A framework for prototyping Distributed Cyber–Physical Systems with reference nets

Abstract

It is challenging to ascertain a correct composition of an envisaged Distributed Cyber–Physical System (DCPS) with the user and physical interfaces and requisite interactions. The gap in understanding the user’s ideation and designer’s manifestation in the early stages of the System Development Life Cycle (SDLC) results in requirement errors. These requirement errors result in a higher cost due to rework if discovered in later phases of the SDLC. Hence, there is a need to incorporate dynamic models as system prototypes to facilitate early visibility of the designer’s manifestation to the user community in the requirement engineering phase of SDLC. This paper is an attempt to fill this gap.This paper presents a framework to construct and validate DCPS composition as a rapid prototype. The idea is to facilitate effective communication among the user and developer community. The framework uses Reference net formalism extended with GUI enhancements to achieve the wire-frame implementation of the DCPS prototype under investigation. A containment management scenario in the COVID-19 context illustrates the applicability of the presented framework. The execution of end-to-end scenarios spanning multiple user interfaces with simulated sensors, actuators, and environmental operations within a distributed setup gives a realistic feel of the system operations and dynamics. The presented approach facilitates early validation, identification, and rectification of requirement errors through multiple refinement cycles. In our understanding, this work has not been suggested earlier.