The main statement of this paper is that synergetic modeling and co-design of the hardware, software and cyberware parts of complex cyber-physical systems (CPSs) are yet not solved, even from the perspective of an underpinning transdisciplinary theory. CPSs contain functionally tightly connected analog and digital hardware, control, and application software, and knowledge, data, and media contents as cyberware. The lack of a unified theoretical framework and an all-inclusive system conceptualization methodology can be traced back to professional, methodological and cultural differences between the abovementioned domains of development. The objective of our research is to make a step towards a theoretical framework that can support transdisciplinary modeling of CPSs. Architectural and operational modeling have been identified as two principal and interrelated dimensions of system modeling, and a mereo-operandi theory (MOT) has been identified as target. Mereotopology has been considered as the basis of architectural modeling. Operational modeling has been based on parameterized representation of the underlying physical principles, the morphological characteristics, the operation elements, and the overall operation flows. A demonstrative case study is presented to evidence the practical feasibility and utility of the proposed MOT. Our follow up research will focus on using this as a conceptual framework and computational basis for specification of system manifestation features and on a computational implementation to support embedded customization.

The main assumption is that complicated systems, such as cyberphysical systems (CPSs), can be modelled by specific compositions of system manifestation features (SMFs). SMFs are regarded as architectural domains of a system having significance from an operational viewpoint. As system modelling entities, SMFs represent both physical and computing transformations of domains. Based on mereo-operandi theory (MOT), a computational framework for using SMFs in pre-embodiment design of CPSs is proposed. MOT offers a theoretical platform for concurrent modelling of architectural elements and their operations. The traditional 'application feature technology' has been generalised in order to provide a methodological basis. The computational formalisation captures state transitions and input/ output streams, in addition to spatiotemporal, physical and/or computational attributes of domains. Domain transformations are represented by flows of operation (FoOs) that consist of timesequenced and logically constrained sets of units of operations (UoOs), and processed by various computational methods as procedures. The domains of SMFs are aggregated into a feasible architecture, and their UoOs are combined into FoOs. An application case is used to explain the concepts and to demonstrate feasibility of the proposed approach. Further research will focus on implementation of an SMFs-based preembodiment design system and testing its feasibility and usability with designers of CPSs.

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A multi-faceted concept of customizing products and services, mass customization (MC), extends to multiple levels and to wide and diverse approaches and aspects. Although there are many related literature, the principles and technologies of mass customization of cyber-physical systems (CPSs), and in particular cyber-physical consumer durables (CPCDs), have not received enough attention. Unique characteristics of CPCDs make them difficult to be customized by using conventional MC approaches. This paper reports on the conduct and the results of a critical survey towards an in depth understanding of existing MC approaches. As a first step, a comprehensive reasoning model was created, which identified methodology, product life cycle, actors, artifact, and affordances as orthonormal domains of knowledge related to MC. Then, a different classification of MC approaches has been developed in order to provide a better resolution for product life cycle and more explicitly definite MC approaches. The outcome of our survey and analysis shows that although conventional MC approaches offer many applicable principles, none of these approaches, individually, is able to fulfill all the requirements for MC of CPCDs — therefore a novel approach is needed. Development of a novel approach would entail reformulation of applicable principles and generation of new ones. The survey revealed that more focused research is needed to come up with appropriate MC principles that focus on specific families of CPCDs.