Feedback Systems

Cyber components in a CPS application often include algorithms that react to sensor data by issuing control signals via actuators to the physical components of the CPS. Such closed-loop feedback systems are the domain of the classic field of control theory, which studies stability and dynamics of such interactions. CPS, however, requires extending control theory to embrace the dynamics of software and networks, which can have profound effects on stability and dynamics of the physical subsystems. Phenomena that affect dynamics include timing jitter in communications and computation, packet losses in networks, and resource contention.