Name of panelist:Prof. Dr. Zuhal Erden

Are the cyber-physical systems only “cyber-physical”?

Cyber-physical systems (CPS) are emerged from and evolved mainly within the scientific, industrial and technological domains; but they are now currently penetrating into the daily life of people and society. Intellectualization of CPS addresses mainly a fundamental adaptation process for this diffusion. Integration of CPS into human domain is expected to make some radical changes in the philosophy of engineering systems towards human-biological compatibility and personalization, both are the key issues for intellectualization of CPS. Design and implementation of I*CPS require blending technological and cognitive abilities with human- and society-related concepts. This presentation focuses on the potential answers to a magic question of “how can we design adaptation mechanisms and related formalizations for I*CPS to achieve interaction with all of the associated domains?”

Dr. Zuhal Erden received her BSc, MSc and PhD degrees from the Mechanical Engineering Department of Middle East Technical University (METU) in Ankara, Turkey. Dr. Erden joined Atilim University (Ankara, Turkey) in 1999 and actively participated during the establishment process for the Mechatronics Engineering Department, where currently she is a faculty member. Starting from her PhD studies, Dr. Erden’s research has been focused on the conceptual and/or formal modelling of multi-/inter- disciplinary systems and their design methodologies, at high level of abstraction. She was the co-founder of a PhD Program on “Modelling and Design of Engineering Systems (MODES)” and she established “Behaviour Based Robot Design Laboratory” in Atilim University. Her particular research interests are Engineering Design Theory and Methodology, Process and Product Models of Engineering Design, Behaviour Based Design, Petri Nets in Design Modelling, Bioinspired Design Methodology and Design Methodology for Personalized Social Robots.

Name of panelist:Prof. Dr. Duncan A. Coulter

What were you thinking? – The need for explicitly explicable AI systems

Artificial Intelligence systems have demonstrated considerable explanatory and predictive powers while failing to always be entirely explicable and predictable in and of themselves. This presentation considers the tendency towards such black box systems as a consequence of the dominant techniques which have been employed in their creation. Alternative approaches to the creation of more transparent intelligent systems are explored along with techniques which can be applied to existing systems. Large Language Models in particular are considered given their recent dramatic demonstrations of generalizable learning ability. Additionally, emergent properties of self organizing agent systems are also considered for explicability. As automation continuous to augment human decision making and in some cases supplant it the need for standards regarding AI safety and AI Transparency Maturity Models will become increasingly urgent.

Professor Duncan Anthony Coulter has been at the University of Johannesburg (by way of its precursor institution the Rand Afrikaans University) since 2001. After a brief digression into the computerized psychometric assessment industry in the United Kingdom in 2005 he returned to the now University of Johannesburg as a permanent academic staff member in 2007. His research interests have focused on the intersection of the abstractions of biological processes and artificial intelligence in the context of multi-agent systems. In 2022 he became the Head of Department for the Academy of Computer Science and Software Engineering within the Faculty of Science but still greatly prefers both teaching and research to the burden of leadership. He is actively trying to trick some of his colleagues into getting promoted into his role.

Name of panelist:Prof. Dr. Martin Törngren

Responsible deployment of trustworthy CPS as part of socio-technical systems

Cyber-physical systems are becoming smart, automated and collaborating, including through the incorporation of AI supported by augmentation through a computing continuum. This requires a stringent emphasis on the design of "intelligence" encompassing machine learning, machine reasoning and architecting (machine design). The machine design will require reflective capabilities for CPS in order to deal with failures and unforeseen conditions, in turn requiring that boundaries (e.g. for safety, performance and comfort) are defined. Machine design further will require strong emphasis (compared to today) on Human-AI interaction and explainability. Finally, a responsible introduction of future CPS requires a balancing of innovation and risks, taking the Cynevin model of complexity and best practices into account.

Martin Törngren became a professor in Embedded control systems at KTH in 2002. He has deep interests in automated CPS with specific emphasis on trustworthiness, and design methodologies for multi-technological systems. Networking and multidisciplinary research have been characteristic throughout his career. He has been part of CPS road-mapping efforts at the European and national levels (e.g. the CyPhERS project). He is the principal initiator of the KTH-industry Innovative Centre for Embedded Systems (www.ices.kth.se), launched in 2008 (and served as its director until 2020), and is the director of the TECoSA Swedish national competence center on Trustworthy Edge Computing Systems and Applications.

Name of panelist:Prof. Dr. Stefano Borgo

Interacting with intelligent CPSs: How to make sense of smart agents ontologically?

CPSs interpret the environment and act on it based on a set of sensors and actuators that can change over time. Intelligent CPSs can be enriched with learning capabilities to optimize or extend their behaviours. This means that an intelligent CPS, depending on what it experiences, its structure and the set of subsystems that form it, may start to act in unexpected ways. These CPSs may go beyond the scenarios we imagined when they were created, some of these might not be positive for us. We need to tune our conceptual tools to understand how to model these evolving agents and to understand what are the real challenges of living with them.

Stefano Borgo is Head of the Laboratory for Applied Ontology (LOA) and responsible of the Trento branch of CNR-ISTC. He studied mathematics, logic and informatics and his research focuses on the use of applied ontology and knowledge representation in engineering and socio-technical systems with emphasis on interoperability and model construction. Application domains are: engineering design, product and process modelling, robotics, laboratory data, urban planning, architecture. He co-authored the DOLCE ontology and published about 200 papers in conferences and journals. He has participated in about 30 national and international projects, mainly as coordinator of the CNR team. He is currently member of the Editorial Board of the Applied Ontology journal (IOS Press) and of the Semantic Web (IOS Press). He co-founded and is now member of the Advisory Board of the International Association on Ontology and its Applications (IAOA). He is a technical expert for ISO and IEEE working groups, and for the Italian standardisation institute UNI.

Name of panelist:Dr. Mey Goh

Human - the missing link in CPS?

CPS is key to smart manufacturing, promising greater efficiency, resilience and intelligence through cyber–physical interaction and integration. With promising AI capability and IoT technology, it may be tempting (even exciting) to create an intelligent and fully autonomous CPS. However, we must not forget that humans are integral part of CPS. Humans can act as sophisticated sensors in detecting unusual or unexpected events, decision makers, provide new knowledge and offer adaptations. Being smart is only a means to an end, so it is important to ask which function (sensory, physical or cognitive) should be allocated to the different elements of the CPS.

Dr Mey Goh is a Reader in Transdisciplinary Digital Manufacturing at Loughborough University. She has a BEng (Hons) in Mechanical Engineering from University Tenaga Nasional, Malaysia and a PhD in Mechanical Engineering from University of Bristol, UK. Her research interests include digital manufacturing, information management, human factors and intelligent automation, and concerns the role of people within future digitalised manufacturing systems. She is particularly interested in developing methods for bridging the knowledge gaps between different disciplinary domains in design and engineering of complex systems. Her research adopts mixed methodologies to underpin development of novel data-driven approaches and models including AI and Machine Learning. She is co-investigator of Made Smarter Innovation: Centre on People-Led Digitalisation (2021-2025), working with the Universities of Bath and Nottingham and a range of UK industries to realise the potential of a people-led approach to digitalisation.

Name of panelist:Prof. Dr. Bedir Tekinerdogan

From complexity to intelligence: Multi-paradigm modeling for next-generation CPS

Multi-paradigm modeling is a critical aspect of the design and development of Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS). It enables the integration of diverse modeling domains, including physical, mathematical, and computational models, to create a comprehensive and accurate representation of the system's behavior. However, integrating multiple paradigms presents several challenges, such as the integration of heterogeneous models, ensuring proper verification and validation, meeting real-time performance requirements, and managing the computational resources. In addition to these challenges, there is a clear trend towards transforming CPS into intelligent and autonomous systems, leveraging advancements in artificial intelligence and machine learning. While AI can offer solutions and enhance the performance of CPS, it can also add to the complexity and introduce new challenges. The use of AI in CPS requires careful consideration and a thorough understanding of its capabilities and limitations to ensure that it enhances the overall functionality of the system.

Prof. Tekinerdogan is a full professor and chair of the Information Technology group at Wageningen University, The Netherlands. He has more than 25 years of experience in software and systems engineering, and is the author of more than 400 peer-reviewed scientific papers in these domains. He has been active in dozens of national and international research and consultancy projects with various large software companies, whereby he has worked as a principal researcher, consultant and leading software/system architect. He has got broad experience in software and systems engineering in different domains such as consumer electronics, enterprise systems, automotive systems, critical infrastructures, cyber-physical systems, precision farming, etc. He has taken a holistic, systemic, and interdisciplinary approach to solving real industrial problems. With this, he has ample experience in software and systems architecting, software and systems product line engineering, cyber-physical systems, model-driven software engineering, aspect-oriented software engineering, global software development, systems engineering, system of systems engineering, data science, and artificial intelligence. He has developed and taught around 20 different academic courses and has provided many software/systems engineering courses to more than 50 companies in The Netherlands, Germany, India, and Turkey.

Name of panelist:Prof.em. Dr. Imre Horváth

Intellectualized cyber-physical systems: Just in time!

In addition to socialization and personalization, intellectualization is the major game changer with regard to the paradigm of cyber-physical systems that are seen by many researchers as the result of disciplinary convergence and technological integration. This session of SDPS IW ’23 attempts to find answer to questions such as: What is the essence of the growing intellectualization of CPSs and what is its trajectory? Is achieving human-type intelligence a necessity for I*CPSs in a longer term? What are the fundamental issues of designing, implementation, and application of autonomous, socialized, and personalized I*CPSs? What problem solving knowledge, reasoning mechanisms, and cognitive technologies can I*CPSs use and for what? What way will I*CPSs be integrated into the fabric of society and industry? What will the relationship I*CPSs with humans and other systems be like and how will it evolve?

Dr. Imre Horváth is an emeritus professor of the Faculty of Industrial Design Engineering, Delft University of Technology, the Netherlands. In the last years, his research group focused on research, development and education of smart cyber-physical system design, with special attention to cognitive engineering. Dr. Horváth is also interested in systematic design research methodologies. He was the promotor of more than 20 Ph.D. students. He was first author or co-author of more than 430 publications. His scientific work was recognized by five best paper awards. He has a wide range of society memberships and contribution. He is past chair of the Executive Committee of the CIE Division of ASME. Since 2011, he is a fellow of ASME. He is member of the Royal Dutch Institute of Engineers. He received honorary doctor titles from two universities, and the Pahl-Beitz ICONNN award for internationally outstanding contribution to design science and education. Recently, he was distinguished by the 2019 lifetime achievement award of the ASME’s CIE Division. He has served several international journals as editor. He was the initiator of the series of International Tools and Methods of Competitive Engineering (TMCE) Symposia. His current research interests are in various philosophical, methodological, and computational aspects of smart product, system, and service design, as well as in synthetic knowledge science and development of self-adaptive systems.