Loupe: Verifying Publish-Subscribe Architectures with a Magnifying Lens

CONE

High Level Design of adaptive distributed controller for Partial Dynamic reconfiguration in FPGA

International audienceControlling dynamic and partial reconfigurations becomes one of the most important key issues in modern embedded systems design. In fact, in such systems, the reconfiguration controller can significantly affect the system performances. Indeed, the controller has to handle efficiently three major tasks during runtime: observation (monitoring), taking reconfiguration decisions and notify decisions to the rest of the system in order to realize it. We present in this paper a novel high level approach permitting to model, using MARTE UML profile, modular and flexible distributed controllers for dynamic reconfiguration management. This approach permits components/ models reuse and allows systematic code generation. It consequently makes reconfigurable systems design less tedious and reduces time to market

Integration of BPM systems

New technologies have emerged to support the global economy where for instance suppliers, manufactures and retailers are working together in order to minimise the cost and maximise efficiency. One of the technologies that has become a buzz word for many businesses is business process management or BPM. A business process comprises activities and tasks, the resources required to perform each task, and the business rules linking these activities and tasks. The tasks may be performed by human and/or machine actors. Workflow provides a way of describing the order of execution and the dependent relationships between the constituting activities of short or long running processes. Workflow allows businesses to capture not only the information but also the processes that transform the information - the process asset (Koulopoulos, T. M., 1995). Applications which involve automated, human-centric and collaborative processes across organisations are inherently different from one organisation to another. Even within the same organisation but over time, applications are adapted as ongoing change to the business processes is seen as the norm in today’s dynamic business environment. The major difference lies in the specifics of business processes which are changing rapidly in order to match the way in which businesses operate. In this chapter we introduce and discuss Business Process Management (BPM) with a focus on the integration of heterogeneous BPM systems across multiple organisations. We identify the problems and the main challenges not only with regards to technologies but also in the social and cultural context. We also discuss the issues that have arisen in our bid to find the solutions

Towards a software framework for reconfigurable and adaptive fixturing systems

There is an ongoing trend towards advanced fixturing systems that can be automatically reconfigured for different workpieces and dynamically adapt the clamping forces during the manufacturing process. However, the increased utilisation of computer technology and sensor feedback currently requires a significant amount of programming effort during the development phase and deployment of such fixtures which impairs their successful industrial realisation. This research addresses the issue by developing the core concepts of a novel software framework that facilitates the deployment and operation of reconfigurable and adaptive fixturing systems. This includes a new data model for the representation of the fixturing system, using object-oriented modelling techniques. Secondly, a generic methodology for the automatic reconfiguration of fixturing systems has been developed that can be applied to a plethora of different fixture layouts. Thirdly, a flexible communication infrastructure is proposed which supports the platform-independent communication between the various parts of the fixturing system through the adoption of a publish/subscribe approach. The integration of these core knowledge contributions into a software framework significantly reduces the programming effort by providing a ready-to-use infrastructure that can be configured according a given fixture layout. In order to manage the complexity of the research, a structured research methodology has been followed. Based on an extensive literature review, a number of knowledge gaps have been identified which were the basis for the definition of clear research objectives. A use case analysis has been conducted to identify the requirements of the software framework and several potential middleware technologies have been assessed for the communication infrastructure. This was followed by the development of the three core knowledge contributions. Finally, the research results have been demonstrated and initially verified with a prototype of a reconfigurable fixturing system, indicating that the utilisation of the software framework can eliminate the need for programming, thereby drastically reducing deployment effort and lead time

Component-based control system development for agile manufacturing machine systems

It is now a common sense that manufactures including machine suppliers and system integrators of the 21 st century will need to compete on global marketplaces, which are frequently shifting and fragmenting, with new technologies continuously emerging. Future production machines and manufacturing systems need to offer the "agility" required in providing responsiveness to product changes and the ability to reconfigure. The primary aim for this research is to advance studies in machine control system design, in the context of the European project VIR-ENG - "Integrated Design, Simulation and Distributed Control of Agile Modular Machinery"

Interim research assessment 2003-2005 - Computer Science

This report primarily serves as a source of information for the 2007 Interim Research Assessment Committee for Computer Science at the three technical universities in the Netherlands. The report also provides information for others interested in our research activities