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NIST	Cyber-physical	Systems	Public	Working	Group

Kickoff	Webinar	– June	30,	2014

Comments	of	Howard	Harary,	Acting	Director,	Engineering	Lab

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So,	Why	is	NIST	Convening	this	Public	Working	Group?

• The	field	of	cyber-physical	systems	is	growing	rapidly.	

• But	much	of	this	growth	is	happening	in	a	sector-by-sector	fashion,	leading	to	an	

inevitable duplication	of	effort, and	isolated	solutions	that	aren’t	interoperable.		

• We	can	all	make	progress	much	more	quickly	-- and	efficiently	-- if	we	work	together,	

sharing	ideas	and	collaborating	on	interoperable	solutions.	

• But,	this	requires	that	we	develop	a	shared	language	and	a	common	understanding	of	

the	basic	functional	elements	of	a	cyber-physical	system.		

• And,	in	a	nutshell,	that’s	 the	goal	of	the	Cyber-Physical	Systems	Working	Group	

• to	develop	a	consensus	set	of	definitions and	a	taxonomy,	a	reference	architecture for	

CPS,	and	a	shared	understanding	of	the	critical	roles	of	cybersecurity	and	timing.		

• NIST’s	mission	is	to	promote	U.S.	innovation	and	industrial	competitiveness	by	

advancing	measurement	science,	standards,	and	technology	in	ways	that	enhance	

economic	security	and	improve	our	quality	of	life.	

• The	Engineering	Laboratory,	which	provides	the home	for	NIST’s	Cyber-Physical	Systems	

effort,	complements	the	overall	NIST	mission	by	anticipating	and	meeting	the	

measurement	science	and	standards	needs	for	technology-intensive	manufacturing,	

construction,	and	cyber-physical	systems.

• Pursuing	our	mission	requires	active	collaboration	and	coordination	with	our	industrial,	

academic,	and	other	agency	partners.		

• Providing	strong	technical	expertise	and	maintaining	a technology-neutral	approach	are	

the	hallmarks	of	NIST’s	approach	to	collaborative	efforts.

• And	that’s	the	role	NIST	will	play	in	convening	the	Cyber-Physical	Systems	Public	

Working	Group.	

So,	Why	Now?
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• In	the	field	of	cyber	physical	systems we	see	 three	fast-paced	trends:

- Widespread	deployment	in	sector-specific	applications;

- explosive growth	of	the	Internet	of	Things;	and

- an	increasing	need	for	integrating	cyber-physical	systems	for	systems-ofsystems	solutions	at	scale

• Let’s	consider	each	of	these	trends	and	how	they	might	conflict.	

CPS	Deployment	is	Widespread

• The	good	news	in	the	CPS	field	is	the	growth	of	applications	in	many	sectors	ranging	

from	energy	to	health care,	disaster	resilience,	transportation,	manufacturing,	building	

management,	and	many	others	that	may	directly	involve	you.		

• But	– and	here’s	the	catch	-- these	deployments	are	often	sector-specific	and	are	not	

designed	for	interoperability	across	sectors.		

• Further,	individual	communities,	states,	and	countries	are	implementing	their	own,	

unique	solutions	that	are	also	not	designed	for	interoperability	with	their	neighbors.		

• The	resulting	landscape	of	isolated,	legacy	systems	will	only	continue	to	grow,	making	

solutions	to	create	interoperability	more	and	more	difficult.

• So,	the	time	to	act	is	now.			

Growth	in	the	Internet	of	Things

• I’m	sure	that	you’re	all	familiar	with	the	rapid	growth	of	smart	devices	connected	to	the	

web.		

• Here	are	some	numbers	from	Intel	showing	the	growth	in	the	number	of	those	devices	

over	time.		

• Sometime	between	2000	and	2010	the	number	of	devices	on	the	Internet	exceeded	the	

number	of	people	using	the	web, and	the	concept	of	an	“Internet	of	Things”	was	born.		

• While	the	Internet	of	Things	is	growing	rapidly,	it	lacks	a	common	foundation	for	

interoperability	leaving	‘things’ in	an	Internet	of	Things world	unable	to	connect	

broadly,	and	realize	their	fullest	potential.

• So,	the	sooner	we	take	on	the	challenge	of	shared	metrics,	standards,	and	protocols	for	

a	more	powerful	Internet	of	Things,	the	better.	
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When	Trends	Collide

• The	increasingly	complexity	of	a	21st	century	society cries	out	for systems-of-systems	

solutions	that	require	integrating	Cyberphysical	Systems across	diverse	domains, and	at	

multiple	scales.	Here	are	some	examples:

- Traffic	moves	not	just	within	a	community	but	between	cities, and	across	regions.	Our	

combined	Maryland, Virginia,	and	District	of	Columbia	traffic	challenge	is	a	prime	example.	

That	traffic	cannot	be	managed	city-by-city, with	isolated	systems	that	don’t	interact.	

Interoperability	across	traffic	management	systems	is critical	for	them	to	be	effective.

- Similarly,	vehicle	manufacturers	producing	intelligent	vehicles	that	connect	via	

numerous different	protocols	is	inefficient and	certainly	inhibits progress.	

-Modern	manufacturing,	advanced	manufacturing,	if	you	will,	is	all	about	reducing	the	

time	for	the design	to	production	cycle,	linking	the	members	of	extended	supply	chains,	

providing	for	just-in-time	capabilities,	and	achieving	economical	mass	customization to	

meet	customer	needs.		These	and	other	advanced	manufacturing	goals	require	integrating	

the	elements	of	the	manufacturing	landscape	into	a	comprehensive,	responsive	

interoperating	system.	Isolated	systems	just	can’t	meet	that	need.

-Today’s health	care	systems	are fractured	around	provider	organizations,	with	each	

having	its	own	approach	and	requiring	the	patient	to	integrate	their	own	care.	Moving	

towards a	more	effective	and	efficient	health	care	system	centered	around	the	patient	

rather	than	on	institutions	requires	integrating	health	systems	for	primary	care,	assisted	

living,	,	the	pharmacy,	hospitals	and	other	providers.		

All	of	this	requires	developing	a	common	technical	foundation	that	will	enable	us	to	work	

together	to	create	the	cyber-physical	systems	of	the	future.		That’s	the	goal	of	the	CPS	Public	

Working	Group.		

And	now	is	a	great	time	to	get	started	on	this	important	work.