Complexity Challenges in Cyber Physical Systems

4Multi‐Perspective Modeling and Holistic Simulation: A System‐Thinking Approach to Very Complex Systems Analysis

Mamadou K. Traoré

IMS UMR CNRS, University of Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France

4.1 Introduction

Cyber Physical Systems (CPS) are gaining tremendous interest in Modeling and Simulation (M&S), probably because of the level of complexity they exhibit (Baheti and Gill 2011) which calls for innovative analysis approaches. CPS are systems with embedded software, which record data using sensors, affect physical processes using actuators, are connected with other systems/objects in digital communication networks, and interact with their environment and human in various interfaces. As such, they are an enabling technology, i.e., they enable numerous innovative applications, including but not limited to logistics and intelligent transportation, mobile energy provision and consumption, healthcare and assisted living, and factory of the future. Their benefits span from new ways of avoiding accidents, to new strategies for optimized use of energy resources, consumers‐based production planning, reduction of environmental pollution, fast and remote care, improved route guidance, and many more.

CPS engineering introduces complexity that changes the risk profile of the solution (Lee 2008), mainly because several requirements are often combined, each of which being a critical challenge taken in isolation. Some of the most salient requirements are:

• Decentralized collaboration of autonomous ...