Advanced Systems and Business Software Packages

A cyber-physical system (サイバーフィジカルシステム) uses sensors and similar devices to capture the state of the real world (physical space), analyzes it in the world inside computers (cyberspace), and returns the results to real machines or to people's decisions.

Physical space means the world that actually exists, with its machines, people and cities, while cyberspace means the world built inside computers and networks. Repeating the loop of collecting, analyzing and feeding back lets you, for instance, spot a failing machine early and service it before it stops, or retime traffic lights to match the flow of cars. IoT devices commonly handle the data collection, and AI commonly handles the analysis.

AnalogyIt resembles taking your temperature, having a doctor choose medicine from the reading, and measuring again after you take it. The measuring tool and the thinking mind are separate, and the decision comes back to act on the body, just as in a CPS.

How to rememberSplit the name in two: cyber is the world inside computers, physical is the tangible world, and the system links the pair.

CPS (CPS) takes the initials of Cyber-Physical System and is the abbreviation for a cyber-physical system.

It means exactly the same thing as a cyber-physical system: a setup that gathers real-world data, analyzes it and sends the results back to the real world. Reports and articles sometimes use just the three letters CPS in place of the full Japanese name.

How to rememberC is Cyber (inside the computer), P is Physical (the tangible world), and S is System. Read the letters in order: S joins the two worlds of C and P.

A digital twin (デジタルツイン) is a technique that copies the shape and state of real equipment or products into virtual space as data, creating a twin that behaves just like the real thing.

Because data from sensors on the real side keeps updating the twin's state, looking at the virtual space shows you how things stand in reality right now. Running simulations on the twin under different conditions lets you forecast when failures will occur and check whether an improvement works, without stopping or damaging the real equipment.

AnalogyIt is like moving furniture around a scale model of a room before deciding where it goes. The difference is that a digital twin's model keeps updating itself as the real room changes.

How to rememberTwin means one of a matched pair. Picture the name literally: the real object has a sibling living inside the digital world.

A business-function software package (業務別ソフトウェアパッケージ) is commercial software aimed at work that many companies share regardless of industry, such as accounting or human resources.

It covers work that companies in any industry do in much the same way, such as bookkeeping and preparing financial statements in accounting, or managing staff records and attendance in HR. Because it is built around procedures many companies share, it is easier to introduce in less time and at lower cost than developing your own system from scratch. On the other hand, wherever it does not fit the company's own way of working, the company either changes how it does the work or fills the gap with extra development (customization).

AnalogyThink of the calculator and planner that people in every profession use: tools for tasks everyone needs, whatever their line of work.

How to rememberThe 務 in 業務別 is the 務 of duties, as in 事務 (office work) and 職務 (job duties). That one character tells you the product is chosen by department tasks found in companies of every industry, like those of an accounting or HR section.

An industry-specific software package (業種別ソフトウェアパッケージ) is commercial software built for work unique to one industry, such as banking or hospitals.

A hospital package, for example, handles treatment records and medical fee calculations, and a construction package tracks costs project by project, so each comes with processing unique to its field and features that follow that industry's rules. Since it targets a single industry, a company in a different industry is poorly served by using it as is.

AnalogyLike a chef's knife or a carpenter's saw, it is a specialized tool whose shape is set by the work of one trade.

How to rememberThe 種 in 業種 means kind or type, as in 種類. That one character tells you the product is made for each kind of industry, such as banking or medicine.

DTP (DTP, DeskTop Publishing) is the work of arranging text, photos and graphics on a computer to make the pages of printed matter, and the term can also mean the software used for it.

The name means you can do publishing work on top of a desk, using a computer and software for the typesetting and camera-ready artwork that once depended on skilled craftspeople and special equipment. It is used to produce flyers, brochures, magazines and books, and you can edit while checking on screen how the finished page will look.

AnalogyIt is like making a wall newspaper that used to be cut and pasted by hand, except you now move the articles and photos around as pieces on a screen.

How to rememberPut Desk, Top and Publishing together and you get a publisher on your desk. The P stands for Publishing, not Printing.