36,703 research outputs found
A review of information flow diagrammatic models for product-service systems
A product-service system (PSS) is a combination of products and services to
create value for both customers and manufacturers. Modelling a PSS based on
function orientation offers a useful way to distinguish system inputs and
outputs with regards to how data are consumed and information is used, i.e.
information flow. This article presents a review of diagrammatic information
flow tools, which are designed to describe a system through its functions. The
origin, concept and applications of these tools are investigated, followed by an
analysis of information flow modelling with regards to key PSS properties. A
case study of selection laser melting technology implemented as PSS will then be
used to show the application of information flow modelling for PSS design. A
discussion based on the usefulness of the tools in modelling the key elements of
PSS and possible future research directions are also presented
A ROS2 based communication architecture for control in collaborative and intelligent automation systems
Collaborative robots are becoming part of intelligent automation systems in
modern industry. Development and control of such systems differs from
traditional automation methods and consequently leads to new challenges.
Thankfully, Robot Operating System (ROS) provides a communication platform and
a vast variety of tools and utilities that can aid that development. However,
it is hard to use ROS in large-scale automation systems due to communication
issues in a distributed setup, hence the development of ROS2. In this paper, a
ROS2 based communication architecture is presented together with an industrial
use-case of a collaborative and intelligent automation system.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figures, 3 tables, to be published in the proceedings of
29th International Conference on Flexible Automation and Intelligent
Manufacturing (FAIM2019), June 201
An improved cell controller for the aerospace manufacturing
The aerospace manufacturing industry is unique in that production typically focuses on high variety and quality but low volume. Existing flexible manufacturing cells are limited to certain types of machines, robots and cells which makes it difficult to introduce any changes. In this paper idea of treating machines, robots, any hardware and software as resource has been introduced. It describes the development of the Flexa Cell Coordinator (FCC), a system that is providing a solution to manage cells and their resources in a new flexible manner. It can control, organise and coordinate between cells and resources and is capable of controlling remote cells because of its distributed nature. It also provides connectivity with company systems e.g., Enterprise Resource Planner (ERP). It is extendable and capable of adding multiple cells inside the system. In FCC resources (e.g., tracker) can also be shared between cells. The paper presents its development and results of initial successful testing
Enhanced cell controller for aerospace manufacturing
Aerospace manufacturing industry is unique in that production typically focuses on high variety and quality but extremely low volume. Manufacturing processes are also sometimes unique and not repeatable and, hence, costly. Production is getting more expensive with the introduction of industrial robots and their cells. This paper describes the development of the Flexa Cell Coordinator (FCC), a system that is providing a solution to manage resources at assembly cell level. It can control, organise and coordinate between the resources and is capable of controlling remote cells and resources because of its distributed nature. It also gives insight of a system to the higher management via its rich reporting facility and connectivity with company systems e.g., Enterprise Resource Planner (ERP). It is able to control various kinds of cells and resources (network based) which are not limited to robots and machines. It is extendable and capable of adding multiple numbers of cells inside the system. It also provides the facility of scheduling the task to avoid the deadlocking in the process. In FCC resources (e.g., tracker) can also be shared between cells
The Management of Manufacturing-Oriented Informatics Systems Using Efficient and Flexible Architectures
Industry and in particular the manufacturing-oriented sector has always been researched and innovated as a result of technological progress, diversification and differentiation among consumers' demands. A company that provides to its customers products matching perfectly their demands at competitive prices has a great advantage over its competitors. Manufacturing-oriented information systems are becoming more flexible and configurable and they require integration with the entire organization. This can be done using efficient software architectures that will allow the coexistence between commercial solutions and open source components while sharing computing resources organized in grid infrastructures and under the governance of powerful management tools.Manufacturing-Oriented Informatics Systems, Open Source, Software Architectures, Grid Computing, Web-Based Management Systems
Microservice Transition and its Granularity Problem: A Systematic Mapping Study
Microservices have gained wide recognition and acceptance in software
industries as an emerging architectural style for autonomic, scalable, and more
reliable computing. The transition to microservices has been highly motivated
by the need for better alignment of technical design decisions with improving
value potentials of architectures. Despite microservices' popularity, research
still lacks disciplined understanding of transition and consensus on the
principles and activities underlying "micro-ing" architectures. In this paper,
we report on a systematic mapping study that consolidates various views,
approaches and activities that commonly assist in the transition to
microservices. The study aims to provide a better understanding of the
transition; it also contributes a working definition of the transition and
technical activities underlying it. We term the transition and technical
activities leading to microservice architectures as microservitization. We then
shed light on a fundamental problem of microservitization: microservice
granularity and reasoning about its adaptation as first-class entities. This
study reviews state-of-the-art and -practice related to reasoning about
microservice granularity; it reviews modelling approaches, aspects considered,
guidelines and processes used to reason about microservice granularity. This
study identifies opportunities for future research and development related to
reasoning about microservice granularity.Comment: 36 pages including references, 6 figures, and 3 table
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