Semantics for Cyber-Physical Systems: A cross-domain perspective

Modern life is increasingly made more comfortable, efficient, and sustainable by the smart systems that surround us: smart buildings monitor and adjust temperature levels to achieve occupant comfort while optimizing energy consumption; smart energy grids reconfigure dynamically to make the best use of ad-hoc energy produced by a host of distributed energy producers; smart factories can be reconfigured on the shop-floor to efficiently produce a diverse range of products. These complex systems can only be realized by tightly integrating components in the physical space (sensors, actuators) with advanced software algorithms in the cyber-space, thus creating so-called Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS). Semantic Web technologies (SWT) have seen a natural uptake in several areas based on CPS, given that CPS are data and knowledge intensive while providing advanced functionalities typical of semantics-based intelligent systems. Yet, so far, this uptake has primarily happened within the boundaries of application domains resulting in somewhat disconnected research communities. In this paper, we take a cross-domain perspective by synthesizing our experiences of using SWTs during the engineering and operation of CPSs in smart manufacturing, smart buildings, and smart grids. We discuss use cases that are amenable to the use of SWTs, benefits and challenges of using these technologies in the CPS lifecycle as well as emerging future trends. While non-exhaustive, our paper aims at opening up a dialog between these fields and at putting the foundation for a research area on semantics in CPS.