A metamodeling approach for safe control software

The present study describes the development of control hardware and software for a mobile welding robot. This robot is able to move and perform welding tasks in a double hull structure. The control hardware consists of a main controller and a welding machine controller. Control software consists of four layers. Each layer consists of modules. Suitable combinations of modules enable the control software to perform the required tasks. Control software is developed using C programming under QNX operating system. For the modularizing architecture of control software, we designed control software with four layers: Task Manager, Task Planner, Actions for Task, and Task Executer. The embedded controller and control software was applied to the mobile welding robot for successful execution of the required tasks. For evaluate this imbedded controller and control software, the field tests are conducted, it is confirmed that the developed imbedded controller of mobile welding robot for shipyard is well designed and implemented.

In order to solve the problem that it is difficult to achieve better multi-robot coordination operation using the original control system in multi-robot cooperative systems, this paper conducts system modeling, control framework design and software development and verification experiments for multi-robot cooperative systems. We firstly model the system composed of multiple robots and operated objects. The coordination between any two robots can be divided into two categories: loose coordination and tight coordination according to the constraint relationship between the robots and the objects, based on which the kinematics and dynamics analysis of the multi-robot system is carried out. A multi-robot cooperative control framework is designed, which contains modules for task planning, force and position assignment, sensor information acquisition, position/force control and synchronization clock. On the basis of the multi-robot cooperative control system, the robot cooperative control software is designed and developed, and the software system contains, with excellent characteristics. Finally, an experimental environment containing three large-load EFORT industrial robots was established and experiments were conducted using the developed multi-robot cooperative control software to verify the usability and reliability of the software system.

Nowadays due to the technology development and use of digital computers in various systems, need for development of high performance and robust software is attracting great attentions. Because of increasing complexity in algorithms and implementation hardware for embedded systems, proper simulation tools are required. In sophisticated systems design, hardware in the loop (HIL) simulation is known as a prominent simulation tool before realistic tests of the system and a step after software simulation. Simultaneously it can be used for verification and validation of automation and control software. HIL has had an historical background in aerospace industries. Recently, this tool has spread in different steps of system life cycle such as design, development, implementation and test of various applications including automobile industry, shipbuilding, power lines, robotic systems and etc. Utilizing a suitable hardware in the loop laboratory, in system design stages is a practical way to increase the system reliability and efficiency as well as value of product. Also, by proper investigation in this modelling and simulation method, many errors can be avoided in design procedure of software and hardware as well as their interconnections. In this study, structure and components of an hardware in the loop laboratory for different systems are explored, also it is tried to more evaluate the applications of HIL simulations in dynamics and control engineering. At last, general structure of an hardware in the loop lab for diverse industries is proposed and discussed.

With the growing adoption of Industry 4.0 concepts in production systems, new challenges arise in engineering control software. Highly distributed control with tight real-time constraints and safety regulations results in increasingly complex software. Current research focuses on increasing the abstraction with new architectures and modularization of software. The presented PhD research addresses modeling of the interactions between control software components, and of the emergent behavior of these compositions. Such behavior models can support the initial implementation, and facilitate (semi-)automated testing and monitoring of control software. Finally, visualizing behavior in a model can enhance understandability of existing control software, when software developers need not access abstracted hierarchy levels to deduct their functionality. This work aims at optimizing the benefit of behavior models in developing control software: Modeling the expected behavior directly for new software will allow using them throughout the software life-cycle. For legacy software, the initial development effort of behavior models will be minimized by automatically capturing behavior models from the implementation. The approach is evaluated in case studies and user studies to integrate experiences from the industrial domain into this software engineering research.

A three-step approach is proposed to substantially reduce the high cost of development of control software for an FMS on the shop floor. First, by introducing the concept of multiple computing processes into Automata Theory, a finite capacity machine (FCM) is presented as an extended finite machine. An FCM is used to model the control of a flexible manufacturing system, which avoids the state explosion problem. Secondly, a structured adaptive supervisory control (SASC) model meeting the desired control objectives for an FMS is derived from a composed FCM. The SASC model can be constructed systematically. Finally, generic software components for an SASC model are described, which allow the SASC model to be cost-effectively transferred into shop-floor applicable control software.

In a smart energy system, power converters should be controlled by complex control software. However the efficient development of reliable control software is difficult. We have proposed to introduce a “model-based design” process using MATLAB/Simulink, established in the automotive and aerospace fields, to the development of power electronics systems. However, it was difficult in the past because calculating switching circuit as the plant model is difficult in MATLAB/Simulink due to the socalled stiff equation problem. Thus, in this study, we have developed a simulation environment in which the standard model-based design tool, MATLAB/Simulink, and the simulation engine for power switching circuits, SCALE, work cooperatively. SCALE was originally developed to solve stiff equation and efficiently simulate power switching circuits. This software environment enables us to design control algorithms with intuitive block diagram expression and test them in actual hardware, without writing a C program. Furthermore to improve this environment, a mechanism that handles the multiple sample rates was introduced. Smart energy systems that use several controllers with different sampling rates can be simulated in the proposed environment. Thus, we can develop control software for smart energy systems in a timely and cost effective manner.

Automated PLC Software Testing using adapted UML Sequence Diagrams

Diagnostic Emulation is the application of microprogramming to the emulation of an operational computer to support software development and verification for that computer. A conventional technique, Interpretive Computer Simulation (ICS), has been used for many years in support of such software development and verification efforts. The ICS method is becoming less cost effective. For the development of attitude control software for NASA's High Energy Astronomical Observatory (HEAO) diagnostic emulation was considered as an alternative. This paper describes the motivation for using an ICS or diagnostic emulator to validate command and control software, the potential advantages of microprogramming, and the analysis which led to the development of the HEAO Diagnostic Emulator rather than the use of conventional techniques. Also discussed are the emulator implementation tradeoff analysis, the resulting program design, and the interface between the microprogram and the assembly language modules. The results to date are described, including the capability, speed, and reliability of the program and initial user response.

During the last years the European Southern Observatory (ESO), in collaboration with other European astronomical institutes, has started several feasibility studies for the E-ELT (European-Extremely Large Telescope) instrumentation and post-focal adaptive optics. The goal is to create a flexible suite of instruments to deal with the wide variety of scientific questions astronomers would like to see solved in the coming decades. In this framework INAF-Astronomical Observatory of Trieste (INAF-AOTs) is currently responsible of carrying out the analysis and the preliminary study of the architecture of the electronics and control software of three instruments: CODEX (control software and electronics) and OPTIMOS-EVE/OPTIMOS-DIORAMAS (control software). To cope with the increased complexity and new requirements for stability, precision, real-time latency and communications among sub-systems imposed by these instruments, new solutions have been investigated by our group. In this paper we present the proposed software and electronics architecture based on a distributed common framework centered on the Component/Container model that uses OPC Unified Architecture as a standard layer to communicate with COTS components of three different vendors. We describe three working prototypes that have been set-up in our laboratory and discuss their performances, integration complexity and ease of deployment.

Motivated by the demand for Petri net software tools for control of discrete event systems,a Petri net-based discrete event simulation and control software tool is designed and developed.By analyzing the requirements of discrete event simulation and control,the main functions and objectives of the software tool are established.The architecture of software tool is designed accordingly.Subsequently,several key techniques for the software development are researched including proposing of control Petri nets together with design of their basic classes,save and read of Petri net models,Petri net-based simulation and control,and networked software construction in the Client/Server mode.Finally,the Petri net-based discrete event simulation and control software tool is developed,which not only possesses the functions of Petri net modeling and analysis,but also is capable of implementing Petri net-based control and simulation of discrete event systems through networks.Application result of the software tool on a reconfigurable machining system test-bed shows that the software tool is valid and practical.

To satisfy rising flexibility and reconfigurability, the combination of system design and control software design has been adopted as a common paradigm for engineering manufacturing systems. However, there is still a lack of efficient approaches to automating the projection from the system design to the control software dimension. In this study, a model-driven approach is proposed to generate the control logic design based on the IEC 61499 Function Block from the system design in SysML. First, the system design model is formally defined to be unambiguously interpreted. Second, the SysML-FB profile is defined based on which control logic can be modelled in compliance with the IEC 61499 Function Block in the unified SysML modelling environment. Third, transformation rules between these two models are proposed, according to which a distributed event-driven control logic design can be automatically generated. This approach is implemented as a computer-aided design tool extended from the mainstream SysML modelling platform MagicDraw and illustrated using a computer numerical control bending machine as the case study.

Introduction. The “Smart Agroˮ committee of Research and Education Center “Engineering of the Future” has identified a number of tasks relevant for improving the efficiency of precision, soil-protecting and conservation agriculture. One of these tasks is the development of a digital multi-agent system, which provides a number of services for agricultural enterprises, developers and manufacturers of agricultural machinery. The purpose of the present study is to model an autonomous mobile robotic platform, including the development of software and hardware for trajectory control. Materials and Methods. To solve the problem, there are used modern CAx systems and their applications, the methods of 3D and full-body modeling, and the method of numerical solution of problems in solid mechanics. To expand and improve the standard functionality of CAx-systems (SolidWorks) in the software implementation of trajectory control algorithms, the methods and technologies of programming using API SolidWorks, VisualStudio C++ (MFC, ATL, COM) are used, and to build physical full-scale models ‒ Arduino and fischertechnik platforms. Results. The result of the study is a software and hardware module of trajectory control for an integrated (physical and virtual) model of a mobile robotic platform, which can be provided to the consumer as a service for technology autonomation. For the developed integrated model, control algorithms for various types of trajectories were tested. Discussion and Conclusion. The developed integrated software and hardware model of trajectory control can be used by developers and manufacturers of agricultural machinery, and directly by agro-enterprises for implementing typical technological processes. A feature of the implementation is an open hardware and software interface that provides the integration of mobile robotic platforms based on a digital multi-agent system.

Data acquisition (DAQ) and control software has been developed for gamma-ray process tomography system in Malaysian Nuclear Agency. The gamma-ray computed tomography (CT) system uses Computer Automated Measurement and Control (CAMAC) standard for nuclear counting and data acquisition instead of the common Nuclear Instrumentation Module (NIM) standard. For scanning configuration, the system consists of an array of NaI(Tl) scintillation detectors that moves in a small degree of angle by using a stepper motor. The gamma-ray CT software comprises of graphical user interface (GUI) for the system automation that includes CAMAC modules setup, motor and scanning control, data acquisition from CAMAC crate controller via ethernet interface and data recording. The software is developed by using National Instruments LabView development package.

This paper developed a piece of user-friendly automatic identification and control software based on MATLAB and xPC hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) test bench. This software can realize the functions of testing, identification and verification, control simulation and results analysis for proportional decompression valve in Electro-Hydraulic Brake (EHB) system.

The Argus Optical Array is a synoptic survey instrument that will use 900 commercial off-the-shelf telescopes to cover a composite all-sky of view with a total collecting area equivalent to a 5-meter telescope. We are currently carrying out a staged development process, leading up to the construction of the 38-telescope Argus Pathfinder system, which will observe the entire Northern sky between −20◦ < δ < 72◦ each night for 15 minutes per field. Argus Pathfinder is currently scheduled for a Q3 2022 deployment to the Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute in Rosman, NC. The Argus Array Technology Demonstrator (A2TD) is the first in this series of prototype instruments, and consists of 9-telescopes in a fiberglass enclosure on a tracking platform. The A2TD is a tool for rapid development, testing, and performance validation of the essential subsystems of the Argus Array design, including a custom-developed tracking drive and polar alignment system, thermal environment control, optical windows, and observatory control. The A2TD is also used for on-sky validation of telescope and camera pairs that have been bench-aligned, and for development of observatory automation and control software that are either directly transferable or scalable to later development stages, including the Argus Pathfinder. In this paper, we present the development process and design of the Argus Technology Demonstrator, and highlight early results from on-sky testing with the instrument.