CAD enabled trajectory optimization and accurate motion control for repetitive tasks

As machine users generally only define the start and end point of the movement, a large trajectory optimization potential rises for single axis mechanisms performing repetitive tasks. However, a descriptive mathematical model of the mecha- nism needs to be defined in order to apply existing optimization techniques. This is usually done with complex methods like virtual work or Lagrange equations. In this paper, a generic technique is presented to optimize the design of point-to-point trajectories by extracting position dependent properties with CAD motion simulations. The optimization problem is solved by a genetic algorithm. Nevertheless, the potential savings will only be achieved if the machine is capable of accurately following the optimized trajectory. Therefore, a feedforward motion controller is derived from the generic model allowing to use the controller for various settings and position profiles. Moreover, the theoretical savings are compared with experimental data from a physical set-up. The results quantitatively show that the savings potential is effectively achieved thanks to advanced torque feedforward with a reduction of the maximum torque by 12.6% compared with a standard 1/3-profil

The nanocops project on algorithms for nanoelectronic coupled problems solutions

The nanoCOPS project [1, 2] is a collaborative research project within the FP7- ICT research program funded by the European Union. The consortium comprises experts in mathematics, physics and electrical engineering from seven universities (BU Wuppertal, HU Berlin, Brno UT, TU Darmstadt, FH OÖ Hagenberg, U Greifswald, KU Leuven), one research institute (MPG Magdeburg), two industrial partners (NXP Semiconductors Netherland and ON Semiconductor Belgium) and two SMEs (MAGWEL and ACCO Semiconductor). We present an overview of the project subjects addressing the "bottlenecks" in the currently-available infrastructure for nanoelectronic design and simulation. In particular, we discuss the issues of an electro-thermal-stress coupled simulation for Power-MOS device design and of simulation approaches for transceiver designs at high carrier frequencies and baseband waveforms such as OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplex)

Case studies in certified software development

Education of competent professionals constitutes the foundation of the effective and efficient development of software systems, and in general of the complex systems needed in the present and in the future. We approach the improvement of education in software engineering by developing case studies in certified software development. On one hand, this contributes to the education of students, of the academic personnel, and of the industrial practitioners. On the other hand, we aim at producing best practice examples for illustrating the benefits of using formal models and of model based software engineering in concrete industrial environments

Estimating productivity gains in digital automation

This paper proposes a novel productivity estimation model to evaluate the effects of adopting Artificial Intelligence (AI) components in a production chain. Our model provides evidence to address the "AI's" Solow's Paradox. We provide (i) theoretical and empirical evidence to explain Solow's dichotomy; (ii) a data-driven model to estimate and asses productivity variations; (iii) a methodology underpinned on process mining datasets to determine the business process, BP, and productivity; (iv) a set of computer simulation parameters; (v) and empirical analysis on labour-distribution. These provide data on why we consider AI Solow's paradox a consequence of metric mismeasurement.Comment: 11 pages and 9 figure