Vishal Barot

System of Systems: “Defining the system of interest”

This paper proposes a multi-dimensional framework approach to defining the System of Interest (SOI) for System of Systems (SoS). A number of dimensions are described in detail, enabling development of a more comprehensive model that illustrates the relationships between these dimensions in SoS. The resultant framework model is evaluated using 2 practical case studies in the domains of Defence and ICT to indicate the applicability and suitability of the proposed approach. The potential benefits of the framework are described within the context of the case studies, in conjunction with the limitations of this initial framework. A brief description of intended further research is provided giving some insight into future development of the framework.

Towards a Systems of Systems Engineering EU Strategic Research Agenda

This paper presents the work undertaken so far in the formulation of a Strategic Research Agenda (SRA) for research in Systems of Systems Engineering in the EU. The T-AREA-SoS project is introduced to provide a context, together with a section on Drivers for Change which the SRA needs to take into account. The strategy and process for the generation of the SRA is described, followed by details of outputs to date and the potential benefits it is believed would accrue from the implementation of the SRA.

Formalisation and mapping of terminologies for Systems of Systems Engineering thesaurus

The emergence of Systems of Systems Engineering (SoSE) poses challenges to the consistent use of terminology within and/or across heterogeneous sectors such as transport, energy and defence. In preparation for Horizon 2020, an €80 billion financial instrument running from 2014 to 2020 to implement the Europe 2020 strategy, the European Commission funded T-AREA-SoS project to formulate a strategic research agenda for SoSE that spans US and Europe activities. As part of T-AREA-SoS, a thesaurus will be created to ensure that SoS concepts and terms are consistently interpreted, and to provide an artefact that will be of significant assistance to planners of future programmes in SoSE. This paper proposes an approach for the formalisation and mapping of terminologies for a SoSE thesaurus development. This paper also discusses the theoretical foundations and exemplars of this applied approach in addition to the user interface specification for a proposed web-based thesaurus development.

Systems of Systems Engineering: A research imperative

Systems of Systems Engineering constitutes a major challenge for the 21st Century and research into this topic has become an imperative. The Support Action, T-AREA-SoS has been initiated by the European Commission to develop a research agenda in Systems of Systems (SoS) that will inform future investment in this area. Through an extensive consultation and review, a number of SoS capability gaps have been identified. Through structuring and subsequent consultation, these have been developed into twelve research themes the detailed areas of which are mapped to the three SoS characteristics of control, evolution, and emergent behaviour. A framework is presented through which researchers can develop a research campaign in SoS.

The next generation of legal expert systems-new dawn or false dawn?

Attempts to apply conventional rule-based expert systems to legal problem-solving raise seemingly insurmountable obstacles. The authors analyse the key challenges of developing a legal expert system by reference to a case study of issues arising in their prototype system, the JAES project. This paper explores the advantages of exploiting three alternative approaches- namely: case-based reasoning, blackboard architecture, and service-oriented architecture for the next generation of legal expert systems. The authors advocate the use of hybrid architecture to address the complexity and dynamic nature of the legal domain. The paper evaluates the extent to which these enhancements can meet the special complexities of the legal domain.

Systems of systems engineering thesaurus approach: from concept to realisation

The developing discipline of systems of systems engineering (SoSE) is gaining attention in an increasingly broad range of domains; however, each domain comes with its own set of terms and concepts so that there may be confusion between different domains ostensibly engaged in similar challenges. SoSE is faced with concept multiplicity (one term, more than one concept) and term multiplicity (one concept, more than one term). It is unrealistic to expect long-established domains to simply change ontology to match with other domains, but a means of recognising related concepts and terms across domains and across industrial sectors will enable more rapid progress to be made in the development of SoSE. The approach taken to generating a thesaurus, through which such relationships can be documented, is presented. The approach is essentially consultative among SoSE experts and the current version of the thesaurus is available online. A combination of problem statement definition and logical decomposition has been used; the method is described and application is illustrated using well-known terms.

Economic and Societal Significance of the Systems of Systems Research Agenda

The large-scale Systems of Systems (SoS) are there to improve the provision of societal services. These are driven by global drivers such as population growth, aging, food security, energy security and climate change. However, a considerable number of SoS projects resulted in failures, causing detrimental economic impact. This paper presents a set of preliminary results from an European Commission (EC) funded project called T-AREA-SoS (Trans-Atlantic Research and Education Agenda on Systems of Systems). The primary purpose of T-AREA-SoS is to provide input to ECs 80 billion Horizon 2020 research programme in formulating a Strategic Research Agenda for Systems of Systems Engineering (SoSE) that spans American and European activities. An initial set of prioritised SoSE research elements derived from an online survey are discussed from an economic and societal stance using examples from heterogeneous sectors such as transport, energy and manufacturing.

Design of a web-based thesaurus for Systems of Systems Engineering

Design of a web-based thesaurus for Systems of Systems Engineering (SoSE) discipline is presented in this article. Due to lack of linguistic clarity within this emerging discipline, there is a strong need to represent and interpret SoS concepts and terms to align heterogeneous models, and tools and techniques developed for SoS operations, management and its governance. A Blackboard-based systems approach is therefore used to devise a model, providing a mechanism for high level organisation and sharing of knowledge and information within the SoSE thesaurus system. To illustrate its applicability, a scenario derived from realistic use cases is provided. The potential benefits of this research are identified and a brief description of intended further work is given.

Lifecycle support of automotive manufacturing systems through a next-generation operator interface implementation

Authors present a novel implementation approach to an operator interface system capable of supporting key phases of the automotive manufacturing machine lifecycle. Review of the lifecycle process realises next-generation requirements which have been addressed through a distributed system components architecture comprising of a Broadcaster, Marshaller and Web-HMI system. This architecture assumes machine control engineering using the Component Based (CB) design approach. Web-HMI system component, the major component serving operator interface systems, is designed using the Blackboard- based methodology, and supported with the Client-Server communication pattern as illustrated in its process runtime description. The proposed approach is assessed through an industrial case study on a web-services based control Ford-Festo test rig. A number of scenarios and demonstrations are applied to investigate the applicability of this approach beyond a theoretical research environment into practice. Importance of this research work is highlighted through identification of potential benefits offered.