Cyber-Physical System Foundations and Connected Communities (CPS)

Cyber-physical systems are engineered systems that are built from, and depend on, the seamless integration of computation with physical processes and components, enabling hybrid, intelligent control over physical processes, driving innovation in the sciences and society. A defining feature of cyber-physical systems (CPS) is the tight, bidirectional interdependence between computational processes, the physical environment, and often human participants. This interconnection involves human users and communities not only during system design and deployment but also throughout operations. Consequently, CPS research benefits from considering the dynamic and unpredictable nature of physical systems, along with the continuously evolving context of user behavior and environmental conditions.

The Cyber-Physical Systems Foundations and Connected Communities (CPS) program seeks foundational advances in all areas of cyber-physical systems, including artificial intelligence for cyber-physical systems, quantum information systems, transforming the way people, technologies, and the environment interact. Equally critical is interdisciplinary study and design of CPS technologies deeply connected to the vision of a connected community, emphasizing safety, wellness, security, efficiency, dependability and resilience. Such connected community research is inherently multidisciplinary, sociotechnical, and use-inspired, often shaped by the needs and values of the communities themselves. Thus, overall, the program seeks to transform the interactions between people, their environments, and their well-being through technological innovation, with validation occurring through testing and demonstration in controlled yet realistic settings.

This program has two tracks: one focuses on foundational research (CPS-FR) while the other one on community-inspired research (CPS-CIR). Proposals should include CPS-FR or CPS-CIR in the title to indicate the chosen track.

CPS  Foundational Research (CPS-FR)

The mission of the CPS-FR track is to advance research at the intersection of computation, physical systems, and human interaction. It emphasizes theoretical and foundational research that advances the core scientific and engineering principles underlying the integration of computation with physical processes and components. Areas of interest to CPS-FR include, but are not limited to, neuro-symbolic and embodied AI approaches;  AI-enabled autonomy;  safe learning, and adaptive systems;  formal methods for verification and assurance of cyber-physical systems, including those that integrate AI;  control and dynamics of complex cyber-physical systems, including novel techniques for learning, planning, and optimization in uncertain, real-time environments; IoT and platforms for CPS; co-design of hardware and software; real time scheduling and resource management for coordinating computational and physical resources in dynamic environments; security, privacy and trustworthiness for ensuring robust operations under adversarial and failure conditions; and, in particular, quantum algorithms to handle high-dimensional state spaces and enable fundamentally new capabilities in CPS. Projects in this track generate broadly applicable theories, algorithms, methods, and tools that can enable robust cyber-physical systems across multiple domains. Validation of research contributions through prototyping or testing is strongly encouraged.

CPS Community-Inspired Research (CPS-CIR)

The CPS-CIR track aims to develop use-inspired research focused on the co-development of novel and translational innovations and systems with cyber-physical components, their communities and the natural and built environments.  It emphasizes fundamental science and engineering informed by a social-environmental-technological framework to deliver significant practical capabilities to society, people and/or communities. Proposals submitted to this track are expected to be inspired and motivated by the needs of clearly defined communities and to establish meaningful partnerships with stakeholders to shape research questions and provide ongoing engagement in the project. Projects should aim to improve overall quality of life for people who live, work, learn, or travel within the community and include an assessment component to evaluate success. In addition, projects will include a plan to identify, assess and incorporate community-identified priorities. Areas of particular interest include civil infrastructure, disaster response, transportation, geographical systems, infrastructure resilience, manufacturing, power systems, and agriculture and as well as topics at the nexus of CPS, community, and natural and built environment.

Program Scope and Additional Information

Please plan to discuss the proposed research topic with a cognizant CPS program officer for relevance to the CPS program and its research tracks well before submission of a proposal.  Proposals will be considered for Return Without Review (RWR) if the focus of the proposal is not aligned with this program.

The following directorates are interdisciplinary collaborators on the CISE Future CoRe CPS program: Directorate for Engineering (ENG), Directorate for Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences (SBE), Directorate for Geosciences (GEO), and Directorate for STEM Education (EDU).