Advanced 

Manufacturing 

at NIST

June 19, 2012

Visiting Committee 

on Advanced 

Technology, NIST

Foundations for Innovation 

in Cyber-Physical Systems

Dr. S. Shyam Sunder

Director, Engineering Laboratory

National Institute of Standards

and Technology

U.S. Department of Commerce
Major Points

• CPS are the FUTURE

• Fundamental R&D is needed

• NIST is engaged NOW
Cyber-Physical Systems in the Context 

of Advanced Manufacturing

• Huge potential impact on 

manufacturing

• But, where are CPS standards?

• NIST has domain-specific programs 

• Not addressing cross-cutting 

technology gaps

• Not addressing fundamental 

research challenges Vaclav Volrab/ Shutterstock
Many Federal Agencies Have a 

Common Stake in CPS R&D

• CPS linked to mission success

• CPS linked to innovation and economic growth

• Federal NITRD (Networking and IT R&D) program 

coordinates interagency CPS R&D
Cyber-Physical Systems -

Enabling a new generation of “smart” systems 

Through the 

convergence of 

networking and 

information 

technology with 

manufactured 

products, 

engineered 

systems of 

products, and 

associated 

services

Images©Shutterstock.com
Cyber-Physical 

Systems

Buildings 

& Structures

Emergency 

Response

Transportation

Smart Production

Healthcare

Warfighting

Infrastructure

Images©Shutterstock.com
What are Cyber-Physical Systems? 

• Integrated, hybrid networks of cyber and engineered 

physical elements

• Co-designed and co-engineered to create adaptive 

and predictive systems

• Enhance performance including safety and security, 

reliability, agility and stability, efficiency and 

sustainability, privacy 
Cyber-Physical Systems Concept Map

CyberPhysical 

Systems

Control 

Systems

Applications 

of CPS

Validation and 

Verification

Wireless 

Sensing and 

Actuation Hybrid 

Models

Concurrency, 

Communication, 

and Interoperability

Scalability and 

Complexity 

Management Cyber 

Security

Source: Edward Lee, UC Berkeley http://cyberphysicalsystems.org

Images©Shutterstock.com
CPS Platform Technologies: Concept Map

CyberPhysical 

Systems

Control 

Systems

Applications 

of CPS

Validation and 

Verification

Wireless 

Sensing and 

Actuation Hybrid 

Models

Concurrency, 

Communication, 

and Interoperability

Scalability and 

Complexity 

Management Cyber 

Security

Continuous and 

Discrete

Human in 

the Loop

Multiform Time

Adaptive and 

Predictive

Networked 

Control

Intelligent 

Systems

Models of 

Computation

Heterogeneity

Real-Time 

Systems

Time 

Synchronization

Networking

Resilience Privacy

Malicious 

Attacks

Intrusion 

Detection

Legacy 

Systems

Design 

Methodology

Modularity and 

Composability Tools

Certification

Stochastic 

Models

Simulation

Assurance

Transportation

Infrastructure

Healthcare

Manufacturing

Emergency 

Response

Warfighting

Source: Edward Lee, UC Berkeley http://cyberphysicalsystems.org
CyberPhysical 

Systems

Control 

Systems

Applications 

of CPS

Validation and 

Verification

Wireless 

Sensing and 

Actuation Hybrid 

Models

Concurrency, 

Communication, 

and Interoperability

Scalability and 

Complexity 

Management Cyber 

Security

Source: Edward Lee, UC Berkeley http://cyberphysicalsystems.org

Key R&D Challenges

• Co-designing hybrid secure networked systems 

• Diagnostics & prognostics for evolving 

complex, dynamic systems 

• Anticipating emergent behaviors arising 

from interactions

• Multi-scale, multi-physics, multi-temporal modeling 

• Including uncertainty and risk into reasoning 

and decision-making

• Modeling levels of autonomy and optimizing 

the roles of humans
 What is NIST’s CPS R&D Strategy? 

• Address cross-cutting R&D challenges 

through fundamental and applied research

• Enable self-consistent solutions across 

diverse applications through platformbased architectures, tools, and standards

• Establish strong interagency and publicprivate partnerships
Impacts

• Potential Economic Impact

– Increased exports and reshoring

– Innovative new products and services

– Creation/retention of U.S. jobs

• Potential National Impacts 

– Strengthen U.S. economic and 

national security

– Enhance U.S. competitiveness

– Improve quality of life for Americans

Baloncici/Shutterstock.com

Santiago Cornejo /Shutterstock.com

Dusit/Shutterstock.com
NIST CPS Actions

• NIST CPS Working Group (January 2011)

• Cooperative Agreement with University of Maryland for CPS R&D 

(Kick-off December 2011)

• Short Course for NIST Executives and Senor Staff delivered by world class 

industry and research leaders (January 19-20, 2012)

• Idea Submission Opportunity (crowdsourcing)

• R&D Needs Assessment Workshop: Foundations for Innovation in CPS 

(March 13-14, 2012)

• Performance Metrics for Intelligent Systems (PerMIS) Workshop – CPS 

Theme (March 20-22, 2012)

• Cyber-Security for CPS Workshop (April 23-24, 2012)

• CTO Roundtable (June 18, 2012): Strategic Vision and Drivers

• CPS Testbed @ NIST 
CPS Testbed @ NIST

Testbed areas of study:

• Architectures: Protocols for communications, 

control, cybersecurity, and interoperability

• Models: Validation, verification, 

uncertainty and integration

• Sensors: Calibration, uncertainties, wireless 

networks, robustness, interference

• Cybersecurity: Security of components and 

systems, protocol testing, graceful degradation

• NIST is developing a Cyber-Physical 

Systems testbed that will integrate 

multiple, distributed applications

− Smart Manufacturing

− Smart Micro-grid

− Smart Structural Systems

− Smart Fire Fighting 

− Smart Health Care

Smart Community
CPS in President’s FY13 Budget Request 

to Support Smart Manufacturing (+$10M) 

• Smart manufacturing exploits advances in numerous 

technologies to improve performance & quality at all levels 

• CPS is a critical foundation for smart manufacturing

• Measurement Science and Standards for CPS Engineering 

• Quality Measurement Systems for Smart Manufacturing
Summary

• CPS is critical for our future 

• Significant fundamental research issues remain

• Numerous measurement science barriers exist

• NIST has programmatic efforts underway
Shyam Sunder

Director 

 

 

301 975 5900

sunder@nist.gov

Engineering Laboratory

National Institute of Standards and Technology

100 Bureau Drive

 Gaithersburg, MD 20899-8600

www.nist.gov/el

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