The Landscape of Cyber-Physical Systems Education

The rapid rise of cyber-physical systems (CPS) has created a significant need for new classes and curricula that teach the foundations, principles, and expertise needed to develop CPS and conduct CPS research. Universities and faculty have responded overwhelmingly at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. Examples of major worldwide accomplishments of the CPS education field are described in this paper. One of the first major accomplishments is the results of a three-year study performed by the National Academy of Engineering. Highlights of the study include foundations, principles, skills required for CPS, and example classes and curricula. Some universities have implemented an entire curriculum and others multiple classes. The paper presents examples of both situations. These examples provide details on class objectives, content, tools, testbeds, class projects, challenges, lessons learned, successes, and next steps. The presence of textbooks is a sign of an emerging and stabilizing discipline. A brief survey is given of CPS textbooks that treat fundamentals or that focus on a particular application domain or key CPS topic. Finally, a brief discussion on the future of CPS education is presented.