Moore Automata for the Supervisory Control of Robotic Manufacturing Workcells

The potential of flexible-manufacturing workcells (FMCs) to produce a family of parts in many possible orders of operations and choices of different machines is advantageous. Despite intensive research on the theoretical control of discrete-event systems (DESs), however, current techniques can still only be used for the supervisory control of simple cells. In this paper, a novel modeling and control synthesis technique is presented for FMCs that allow part-routing flexibility. Our proposed methodology combines Extended Moore Automata (EMA) and Controlled-Automata theories to synthesize supervisors for such FMCs.     

Improving performance in flexible manufacturing systems

The need for flexible manufacturing systems (FMSs) has become of utmost importance over the last years due to the fierce competition present in the manufacturing industry as well as the ever decreasing product life spans and the markets attempts to respond to customers’ changing needs. These systems allow us to react quickly to changes, however this flexibility costs both time and money. Given this fact, it would be desirable to reduce costs by testing potential implementations before using them.We will use a timed process algebra called BTC (for bounded true concurrency) to face up to this challenge. We have developed this algebra by extending CSP in order to consider the duration of actions and the context (resources) in which processes are executed. This new algebra is able to take into account that the resources in a system must be shared by all the processes. So, we can find two kinds of delays in the execution of a process: delays related to the synchronization of processes, and delays related to the allocation of resources.Once FMSs are specified by means of BTC, we will focus our attention on the performance of the system which will be variable depending on the number of available resources. For this, we have developed a performance algorithm and a tool which implements it.Three examples are used to show how an FMS can be specified and how the algorithm and the tool work, allowing us to obtain the best performance with the lowest cost.     

Petri net modeling and deadlock analysis of parallel manufacturing processes with shared-resources

Multiple resource-sharing is a common situation in parallel and complex manufacturing processes and may lead to deadlock states. To alleviate this issue, this paper presents the method of modeling parallel processing flows, sharing limited number of resources, in flexible manufacturing systems (FMSs). A new class of Petri net called parallel process net with resources (PPNRs) is introduced for modeling such FMSs. PPNRs have the capacity to model the more complex resource-sharing among parallel manufacturing processes. Furthermore, this paper presents the simple diagnostic and remedial procedures for deadlocks in PPNRs. The proposed technique for deadlock detection and recovery is based on transition vectors which have the power of determining the structural aspects as well as the process flow condition in PPNRs. Moreover, the proposed technique for dealing with deadlocks is not a siphon-based thus the large-scale PPNRs for real-life FMSs can be tackled. Finally, the proposed method of modeling and deadlock analysis in the FMS having parallel processing is demonstrated by a practical example.     

Integrated design of workcells and unidirectional flowpath layout

In manufacturing cells layout design with a unidirectional flow system, the accurate distance between two workcells can be uncovered with both the determination of IO port locations after the layout design of the cell with its orientation and the unidirectional flowpath layout design. This paper presents the method to obtain a global solution for manufacturing workcells and unidirectional flowpath layout design (ICFLD) with consideration of IO ports of workcells. The flow distance between two workcells is calculated from output port of one workcell to input port of the other workcell through the unidirectional flowpath layout. A zero-one integer programming model is developed for the ICFLD problem. And a heuristic algorithm for the ICFLD problem is developed by decomposing the ICFLD problem into two subproblems and iteratively and alternately solving the decomposed subproblems. Computational experiments are performed and its results are analyzed.     

A hybrid PC/PLC architecture for manufacturing-system control—theory and implementation

This paper presents a novel and generic PC/PLC-based software/hardware architecture for the control of flexible manufacturing workcells. The proposed implementation methodology is based on the utilization of any one of the available formal discrete-event-system control theories in conjunction with state-of-the-art industrial programmable-logic controllers (PLCs). The methodology has been illustrated to be a viable technique through its actual implementation in our laboratory using a robotic-workcell testbed. The specific control theory used is a combination of Extended Moore Automata and Ramadge-Wonham Automata that has been developed by our research group. The modular control software architecture has been developed for MS-Windows environments (running on one PC interfaced to the PLCs) and allows the use of different formal control theories as well as different commercial PLC hardware. The effective graphical user interface provides a transparent programming environment, where users are not expected to have a full knowledge of the formal control theory used.     

On the development of a robotic workcell for sanitary ware spray glazing

This paper describes planning activities that need to be undertaken before the implementation of robotic workcells for sanitary ware spray glazing operations. An existing economic justification model that can be used to evaluate the economic feasibility of these workcells is also modified.     

A parameterized liveness and ratio-enforcing supervisor for a class of generalized Petri nets

The work proposes a synthesis method of supervisors for flexible manufacturing systems modeled by a class of generalized Petri nets. A concept of resource usage ratios (RU-ratios) is first presented to describe the occupation degree of a resource by an operation. Next, an intrinsically live structure characterized by a special numerical relationship between arc-weights and initial markings is investigated from a perspective of RU-ratios. Then, a new kind of supervisors is synthesized on the ground of the generic nature of the intrinsically live structure. Such a supervisor can achieve the purposes of both liveness-enforcement and resource usage ratio-enforcement of the system under consideration. Given a plant, it is easy to determine the topological structure of such a supervisor and the number of monitors is bounded by that of resources used in the plant. In addition, when the configuration of the plant model changes, the supervisor can be reusable through adjusting control parameters only without rearrangement of connections. This makes it easy enough and intuitive to be used by industrial practitioners. Instead of maximal behavioral permissiveness, it pursues a precise usage of shared resources that are limited and valuable. Several examples are used to illustrate the proposed methods.     

A comprehensive survey and future trend of simulation study on FMS scheduling

Since the late 1970s when the first collection of papers on scheduling of flexible manufacturing systems (FMSs) has been published, it has been one of the most popular topics for researchers. A number of approaches have been delivered to schedule FMSs including simulation techniques and analytical methods, whereas the former is the most widely used tool for modeling FMSs. The objective of this paper is to review scheduling study on FMSs and analyse future trend that employed simulation techniques as the analyzing tool. Scheduling methodologies are categorized into, namely traditional simulation techniques with single criterion scheduling approaches, traditional simulation techniques with multi-criteria scheduling approaches, and artificial intelligence (AI) approaches in FMSs. It is concluded that AI approaches will be dominating in future study.     

Generic development methodology for flexible robotic pick-and-place workcells based on Digital Twin

Together with the trends of mass personalization, flexible robotic applications become more and more popular. Although conventional robotic automation of workpiece manipulation seems to be solved, advanced tasks still need great amount of effort to be reached. In most cases, on-site robot programming methods, which are intuitive and easy to use, are not applicable in flexible scenarios. On the other hand, the application of offline programming methods requires careful modeling and planning. Consequently, this paper proposes a generalized development methodology for flexible robotic pick-and-place workcells, in order to provide guidance and thus facilitate the development process. The methodology is based on the Digital Twin (DT) concept, which allows the iterative refinement of the workcell both in the digital and in the physical space. The goal is to speed up the overall commissioning (or reconfiguration) process and reduce the amount of work in the physical workcell. This can be achieved by digitizing and automating the development, and maintaining sufficient twin closeness. With that, the operation of the digital model can be accurately realized in the physical workcell. The methodology is presented through a semi-structured pick-and-place task, realized in an experimental robotic workcell together with a reconfiguration scenario.     

Deadlock avoidance policy for Petri-net modeling of flexiblemanufacturing systems with shared resources

Multiple products through a flexible manufacturing system (FMS) with limited resources can lead to deadlock. In this paper, the authors study the problem of deadlock avoidance by using the Petri net (PN) model for FMSs and introducing the concept of deadlock structure. The necessary and sufficient conditions to prevent deadlock are characterized. The authors use a state feedback restriction policy which prevents some enabled transitions from firing for avoiding deadlock in the system. In particular, when the number of any key kind of resources is greater than one, this policy is minimally restrictive and allows the maximal use of resources in the system. The authors present the PN realization of these restriction policies when the closed-loop system can be modeled by a live PN. The restriction policies can be easily implemented. An example is provided for illustration     

具有不可靠资源柔性制造系统的鲁棒控制器设计

如果柔性制造系统包含不可靠资源,则在对系统进行控制器设计时,不仅要考虑由于资源分配不合理带来的死锁现象,还要考虑不可靠资源发生损坏带来的堵塞现象.对此,首先利用Petri网对具有不可靠资源的柔性制造系统进行建模,结合Petri网图形结构(资源变迁回路),模拟系统中的死锁和堵塞现象;然后,利用有效变迁覆盖的概念,为系统设计一种结构简单、鲁棒性强的Petri网控制器;最后,利用两个例子验证所设计控制器的有效性.     

Static analysis of multi-core TDMA resource arbitration delays

In the development of hard real-time systems, knowledge of the Worst-Case Execution Time (WCET) is needed to guarantee the safety of a system. For single-core systems, static analyses have been developed which are able to derive guaranteed bounds on a program’s WCET. Unfortunately, these analyses cannot directly be applied to multi-core scenarios, where the different cores may interfere with each other during the access to shared resources like for example shared buses or memories. For the arbitration of such resources, TDMA arbitration has been shown to exhibit favorable timing predictability properties. In this article, we review and extend a methodology for analyzing access delays for TDMA-arbitrated resources. Formal proofs of the correctness of these methods are given and a thorough experimental evaluation is carried out, where the presented techniques are compared to preexisting ones on an extensive set of real-world benchmarks for different classes of analyzed systems.     

Deadlock-free scheduling for flexible manufacturing systems using Petri nets and heuristic search

Deadlock-free control and scheduling are two different problems for flexible manufacturing systems (FMSs). They are significant for improving the behaviors of the systems. Based on the Petri net models of FMSs, this paper embeds deadlock control policies into heuristic search algorithm, and proposes a deadlock-free scheduling algorithm to minimize makespan for FMSs. Scheduling is performed as heuristic search in the reachability graph of the Petri net. The searching process is guided by a heuristic function based on firing count vectors of state equation for the Petri net. By using the one-step look-ahead method in the optimal deadlock control policy, the safety of a state is checked. Experimental results are provided to show effectiveness of the proposed heuristic search approach in deadlock-free scheduling for FMSs.     

Emerging research fields in safety and ergonomics in industrial collaborative robotics: A systematic literature review

Human–robot collaboration is a main technology of Industry 4.0 and is currently changing the shop floor of manufacturing companies. Collaborative robots are innovative industrial technologies introduced to help operators to perform manual activities in so called cyber-physical production systems and combine human inimitable abilities with smart machines strengths. Occupational health and safety criteria are of crucial importance in the implementation of collaborative robotics. Therefore, it is necessary to assess the state of the art for the design of safe and ergonomic collaborative robotic workcells. Emerging research fields beyond the state of the art are also of special interest. To achieve this goal this paper uses a systematic literature review methodology to review recent technical scientific bibliography and to identify current and future research fields. Main research themes addressed in the recent scientific literature regarding safety and ergonomics (or human factors) for industrial collaborative robotics were identified and categorized. The emerging research challenges and research fields were identified and analyzed based on the development of publications over time (annual growth).     

Specification and analysis of real-time systems with PARAGON

This paper describes a methodology for the specification and analysis of distributed real-time systems using the toolset called PARAGON. PARAGON is based on the Communicating Shared Resources paradigm, which allows a real-time system to be modeled as a set of communicating processes that compete for shared resources. PARAGON supports both visual and textual languages for describing real-time systems. It offers automatic analysis based on state space exploration as well as user-directed simulation. Our experience with using PARAGON in several case studies resulted in a methodology that includes design patterns and abstraction heuristics, as well as an overall process. This paper briefly overviews the communicating shared resource paradigm and its toolset PARAGON, including the textual and visual specification languages. The paper then describes our methodology with special emphasis on heuristics that can be used in PARAGON to reduce the state space. To illustrate the methodology, we use examples from a real-life system case study. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Decentralized Supervisory Control With Conditional Decisions: Supervisor Realization

The strategy of decentralized supervisory control of discrete-event systems using so-called “conditional decisions” initiated in prior work is further investigated in this note. Specifically, a constructive methodology for realizing supervisors that employ conditional decisions is developed. This methodology is based on the construction of (deterministic) observers of nondeterministic automata that are built so as to track violations of C&P and D&A coobservability.     

一种用于柔性制造系统仿真的图形Petri网软件工具

本文致力于图形Ｐｅｔｒｉ网软件工具—ＧＰＮＳＴ软件包的设计与实现。首先介绍了ＧＰＮＳＴ的结构和功能，分析了它在Ｐｅｔｒｉ网图形编辑和网结构分析方面的能力；其次正式定义了Ｐｅｔｒｉ网的扩展—赋时着色Ｐｅｔｒｉ网（ＴＣＰＮ），并且使用ＴＣＰＮ建立了柔性制造系统（ＦＭＳ）的简化仿真模型。利用这个模型，能基本实现ＦＭＳ的动态仿真，同时显示整个仿真的过程；最后将调度算法、启发式规则、ＴＣＰＮ模型和仿真结合起来，构成一个基于专家系统的调度器，产生出虽非最优，但是具有比较好结果的可行调度，有效地解决了动态仿真中的ＦＭＳ调度问题。     

Modular Supervisory Control with Equivalence-Based Abstraction and Covering-Based Conflict Resolution

A modular approach to control is one way to reduce the complexity of supervisory controller design for discrete-event systems (DES). A problem, however, is that modular supervisors can conflict with one another. This paper proposes requirements on coordinating filters that will resolve this conflict. Abstractions are employed to reduce the complexity of the filter construction. Our specific approach is unique in that it employs a conflict-equivalent abstraction that offers the potential for greater reduction in model size than those abstractions employed in previous works on conflict resolution. The resulting control implemented by the modular supervisors in conjunction with coordinating filters meeting the proposed requirements is shown to be safe and nonblocking. Approaches for constructing these filters are discussed and a methodology that implements deterministic coordinating filter control laws by nondeterministic automata is presented. The covering-based filter law construction methodology presented here is further demonstrated to provide less restrictive control than existing results on state-feedback supervisory control.     

Modeling, controlling, and simulation of local area networks for flexible manufacturing systems using Petri nets

Flexible manufacturing systems (FMSs) are advanced manufacturing systems comprising machining cells, robots, a automated guided vehicles (AGVs) that function under the hierarchical control of computers. The flexibility of an FMS primarily imparted by integrating the functions of different system elements such as machining cells, robots, AGVs usig computers. In this paper, the role of local area networks (LANs) in FMSs is explicated. The contribution of this paper is twofold. First, the differences between the LANs in conventional systems (CLANs) to that of LANs in FMSs (FLANs) are explicated. Secondly, a new class of Petri nets (PNs) called augmented timed PNs are introduced as a modeling tool designing, simulating, analyzing, and finally implementing the LAN in FMS. A software package has been developed to simulate the Petri net models (PNMs). The software package developed aids system designers by simulating the PNM and generating certain performance criteria.