Help to Advance Humanity with a Career in Cyber-Physical Systems and IoT

Cyber-physical systems and IoT (Internet of Things) are much more than buzzwords. They are technologies revolutionizing the way we live, work, and interact with the world around us by enhancing urban living through improved infrastructure, security, and efficiency.
These technological advances are also creating a booming industry. Data Bridge Market Research estimates that the cyber-physical systems (CPS) market will reach an estimated value of $12.3 billion (USD) by 2028 and grow at a compound annual growth rate of 10.55 percent from 2021 to 2028. The global IoT market, meanwhile, is expected to reach a value of $650.6 billion (USD) by 2026 from $303 billion (USD) in 2021, according to Markets and Markets.
At Northeastern University in Toronto, you can prepare for this reality today. The Master of Science in Cyber-Physical Systems program will help you launch a career in Toronto, North America’s third-largest tech sector, and beyond.
Are you thinking about working in the world of connected devices? Here is an overview of this forward-looking field of work.
What Is a Cyber-Physical System and IoT?
In the simplest terms, CPS integrate physical processes with computational algorithms and networked sensors to monitor and control physical processes in real time. As a result, a CPS connects the physical and cyber worlds. One example of a CPS you will be familiar with is a self-driving car.
The Internet of Things, meanwhile, is a network of interrelated devices that connect and exchange data with each other, the cloud, and the edge within cyber-physical systems. IoT devices are usually embedded in technology, such as sensors and software. That includes everything from smart thermostats and fitness-tracking watches to patient monitoring in healthcare and industrial devices in manufacturing.
How Do Cyber-Physical Systems and IoT Impact Our Lives?
These technologies have been hailed as the key to humanity’s development for the next 100 years. Not only can intelligent solutions improve our personal lives with smart household appliances and devices, but they are also revolutionizing numerous industries. The Top 10 industries using CPS are cybersecurity, healthcare, utilities, automotive and transportation, military, manufacturing, industry 4.0, smart cities, agriculture, and aerospace.
For example, as the world economy deglobalizes and reshoring becomes more prevalent, manufacturing in Canada is projected to double within the next decade, according to Industrie 2023. This expansion, a hallmark of the Fourth Industrial Revolution — the digital revolution — will be facilitated by cyber-physical systems and their associated Industry 4.0 standards and protocols. Newly developed intelligent industrial systems will automate production lines, reducing manufacturing costs while enhancing profitability and bringing production closer to end consumers.
Another example of the impact of these technologies being integrated on a societal scale is the creation of smart cities. No single definition of a smart city exists, but it essentially involves a municipality implementing intelligent systems in areas such as mobility, infrastructure, management, public safety, and energy management. IoT allows cities to become safer by increasing the performance of surveillance and emergency response systems to monitor critical areas and quickly detect potential threats, for example. It also allows for real-time traffic monitoring, smart traffic signal control, and optimized routing to reduce congestion and improve traffic flow.
How Can I Study Cyber-Physical Systems and Internet of Things Solutions?
Northeastern University in Toronto’s Master of Science in CPS incorporates a concentration in IoT, effectively combining both interconnected technologies into one comprehensive program. The innovative program is designed to meet the demand for specialists who can engineer and develop new interactive services.
Northeastern University in Toronto students learn about wireless networking, protocols, sensor networks, security, software development, embedded systems, data analytics, big data, and smart devices and applications. This curriculum gives students the knowledge and tools to develop IoT applications, analyze and design IoT architectures for different application domains, and develop data analytic tools to analyze the large amounts of data generated by the massive deployment of IoT devices.
With 24,000 companies and 289,000 technology workers in the Toronto region, the city is ideal for studying such a related subject.
What is the Career Outlook?
The number of individuals working in tech-specific occupations in Toronto has grown more than 25 percent over the last five years — the highest growth in North America.
On a large scale, the Internet of Things market in Canada is expected to grow 9.75 per cent from 2024 to 2029. This growth will result in a market volume of $17.88 billion (USD) by 2029, indicating the country’s continued investment in these technologies. Careers in the rapidly evolving area of CPS and IoT encompass industry sectors ranging from energy, healthcare, transportation, and infrastructure to manufacturing.
By Izabela Shubair
Sources:
https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/introduction-to-cyber-physical-system/
https://www.techtarget.com/iotagenda/definition/Internet-of-Things-IoT
https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/difference-between-cyber-physical-systemcps-and-internet-of-thingsiot/
https://www.startus-insights.com/innovators-guide/cyber-physical-systems/
https://www.toronto.ca/business-economy/industry-sector-support/technology/
https://www.statista.com/outlook/tmo/internet-of-things/canada