The knowledge developed by academic computer science (CS) is applied to various non-academic situations to arrive at systems that help humans perform tasks that were either out of their reach for being too complex or the tasks that are repetitive in nature. Techniques developed in CS and software engineering are being put to use in the following areas. Computer science, or computing science, is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and their implementation and application in computer systems. ... Software engineering is the application of a systematic, disciplined, quantifiable approach to the development, operation, and maintenance of software. ...

Domain listing ^[1]

SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition)

Automation of industrial manufacturing processes for better precision, optimal resource usage for production, better and consistent product yields, mechanical control in environments too hazardous for human operators.

How CS helps?

SCADA software products collect data (control parameters) from the sensors in the actual field. Based on this input and the control logic specified by a process engineers, certain actions are taken by manipulating certain preidentified controlled parameters to achieve the results desired by the manufacturing process. The software provides means to interface known as well as new data scanners, means to specify the control logic, GUI for human interactions and overall configuration of numerous control applications that could be developed using the software. Engineers from Computer Science stream have certain advantages - such as knowledge of internal architecture of microcontrollers as well as microprocessors. Knowledge of lower level programming languages like Assembly and higher level languages like C and C++, C#. GUI can refer to the following: GUI is short for graphical user interface, a term used to describe a type of interface in computing. ...

Challenges to consider

1. SCADA in control engineering has a long history of evolution. Training and getting work experience is not very easy in most of the countries.
2. Control Systems like Distributed Control System (DCS) also plays a major role in automation.
3. Knowledge of an array of various programmable logic controllers (PLCs), production processes, quality measures, communications protocols like Modbus, Profibus, CAN etc. is essential.
4. Most of the projects have to be implemented onsite at shop floor (factory floor). So travelling is an inevitable part of this career option.

A distributed control system (DCS) refers to a control system usually of a manufacturing system or process or any kind of dynamic system, in which the controller elements are not central in location (like the brain) but are distributed throughout the system with each component sub-system under the control... PLC* & input/output arrangements A Programmable Logic Controller*, PLC*, or Programmable Controller*(*PLC or Programmable Logic Controller is a registered trademark of the Allen-Bradley Company) is an electronic device used for automation of industrial processes, such as control of machinery on factory assembly lines. ... In the field of telecommunications, a communications protocol is the set of standard rules for data representation, signalling, authentication, and error detection required to send information over a communications channel. ... Modbus is a serial communications protocol published by Modicon in 1979 for use with its programmable logic controllers (PLCs). ... PROFIBUS (Process Field Bus) is the most popular type of fieldbus with worldwide more than 10 million nodes (2004) in use. ... Controller Area Network (CAN) is a broadcast, differential serial bus standard, originally developed in the 1980s by Robert Bosch GmbH, for connecting electronic control units (ECUs). ...

Embedded systems

Any computing system that controls electronics hardware for delivering specific, predetermined results. Characteristics that distinguish embedded systems from the conventional workstation/ personal computers are: Sun SPARCstation 1+, 25mhz RISC processor from early 1990s A workstation, such as a Unix workstation, RISC workstation or engineering workstation, is a high-end desktop or deskside microcomputer designed for technical applications. ...

• most of these systems have restricted resources such as processor power and memory. These constraints impose stricter limitations on the way software could be written and debugged.
• paradoxical requirements of real time performance for timely response for given limited resources. Delayed response by few seconds from an inventory management software would not matter as much as nanosecond response delays in an aeroplane flight control system.
• once commissioned to a task they are designed for, they cannot be customized further to perform other tasks.
• lack of a typical keyboard and a display monitor for the systems that do not need human intervention. For those that do need, there are alternate means of input (jog wheel on an iPod) and output (tiny LCDs on PDAs). They can be found in all forms--miniature form factors such as an iPOD, cell phone to as large as space shuttle control.

How CS helps?

Techniques of writing time and memory space efficient programs by employing low foot print data structures and algorithms. Die of an Intel 80486DX2 microprocessor (actual size: 12×6. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Debugging is a methodical process of finding and reducing the number of bugs, or defects, in a computer program or a piece of electronic hardware thus making it behave as expected. ... It has been suggested that Real-time computing be merged into this article or section. ... A computer keyboard is a peripheral partially modeled after the typewriter keyboard. ... A computer display monitor, usually called simply a monitor when the meaning is clear from the context, is a piece of electrical equipment which displays viewable images generated by a computer without producing a permanent record. ... iPod (fifth generation) in Apple Universal Dock, iPod nano (second generation) and iPod shuffle (second generation) iPod is a brand of portable media players designed and marketed by Apple and launched in 2001. ... LCD redirects here. ... Personal digital assistants (PDAs) are handheld computers that were originally designed as personal organizers, but became much more versatile over the years. ... Motorola T2288 mobile phone A mobile phone is a portable electronic device which behaves as a normal telephone whilst being able to move over a wide area (compare cordless phone which acts as a telephone only within a limited range). ... NASAs Space Shuttle, officially called Space Transportation System (STS), is the United States governments current manned launch vehicle. ... A binary tree, a simple type of branching linked data structure. ...

Challenges to consider

Multimedia

This is quite a wide field encompassing creation of information contents, storage, transmission/ distribution and rendering in various mediums. The information contents could be consisting of one or more of text, audio, static images and video.

The field includes digital signal processing. Digital signal processing (DSP) is the study of signals in a digital representation and the processing methods of these signals. ...

How CS helps?

Specialized techniques in information capture: WYSIWYG text and graphics editors, digital signal processing (DSP) for compression (encoding) of audio, image, and video data in digital forms such as MPEG for efficient storage and transmission. Multimedia oriented content distribution systems: video on demand. Techniques and algorithms in computer graphics for rendering the images, video and graphics. DSP based decoders for high fidelity audio playback. WYSIWYG (IPA Pronunciation [] or []), is an acronym for What You See Is What You Get, used in computing to describe a system in which content during editing appears very similar to the final product. ... Digital signal processing (DSP) is the study of signals in a digital representation and the processing methods of these signals. ... The word encoding has a number of meanings. ... The Moving Picture Experts Group or MPEG is a working group of ISO/IEC charged with the development of video and audio encoding standards. ... Video on demand (VOD) systems allow users to select and watch video content over a network as part of an interactive television system. ... Computer graphics is a sub-field of computer science and is concerned with digitally synthesizing and manipulating visual content. ... A Digitrax DH163AT DCC decoder in an Athearn locomotive before the shell goes on. ...

Challenges to consider

Telecommunications

How CS helps?

Challenges to consider

Computer networks

How CS helps?

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Computer network security

How CS helps?

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Business applications - BFSI (banking, finance and insurance)

Software systems that maintain database of financial accounts of an organization's customers. Data retrieval and presentation functions such as account statement, billing are provided to support the pre-defined business processes.

How CS helps?

These systems make use of ready-to-use database systems for efficient data storage and retrieval. Based on specified requirements, data entry forms are provided by a user interface front-end. Data reports are generated using SQL queries on the backend database.

Challenges to consider

Business applications - retail

How CS helps?

Challenges to consider

Business applications - CRM (customer relationship management)

How CS helps?

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Business applications - business processes and practices

How CS helps?

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Knowledge contents management

Software products that help people to create, manipulate and present their knowledge/ data. For example the business productivity enhancement suites offered by Adobe and Microsoft.

How CS helps?

Efficient techniques in internal data representation, advanced GUI for presentation, seamless device Plug-n-play techniques for integrating various media contents, use of advanced access control techniques for enforcing digital rights of the contents provider, complex logic that enables real time collaboration and workflow of information workers. GUI can refer to the following: GUI is short for graphical user interface, a term used to describe a type of interface in computing. ... Plug and Play is a term used in the computer field to describe a computers ability to have new devices, normally peripherals, added to it without having to restart the computer. ... Digital Rights Management (generally abbreviated to DRM) is an umbrella term that refers to any of several technologies used by publishers or copyright owners to control access to and usage of digital data or hardware, and to restrictions associated with a specific instance of a digital work or device. ...

Challenges to consider

References

1. ^ IEEE: Careers in Computer Science and Computer Engineering

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