the physical world. This project evaluates and elaborates models that instead embrace such properties. The focus is on distributed software, networking, and distributed control systems with essential properties of time management, robustness, and security. The project builds on extensive experience with sensor web technology, which instrument the physical world by embedding low power computing, sensing and communication in the environment. While sensor webs can instrument the world, action webs go further by closing the loop, integrating physical dynamics with the dynamics of software and networks.The project focuses on the interactions of computing with the physical world. It critically examines the foundations of computing that have been built over the last several decades, specifically focusing on the dynamics of networked embedded software in closed-loop cyber-physical systems. The goal of this seedling project is to shape a long-term research agenda that will have profound implications on technical leadership of the US and on engineering and computer science education. Curricula in these fields evolve remarkably slowly, and an effort to blend computation with engineering disciplines that are more deeply rooted in the physical world is required.