Colored Petri Nets Research Articles

Statewise: A Petri Net-Based Visual Editor for Specifying Robotic Systems

We present Statewise, a visual editor designed to enable developers to model and simulate complex systems using colored Petri nets in an intuitive, graphical way. Utilizing Statewise, we explore two use cases to demonstrate its capabilities. We also discuss potential enhancements to further extend its applicability in more complex scenarios.

Access Control Verification in Smart Contracts Using Colored Petri Nets

This paper presents an approach for the verification of access control in smart contracts written in the Digital Asset Modeling Language (DAML). The approach utilizes Colored Petri Nets (CPNs) and their analysis tool CPN Tools. It is a model-driven-based approach that employs a new meta-model for capturing access control requirements in DAML contracts. The approach is supported by a suite of tools that fully automates all of the steps: parsing DAML code, generating DAML model instances, transforming the DAML models into CPN models, and model checking the generated CPN models. The approach is tested using several DAML scripts involving access control extracted from different domains of blockchain applications.

Modeling and simulation of Fuzzy-rule based WBAN using multi-level fuzzy colored petri-nets and reinforcement learning

By developing IoTs (Internet of Things), a new concept is arising in WBANs (Wireless Body Area Networks), called IoBs (Internet of Bodies). WBANs are the safety-critical devices that use rule-based knowledge with fuzzy variables for monitoring patients. There are two issues with the knowledgebase: (1) appropriate knowledge representation and inference and (2) handling the situations for which there is no rule in the knowledgebase. In this paper, for the first issue we present MFCPN (Multi-level Fuzzy Colored Petri-nets) and for the second one we present a RL (Reinforcement Learning) mechanism for decision making based on the past device’s feedback to the environment. Through a few scenarios and two datasets, the proposed approach has been applied to pacemakers to show the approach's effectiveness. The comparison between decision making by our approach and two real datasets indicates the proposed approach has 79.3 % accuracy.

MSCFS-RP: A Colored-Petri-Net-Based Analysis Model for Master–Slave Cloud File Systems with Replication Pipelining

As a typical information system, a cloud file system enables the storage, retrieval, and management of data on remote servers or server clusters. The reliable design of such systems is critical to ensure the security of data and availability of services. However, designing correct-by-construction systems is challenging due to the complexity of and concurrency inherent in cloud file systems. Further, existing works on cloud file system analysis often focus on specific systems or lack formal modeling and verification, leading to potential design flaws and security vulnerabilities. To address these issues, we propose MSCFS-RP, which is a formal analysis model based on colored Petri nets. Leveraging the strengths of colored Petri nets in representing diverse information types with colored tokens and defining explicit rules for concurrent interactions, our model captures the writing and reading processes of clients, meta servers, and clusters. With strong formalism and support for verification using CPN Tools, we rigorously evaluate key properties such as replication consistency under various scenarios. The results demonstrate that MSCFS-RP satisfies these properties, validating its effectiveness and trustworthiness in managing information within cloud storage systems.

Research on the Smart Broad Bean Harvesting System and the Self-Adaptive Control Method Based on CPS Technologies

With the rapid development of new-generation cyber–physical system (CPS) technologies, the smart operation and management of the broad bean harvesting system are enabled. This paper proposed a smart broad bean harvesting system (SBHS) and a self-adaptive control method based on CPS technologies. Firstly, the overall architecture of the SBHS is designed, which consists of four main components, namely optimal intelligent perception environment configuration, digital twin model construction, virtual simulation and real-time optimization, self-adaptive adjustment and control. Then, three key enabling technologies are discussed in detail, namely, intelligent perception environment configuration for the SBHS, digital twin model construction for the SBHS, colored Petri net (CPN)-based self-adaptive analysis and control of the harvesting system. Lastly, a proof-of-concept experiment based on a cooperative company is presented to illustrate the main work logic and advantage of the proposed SBHS. After the edge–cloud cooperative intelligent harvesting environment is configured, the CPN model for the workflow of the SBHS is created to analyze and optimize the harvesting processes. In addition, a management and control platform are developed to further illustrate the implementation of the proposed SBHS and the self-adaptive control method.

ITS4Tsunamis: An Intelligent Transportation System for tsunami emergencies

Natural disasters, such as tsunamis and earthquakes, may affect gravely on human lives, infrastructure, and economy. Negative effects of these situations can be minimized with the help of technology. In this paper we propose ITS4Tsunamis, an Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) that combines different technologies to help emergency management agencies to provide safe routes for their emergency vehicles. In the case of a tsunami emergency, these agencies must consider different aspects when moving with their vehicles, such as the road state and the vehicle features. Technologies such as Complex Event Processing (CEP) can be used to gather and process the information provided by a collection of sensors and assess the corresponding emergency level. In addition, we introduce uncertainty as a key element when determining the road-status, since this factor is uncertain by itself, and is based on the flood level and the number and size of obstacles in the roads. Fuzzy Logic (FL) is then used to deal with uncertainty and help authorities to evaluate the road accessibility. Safe routes are obtained using Colored Petri Nets (CPNs), a graphical formalism that allows us to analyze concurrent systems. This approach has been applied to Cádiz, a city in the southwest of Spain, which is close to an active tectonic rift. This work is an extended version of the conference paper by Díaz et al. (2023) [1].

Reliability, Availability, and Maintainability Assessment of a Mechatronic System Based on Timed Colored Petri Nets

The mechatronic industry is currently subject to huge changes challenging it to offer products matching individual customer requirements at competitive prices. The design of such products calls for sophisticated and complex components integration following different technologies. Since we are on the cusp of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, in which the world of mechatronic production, network connectivity, the Internet of Things, and cyber-physical systems are correlated, the complexity of these systems increases exponentially, and we are talking about advanced mechatronic systems. To assist these changes, various methods, sweeping all project phases, are used by business houses. Predictive dependability assessment in the earlier design stage is considered a powerful metric used to evaluate the performances of different kinds of mechatronic products before the production phase. Altogether, dependability analysis ties the design directly to the desired functionality, operability, and integrity of the system. This paper explores an approach to assessing the dependability attributes, reliability, availability, and maintainability (RAM), of repairable mechatronic systems based on timed colored Petri nets and a Monte Carlo simulation, integrating simultaneously diverse components technologies: mechanical, electronic, and software. The proposed approach is tested taking the case of a regenerative braking system. The methodology appears to be efficient for evaluating predictive RAM indicators (MTTFF, MTTR, MTBF…) for the whole system and for each individual component separately.

Improving Patient Flow in the Emergency Rooms using Coloured Petri Nets and the ACO Algorithm

Overcrowding is certainly one of the major problems that have affected the work of the health care system in recent years, especially in the Emergency Department (ED), In addition, overcrowding has a significant impact on the quality of health care in hospitals. In addition to creating issues for patients and staff, overcrowding in the ED can lead to medical errors, longer wait times, and thus causes financial losses to hospitals. Emergency services are considered necessary in society, given the human need for them at any stage of their life. The emergency department is a complex system due to the nature of the resources it contains. Many researchers are interested in proposing many solutions to solve many problems in the emergency department. Researchers rely on many methods and techniques such as simulation, optimization algorithms, data mining, and other methods. In this research, we try to propose an approach based on the ant colony optimization (ACO) algorithms and colored Petri nets, the aim of which is to reduce waiting times and thus reduce the length of the patient’s stay. Simulation models are built utilizing colored Petri nets, and to determine human resources, the ACO algorithms are used. This research helps the administrative staff in the emergency department find appropriate solutions for human resources.

Automated Mapping Tool from Moise+ to Colored Petri Nets

The demand for systems incorporating artificial intelligence, such as multi-agent systems, is continually increasing. Simultaneously, there is a growing need for developing tools to support this field, ensuring better fault tolerance within projects. This is particularly crucial given that these systems possess characteristics that render them non-deterministic, thereby amplifying the challenge of conducting tests. To address this challenge, a mapping tool has been developed. This tool automatically generates a graphical model, facilitating the identification of test paths for a given multi-agent system. It operates by taking an XML file from Moise+, an organizational model for multi-agent systems, and translates it into a colored Petri net. The resulting mapping serves as a foundation for generating test cases essential for validating the Moise+ model, guiding system testing. Automation streamlines the process, enhancing speed, and eliminating the potential for human error.

Enhancing security in e-business processes: Utilizing dynamic slicing of Colored Petri Nets for logical vulnerability detection

The field of e-business covers multiple aspects and has undergone rapid development, profoundly changing our transaction methods and shopping experiences. However, with the increasing complexity of its business processes, logical vulnerabilities have become an inevitable issue. These logical vulnerabilities can lead to a range of security problems, seriously threatening business stability and consumer trust. To address the challenge of logical vulnerabilities in e-business, we developed a model based on Colored Petri Nets (CPN), the Interactive Business Process Fusion (IBPF) net, which is adept at identifying such vulnerabilities during the design phase. However, the analysis methods for IBPF net still urgently need innovation. In addressing this issue, we use dynamic slicing techniques to analyze IBPF net, serving as a method for revealing logical vulnerabilities. We obtain backward slice, partial forward slice, and bidirectional slice through the slicing algorithms. Eventually, these three types of slices are merged to form the final dynamic slice. This technique, which involves a more targeted analysis than examining the entire IBPF net, simplifies analysis process and prevents state space explosion, thereby providing a distinct advantage. The results of this research are of great value in enhancing system reliability, reducing maintenance costs, and providing analysis techniques in the field of e-business security.

A multi-step attack path prediction method for oil & gas intelligence pipeline cyber physics system based on CPNE

Owing to the integration of the 5th Generation Mobile Communication Technology (5 G) and industrial internet construction, Oil & Gas intelligent pipeline network has witnessed accelerated construction and development. The Oil & Gas intelligent pipeline network proposed by China National Petroleum Corporation exhibits the advantages such as high integration, data unification, and intelligent decision-making, which helps to greatly reduce manual management costs, optimize risk decision-making by managers, and avoid risks such as human misuse. However, the highly integrated Cyber-physical system of the Internet and the Internet of Things faces various cyber security threats, and traditional intrusion detection systems exhibit drawbacks in the face of complex cyber-attack behaviors. In response to incomplete multi-step attack path prediction in traditional prediction methods, this paper proposes a multi-step attack path prediction method for Oil & Gas intelligence pipeline cyber physics system (CPS) based on Colored Petri nets and mixed strategy Nash equilibrium (CPNE). Taking into account the importance of assets and the dependency relationships between assets within the cyber-physical system of Oil & Gas intelligent pipeline network, CPNE constructs a node dependency model for the cyber-physical system of Oil & Gas intelligent pipeline network, simulates multi-step attack and defense games, calculates the probability of node failure triggering and transfer using mixed strategy Nash equilibrium, and extracts the risk of multi-step attack paths for different attack strategies. With the filtration and separation unit of a certain natural gas station as an example, this paper establishes a CPNE model to rank the risk of the first multi-step attack single attack source path and predict the risk of subsequent multi-step attack source paths, thus predicting multi-step attack paths. Taking three rounds of attacks as an example, compared to the paths predicted by traditional probability attack graph models, the proposed CPNE model is more advantageous in multi attack source path prediction, with a 2.33-fold increase in the relative coverage rate of path predictions.

Formal Security Analysis of ISA100.11a Standard Protocol Based on Colored Petri Net Tool

This paper presents a formal security analysis of the ISA100.11a standard protocol using the Colored Petri Net (CPN) modeling approach. Firstly, we establish a security threat model for the ISA100.11a protocol and provide a detailed description and analysis of the identified security threats. Secondly, we use the CPN tool to model the protocol formally and conduct model checking and security analysis. Finally, we analyze and discuss the results of the model checking, which demonstrate that the ISA100.11a standard protocol may have vulnerabilities when certain security threats exist, and provide some suggestions to enhance the security of the protocol. This research provides a certain level of security assurance for the ISA100.11a standard protocol and serves as a reference for similar security research on protocols.

Refined Oil Loading and Unloading Process Risk Assessment using Stochastic Colored Petri Nets Integrated with Risk Factors

Refined Oil Loading and Unloading Process Risk Assessment using Stochastic Colored Petri Nets Integrated with Risk Factors

Design of a model for improving emergency room performance using a colored Petri net

Emergency rooms are one of the most complex and vital areas of healthcare institutions, which have presented overcrowding, long waiting, and length of stay times, affecting the timeliness, responsiveness, and quality of service. This research aimed to design a detailed patient flow model to improve emergency room performance using the hierarchical timed colored Petri nets. Then, the model was simulated to evaluate scenarios considering tactical decisions such as physician staff planning, operational decisions such as adjusting work schedules, and strategic decisions such as increasing observation beds. The best scenario would reduce the average waiting times for triage II patients by 17.30 % and 47.57 %, and triage III by 33.49 % and 43.49 % for medical consultation in the office or the minor surgery room, respectively. In addition, the waiting time in observation and the rate of patients left without being seen by a physician would be reduced by 92.45 % and 74.67 %, respectively. These results improve the quality and timeliness of the service and avoid putting the patient's health and life at risk. The designed model included more attributes for patients concerning the place of medical care in the emergency room, the number of visits to the physician, and the physician who will care for the patient. Moreover, the simulation model includes observation beds as a limited resource blocking new patient admission. Finally, this model is a tool to support emergency room managers in making short, medium, and long-term decisions to address problems such as overcrowding, long waiting and length of stay times, and high rates of patients left without being seen by a physician

Petri Nets for the Iterative Development of Interactive Robotic Systems

We argue for the use of Petri nets as a modeling language for the iterative development process of interactive robotic systems. Petri nets, particularly Timed Colored Petri nets (TCPNs), have the potential to unify various phases of the development process-design, specification, simulation, validation, implementation, and deployment. We additionally discuss future directions for creating a domain-specific variant of TCPNs tailored specifically for HRI systems development.

Fluent Restoration Modelling Applied to a Real Power System Using Colored Petri Nets

In this article the Colored Petri Nets (CPN) and the Critical Path Method along with the Program Evaluation Review Technique (CPM/PERT) are described and their characteristics compared for application on the real-time fluent restoration of power systems. A CPN based method is proposed and has been found more suitable since it is able to represent the temporal sequencing and the logical dependency between restoration activities. The restoration planning of electrical power systems are based on a worksheet drawn up by experts, which contains a list of procedures for restoration. The restoration process has been improved and a real case study is presented using the CPN modeling applied with success to an operative fluent restoration post-outage in the Brazilian interconnected system

Fast Local Rules Based Switching and Routing Within Multidimensional Torus Interconnect

Multidimensional torus networking topology has become widespread recently in the domain of high-performance computers, clusters, and grids, as well as in the domain of networks on chip. Torus represents an ideal communication structure with the shortest distance and multitude of alternative shortest paths between a pair of nodes. We study simple and powerful local packet forwarding (switching) rules that provide packet delivery with quasi-optimal load balancing and do not use tables of addresses (routes). Implementation of these rules in the form of micro-program code within switching nodes increases considerably network performance, security, and QoS. We use infinite Petri nets and reenterable models in the form of colored Petri nets for prototyping the multi-dimensional torus interconnect simulator to study and compare the packet forwarding rules. Then, an ad-hoc simulator of torus interconnect ts is implemented in the C language to provide high performance and the possibility of simulation over prolonged intervals of time. The simulation results acknowledge the advantages of local packet forwarding rules.

Modeling and safety analysis for collaborative safety-critical systems using hierarchical colored Petri nets

ContextCollaborative systems enable multiple independent systems to work together towards a common goal. These systems can include both human-system and system-system interactions and can be found in a variety of settings, including smart manufacturing, smart transportation, and healthcare. Safety is an important consideration for collaborative systems because one system's failure can significantly impact the overall system performance and adversely affect other systems, humans or the environment. GoalFail-safe mechanisms for safety-critical systems are designed to bring the system to a safe state in case of a failure in the sensors or actuators. However, a collaborative safety-critical system must do better and be safe-operational, for e.g., a failure of one of the members in a platoon of vehicles in the middle of a highway is not acceptable. Thus, failures must be compensated, and compliance with safety constraints must be ensured even under faults or failures of constituent systems. MethodIn this paper, we model and analyze safety for collaborative safety-critical systems using hierarchical Coloured Petri nets (CPN). We used an automated Human Rescue Robot System (HRRS) as a case study, modeled it using hierarchical CPN, and injected some specified failures to check and confirm the safe behavior in case of unexpected scenarios. ResultsThe system behavior was observed after injecting three types of failures in constituent systems, and then safety mechanisms were applied to mitigate the effect of these failures. After applying safety mechanisms, the HRRS system's overall behavior was again observed both in terms of verification and validation, and the simulated results show that all the identified failures were mitigated and HRRS completed its mission. ConclusionIt was found that the approach based on formal methods (CPN modeling) can be used for the safety analysis, modeling, validation, and verification of collaborative safety-critical systems like HRRS. The hierarchical CPN provides a rigorous way of modeling to implement complex collaborative systems.

Colored Petri Nets for Modeling and Simulation of a Green Supply Chain System

Green supply chain is an emerging approach in supply chain management to reduce environmental impact of the process concerning the flow of goods and materials. As a discrete-event system, supply chain can be modeled using Petri Nets. Colored Petri Nets (CPNs) extend the classical Petri net formalism with data, time and hierarchy. These extensions makes it possible to deal with the green aspects of the supply chain.This paper deals with the Colored Petri Net approach to model and simulate a green supply chain system. The forward supply chain network starts from the raw material suppliers, to the manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers and to the final customers. The reverse supply chain network is made of collecting points, recycling plants, disassembly plants, and secondary material market. A government environment agency plays the role of regulation of the recycling process. A colored Petri net model of the green supply chain is developed and simulated with CPN Tools, a dedicated software for CPN models. The simulation results as well as the state-space analysis results validate the correctness of the model.

Detecting Information Leakage Against Chinese Wall Policy Based on the Unfolding Technique of Colored Petri Nets

Detecting Information Leakage Against Chinese Wall Policy Based on the Unfolding Technique of Colored Petri Nets