Complexity Analysis of Industrial Scale Cyber Physical Systems

Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) are one of the emerging technologies of the time. Current CPS are categorized as small, medium, and large-scale CPS. Small and medium-scale CPS’s design, development, and operation standards are well-defined. However, the large-scale, also known as industrial-scale CPS, are complex, and their design, development, and operation remain challenging. This is due to the involvement of multiple complex technical and non-technical domains. This research discusses the complexity of future industrial-scale CPS in terms of cyber systems, physical systems, Collaborative Information Processing Systems (CIPS), and computer-aided engineering (CAE) systems. We present a detailed overview of the complexities in cyber & physical systems, human and managerial systems, and CAEs and suggest possible solutions. We discuss these complexities via a case study on a CPS-based energy management system. The implications of our discussions include an improved pathway to reduce the complexity of future CPS.