Birgit Vogel-Heuser

Automatic code generation from a UML model to IEC 61131-3 and system configuration tools

An agile software development approach for embedded systems has been transferred to automation and process control. With using UML 1.4, an approach was developed, which allows to generate IEC 61131-3 code from an UML-model and to import it into soft-PLCs, automatically. The generated IEC 61131 code consists of ST and SFC. Besides, the system architecture is part of the UML-model, which bridges the gap between hard and software engineering. This approach was evaluated by using a sorting machine and by automation experts. The work is embedded in a development of UML for process automation and usability test of UML with automation engineers.

Evolution of software in automated production systems

Automated Production Systems (aPS) impose specific requirements regarding evolution.We present a classification of how Automated Production Systems evolve.We discuss the state of art and research needs for the development phases of aPS.Model-driven engineering and Variability Management are key issues.Cross-discipline analysis of (non)-functional requirements must be improved. Coping with evolution in automated production systems implies a cross-disciplinary challenge along the systems life-cycle for variant-rich systems of high complexity. The authors from computer science and automation provide an interdisciplinary survey on challenges and state of the art in evolution of automated production systems. Selected challenges are illustrated on the case of a simple pick and place unit. In the first part of the paper, we discuss the development process of automated production systems as well as the different type of evolutions during the systems life-cycle on the case of a pick and place unit. In the second part, we survey the challenges associated with evolution in the different development phases and a couple of cross-cutting areas and review existing approaches addressing the challenges. We close with summarizing future research directions to address the challenges of evolution in automated production systems. Display Omitted

Close integration between UML and IEC 61131-3: New possibilities through object-oriented extensions

Within the maintenance of the IEC 61131–3 standard, its extension towards object orientation (OO) is currently discussed and very likely to happen. Such an extension would enable the bidirectional mapping between OO-IEC 61131–3 software structures and graphical UML class diagrams (ISO/IEC 19501). This paper presents the main OO-extension to IEC 61131–3. This is followed by a specification of bidirectional mapping rules to UML class diagrams which allow the seamless integration of UML and OO-IEC 61131–3. Finally this paper presents exemplarily a domain/specific design pattern for the implementation of a modular machine mode control according to IEC 61512. Within a research project a class diagram editor and the corresponding mapping rules were prototypically implemented and evaluated in CoDeSys V3.

Design, modelling, simulation and integration of cyber physical systems

Presentation of a systematic classification of systems and new CPS paradigms.Analyses of literature conducted across a range of different perspectives.A systematic review of CPS-design literature was carried out, with an emphasis on the design, modelling, simulation and integration of CPS.An architectural and behavioural paradigm for CPS.Compilation of different viewpoints referring to applications at different levels of granularity. The main drivers for the development and evolution of Cyber Physical Systems (CPS) are the reduction of development costs and time along with the enhancement of the designed products. The aim of this survey paper is to provide an overview of different types of system and the associated transition process from mechatronics to CPS and cloud-based (IoT) systems. It will further consider the requirement that methodologies for CPS-design should be part of a multi-disciplinary development process within which designers should focus not only on the separate physical and computational components, but also on their integration and interaction. Challenges related to CPS-design are therefore considered in the paper from the perspectives of the physical processes, computation and integration respectively. Illustrative case studies are selected from different system levels starting with the description of the overlaying concept of Cyber Physical Production Systems (CPPSs). The analysis and evaluation of the specific properties of a sub-system using a condition monitoring system, important for the maintenance purposes, is then given for a wind turbine.

Evolution in industrial plant automation: A case study

Industrial plants are operated a long period of time. Hence, evolution of these plants is necessary to cope with technological developments or market requests. However, evolution cycles of disciplines involved in cooperative design of such plants are different. Therefore, further research needs to be investigated in order to provide an integrated variant and version management, i.e. evolution management, of such plants. As a first step towards solving this issue, this paper presents an abstract model for industrial plant evolution and analyses it using a detailed case study in the industrial plant automation domain.

An interdisciplinary SysML based modeling approach for analyzing change influences in production plants to support the engineering

Modern mechatronic production plants contain a multitude of mechanical, electrical/electronic and software components. During its lifecycle such a system evolves through changes of different system components. In order to take the influences of these changes, discipline specific as well as interdisciplinary, into account during the development an adequate modeling approach and notation is required. In this paper an approach (called SysML4Mechatronics) utilizing the port-concept of the current version 1.3 of the Systems Modeling Language, to depict and analyze change influences in mechatronic production plants is presented.

Guest Editorial Industry 4.0–Prerequisites and Visions

The papers in this special section focus on the concept of Industry 4.0. From its origin, Industry 4.0–derived from the German term Industrie 4.0–is used as a synonym for Cyber-Physical Production Systems (CPPS), i.e., Cyber-Physical Systems applied in the domain of manufacturing/production. To enable CPPS their automation systems need to be enabled to fulfill the requirements. The term Industrie 4.0 was first used in 2011 at the Hannover Fair and the topic has grown every year not only on the fair. There are still several definitions of Industrie 4.0 (I4.0).

Coupling heterogeneous production systems by a multi-agent based cyber-physical production system

Todays increasing volatility of market demands and customer requirements are forcing industrial enterprises to realize and ensure an increased flexibility of production systems. Since current automation concepts and architectures for production systems do not provide the required flexibility sufficiently, new approaches have to be developed. This paper proposes an approach that implements the quickly evolving concept of Cyber-Physical Systems for the special case of production systems by means of software agents. A joined demonstrator of such Cyber-Physical Production System is described and used for the evaluation of the proposed multi-agent approach.

Towards a Formal Specification Framework for Manufacturing Execution Systems

Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES) optimize production and business processes at the same time. However, the engineering and specification of MES is a challenging, interdisciplinary process. Especially IT and production experts with different views and background have to cooperate. For successful and efficient MES software projects, misunderstandings in the specification process have to be avoided. Therefore, textual specifications need to be complemented by unambiguous graphical models, reducing the complexity by integrating interdisciplinary views and domain specific terms based on different background knowledge. Todays modeling notations focus on the detailed modeling of a certain domain specific problem area. They do not support interdisciplinary discussion adequately. To bridge this gap a novel MES Modeling Language (MES-ML) integrating all necessary views important for MES and pointing out their interdependencies has been developed. Due to its formal basis, comparable and consistent MES-models can be created for specification, standardization, testing, and documentation of MES software. In this paper, the authors present the formal basis of the modeling language and its core notation. The application of MES-ML is demonstrated taking a yogurt production as an example. Finally, the authors give some evaluation results that underline the effectiveness and efficiency of this new modeling approach with reference to four applications in industrial MES-projects in the domain of discrete and hybrid manufacturing.

PLC-Statecharts: An Approach to Integrate UML-Statecharts in Open-Loop Control Engineering-Aspects on Behavioral Semantics and Model-Checking

This paper presents the core concepts for PLC-statecharts - an adaptation of UML-statecharts -which can be used as a visual programming language for PLCs. They combine the advantages of UML-statecharts with a strict formal basis and can be transparently used in the context of IEC 61131-3 (3rd Edition). The defined formal behavioral semantics sets the basis for an automatic transformation of PLC-statecharts into timed automata which can be analyzed by the model-checker UPPAAL.