AERO-Beam: An Open-architecture Test-Bed for Research and Education in Cyber-Physical Systems

Lawlor O., Bogosyan S., Vural Y., Thompson I., Moss M., Gokasan M.

41st Annual Conference of the IEEE-Industrial-Electronics-Society (IECON), Yokohama, Japan, 9 - 12 November 2015, pp.5080-5086 identifier

  • Publication Type: Conference Paper / Full Text
  • City: Yokohama
  • Country: Japan
  • Page Numbers: pp.5080-5086
  • Istanbul Technical University Affiliated: Yes

Abstract

As cyber-physical systems (CPS) become increasingly a part of our daily life, the need for a well-prepared workforce also becomes evident, calling for new approaches and test-beds to introduce CPS concepts into classrooms at all levels. The literature has many examples of CPS relevant platforms, which are used successfully in research; however, especially the commercial ones are mostly closed-architecture and do not provide an in-depth engagement for the students in all aspects of the hardware and software. This paper introduces a novel platform, known as the AERO-Beam, which conveys many basics of CPS, while also introducing the dynamics and control fundamentals of quadcopters. Quadcopters are widely used in CPS projects, and yet they are either closed-architecture or too complex for use in CPS education. The AERO-Beam addresses the need in many ways, as demonstrated through the multi-level classroom implementation.