Jung-Sing Jwo

Agent-Based Control Framework for Mass Customization Manufacturing With UHF RFID Technology

Radio frequency identification (RFID) technology adoption in business environments has seen strong growth in recent years. Adopting an appropriate RFID-based information system has become increasingly important for enterprises making complex and highly customized products. However, most firms still use conventional barcode and run-card systems to manage their manufacturing processes. These systems often require human intervention during the production process. As a result, traditional systems are not able to fulfill the growing demand for managing dynamic process flows and are not able to obtain real-time work-in-process (WIP) views in mass customization manufacturing. This paper proposes an agent-based distributed production control framework with UHF RFID technology to help firms adapt to such a dynamic and agile manufacturing environment. This paper reports the design and development of the framework and the application of UHF RFID technology in manufacturing and logistic control applications. The frameworks RFID event processing agent model is implemented in a smart end-point (SEP) device. A SEP can manage RFID readers, wirelessly communicate with shop-floor machines, make local decisions, and coordinate with other SEPs. A case study of a bicycle manufacturing company demonstrates how the proposed framework could improve a firms mass customization operations. Results of experiments show the decentralized multiagent coordination scheme among SEPs outperformed the current practice of the firm in terms of reducing work-in-process and parts inventory.

On container length and connectivity in unidirectional hypercubes

In this paper, we show that the two unidirectional binary n-cubes, namely, Q1(n) and Q2(n), proposed as high-speed networking schemes by Chou and Du are maximum fault-tolerant, that is, from vertex a to vertex b in the network, we can determine a set of ζ(a, b) vertex-disjoint routing paths, where ζ(a, b) = ⌈n/2⌉, if a has even parity and b has odd parity and ⌊n/2⌋ otherwise. Furthermore, the container problem as defined by Hsu for the two maximum fault-tolerant, unidirectional topologies is studied. In particular, we show that the smallest possible length for any maximum fault-tolerant container from a to b is at most (1) l + 4, where l is the shortest path length in Q1(n) from a to b, and (2) l + 5, where l is the shortest path length in Q2(n) (n is odd) (i) from a to b when a and b have the same leading-bit values and (ii) from a to b′ (b′ and b only differ at leading-bit positions) when otherwise.

Uni-directional Alternating Group Graphs

A class of uni-directional Cayley graphs based on alternating groups is proposed in this paper. It is shown that this class of graphs is strongly connected and recursively scalable. The analysis of shortest distance between any pair of nodes in a graph of this class is also given. Based on the analysis, we develop a polynomial time routing algorithm which yields a path distance at most one more than the theoretic lower bound.

Pseudo software: A mediating instrument for modeling software requirements

A new synthesis of software requirements models called pseudo software is proposed with the aim to cut requirements-related errors. Pseudo software achieves this aim by serving as a mediating instrument to empower stakeholders to participate in requirements elicitation and validation through model construction and manipulation, and to provide guidance to the development team to correctly interpret the requirements in the downstream development activities. Pseudo software obtains its traits as a mediating instrument through the choice of requirements information bits and the use of multimodal representations with tool support to integrate the requirements. Using historical data of fifty projects in the enterprise computing domain, pseudo software is shown to effectively cut the requirements-related errors committed by both the customer and the development team.

A distributed environment for hypercube computing

Proposes a distributed computing environment, called the Virtual Cube (VC), to support arbitrarily large binary hypercube computing on a cluster of homogeneous workstations that are interconnected by an Ethernet LAN. The embedding concept between binary hypercube parallel architectures is introduced, and the concept of a cluster of computers interconnected through a computer network. In VC, a SIMD parallel language called VCPL (VC Parallel Language) is provided. The advantages of the VC system are that (a) it can be considered as a practical and economical binary hypercube machine, and (b) it brings parallel solutions on a binary hypercube directly into distributed applications. Currently, a VC prototype is implemented on NeXT workstations.

Performance Improvement for an SOA Based Enterprise Application Using Service Redirection

A method using message redirection mechanism to reduce communication overhead of an SOA (service oriented application) based enterprise application is proposed. First, an SOA enterprise application design is modeled as a service invocation graph. Secondly, a refactoring method based on message redirection mechanism is introduced. It transfers the service invocation graph into a simplified service redirection graph. The SOA enterprise application designs behind the two graphs perform exactly the same functionality. However, the refactored new design can reduce the communication overhead up to 50% when comparing with the original one.

Exception handling: an architecture model and utility support

Exception handling design is an important but difficult subject in software development. In Java software development, the use of checked exceptions exacerbates the difficulty. In this paper, through the use of an architectural model, we show that an application can benefit from a separation of exceptions in terms of recoverability beyond distinguishing checked and unchecked exceptions. The architectural model helps evaluate and balance conflicting quality requirements such as modifiability, readability, and fault tolerance. Facilitated by object-oriented utility libraries, the architecture model guides the design from early stage of the development; an example is given to illustrate its use.

Teaching software engineering through comics and micro-movie design projects

A new approach based on comics and designing micro-movies is proposed for software engineering education. Comics are used to help students capture the key issues quickly and effectively. The process of making micro-movies provides a context for students to simulate the challenges happened in the real world. The experiment for the new teaching approach has been conducted. The preliminary results are positive. Furthermore, the learning experience is joyful when compared with the other courses.

An Energy Consumption Model for Enterprise Applications

In this paper an energy consumption model for enterprise applications is proposed. Based on the model, a commercially available application is chosen as a case study. The results show that the proposed model can correctly reflect the application¡¦s energy consumption. The study also shows when an organization¡¦s daily operations are highly depending on an application, the energy consumed by the application is not negligible. In fact, the proposed model can provide a new angle for an organization to understand its energy consumption caused by using ICT. In the mean time, with the proposed model a software company can obtain better understanding of how to implement low energy consumption applications which helping reducing organization¡¦s energy consumption.

Corrections to “Agent-Based Control Framework for Mass Customization Manufacturing With UHF RFID Technology”

Corrections were made to Table 1 in the above titled paper (ibid, Vol. 3, no 3, 343-359 Sept 09).