PRECISE is a research center within the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) at the University of Pennsylvania. Created in September 2008, its work focuses on embedded computing and integrated systems engineering.
MISSION & SCOPE
Cyber-physical systems (CPS) are physical and engineered systems whose operations are monitored, coordinated, controlled, and integrated by computing and communication cores. As computers and communication bandwidth become faster and cheaper, computing and communication capabilities are increasingly embedded in objects and structures in our physical environment. In most application domains, from home appliances -- to medical devices -- to advanced unmanned air vehicle (UAV) systems, modern engineered products rely increasingly on software for sensing, actuation, and decision-making. The scientific foundations of CPS must include a means for understanding the design, development, implementation, verification, certification, and evolution of such systems. To be realized, these foundations will need to integrate the existing theories of computing and communication systems, sensing and control of physical systems, and interaction between humans and CPS.
The mission of PRECISE is to develop and integrate theory, methods, tools, and systems support for education, research, and implementation of cyber-physical systems.
This mission will be achieved via cutting-edge research and forward-looking education. Bringing together the expertise of PRECISE members, the center will supply those theoretical and engineering foundations which are currently absent. Further, the center will ensure a steady supply of well-prepared engineers, equipped with the skills necessary to develop the CPS of the future.
Although the center has been founded jointly by two SEAS departments (CIS and ESE), the goal of the center is to collaborate closely with researchers and developers in all CPS-application domain areas, including those in other SEAS department, as well as industry.
The center will facilitate several activities for its members:
Development of large-scale projects and proposals;
Development of joint R&D activities with industry groups;
Development of education programs at the undergraduate or M.Sc. levels in the form of a new concentration, major, or degree(s) offered in relevant areas.
The center is especially interested in developing working relations with R&D organizations in the application domain, including those working in the automotive, avionics, embedded system integration, medical device, mobile device and services, process control, smart building, and wireless sensor network fields.
Any interested parties should contact the director of the center, Insup Lee, at lee@cis.upenn.edu.
