Dynamic Context Modeling for Cyber-Physical Systems Applied to a Pill Dispenser

Abstract

Networked and intelligent cyber-physical systems are being increasingly applied in automation technology. Surrounding parameters representing the ambient environment and the users interacting with these systems can greatly influence their operation and tend to be heterogeneous and dynamic. There is insufficient consideration for these parameters and how they relate to the system and can contribute to optimizing its analysis and operation. Enabling context-awareness for cyber-physical systems presents an approach to consider surrounding and situational factors. In this contribution, the design of context-aware cyber-physical systems is addressed with the goal to first introduce a fitting definition for context-aware cyber-physical systems as well as propose an approach to dynamically model the system’s context in relation to its user and environment. The concept is shown for a user-centric pill dispenser, based on which the role as well as applicability of the context model is presented.