EQ2871 Cyber-Physical Networking 7.5 credits

The course gives an introduction in the area of networks for cyber-physical systems. On the technical side, it discusses the major challenges, principles, solutions and applications of wired and wireless networks that are utilized for the operation of a cyber-physical system. Regarding skills, the course enables the students to work closely with research literature and teaches students to tackle design, dimensioning and optimization problems with respect to the communication networking of cyber-physical systems.

The course introduces the main challenges, principles, solutions and applications of communication networks for cyber-physical systems. As an emerging networking paradigm, cyber-physical networking spans all communication processes that do not involve humans and which are designed to pursue tasks of automation and autonomy in the most general sense. This enables completely new application areas but introduces many novel and severe challenges. These have been addressed by research over the last couple of years and have initiated new standardization activities as well as significant research findings. This course deals with these new insights, principles and technologies and puts them in relation to applications in factory automation, robotics, traffic automation and other fields. In particular, the course is divided into six different blocks: Introduction to cyber-physical systems and their requirements, cable-based networking for cyber-physical systems,  massive wireless networks for cyber-physical systems, critical wireless networking for cyber-physical networking, aspects of higher-layer networking for cyber-physical networking, and application examples. Each block is accompanied by a mandatory assignment for students to be worked on individually as well as in groups. Assignments that have to be worked on in groups are afterwards presented in front of class.   

In order to pass the course, students should be able to:

- Identify the main challenges associated with cyber-physical networks with respect to the status quo in networking today.

- List the main principles/protocols/algorithms/research activities which address these challenges as of today.

- Describe how these principles/protocols and algorithms solve the challenges at hand.

- Dimension either local or wide-area networks for cyber-physical applications with respect to the principle/protocol chosen.

- Identify limits of principles/protocols and algorithms with respect to cyber-physical applications.

- Analyze a selected application scenario for cyber-physical networking and demonstrate the interrelationship between the different components of the system.

A-level students should in addition be able to:

- Identify the most important research problems in the different areas of cyber-physical networking and current approaches to overcome them.

- Combine different principles/protocols/approaches of different areas/networking layers into a single system conceptually and identify performance bottlenecks.

- Summarize, explain and apply the most important models underlying the major technical solutions developed in the different areas of cyber-physical networking.

Documented knowledge in basics in networking, 5 credits.

The upper secondary course English B/6.

Recommended prerequisites:

- Basics in networking (LAN, WAN, IP, TCP/UDP, higher layer services),

- Basics in wireless communications / networking (Wireless channel, modulation and coding, 802.11, 802.15, cellular networks)

- Basics in cyber-physical systems (i.e. basics in control theory and/or automation)

If the course is discontinued, students may request to be examined during the following two academic years.

• INL1 - Homework, 3.0 credits, grading scale: A, B, C, D, E, FX, F
• TEN1 - Exam, 4.5 credits, grading scale: A, B, C, D, E, FX, F

Based on recommendation from KTH’s coordinator for disabilities, the examiner will decide how to adapt an examination for students with documented disability.

The examiner may apply another examination format when re-examining individual students.

The course is graded on an A-F basis. Assessment contains two components. Students have to work on the exercise sets and take a final exam. All exercise sets together yield a certain grade (A-F).  The final exam is either a written examination or an oral examination. Exams and exercises have a 3:2 weight towards the final grade.

James Gross

• All members of a group are responsible for the group's work.
• In any assessment, every student shall honestly disclose any help received and sources used.
• In an oral assessment, every student shall be able to present and answer questions about the entire assignment and solution.

Further information about the course can be found on the Course web at the link below. Information on the Course web will later be moved to this site.

Replaces EQ2870 Machine to Machine Communications.

In this course, the EECS code of honor applies, see: http://www.kth.se/en/eecs/utbildning/hederskodex.