Automated process adaptation in cyber-physical domains with the SmartPM system

Cyber Physical Systems (CPSs) refer to a new generation of embedded ICT systems (PCs, smartphones, sensors, actuators, etc.) that are interconnected and collaborating to provide users with a wide range of innovative applications and services. Many application domains, e.g., Emergency management, factories of the future, personalized healthcare, just to name a few, require the definition, design and development of systems able to carry out complex processes that coordinate the services offered by the CPS in the "physical" real world. The physical world, however, is not entirely predictable, and such processes must be robust to unexpected conditions and adaptable to unanticipated exceptions. This demands a more flexible approach in process design and enactment, recognizing that in real-world environments it is not adequate to assume that all possible recovery activities can be predefined for dealing with the exceptions that can ensue. In this paper, we tackle the above issue and we propose an approach and a process management system implementation, called SmartPM, for automatically adapting processes enacted in cyber-physical domains in case of unanticipated exceptions and exogenous events.