Needs And Approach For Combining Formal Analysis And Human Instinct In Logistics Simulation Projects

Software developments in a scientific environment often serve a very special purpose and a limited number of users. When need arises to make the software usable in a more general way, the software has to be improved in terms of quality and meeting the users' needs. To apply it for a longer period, it also has to take into account changes of state-of-the-art software and technologies. This paper describes an example for such an evolution of scientific applications over the course of ten years. Developed initially as an environment for a specific numerical simulation project, the software has been applied to other simulation projects in various sectors. Keeping a relative stable software design, more functionality and features have been added. New features make use of emerging technologies and widen the application range. The development of software engineering methods and tools has been steadily evaluated and the software development environment has been adapted accordingly

The increasing capabilities and decreasing costs of the digital computer allow system developers to attack ever larger and more complex problems. Today's software manager must be experienced, adroit and prepared to handle the complexities and challenges of modern, large-scale, multidisciplinary systems development. The major concern of today's modeling practitioner is to foster the development and definition of a viable and disciplined life-cycle management methodology for the control of change. This methodology would include procedures for software cost estimation, control of time and resources, a means of verification/validation and procedures for proving that results are significant and correct.Effective management and control of modeling and simulation projects provides significant savings in the development of large-scale, complex, multidisciplinary systems. With the evolution of the techniques of modeling, simulation and software engineering from “art to science”, must come discipline. Discipline is the responsibility of the manager, and for him to effectively control the development of today's projects, he must have a detailed understanding of the simulation software phased, cascading lifecycle. With this knowledge, the management can develop an effective simulation methodology to attack the major cost problems of analysis, design, visibility, testing (verification/validation), standards, concurrent documentation, configuration management, reliability and quality control. To understand the software life-cycle, one must first understand that it is unlike any other product life-cycle and thus, an effective modeling and simulation methodology will require some techniques and mechanisms which differ from the classical management patterns.To fully support the establishment of a meaningful software development methodology,the management must define:1. a life-cycle description and understanding2. component activities, relationships, intexfaces and interactions3. a schedule and milestones to be met4. management principles, tools and techniques to help plan and control the projectAmong the conclusions that may be drawn from current activities in the software field are that software tools are needed for effective software management, development, control, and quantitative assessment of the modeling and simulation software processes.The panelists will discuss the problems they have encountered, the simulation life-cycle, and their experiences in the development of large-scale, multidisciplinary systems.

The article highlights the issues of security and software security, which turn to be secondary in the design and development of software tools in order to please the speedy launch 
 of the software product on the market. Due to the fact that the cost of eliminating security defects is higher in the late stages of design, the scientific problem of assessing software security under high uncertainty has been considered. The functional requirements for security of the firmware are given. A new approach is proposed for assessing the firmware security. The subject of research is a firmware designed to control various devices and microcontrollers. Based on GOST R 56939-2016 “Information security. Secure software development. General requirements” there have been developed the security requirements (qualitative and quantitative) for the embedded software, the assessment of which allows determining the level of security of the firmware as a whole. The fuzzy logic apparatus was used to optimize the assessment process in conditions of possible uncertainty, inconsistency, incompleteness and qualitative nature of the input data. The proposed method will help minimize the economic risks at the stages of operation and maintenance of embedded systems.

Once the simulation analysis is completed, what becomes of the simulation model? Often all the efforts and costs incurred during the simulation project are forgotten once the results of the simulation are determined. Simulation models can have a second life, in which they provide training, educating, and the means to assist the decision making process. Although simulation projects often involve the key individuals necessary for defining, analyzing, and evaluating the simulation models, they often overlook the individuals whom the simulation results will greatly impact. This paper discusses the need for education in the simulation process and some approaches for structuring models to be used for training and educational use.

Computer‐aided software engineering (CASE) is both a field of study and a marketplace. As a field of study, it is the collection of research and development over many years in software development management, methods, environments, and software tools. In general terms, CASE is the industrialization of software engineering techniques and computer technology to improve and automate the practice of information systems development. It is an integration technology that incorporates software development techniques, tools, and approaches into common and consistent frameworks. CASE draws on technologies from computer‐aided design, software engineering, operating systems, database, networking, and many other computer disciplines. Thus CASE is not principally a field of new invention. Rather, it is a field of application, integration, and synthesis. As a marketplace, CASE represents a diverse set of products and services for software development and systems integration. The acronym CASE is used as an umbrella for a wide variety of claims regarding software tools and software development productivity. Definitions of CASE are given. CASE evironments, automation of analusis, computer‐supported collaboration, apportunities for quality engineering, maintenance and reengineering are discussed.

Structural proteomics of a bacterial mega membrane protein complex: FtsH-HflK-HflC

Many important characteristics of simulation models, including queuing models, can be investigated by the use of metamodels. Problems in qualitative analysis such as analyzing model dynamics and coming to a careful understanding of model behavior can be dealt with this way. Metamodels can provide precise results even for quantitative analysis tasks, such as those involving the movement of dynamic model elements. This paper describes the use of a type of metamodeling to support the assessment of simulation models based on the analysis of trace files produced at the time of model execution. Because of the simple structure of these trace files, a simulation model can create them easily. The analysis and interpretation of trace files that is described here is independent of the simulation language used to create the original model. The tools presented in this article can be used for these purposes: to construct generic model structures at the metamodel level and then animate aspects of model behavior in terms of these structures; to build a graphic display indicating which dynamic model elements moved at which times between which points in the model, and in which real-time order in cases of time ties; to determine when (and if) user-specified model conditions come about; and to develop statistical information that might not have been planned for in the design of the original model. Future plans call for making these tools available in a World Wide Web environment to support assessment of simulation models.

Trends towards distributed power generation and the deregulation of energy markets are increasing the requirement for software tools that optimize power generation plant design and operation. In this context, this paper describes the GTPOM (thermo-economic optimization of whole gas turbine plant) European project, funded in part through the European Commission’s 5th Framework Programme, focusing on the development and demonstration of an original software tool for the thermo-economic analysis and optimization of conventional and advanced energy systems based on gas turbine plant. PSEconomy, the software tool developed during the GTPOM project, provides a thermo-economic optimization capability for advanced and more-conventional energy systems, enabling the complex trade-offs between system performance and installed costs to be determined for different operational duties and market scenarios. Furthermore, the code is capable of determining the potential benefits of innovative cycles or layout modifications to existing plants compared with current plant configurations. The economic assessment is performed through a complete through-life cycle cost analysis, which includes the total capital cost of the plant, the cost of fuel, O&M costs and the expected revenues from the sale of power and heat. The optimization process, carried out with a GA-based algorithm, is able to pursue different objective functions as specified by the User. These include system efficiency, through-life cost of electricity and through-life internal rate of return. Three case studies demonstrating the capabilities of the new tool are presented in this paper, covering a conventional combined cycle system, a biomass plant and a CO2 sequestration gas turbine cycle. The software code is now commercially available and is expected to provide significant advantages in the near and long-term development of energy cycles.

Purpose: To analyze and validate the ability of a newly developed software tool to estimate and analyze consensus contours from manually delineated structures by panel of expert radiation oncologists for building reference atlases for radiotherapy and dosimetry practitioners. Method and Materials: Several statistical methods and a graphical user interface were developed as an integral part of an in‐house research treatment planning system. For evaluation purposes, we used three breast cancer CT scans from the RTOG Breast Cancer Atlas Project labeled A, B, and C. All participating physicians contoured specific structures before and after the consensus panel met without the software aid. Differences in the contours were analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively using metrics based on apparent agreement, kappa statistics, and STAPLE estimates by the developed consensus software tool. Estimates of the consensus contours were analyzed for the different structures before consensus and compared with the experts' manual consensus contour. Dice similarity coefficient (DSC) was used for comparative evaluation between the software and the experts' results. Results: Dice similarity calculations for all pre‐consensus STAPLE estimates and the final consensus panel structures reached 0.80 or greater for the heart, left breast, right breast, case A lumpectomy, case B lumpectomy, and the chest wall. The heart, case A lumpectomy, left breast, and right breast all exhibited a DSC greater than 0.90. The highest Dice coefficients were seen in the comparison of the STAPLE estimated left breast contours, which almost reached 0.96 at 100% confidence level. DSCs were in the range of .70 to .79 for the supraclavicular and internal mammary nodes. Conclusion: Using the consensus software tool incorporating several statistical methods allowed excellent ability to create contours similar to the ones generated by expert physicians and provided metrics for the confidence levels of agreement.

Computational scientists employ increasingly powerful parallel supercomputers to model and simulate fundamental physical phenomena. These simulations typically produce massive amounts of data easily running into terabytes and petabytes in the near future. The future ability of scientists to analyze such data, validate their models, and understand the physics depends on the development of new mathematical frameworks and software tools that can tackle this unprecedented complexity in feature characterization and extraction problems. We present recent advances in Morse theory and its use in the development of robust data analysis tools. We demonstrate its practical use in the analysis of two large scale scientific simulations: (i) a direct numerical simulation and a large eddy simulation of the mixing layer in a hydrodynamic instability and (ii) an atomistic simulation of a porous medium under impact. Our ability to perform these two fundamentally different analyses using the same mathematical framework of Morse theory demonstrates the flexibility of our approach and its robustness in managing massive models.

The work described in this paper has two main objectives: on the one hand, the development of a software tool to handle system configuration and hardware testing and debugging tasks, and on the other hand, the development of a highly configurable family of control boards, by means of the extensive use of FPGAs and the developed software tool. The results show that the system can be used in different applications with an easy reconfiguration of the hardware parts and with a number of enhanced capabilities in the design phase and in later stages, such as production and maintenance.

We briefly present a software methodology for safety-critical software, developed over many years to cope with industrial safety-critical applications in the Canadian nuclear industry. Following this we present discussion on software tools that have been used to support this methodology, and software tools that could be used, but have not been used for a variety of reasons. Based on our experience, we also present and motivate a list of high-level requirements for tools that would facilitate the development of safety-critical software using the presented methods, together with a small number of tools that we believe are worth developing in the future.

Technical education requires regular upgrades in pedagogical methodologies to keep up student’s skill on par with ever demanding job market. This paves the way for creating newer e-learning concepts for classroom to replace or supplement established teaching protocols. In line with this motive, this study deals with the development of an educational software tool to understand the traits of an internal combustion engine. The core of this software tool consists of polynomial regression equations, which in turn was arrived from statistical models using real world experimental data. A MATLAB-based GUI allows the operator to effortlessly interact with the software tool. Upon installation, the software requires the user to define input variables for it to automatically compute data and represent the output data in both visual and tabulated form. The advantage of three-dimensional surface plots for visual representation allows for understating the interactive effect of multiple input parameters on any given output parameter. Overall, average relative error for the model is less than 6%, thus exhibiting a good statistical fit.

Factory technologies have evolved to incorporate a great deal of manufacturing flexibility. Programmable automation in the form of CNC and PLCs along with hardware innovations (quick-change tooling, for example) and various operator assist technologies enable a high level of shop-floor flexibility. Possibly, the most inflexible part of a factory is the manufacturing information system. Customized for manufacturers by system integrators, these systems are often large monolithic systems assembled around an ERP/MRP framework or a precariously integrated set of decision-support software tools with a patchwork of communications enabling information flow between them. On the other hand, cloud-based information service platforms such as those encountered in social networks and service brokers have seen rapid and multiple cycles of evolution resulting in a meteoric rise in their ability to handle increasingly large data scales and rates, while still maintaining their elasticity and flexibility. This rapid evolution of cloud-based information services has ignited a new era in the manufacturing industry as evidenced by emerging manufacturing cyberphysical system technologies such as the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), and Cloud Manufacturing (CM). These technologies are part of the broader context of what is thought to be the unfolding fourth industrial revolution (Industry 4.0 or Digital Manufacturing). This revolution places at its core, connectivity, information, and machine-based intelligence to create a new paradigm for manufacturing that is highly flexible, scalable, responsive, and intelligent. This paper describes how we leveraged the newest advances in CPS, IIoT, CM, and distributed systems to create a flexible manufacturing information system infrastructure that separates information collection and distribution for decision-making functions. The first part of the paper introduces the architecture for a novel full-stack manufacturing infrastructure that is envisioned to facilitate and track the interaction between a manufacturing job, physical resources, and the software services (or apps) around them. We call this platform the Operating System for Cyber-physical Manufacturing (OSCM). In the second part of the paper, we introduce an event-based architecture for OSCM so that resource or transaction related events/data can be flexibly distributed to different decision-making/manufacturing software tools through an event/message exchange/bus. Further, such an architecture allows modularization and incremental development of different manufacturing software tools and services as new needs are identified.

An object-oriented tool for the control of point-source pollution in river systems