Abstract
Much has been published about potential benefits of the adoption of cyber–physical systems (CPSs) in manufacturing industry. However, less has been said about how such automation systems might be effectively configured and supported through their lifecycles and how application modeling, visualization, and reuse of such systems might be best achieved. It is vitally important to be able to incorporate support for engineering best practice while at the same time exploiting the potential that CPS has to offer in an automation systems setting. This paper considers the industrial context for the engineering of CPS. It reviews engineering approaches that have been proposed or adopted to date including Industry 4.0 and provides examples of engineering methods and tools that are currently available. The paper then focuses on the CPS engineering toolset being developed by the Automation Systems Group (ASG) in the Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG), University of Warwick, Coventry, U.K. and explains via an industrial case study how such a component-based engineering toolset can support an integrated approach to the virtual and physical engineering of automation systems through their lifecycle via a method that enables multiple vendors' equipment to be effectively integrated and provides support for the specification, validation, and use of such systems across the supply chain, e.g., between end users and system integrators.
Highlights
Cyber–physical systems (CPSs) are distributed, heterogeneous systems connected via networks, and usually associated with the concept of the Internet of Things (IoT) [1]
Realizing cyber–physical systems (CPSs) for industrial automation implies the need for engineering tools capable of supporting distributed systems and is coupled to a major shift in emphasis from traditional monolithic, specialism-based, isolated engineering tools and methods toward integrated, cloudbased tool/system infrastructures based around an Internet of Services and associated data
The Automation Systems Group (ASG) is focusing on the design and implementation of automation systems engineering tools and methods, aligned to the specific nature of CPSs, which can contribute to achieving the goals of Industry 4.0
Summary
Cyber–physical systems (CPSs) are distributed, heterogeneous systems connected via networks, and usually associated with the concept of the Internet of Things (IoT) [1]. Harrison et al.: Engineering Methods and Tools for Cyber–Physical Automation Systems size and complexity of the embedded software inside the components are increasing rapidly. It is important to ensure that current good practice and understanding of necessary engineering workflows and functional capabilities can be transferred and embodied into CPSs and that the required new tools and methods can support this. Current automation systems engineering methods are frequently criticized, e.g., for poorly supporting reuse and their inability to effectively validate automation solutions across supply chains. There is poor integration between real system and virtual system representations, which need to be closely integrated throughout the automation system lifecycle from specification and design through commissioning, validation, operation, and reuse of systems. Engineering tools traditionally have evolved to support the principle of “separation of concerns” to manage engineering complexity. Tools are typically vertically integrated with limited support (even intention) for horizontal integrability (i.e., integration across disciplinary boundaries)
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