Computational Intelligence in the Time of Cyber-Physical Systems and the Internet of Things

Abstract The emergence of nontrivial embedded sensor units and cyber-physical systems and the Internet of Things has made possible the design and implementation of sophisticated applications where large amounts of real-time data are collected, possibly to constitute a big data picture as time passes. Within this framework, intelligence mechanisms based on machine learning, neural networks, and brain computing approaches play a key role to provide systems with advanced functionalities. Intelligent mechanisms are needed to guarantee appropriate performances within an evolving, time-variant environment, optimally harvest the available energy and manage the residual energy, reduce the energy consumption of the whole system, identify and mitigate occurrence of faults, and provide shields against cyberattacks. The chapter introduces the above aspects of intelligence, whose functionalities are needed to boost the next generation of cyber-physical and Internet of Things applications, and the smart world generation whose footprint is already around us.