A flight-proven electrical bus system for the 1U CubeSat platform was designed in the BIRDS satellite program at the Kyushu Institute of Technology. The bus utilizes a backplane board as the mechanical and electrical interface between the subsystems and the payloads. The electrical routes on the backplane are configured by software using a complex programmable logic device (CPLD). It allows for reusability in multiple CubeSat projects while lowering costs and development time; as a result, resources can be directed toward developing the mission payloads. Lastly, it provides more time for integration and system-level verification, which are critical for a reliable and successful mission. The current trend of CubeSat launches is focused on 3U and 6U platforms due to their capability to accommodate multiple and complex payloads. Hence, a demonstration of the electrical bus system to adapt to larger platforms is necessary. This study demonstrates the configurable electrical interface board’s scalability in two cases: the capability to accommodate (1) multiple missions and (2) complex payload requirements. In the first case, a 3U-size configurable backplane prototype was designed to handle 13 mission payloads. Four CPLDs were used to manage the limited number of digital interfaces between the existing bus system and the mission payloads. The measured transmission delay was up to 20 ns, which is acceptable for simple serial communications such as UART and SPI. Furthermore, the measured energy consumption of the backplane per ISS orbit was only 28 mWh. Lastly, the designed backplane was proven to be highly reliable as no bit errors were detected throughout the functionality tests. In the second case, a configurable backplane was implemented in a 6U CubeSat with complex payload requirements compared to the 1U CubeSat platform. The CubeSat was deployed in ISS orbit, and the initial on-orbit results indicated that the designed backplane supported missions without issues.

The rapid growth of urban traffic has necessitated the integration of intelligent systems within Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) for real-time monitoring and management. This paper presents an efficient approach to vehicle detection and recognition tailored for Traffic Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS), aimed at enhancing situational awareness, safety, and traffic flow optimization. Leveraging a combination of computer vision techniques and deep learning models, the proposed framework accurately detects vehicles in diverse environmental conditions and recognizes their types and license plates. The system incorporates real-time image acquisition from roadside cameras, pre-processing pipelines, and a convolutional neural network (CNN)-based architecture for robust vehicle classification and identification. Experimental results demonstrate high accuracy and reliability across various traffic scenarios, including low-light and high-occlusion conditions. The proposed model is scalable, adaptable to edge-based deployment, and contributes significantly to the development of responsive and intelligent traffic CPS infrastructure. This research lays the foundation for more comprehensive intelligent transportation systems, facilitating autonomous decision-making and efficient traffic control.

We developed two distinct automatic packet reporting system (APRS) payload designs to establish a reliable backup communication system for disaster risk reduction and management. The payloads are designed to perform a significant key operation, primarily APRS digital repeating (DP), enabling continuous communication access even in areas where conventional ground-based infrastructure is damaged by natural disasters through the relay of APRS packets to extend communication coverage. A detailed framework is designed using the standard amateur packet radio (AX.25 protocol). It specifies the structure of APRS data frames and packets, which are used to transmit alerts, emergency status updates, and text messages. This structure ensures that important information is transmitted reliably and effectively during an emergency. The designs for the APRS payloads share a common overall operating system architecture but differ in their very high frequency transceiver modules used for the amateur radio (Radiometrix BiM1H very high frequency (VHF) Narrowband Transceiver and Dorji DRA818V VHF Band Voice Transceiver Module).