Cyber-Physical Systems Enabled Transport Networks in Smart Cities: Challenges and Enabling Technologies of the New Mobility Era

Wireless communication technologies, smart sensors, enormously enhanced computational capabilities, intelligent controls merge to form Cyber-Physical Systems (CPSs). The synergy achieved due to this integration will considerably transform how humans’ interaction with engineered systems in future smart cities. Such cities will leverage technologies to design, develop, and implement intelligent solutions to provide inclusive development, efficient community infrastructure, and a clean and sustainable environment. One of the domains likely to witness paradigm- shift in future smart cities is transport. The development of urban structures, functionality, and prosperity are intricately connected to how the city designs its mobility infrastructure. Shortly, all vehicles and roadside infrastructures in a city-wide ITS will be enabled with integrated smart sensors, edge computing devices and communication units to provide diversified and inclusive services to its residents. Nonetheless, due to the high heterogeneity and complexity of cross-cutting aspects of CPS, the transportation domain is susceptible to cyber vulnerabilities, threats, illegal access, cyber-attacks, unauthorized information sharing, and so on. This paper attempts to understand smart CPS-enabled transportation systems, it’s conceptual framework, the connected and automated vehicles and other associated technologies and communication networks. Finally, we present the expected demands of the transportation domain in a future smart city and the capabilities of CPS in a demand-supply framework. However, the major intellectual challenge lies in effectively designing-developing-deploying models and algorithms to harness the powers of the integrated TCPS system implemented in the intended environment.