ABSTRACT
The past decades have witnessed the exponential increase in the number of various computers of everyday use. Modern computers are becoming smaller and smaller while equipped with higher and higher performance in terms of, for example, computational speed and memory size, as promised by Moore’s law. As a consequence, computers are transforming into a lot of new forms. Some examples of new forms of computers include mobile phones, smart sensors, and even ordinary physical things, such as a lamp, a table, and a cup. In other words, many physical things will possess computing and communication capabilities of different levels, which are provided by small and (possibly) invisible computers embedded therein. This integration of networked computing and physical dynamics has lead to the emergence of cyber-physical systems (CPSs), which have become very popular in recent years.
