# Autonomous Cyber-Physical Systems Enabling Smart Positive Energy Districts
## 3 Emerging Technologies Enabling Positive Energy Districts
### Technological Challenges in Positive Energy Districts  
Automation indicates the reduction of human intervention in processes through the utilization of a wide range of technologies. In PEDs, buildings, cities, and districts create dynamic self-updating structures, automation, and interconnected infrastructures. * _Automation of environmental sensing and monitoring:_ Diverse challenges regarding the automation of environmental sensing and monitoring are listed, together with potential solutions for addressing these challenges [78]:
* _Amplified data exchange:_ Due to amplified data exchange across urban areas, increased automation is increasingly being deployed to facilitate local governance and optimization of the services offered [45]. A lack of clear guidelines or standards for modeling these data flows, however, results in limited scalability and changing needs. * _Accurate and precise data gathering:_ Achieving accurate and precise data gathering by automated sensors and monitoring systems can be challenging--use of contemporary technologies for error detection and correction, sophisticated data collection techniques, and vigorous validation mechanisms will improve data correctness. * _Changes in correctness of measures:_ Due to, e.g., changes in environmental conditions (which may lead to changes in physical properties and samples), sensor drift (sensor output values changing over time), and calibration issues (comparison of measurement values delivered by a device under test with those of a calibration standard of known accuracy) are serious challenges that need to be identified at an early stage--implementation of strategies for data integration of environmental conditions, and performance of regular sensor calibrations and maintenance are potential solutions. * _Incompatibility of data formats, resolution, and quality:_ Unifying the data returned from remote sensors, satellite images, and ground-based stations is challenging--potential solutions include the application of data conversion to achieve the same format for all data. * _High costs_: The upfront and continuous costs of automation technologies can be challenging--potential solutions include minimizing interruption, and frequent and regular maintenance, including sensor calibration, software and hardware updates, preventive maintenance, and deployment of automated monitoring systems. * _Access to power, network connections, and infrastructure:_ Data storage and data transmission are imperative for the smooth operation of PEDs. Potential solutions include automated monitoring to avoid disruptions. * _Interdisciplinary collaboration:_ A general approach, due to PEDs' complexity and interdisciplinary characteristics, to overcoming challenges concerning environmental monitoring and sensing automation is the collaboration of experts from diverse fields, including computer systems, engineering, social and environmental sciences, and economics. * _Security:_ The privacy, safety, and security of CPSs in smart PEDs face considerable challenges because of their vulnerabilities to cyber-attacks. Robust security mechanisms to protect against threats like energy theft, grid instability, and unauthorized access are needed. Advanced cybersecurity measures, integrated frameworks, and innovative technologies (e.g., blockchain and quantum computing) can be used to ensure system resilience and protect the system against potential threats (e.g., attacks that create security deficits, affect national grid security, and cause life loss or large-scale economic damage from lack of integrity and confidentiality) [33]. (ii) _National security deficits and loss-of-life interdependencies between energy generation method (GM), control method (CM), and energy management system (EMS) topologies_: The local energy management system needs a decentralized management and monitoring system.