With the rapid development of information, communication and computer technologies, human society has entered a hybrid world, also referred to as the Cyber-Physical-Social Systems (CPSS), which involves the cyber space, physical space and social space. The cyber space mainly contains discrete and logical data such as the computation, communication, and control information, which are in the form of “0” and “1”. The physical space is the natural and human-made space, governed by physical laws and operates in continuous time. The social space consists of human and social relationships, the aim of which is to describe the thoughts, action, mind, sense, interaction, and communication of human beings. CPSS is the systematically and comprehensively integration of the cyber, physical and social spaces, which includes these three spaces and their integrations such as the Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS), the integration of cyber space and physical space, also known as Internet-of-Things, Cyber-Social Systems (CSS), the integration of cyber space and social space, also known as Social Computing, and the integration of all these three spaces.

Through research and technology development on services provision for users at any-time, and-where and by any-means has been witnessed significant progress. CPSS, as the next stage of the services provision for users, has the ultimate purpose to provide the proactive and personalized services at right-time, right-where and by right-means. To realize this purpose, data, as the common element flowing around the three spaces, generated and collected from the living trajectory and hidden the information of users’ requirement, and interesting, are selected as the starting point of research. In addition, further researches such as CPSS system architecture designed, CPSS data processing and analysis, CPSS security and privacy protection, and CPSS applications and activities are essentially needed.

For the aforementioned challenges, this task force on “Cyber-Physical-Social Systems” perfectly fits the scope of the SWTC with the primary focus of providing a high-profile, leading-edge forum, venue and platform for researchers, engineers, practitioners and services providers to 1) present stat-of-the-art advances and innovations, 2) show their latest work, views, perspective and research on CPSS, 3) establish cooperation and exchange mechanism, 4) identify emerging research topics and define the future of CPSS. This task force will collaborate closely with other existing task forces such as Intelligent Cyber-Physical Systems Task Force, User-Centred Smart Systems Task Force of IEEE CIS SWTC.

Chair: Laurence Tianruo Yang (ltyang@stfx.ca), St. Francis Xavier University, Canada

Vice Chair: Xiaokang Wang (xkwang@stfx.ca), St. Francis Xavier University, Canada