Investigating distributed simulation at the Ford motor company

Engine production is a complex process that requires the manufacturing and assembly of a wide variety of components to create a varied product mix. Simulation plays a key role in the planning process of a new production line to determine if it can meet expected demand. However, these simulations can be very time consuming and can often take up to a day to execute a single run. This paper investigates how distributed simulation based on the IEEE 1516 High Level Architecture and the emerging standard COTS Simulation Package Interoperability Product Development Group (CSPI-PDG) Type I Interoperability Reference Model could be used to reduce the time taken for a single simulation run. CSP interoperability and the problem of integrating CSPs with HLA software (the runtime infrastructure) are presented. New prototype benchmarking software, the COTS Simulation Package Emulator (CSPE), which is being developed to investigate distributed simulation problems, is discussed. The paper then develops a case study of how this was used to investigate the feasibility of using distributed simulation at Ford. The paper discusses results obtained from this case study and suggests that distributed simulation could indeed be beneficial to Ford

Simulation-based intelligent robotic agent for Space Station Freedom

A robot control package is described which utilizes on-line structural simulation of robot manipulators and objects in their workspace. The model-based controller is interfaced with a high level agent-independent planner, which is responsible for the task-level planning of the robot's actions. Commands received from the agent-independent planner are refined and executed in the simulated workspace, and upon successful completion, they are transferred to the real manipulators

Technical Report: A Receding Horizon Algorithm for Informative Path Planning with Temporal Logic Constraints

This technical report is an extended version of the paper 'A Receding Horizon Algorithm for Informative Path Planning with Temporal Logic Constraints' accepted to the 2013 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA). This paper considers the problem of finding the most informative path for a sensing robot under temporal logic constraints, a richer set of constraints than have previously been considered in information gathering. An algorithm for informative path planning is presented that leverages tools from information theory and formal control synthesis, and is proven to give a path that satisfies the given temporal logic constraints. The algorithm uses a receding horizon approach in order to provide a reactive, on-line solution while mitigating computational complexity. Statistics compiled from multiple simulation studies indicate that this algorithm performs better than a baseline exhaustive search approach.Comment: Extended version of paper accepted to 2013 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA

Implementation of computer simulation tools for process and layout planning / Emilia Dien

For few decades, Information Technology (ICT) had merged into the manufacturing virtual reality software development technology. The virtual reality manufacturing software solution had becoming important tools in manufacturing production system layout, datasheet, designing, simulation and others. The software development has simplified, facilitated and eased human being in the manual job. This final year project intends to use DELMIA Process Planning (DPE) software Version D5 Release 19 (VD5R19) solution for pre-process planning and resource simulation tools and DELMIA QUEST simulation Version D5 Release 19 (VD5R19) for the three dimensions (3D) factory layout simulation method. Investigation was conducted using actual data collected from Autokeen Sdn Bhd manufacturing production plant, vendor for PROTON and PERODUA by focusing on the welding department production line. By using the data collected from the industry, the production line in welding department has been simulated using QUEST and DELMIA Process Engineer in term of the production line layout and pre-planning process. The implementation for both softwares was used to generate possible improvement to the current actual production process at Autokeen Sdn Bhd manufacturing plant. The simulation results for the both softwares solution had been analyzed and compared accordingly to the actual production process result which had lead to some discussions and recommendations

Simulating Train Dispatching Logic with High-Level Petri Nets

Railway simulation is commonly used as a tool for planning and analysis of railway traffic in operational, tactical and strategical level. During the simulation, a typical problem is a deadlock, i.e. a specific composition of trains on a simulated section positioned in such a way that they are blocking each other\u27s paths. Deadlock avoidance is very important in the simulation of railways because deadlock can stop the simulation, and significantly affect the simulation results. Simulation of train movements on a single track line requires implantation of additional rules and principles of train spacing and movement as train paths are more often in conflict than on a double track line. A High-level Petri Nets simulation model that detects and manages train path conflicts on a single track railway line is presented. Module for train management is connected to other modules on a hierarchical High-level Petri net. The model was tested on a busy single track mainline between Hrpelje-Kozina and Koper in south-western Slovenia

Multilayer Graph-Based Trajectory Planning for Race Vehicles in Dynamic Scenarios

Trajectory planning at high velocities and at the handling limits is a challenging task. In order to cope with the requirements of a race scenario, we propose a far-sighted two step, multi-layered graph-based trajectory planner, capable to run with speeds up to 212~km/h. The planner is designed to generate an action set of multiple drivable trajectories, allowing an adjacent behavior planner to pick the most appropriate action for the global state in the scene. This method serves objectives such as race line tracking, following, stopping, overtaking and a velocity profile which enables a handling of the vehicle at the limit of friction. Thereby, it provides a high update rate, a far planning horizon and solutions to non-convex scenarios. The capabilities of the proposed method are demonstrated in simulation and on a real race vehicle.Comment: Accepted at The 22nd IEEE International Conference on Intelligent Transportation Systems, October 27 - 30, 201

New factory layout simulation and immersive VR-experience preview – case Logset Oy

The decision to build new manufacturing facility is one of the most important decisions for company as it requires a lot of resources. Uncertainty of the future will make the decision even harder for the management board. However, development in technology, regarding 3D-simulation software, Virtual reality applications and accessible computing power have made 3D modeling and simulation viable solution for factory planning. Therefore, 3D-simulation and Virtual reality are used in this research as methods to give valuable data and insight for the forest machines manufacturing case company’s decision makers. Visual Components 4.2-software is used in this research to model 3D-simulations. Results contain one assembly line simulation for harvester, one assembly line simulation for forwarder and two layouts to test partially combined assembly line performance. Assembly line simulations are made to build 3D-model of harvester and forwarder and assembly line simulation layouts are given to project researcher as a reference model as this thesis is part of a bigger research project. Harvester and forwarder are built from 3D-models provided by the case company following current assembly process steps. Two partially combined assembly line layouts are made to estimate performance metrics of the new factory, focusing on output volumes, cycle times and lead times of harvester and forwarder. 3D-simulation model for partially combined layout is run to estimate yearly production, showing output volume, mean cycle time and mean lead time for both machines in a different manufacturing scenarios. Results show basic performance metrics of the new factory and simulation can be viewed using Virtual reality-glasses by using Visual experience software, developed by Visual Components. First 3D-simulation model for partially combined assembly line revealed the problem areas and bottlenecks of the assembly lines. Second model is used to show how balancing assembly line and improvements in the manufacturing process can improve the performance of the factory. Results demonstrate that 3D modeling and simulation are advantageous methods for factory planning and Virtual reality can be used as a complementary method for visualization creating more immersive experience

Security Constrained Multi-Stage Transmission Expansion Planning Considering a Continuously Variable Series Reactor

This paper introduces a Continuously Variable Series Reactor (CVSR) to the transmission expansion planning (TEP) problem. The CVSR is a FACTS-like device which has the capability of controlling the overall impedance of the transmission line. However, the cost of the CVSR is about one tenth of a similar rated FACTS device which potentially allows large numbers of devices to be installed. The multi-stage TEP with the CVSR considering the $N-1$ security constraints is formulated as a mixed integer linear programming model. The nonlinear part of the power flow introduced by the variable reactance is linearized by a reformulation technique. To reduce the computational burden for a practical large scale system, a decomposition approach is proposed. The detailed simulation results on the IEEE 24-bus and a more practical Polish 2383-bus system demonstrate the effectiveness of the approach. Moreover, the appropriately allocated CVSRs add flexibility to the TEP problem and allow reduced planning costs. Although the proposed decomposition approach cannot guarantee global optimality, a high level picture of how the network can be planned reliably and economically considering CVSR is achieved.Comment: Accepted by IEEE Transactions on Power System