Modeling and Analyzing Cyber-Physical Systems Using Hybrid Predicate Transition Nets

Cyber-Physical Systems (CPSs) are software controlled physical devices that are being used everywhere from utility features in household devices to safety-critical features in cars, trains, aircraft, robots, smart healthcare devices. CPSs have complex hybrid behaviors combining discrete states and continuous states capturing physical laws. Developing reliable CPSs are extremely difficult. Formal modeling methods are especially useful for abstracting and understanding complex systems and detecting and preventing early system design problems. To ensure the dependability of formal models, various analysis techniques, including simulation and reachability analysis, have been proposed in recent decades. This thesis aims to provide a unified formal modeling and analysis methodology for studying CPSs. Firstly, this thesis contributes to the modeling and analysis of discrete, continuous, and hybrid systems. This work enhances modeling of discrete systems using predicate transition nets (PrTNs) by fully realizing the underlying specification through incorporating the first-order logic with set theory, improving the type system, and providing incremental model composition. This work enhances the technique of analyzing discrete systems using PrTN by improving the simulation algorithm and its efficient implementation. This work also improves the analysis of discrete systems using SPIN by providing a more accurate and complete translation method. Secondly, this work contributes to the modeling and analysis of hybrid systems by proposing an extension of PrTNs, hybrid predicate transition nets (HPrTNs). The proposed method incorporates a novel concept of token evolution, which nicely addresses the continuous state evolution and the conflicts present in other related works. This work presents a powerful simulation capability that can handle linear, non-linear dynamics, transcendental functions through differential equations. This work also provides a complementary technique for reachability analysis through the translation of HPrTN models for analysis using SpaceEx

Improving The Service Design Process: Process Integration, Conflict Reduction And Customer Involvement

Service design is the science of creating service experiences based on the customer’s perspective, to make it useful, enjoyable and cost-effective for the customer. Although the field of service design is relatively new, it has been rapidly expanding in research and practice. Most researchers focus on the usefulness of the service, cost efficiency, meeting customers’ needs, or service strategy. However, all service elements can benefit from improving the service design process. Current service design processes are suffering a lack of integration of activities, conflicts in decision-making processes, and exclusion of practitioners’ methods. In prior research, information models were created to integrate the service design process across the enterprise. As an extension, this dissertation introduces Petri Nets to improve the service design process. Petri Nets provide a uniform environment for modeling, analysis, and design of discrete event systems. Petri Nets are used to develop a new service design process that enhances the multidisciplinary approach and includes the practitioner methods. Additionally, this dissertation uses the Lens Model to improve the decision-making mechanism. The Lens Model is to characterize decision-making policy in service design. Research shows that there is a conflict between the designer and the manager in service design decision-making. Single Lens Model systems are designed to capture the decision policy for the service designer and the service manager. A double Lens Model system is used to compare the perspectives. Finally, this research suggests a new role for the customer in the design by applying an Asset-Based approach. Asset-based System Engineering (ABSE) is a recently introduced concept that attempts to synthesize systems around their key assets and strengths. ABSE is developed with as an innovative approach that views customers as a primary asset. Customer integration in the design process is achieved through several new service design tools

Implementação de modelos de redes de Petri em hardware de lógica reconfigurável

In this research work, was performed a study of main types of hardware modeling tools searching to verify the advantages of utilizing for modeling dynamic and concurrent systems and for its hardware implementation. It was observed that even though there are tools for this purpose, exists some points that may be worked out to facilitate access to this technology. So, was developed a method for facilitate implementation of systems modeled in Petri nets, in reconfigurable logic hardware. For that, was utilized a capture software where, from the graphic of the Petri net model, is generated a description in PNML (Petri Net Markup Language) format. From this description, is generated a hardware description file in VHDL (VHSIC Hardware Description Language) format, that may be loaded in a reconfigurable logic circuit. To make possible this stage, was performed the development of tool that generate a file in VHDL language from the description in PNML format. The developed tool is described in details, showing all stages and criteria utilized in the conversion. To validate the method, is showed an application example for this toll with the implementation in FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Arrow), of a Petri net modeling a hypothetic industrial plant. Finally, a performance comparison is made between the model executed in hardware and the model executed in software.Neste trabalho de pesquisa, foi realizado um estudo dos principais tipos de ferramentas para modelagem de hardware buscando-se verificar as vantagens da utilização de Redes de Petri para a modelagem de sistemas dinâmicos e concorrentes e de sua implementação em hardware. Observou-se que apesar de existirem ferramentas para esta finalidade, existem pontos que podem ser trabalhados para facilitar o acesso a esta tecnologia. Assim, foi desenvolvido um método para facilitar a implementação de sistemas modelados em Redes de Petri, em hardware de lógica reconfigurável. Para isto, utilizou-se um software de captura onde, a partir do gráfico do modelo em Rede de Petri, é gerado um arquivo de descrição no formato PNML - Linguagem de Marcação para Rede de Petri (Petri Net Markup Language). A partir desta descrição, é gerado um arquivo de descrição de hardware no formato VHDL - Linguagem de Descrição de Hardware VHSIC (VHSIC Hardware Description Language), que pode ser gravado em um circuito de lógica reconfigurável. Para possibilitar esta etapa, foi realizado o desenvolvimento de uma ferramenta que gera um arquivo em linguagem VHDL a partir da descrição no formato PNML. A ferramenta desenvolvida é descrita em detalhes, mostrando todas as etapas e critérios utilizados na conversão. Para validar o método, é mostrado um exemplo de aplicação com a implementação em FPGA - Matriz de Portas Programável em Campo (Field Programmable Gate Arrow), de uma Rede de Petri modelando uma planta industrial hipotética. Finalmente é feita uma comparação de desempenho entre o modelo executado em hardware com o modelo executado em software