An Environment for Rapid Prototyping of Interactive Systems

This paper shows an environment which supports the development of multi-thread dialogue interactive systems.The environment includes several tools and run-time support programs for the design and implementation of the user interface of an interactive system.First,methods of user interface specification with Elementary Nets are discussed.Then,the syntax of a user interface specification language based on Elementary Nets and the pre-compiler for the language as well as a graphic editor for Elementary Nets construction are described.Finally,an example is given to illustrate the design process of a user interface.     

Interfacing geometric model data with rapid prototyping systems

The direct slicing of CAD models created in CADDS V to generate geometric data for rapid prototyping using fused feposition modeling technique (FDM) is presented in this paper. The report file from an explicit model is accessed for obtaining model data. Algorithms have been developed for determining the volumes of model material as well as support materials. New algorithms have been developed for filling the sheet solid. A simulation module has been developed to verify whether the filling is correctly done. Example of a model is manufactured using this approach is also presented in this paper.     

RPM: a rapid prototyping engine for multiprocessor systems

RPM enables rapid prototyping of different multiprocessor architectures. It uses hardware emulation for reliable design verification and performance evaluation. The major objective of the RPM project is to develop a common, configurable hardware platform to accurately emulate different MIMD systems with up to eight execution processors. Because emulation is orders of magnitude faster than simulation, an emulator can run problems with large data sets more representative of the workloads for which the target machine is designed. Because an emulation is closer to the target implementation than an abstracted simulation, it can accomplish more reliable performance evaluation and design verification. Finally, an emulator is a real computer with its own I/O; the code running on the emulator is not instrumented. As a result, the emulator looks exactly like the target machine (to the programmer) and can run several different workloads, including code from production compilers, operating systems, databases, and software utilities     

Logic programming and rapid prototyping

Logic programming has great potential for reducing the cost of software development. We argue that, with an appropriate programming methodology, a logic programming system provides a powerful tool for rapid software prototyping. It is sufficiently formal and high-level to allow reasoning about specifications, and it provides an immediate operational validation of the programmer's intuitions.The methodology is introduced by means of an example larger than those usually used to illustrate the advantages of logic programming. We start with an informal specification of a structure-editor, show how it is formalized into a directly executable prototype, and introduce guidelines for validating logic programming code as implemented in Prolog.The developed prototype can be used for a number of applications: syntax-directed editor, semantic network browser, etc. The editor is compact but readable, and is quite efficient.     

A flexible environment for rapid prototyping and analysis of distributed real-time safety-critical systems

Currently, there is a plethora of low-cost commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) hardware available for implementing control systems. These range from devices with fairly low intelligence, e.g. smart sensors and actuators, to dedicated controllers such as PowerPC, programmable logic controllers (PLCs) and PC-based boards to dedicated systems-on-a-chip (SoC) ASICS and FPGAs. When considering the construction of complex distributed systems, e.g. for a ship, aircraft, car, train, process plant, the ability to rapidly integrate a variety of devices from different manufacturers is essential. A problem, however, is that manufacturers prefer to supply proprietary tools for programming their products. As a consequence of this lack of ‘openness’, rapid prototyping and development of distributed systems is extremely difficult and costly for a systems integrator. Great opportunities thus exist to produce high-performance, dependable distributed systems. However, the key element that is missing is software tool support for systems integration. The objective of the Flexible Control Systems Development and Integration Environment for Control Systems (FLEXICON) project IST-2001-37269 is to solve these problems for industry and reduce development and implementation costs for distributed control systems by providing an integrated suite of tools to support all the development life-cycle of the system. Work within the Rolls-Royce supported University Technology Centre (UTC) is investigating rapid prototyping of controllers for aero-engines, unmanned aerial vehicles and ships. This paper describes the use of the developed co-simulation environment for a high-speed merchant vessel propulsion system application.     

Integrated reverse engineering and rapid prototyping

Reverse engineering is a methodology for constructing CAD models of physical parts by digitizing an existing part, creating a computer model and then using it to manufacture the component. When a digitized part is to be manufactured by means of rapid prototyping machines such as stereolithography apparatus (SLA) and selective laser sintering equipments (SLS), etc., it is not necessary to construct the CAD model of a digitized part. This will be described by the proposed novel method which can construct STL file (the de facto file format for rapid prototyping machines) directly from digitized part data. Further more, the STL file can even be constructed in a way that significant data reduction can be achieved at the users' discretion.     

Knowledge-based system for rapid prototyping

In recent years it has been noticed that rapid prototyping produces better software products. Research on combining Artificial Intelligence and software engineering has also been conducted for a number of years. A knowledge-based system for rapid prototyping is presented. In the system, the Frame-and-Rule Oriented Requirements Language and a methodology are developed to provide an integrated means of prototyping throughoyt the software life cycle. The particular application domain to be modelled is represented in terms of objects and activities. FRORL, which uses the concept of frames and production systems, describes the problem domain's objects and activities in a natural way. With the support of a knowledge base, a software prototype can be rapidly developed using FRORL. The system has been implemented using Prolog on a VAX-11/780 computer.     

Shape enhancement for rapid prototyping

Many applications, for instance, in the reverse engineering and cultural heritage field, require building a physical replica of 3D digital models. Recent 3D printers can easily perform this task in a relatively short time and using color to reproduce object textures. However, the finite resolution of printers and, most of all, some peculiar optical and physical properties of the used materials reduce their perceptual quality. The contribution of this paper is a shape enhancing technique which allows users to increase readability of the tiniest details in physical replicas, without requiring manual post-reproduction interventions.     

Concurrent intelligent rapid prototyping environment

Rapid prototyping technology enables rapid production of complex objects directly from a computer-aided design model without involving any tooling or conventional part programming. This has created a new set of problems associated with part design, process planning, support design and value engineering analysis of rapid prototyping parts. In this paper, a methodology for resolving these problems is described, which uses concurrent engineering, distributed blackboard, value engineering, knowledge-based and feature-based technologies. The functionality, design methodology and knowledge representation techniques of a concurrent intelligent rapid prototyping system for stereolithography form the main focus of this paper.     

Software evolution through rapid prototyping

Rapid prototyping is defined, and its role in software evolution is examined. Software evolution refers to all activities that change a software system. It differs from maintenance in that the latter is done after the initial development, whereas evolution activities are interleaved with the initial development and continue after the delivery of the initial version of the system. In the author's approach to rapid prototyping, software systems are delivered incrementally and requirements analysis continues throughout the process, interleaved with implementation and evolution. The focus is on reducing requirements errors through prototyping before undertaking the incremental implementation effort for each deliverable version of the system. The evolution of a hyperthermia system is considered as an example     

Automated Tools for Rapid Prototyping

An automated environment is presented which aids the software engineers in developing data processing systems by using rapid prototyping techniques.The environment is being developed on VAX station.It can render good support to the specification of the requirements and the rapid creation of prototype.The goal,the methodology,the general structure of the environment and two sub-systems are discussed.     

An architecture for WSI rapid prototyping

Wafer-scale integration architecture for rapid prototyping (WARP), a generalized architecture for rapid prototyping, is discussed. The primary goal of rapid prototyping is to map one of several members of a class of algorithms using a single-wafer architecture. The wafer can be personalized for the algorithm by either soft or hard-restructuring. The WARP wafer consists of an array of two types of cells specifically defined for this architecture: the universal multiply-subtract-add (UMSA) cell and the universal nonlinear (UNL) cell. Reconfiguration of the algorithms in the presence of defects, a harvesting probability model and yield, and wafer-scale testing and test facilities are described     

A case study in rapid prototyping

A case study in rapid prototyping of a new language processor is described. A quick version of the system was developed in SNOBOL4, revised in SNOBOL4, and then rewritten in Pascal. This led to an operational system very early in the development cycle where operational characteristics of the system could be tested easily. The goals of this experiment as well as some of the results are described.     

Architecture for rapid prototyping of visual controllers

In this paper, we present an architecture for rapid prototyping of visual controllers based on standard off-the-shelf hardware and software. The proposed scheme allows control of a wide class of systems including robot manipulators and underactuated systems using a digital camera. The graphical programming environment is based on MatLab/Simulink^© which allows us to take advantage of Simulink graphic programming facilities. Experiments are presented to evaluate the proposed architecture.     

Synopsys开创快速原型新时代

目前,设计属于自己的原型系统的费用随着工艺水平的提升而越来越高.在金融危机的背景下,如何使自己的利润最大化尤为引人关注.同时,越来越复杂的SoC、越来越多的嵌入式软件和高成本的仿真,催生出系统设设和验证的新方法.     

Virtual prototyping of mechatronic systems

Mechatronic systems abound in technological fields such as robotics and machine tools industry. Significant advances in dynamic performance of these systems can be achieved provided that mutual interactions of different domains (such as mechanics, electronics, hydraulics and control) are thoroughly understood. Virtual prototyping entails integration of multi-domain dynamic simulation in the design process, in order to reproduce and analyze the effects of design choices on the overall performance. This paper states the requirements of the modeling language and software tool for simulation of mechatronic systems and describes an experience of use of DYMOLA with Modelica language in the simulation of a complete machining center. The model has been successfully validated against experimental results collected on the real machining center.     

Hybrid rapid prototyping system using machining and deposition

Many rapid prototyping (RP) systems are commercially available, and others are introduced daily. RP has proven to be an effective tool for dramatically reducing the time and expense involved in the realization of a new products and for overcoming the bottlenecks of existing manufacturing processes. However, its fields of application are currently saturated, and the emphasis has moved towards using RP for short-run manufacture. The current need is for a technique that will produce finished parts of the required quality in the shortest possible time, and which meet this need, the focus now falls on improvements in production speed, accuracy, variety of materials, and cost. For these practical reasons, we concentrated on a new form of hybrid-RP system, which performs both deposition and machining in a single station. Our proposed system meets the requirements of material deposition (RP) and material removal (CNC) at the process planning and manufacturing level. We believe that this new production system, which incorporates a combined RP concept, offers an optimum manufacturing solution by adopting the advantages of the RP and CNC systems. In this paper, we describe the system architecture and the fabrication process in detail and present the framework of the process planning system and the concepts of the geometric algorithms involved in developing such an environment.     

Software storming: combining rapid prototyping and knowledgeengineering

A method for rapidly producing highly functional prototypes is described. This method, called software storming, involves experts in the initial design and implementation of a system during an intense development effort that combines knowledge engineering with the latest advances in software-development technology and workstation hardware The experiment described is a test of tools and techniques developed in the field of artificial intelligence as well as the first step in the development of software storming. Using this approach, the authors developed a software prototype which possesses significantly more functionality than a standard prototype, in less than four months