Cyber-Physical Systems

About This Grant

The term cyber-physical systems refers to the tight conjoining of and coordination between computational and physical resources. We envision that the cyber-physical systems of tomorrow will far exceed those of today in terms of adaptability, autonomy, efficiency, functionality, reliability, safety, and usability. Research advances in cyber-physical systems promise to transform our world with systems that respond more quickly (e.g., autonomous collision avoidance), are more precise (e.g., robotic surgery and nano-tolerance manufacturing), work in dangerous or inaccessible environments (e.g., autonomous systems for search and rescue, firefighting, and exploration), provide large-scale, distributed coordination (e.g., automated traffic control), are highly efficient (e.g., zero-net energy buildings), augment human capabilities, and enhance societal wellbeing (e.g., assistive technologies and ubiquitous healthcare monitoring and delivery).Congruent with the recommendations in the August 2007 report of the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST), Leadership Under Challenge: Information Technology R&D in a Competitive World, NSF's Directorates for Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE) and Engineering (ENG) are spear-heading the Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) program because of its scientific and technological importance as well as its potential impact on grand challenges in a number of sectors critical to U.S. security and competitiveness, including aerospace, automotive, chemical production, civil infrastructure, energy, healthcare, manufacturing, materials and transportation. By abstracting from the particulars of specific applications in these domains, the CPS program aims to reveal cross-cutting fundamental scientific and engineering principles that underpin the integration of cyber and physical elements across all application sectors. The CPS program will also support the development of methods and tools as well as hardware and software components, run-time substrates, and systems based upon these principles to expedite and accelerate the realization of cyber-physical systems in a wide range of applications. Furthermore, the program aims to create a new research and education community committed to the study and application of cyber-physical system innovations, through the establishment of a CPS Virtual Organization (CPS-VO) and regular PI meetings.The CPS program is seeking proposals that address research challenges in three CPS themes: Foundations; Methods and Tools; and Components, Run-time Substrates, and Systems. Foundations research will develop new scientific and engineering principles, algorithms, models, and theories for the analysis and design of cyber-physical systems. Research on Methods and Tools will bridge the gaps between approaches to the cyber and physical elements of systems through innovations such as novel support for multiple views, new programming languages, and algorithms for reasoning about and formally verifying properties of complex integrations of cyber and physical resources. The third CPS theme concerns new hardware and software Components, Run-time Substrates (infrastructure and platforms), and (engineered) Systems motivated by grand challenge applications.Three sizes of research and education projects will be considered: Small Projects are individual or small-team efforts that focus on one or more of the three defined CPS themes. Funding for Small Projects will be provided at levels of up to $200,000/year for up to three years. Medium Projects also span one or more CPS themes and may include one or more PIs and a research team of students and/or postdocs. Funding for Medium Projects will be provided at levels up to $500,000/year for up to three years. Large Projects are multi-investigator projects involving teams of researchers and their students and/or postdocs representing the same or multiple disciplines in computer science, engineering, and physical application domains, who together address a coherent set of research issues that either cut across multiple CPS themes or that explore in great depth a particular theme. Funding for Large Projects will be provided at levels up to $1,000,000/year for up to five years.In addition, NSF will consider proposals to establish a CPS-VO. Only one award will be made, at annual levels of up to $200,000 for up to five years. It is expected that more modest levels of funding will be provided in the first year or two of this award.A more complete description of the CPS program is provided in Section II. Program Description of this solicitation.