16,802 research outputs found
Realising the open virtual commissioning of modular automation systems
To address the challenges in the automotive industry posed by the need to rapidly manufacture more
product variants, and the resultant need for more adaptable production systems, radical changes are
now required in the way in which such systems are developed and implemented. In this context, two
enabling approaches for achieving more agile manufacturing, namely modular automation systems
and virtual commissioning, are briefly reviewed in this contribution. Ongoing research conducted at
Loughborough University which aims to provide a modular approach to automation systems design
coupled with a virtual engineering toolset for the (re)configuration of such manufacturing
automation systems is reported. The problems faced in the virtual commissioning of modular
automation systems are outlined. AutomationML - an emerging neutral data format which has
potential to address integration problems is discussed. The paper proposes and illustrates a
collaborative framework in which AutomationML is adopted for the data exchange and data
representation of related models to enable efficient open virtual prototype construction and virtual
commissioning of modular automation systems. A case study is provided to show how to create the
data model based on AutomationML for describing a modular automation system
Automatic generation of human machine interface screens from component-based reconfigurable virtual manufacturing cell
Increasing complexity and decreasing time-tomarket
require changes in the traditional way of building
automation systems. The paper describes a novel approach to automatically generate the Human Machine Interface (HMI) screens for component-based manufacturing cells based on their corresponding virtual models. Manufacturing cells are first prototyped and commissioned within a virtual engineering environment to validate and optimise the control behaviour. A framework for reusing the embedded control information in the
virtual models to automatically generate the HMI screens is proposed. Finally, for proof of concept, the proposed solution is implemented and tested on a test rig
Assessing and augmenting SCADA cyber security: a survey of techniques
SCADA systems monitor and control critical infrastructures of national importance such as power generation and distribution, water supply, transportation networks, and manufacturing facilities. The pervasiveness, miniaturisations and declining costs of internet connectivity have transformed these systems from strictly isolated to highly interconnected networks. The connectivity provides immense benefits such as reliability, scalability and remote connectivity, but at the same time exposes an otherwise isolated and secure system, to global cyber security threats. This inevitable transformation to highly connected systems thus necessitates effective security safeguards to be in place as any compromise or downtime of SCADA systems can have severe economic, safety and security ramifications. One way to ensure vital asset protection is to adopt a viewpoint similar to an attacker to determine weaknesses and loopholes in defences. Such mind sets help to identify and fix potential breaches before their exploitation. This paper surveys tools and techniques to uncover SCADA system vulnerabilities. A comprehensive review of the selected approaches is provided along with their applicability
MiniCPS: A toolkit for security research on CPS Networks
In recent years, tremendous effort has been spent to modernizing
communication infrastructure in Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) such as Industrial
Control Systems (ICS) and related Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition
(SCADA) systems. While a great amount of research has been conducted on network
security of office and home networks, recently the security of CPS and related
systems has gained a lot of attention. Unfortunately, real-world CPS are often
not open to security researchers, and as a result very few reference systems
and topologies are available. In this work, we present MiniCPS, a CPS
simulation toolbox intended to alleviate this problem. The goal of MiniCPS is
to create an extensible, reproducible research environment targeted to
communications and physical-layer interactions in CPS. MiniCPS builds on
Mininet to provide lightweight real-time network emulation, and extends Mininet
with tools to simulate typical CPS components such as programmable logic
controllers, which use industrial protocols (Ethernet/IP, Modbus/TCP). In
addition, MiniCPS defines a simple API to enable physical-layer interaction
simulation. In this work, we demonstrate applications of MiniCPS in two example
scenarios, and show how MiniCPS can be used to develop attacks and defenses
that are directly applicable to real systems.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figures, 1 code listin
A Product Life Cycle Ontology for Additive Manufacturing
The manufacturing industry is evolving rapidly, becoming more complex, more interconnected, and more geographically distributed. Competitive pressure and diversity of consumer demand are driving manufacturing companies to rely more and more on improved knowledge management practices. As a result, multiple software systems are being created to support the integration of data across the product life cycle. Unfortunately, these systems manifest a low degree of interoperability, and this creates problems, for instance when different enterprises or different branches of an enterprise interact. Common ontologies (consensus-based controlled vocabularies) have proved themselves in various domains as a valuable tool for solving such problems. In this paper, we present a consensus-based Additive Manufacturing Ontology (AMO) and illustrate its application in promoting re-usability in the field of dentistry product manufacturing
Safety Engineering with COTS components
Safety-critical systems are becoming more widespread, complex and reliant on software. Increasingly they are engineered through Commercial Off The Shelf (COTS) (Commercial Off The Shelf) components to alleviate the spiralling costs and development time, often in the context of complex supply chains.
A parallel increased concern for safety has resulted in a variety of safety standards, with a growing consensus that a safety life cycle is needed which is fully integrated with the design and development life cycle, to ensure that safety has appropriate influence on the design decisions as system development progresses.
In this article we explore the application of an integrated approach to safety engineering in which assurance drives the engineering process. The paper re- ports on the outcome of a case study on a live industrial project with a view to evaluate: its suitability for application in a real-world safety engineering setting; its benefits and limitations in counteracting some of the difficulties of safety en- gineering with COTS components across supply chains; and, its effectiveness in generating evidence which can contribute directly to the construction of safety cases
Model checking embedded system designs
We survey the basic principles behind the application of model checking to controller verification and synthesis. A promising development is the area of guided model checking, in which the state space search strategy of the model checking algorithm can be influenced to visit more interesting sets of states first. In particular, we discuss how model checking can be combined with heuristic cost functions to guide search strategies. Finally, we list a number of current research developments, especially in the area of reachability analysis for optimal control and related issues
Design Challenges for GDPR RegTech
The Accountability Principle of the GDPR requires that an organisation can
demonstrate compliance with the regulations. A survey of GDPR compliance
software solutions shows significant gaps in their ability to demonstrate
compliance. In contrast, RegTech has recently brought great success to
financial compliance, resulting in reduced risk, cost saving and enhanced
financial regulatory compliance. It is shown that many GDPR solutions lack
interoperability features such as standard APIs, meta-data or reports and they
are not supported by published methodologies or evidence to support their
validity or even utility. A proof of concept prototype was explored using a
regulator based self-assessment checklist to establish if RegTech best practice
could improve the demonstration of GDPR compliance. The application of a
RegTech approach provides opportunities for demonstrable and validated GDPR
compliance, notwithstanding the risk reductions and cost savings that RegTech
can deliver. This paper demonstrates a RegTech approach to GDPR compliance can
facilitate an organisation meeting its accountability obligations
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