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From machine-to-machine communications towards cyber-physical systems

Wan Jiafu (College of Information Engineering, Guangdong Jidian Polytechnic, Guangzhou, China)
Chen Min (School of Computer Science and Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China)
Xia Feng (School of Software, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, China)
Di Li (School of Mechanical and Automotive Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, China)
Zhou Keliang (College of Electrical Engineering and Automation, JiangXi University of Science and Technology, Ganzhou, China)

In recent years, cyber-physical systems (CPS) have emerged as a promising direction to enrich the interactions between physical and virtual worlds. In this article, we first present the correlations among machine-to-machine (M2M), wireless sensor networks (WSNs), CPS and internet of things (IoT), and introduce some research activities in M2M, including M2M architectures and typical applications. Then, we review two CPS platforms and systems that have been proposed recently, including a novel prototype platform for multiple unmanned vehicles with WSNs navigation and cyber-transportation systems. Through these reviews, we propose CPS is an evolution of M2M by the introduction of more intelligent and interactive operations, under the architecture of IoT. Also, we especially hope to demonstrate how M2M systems with the capabilities of decision-making and autonomous control can be upgraded to CPS and identify the important research challenges related to CPS designs.

Keywords: internet of things, machine-to-machine communications, wireless sensor networks, cyber-physical systems, unmanned vehicles, cyber-transportation systems, challenges