Reverse Engineering Methodology Research Articles

Reverse engineering in medical application: literature review, proof of concept and future perspectives

Reverse engineering, a process of extracting information or knowledge from existing objects or systems, has gained significant attention in various fields, including medicine. This article presents a comprehensive literature review and a proof of concept on the application of reverse engineering in the medical field. The review particularly focuses on the reverse engineering process, available technologies, and their specific relevance to the medical domain. Various imaging techniques, such as computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging, are discussed in respect of their integration with reverse engineering methodologies. Furthermore, the article explores the wide range of medical applications facilitated by reverse engineering, including prosthetics, implants, tissue engineering, and surgical planning. The potential of reverse engineering to enhance personalized medicine and patient-specific treatments is highlighted. A detailed proof of concept focusing on femur reconstruction is a significant component of the article. The proof of concept showcases the practical implementation of reverse engineering techniques to assist in designing and manufacturing precise custom-made implants and bone reconstruction. It emphasizes the integration of patient-specific anatomical data obtained through imaging technologies and the subsequent utilization of reverse engineering processes for anatomical reconstruction (solid modeling). Overall, this article provides an extensive overview of reverse engineering in medical applications, incorporating a literature review and a case study. The findings highlight reverse engineering’s potential to advance medical practices, improve patient outcomes, and foster personalized treatments. The review emphasizes the reverse engineering process, available technologies, and their specific relevance to the medical field, as well as their potential and effectiveness in advancing medical practices.

Methodology for Reverse Engineering of Machine Code. Part 3. Dynamic Investigation and Documentation

The results of creating a unified methodology for reverse engineering the machine code of devices are presented. This, the third and final part of the series of articles, is devoted to the dynamic examination of code in order to restore metainformation about it and additionally search for vulnerabilities, as well as the final documentation of the results. A review of scientific publications on the topic of existing methods and tools for dynamic analysis of machine code is carried out. A detailed description and formalization of the steps of the stage is given, as well as examples of their application in practice. A complete diagram of the proposed methodology is presented in graphical form, indicating the main and intermediate results obtained. All steps are summarized in a summary table, which also contains some of their characteristics. The shortcomings of the methodology and ways to eliminate them are discussed.

Comparative Characterization of Reference Market Product and Generic Product Developed using Reverse Engineering Methodology

The present study is a comparative analysis between the reference market product, Xarelto® 20 mg film-coated tablets, and a generic product developed using reverse engineering methodology, employing low-shear ethanolic granulation. The primary objective in formulating and optimizing this generic product was to attain a formulation that exhibits both physical and chemical stability, closely resembling the innovator or market reference drug product. Both reference and generic products were evaluated using FTIR, TGA, DSC, XRD, SEM, EDX/EDS, Raman mapping, Raman imaging and contact angle measurement studies and were compared. Similar characteristic peaks were observed in the IR spectra of the generic product (RX-LS [AH]) to that of the reference product. Similar crystallinity was detected between reference and generic products. The TG-DSC analysis confirmed the presence of a similar endothermic peak of the generic product to that of the reference product. SEM images showed the presence of deformed granules in both, generic and reference products due to the compression force during tablet production. The specific and major elements present in both samples were C, N, O, Na, Mg, S and Cl. The API and excipient distribution within the reference product and the generic product is closely similar confirmed through the Raman study. Test (θ = 17.3) and reference products (θ = 17.9) showed contact angles around 17 degrees, it indicates that both products have similar wettability capacity, in other words, similar solubility and dissolution behavior. The current study demonstrated the excellent similarity of generic Rivaroxaban 20 mg film-coated tablets with reference products. The exactly similar characteristics of generic products will definitely boost confidence of successful bioequivalence studies and reduce developmental cost and time as there is no a chance of product failure which will lead to redevelopment.

Methodology for Machine Code Reverse Engineering. Part 2. Static Investigation

The creating results a unified methodology for reverse engineering the machine code of devices are presented. This second part of the articles series is devoted to static research of code in order to restore its metainformation (source code, algorithms, architecture, conceptual model), as well as search for vulnerabilities in it. A scientific publications review on the topic of existing methods and tools for static analysis of machine code is carried out. A detailed description and formalization of the steps of the stage is given, as well as examples of their application in practice. A proposed methodology partial diagram is presented in graphical form, indicating the main and intermediate results obtained.

Methodology for Machine Code Reverse Engineering. Part 1. Preparation of the Research Object

The results of creating a unified methodology for reverse engineering the devices machine code are presented. The first part of the series of articles reviews scientific publications in this subject area. In the absence of satisfactory solutions, the author's process methodology is proposed, consisting of the following 4 stages: preparatory activities, static research, dynamic research and documentation. A detailed description of the steps of the first stage is provided, as well as examples of their application in practice using standard software. The scheme of the proposed methodology is presented in graphical form, and the steps given are formally written. The next part of the series of articles will describe the steps of the remaining stages and their systematization in tabular form, indicating the input and output objects, as well as the form of steps execution.

URBAN DESIGN ANALYSIS OF NEW YORK CITY’S VIRTUAL MODEL - THE CASE OF TOM CLANCY’S THE DIVISION

People have started spending time with digital tools and virtual worlds to escape reality's horrors. However, designed spaces are more than the players' needs, especially those digital games that their stories involve urban environments. This inefficiency causes spending futile efforts both in time and cost for the digital games' productions; The urban environments in these digital games are replicas of real-world cities. Some companies use some techniques for downgrading replicas. Therefore, this study aims to uncover the used techniques for designing Tom Clancy's The Division (2016). By using reverse engineering methodology and qualitative comparative analysis, the in-game map compared with the real-world map. Based on the results, the used techniques allowed the designers to scale down the game environment to be 2.5 times smaller than the actual city. Rather, verisimilitude is achieved by combining sufficiently accurate elements to give the impression of complete accuracy. By implementing the results of this research, designers can develop smaller replicas to be perceived as more extensive.

Application of Evolutionary Optimization Techniques in Reverse Engineering of Helical Gears: An Applied Study

Reverse engineering plays an important role in the manufacturing and automobile industries in designing complicated spare parts, reducing actual production time, and allowing for multiple redesign possibilities, including shape alterations, different materials, and changes to other significant parameters of the component. Using reverse engineering methodology, damaged gears can be identified and modeled meticulously. Influential parameters can be obtained in the shortest time. Because most of the time it is impossible to solve gear-related inverse equations mathematically, metaheuristic methods can be used to reverse-engineer gears. This paper presents a methodology based on measurement over balls and span measurement along with evolutionary optimization techniques to determine the geometry of a pure involute of a cylindrical helical gear. Advanced optimization techniques, i.e., Grey Wolf Optimization, Whale Optimization, Particle Swarm Optimization, and Genetic Algorithm, were applied for the considered reverse engineering case, and the effectiveness and accuracy of the proposed algorithms were compared. Confirmatory calculations and experiments reveal the remarkable efficiency of Grey Wolf Optimization and Particle Swarm Optimization techniques in the reverse engineering of helical gears compared to other techniques and in obtaining influential gear design parameters.

Reverse Engineering of a Racing Motorbike Connecting Rod

The following scientific paper aims to analyze in detail the methodology for reverse engineering of a racing motorcycle connecting rod. The objective is to start with a product available on the market as a spare part, reconstruct its CAD model with a high standard of accuracy, then proceed with lightening modifications to arrive at a new, improved design. The innovative aspect of the procedure lies in the fact that in order to ensure accuracy on the order of a tenth of a millimeter during reconstruction, it was decided to use a FARO articulated arm laser to scan the component’s outer surface. By taking advantage of appropriate redesign CAD software (Geomagic Design X), a reconstruction can proceed within the high standard of accuracy imposed. In conclusion, the modifications made through material removal allow an improvement in product efficiency, ensuring high performance.

Performance Determination of Axial Wind Tunnel Fan With Reverse Engineering, Numerical and Experimental Methods

Abstract In today’s technology, in case of the need for rehabilitation, renovation, or damage, it is necessary to recover the problems quickly with a cost-effective approach. In the case of destructive failure, or misdesign of the devices, replacing the problematic part with the new design is crucial. In order to substitute the related part with the efficient one, reverse engineering (RE) methodology is utilized. In this paper, from the perspective of engineering implementation and based on the idea of reverse engineering, axial wind tunnel fan is rehabilitated using numerical and experimental methods. The current study is focused on an axial pressurization fan placed into Cankaya University Mechanical Engineering Laboratory wind tunnel that has firm guaranteed specifications of 5.55 m3/s airflow capacity. The measurements performed during experiments showed that the fan provides less than 60% airflow compared with firm guaranteed specifications. In order to determine the problems of the existing fan, a reverse engineering methodology is developed, and the noncontact data acquisition method is used to form a computer aided drawing (CAD) model. A computational fluid dynamics (CFD) methodology is developed to analyze existing geometry numerically, and results are compared with an experimental study to verify numerical methodology. According to the results, the prediction accuracy of the numerical method can attain 92.95% and 96.38% for flowrate and efficiency, respectively, at the maximum error points.

Methodology of Reverse Engineering Implemented in the Process of Digitalization and Conservation of Wooden Carvings

The purpose of this paper is to present the benefits of reverse engineering when applied to cultural heritage i.e. digitalizing and duplicating an artwork in lack of original documentation, drawings, or computer models; Usage of different methods for 3D scanning, reverse engineering softwares with a smart combination of history-based CAD with 3D scan data processing, for preparing the obtained 3D model for future production use; Describing tools and machines for rapid prototyping, materials used and the feasibility of its completion; Set of tools that provide opportunities for new projects and innovations but are also of cultural and historical significance.

Reverse engineering of spiral bevel gear drives reconstructed from point clouds

The replacement of spiral bevel gears represents a challenge when the design data is missing and only the physical gears are available. In this case, application of reverse engineering is required to determine the design data and machine-tool settings that would allow the default gears to be replaced and/or improved. This paper proposes a methodology of reverse engineering of spiral bevel gears reconstructed from point clouds. Point clouds of the gear tooth surfaces are obtained from non-contact metrology machines using a 3D laser scanner. Non-uniform rational B-splines surfaces are obtained to fit a set of predefined points of the point cloud. Once the reconstructed tooth surfaces are available, a bound-constrained optimization algorithm is used to derive the finishing machine-tool settings of the gears to produce the closer tooth surfaces to the reconstructed ones. The resulting reconstructed gear drive can be analyzed throughout tooth contact and finite element analyses to evaluate its mechanical performance and improve it if necessary. A numerical example, comprising a given design of a face-milled spiral bevel gear drive and the corresponding manufactured gears, shows the advantages and disadvantages of the proposed procedure to capture the designer’s intent and analyze the existing gear drive.

Formalizing Phenotypes of Regeneration.

Regeneration experiments can produce complex phenotypes including morphological outcomes and gene expression patterns that are crucial for the understanding of the mechanisms of regeneration. However, due to their inherent complexity, variability between individuals, and heterogeneous data spreading across the literature, extracting mechanistic knowledge from them is a current challenge. Toward this goal, here we present protocols to unambiguously formalize the phenotypes of regeneration and their experimental procedures using precise mathematical morphological descriptions and standardized gene expression patterns. We illustrate the application of the methodology with step-by-step protocols for planaria and limb regeneration phenotypes. The curated datasets with these methods are not only helpful for human scientists, but they represent a key formalized resource that can be easily integrated into downstream reverse engineering methodologies for the automatic extraction of mechanistic knowledge. This approach can pave the way for discovering comprehensive systems-level models of regeneration.

The Feasibility of Using UAV Structure from Motion Photogrammetry to Extract HBIM of the Great Ziggurat of UR

Culture heritage reflects nation’s legacy and therefore should be protected from damage in order to pass it to future generations. Recently, such protection can be applied by 3D digitization techniques such as conservation, restoration, documentation, etc. The 3D digitalization of heritage assets has encountered numerous focus in the last two decades due to the development in data capturing techniques and technological advancement in 3D remote sensing (RS) approaches such as photogrammetry and laser scanning. However, the abundance of 3D information resources and spatial data modelling and analysis methods have urged stakeholders to adopt intelligent 3D data management system so called Building Information Modelling (BIM) to facilitate data approaching and management. Historic Building Information Model (HBIM) is a special case of the BIM system, however it reflects the possibility to apply the BIM technology to the historical and heritage buildings. In this research, Structure from motion (SfM) photogrammetric routine based on Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) images was applied to build HBIM of the Great Ziggurat of Ur in the south of Iraq. Based on the 3D geometric and texturing information extracted through photogrammetry and the historical information provided, virtual reconstruction has been carried out using (HBIM) technology. This was achieved by applying realistic materials and texturing information in order to document the building, which is directed to investigate the feasibility of implementing image-based 3D modelling within HBIM environments. Restoring the missing parts of the Ziggurat temple was also a focus of this research by implementing reverse engineering methodologies based on available information considered within the extracted HBIM. This can successfully represent a complete virtual reality model and a management information system of the Ziggurat building to be passed to future generations. The work also includes data assessment and validation with the as-built model generated from reference measurements within Computer Aided Design (CAD) environment.

An approach to Reverse Engineering Methodology for Part Reconstruction with Additive Manufacturing

In diverse sectors such as aerospace, transport or energy, equipment is several decades old. Due to their extended lifespan, technical and manufacturing documentation might be inaccessible or inexistent. Manufacturing process problems, wear occurring during a part life cycle, or even the unavailability of digital data (redesign of obsolete parts produced in pre-digital era, legal restriction, or trade secrecy) are some examples to outline the lack of reliable 3D data for manufacturing purposes. The manufacturing and subsequent replacement of these components can turn into a significant problem. Lack of knowledge about system’s functioning, unknown operating conditions and limited technical information hamper the design development and manufacturing of these components. Classical Reverse Engineering (RE) approaches are commonly used to facilitate the understanding of a system’s functioning and ease the design recovery to create a more accurate and suitable model for engineered components. Combining these approaches with modern digitalisation technologies and new customized fabrication techniques, such additive manufacturing, can help to reconstruct obsolete, old or legacy components lacking manufacturing data. This paper contributes with a structured method aimed to design for additive manufacturing.

A RE Methodology to achieve Accurate Polygon Models and NURBS Surfaces by Applying Different Data Processing Techniques

The scope of this work is to present a reverse engineering (RE) methodology to achieve accurate polygon models for 3D printing or additive manufacturing (AM) applications, as well as NURBS (Non-Uniform Rational B-Splines) surfaces for advanced machining processes. The accuracy of the 3D models generated by this RE process depends on the data acquisition system, the scanning conditions and the data processing techniques. To carry out this study, workpieces of different material and geometry were selected, using X-ray computed tomography (XRCT) and a Laser Scanner (LS) as data acquisition systems for scanning purposes. Once this is done, this work focuses on the data processing step in order to assess the accuracy of applying different processing techniques. Special attention is given to the XRCT data processing step. For that reason, the models generated from the LS point clouds processing step were utilized as a reference to perform the deviation analysis. Nonetheless, the proposed methodology could be applied for both data inputs: 2D cross-sectional images and point clouds. Finally, the target outputs of this data processing chain were evaluated due to their own reverse engineering applications, highlighting the promising future of the proposed methodology.

Categorising question question relationships in the Pósa method

The doctoral research of the author – with a reverse didactic engineering (RDE) methodology – aims at reconstructing the theoretical background of the ‘intuitively developed’ Pósa method for inquiry-based learning mathematics (IBME) in Hungarian talent education. Preliminary results of the second step of this theorization is presented, which applies tools of the Anthropological Theory of the Didactic (ATD). A model is proposed for categorizing question-question relationship with 3 categories: helping question, follow-up question and question of a kernel. The first two of them are claimed to represent two types (relevant or not) of generating-derived questions relationship. The model is also a prospective tool for connected task- and curriculum design and analysis within IBME development.
 Subject Classification: 97D20, 97D40, 97D50, 97E50, 97K30

A Reverse-Engineering Method for Powertrain Parameters Characterization Applied to a P2 Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicle with Automatic Transmission

<div class="section abstract"><div class="htmlview paragraph">Over the next decade, CO2 legislation will be more demanding and the automotive industry has seen in vehicle electrification a possible solution. This has led to an increasing need for advanced powertrain systems and systematic model-based control approaches, along with additional complexity. This represents a serious challenge for all the OEMs. This paper describes a novel reverse engineering methodology developed to estimate relevant powertrain data required for fuel consumption-oriented hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) modelling. The estimated quantities include high-voltage battery internal resistance, electric motor and transmission efficiency, gearshift thresholds, torque converter performance diagrams, engine fuel consumption map and front/rear hydraulic brake torque distribution. This activity provides a list of dedicated experimental tests, to be carried out on road or on a chassis dynamometer, aiming at powertrain characterization thanks to a suitable post-processing algorithm. In this regard, the methodology was applied on a P2 Diesel Plug-in HEV equipped with a 9-speed AT. Voltage and current sensors are used to measure the electrical power exchanged between battery and electric motor; a torque sensor on the propeller shaft measures the total torque coming out from the automatic transmission. The hydraulic pressures in the four brake calipers are measured and CAN data is logged. The results of the testing campaign are then presented and discussed. Functional models of powertrain subsystems are introduced and their parameters estimated using least square method. The good match between models and experimental data proved that the proposed methodology, if properly adapted to the specific layout, is a suitable tool for powertrain parameter estimation.</div></div>

Concerns-Based Reverse Engineering for Partial Software Architecture Visualization

Recently, reverse engineering (RE) is becoming one of the essential engineering trends for software evolution and maintenance. RE is used to support the process of analyzing and recapturing the design information in legacy systems or complex systems during the maintenance phase. The major problem stakeholders might face in understanding the architecture of existing software systems is that the knowledge of software architecture information is difficult to obtain because of the size of the system, and the existing architecture document often is missing or does not match the current implementation of the source code. Therefore, much more effort and time are needed from multiple stakeholders such as developers, maintainers and architects for obtaining and re-documenting and visualizing the architecture of a target system from its source code files. The current works is mainly focused on the developer viewpoint. In this paper, we present a RE methodology for visualizing architectural information for multiple stakeholders and viewpoints based on applying the RE process on specific parts of the source code. The process is driven by eliciting stakeholders’ concerns on specific architectural viewpoints to obtain and visualize architectural information related these concerns. Our contributions are three fold: 1- The RE methodology is based on the IEEE 1471 standard for architectural description and supports concerns of stakeholder including the end-user and maintainer; 2- It supports the visualization of a particular part of the target system by providing a visual model of the architectural representation which highlights the main components needed to execute specific functionality of the target system, 3- The methodology also uses architecture styles to organize the visual architecture information. We illustrate the methodology using a case study of a legacy web application system.

A Study on Information-Preserving Schema Transformations

The problem of determining the relative information capacity between two knowledge bases or schemas, of the same or different models, is inherent when implementing schema transformations. When restructuring one schema into another, one expects that the schema transformation supports the complete and correct mapping of all the information contents from the source schema to the target schema. Such a characteristic is commonly referred to as information capacity preservation or schema dominance. This paper presents a formal and constructive approach to measure the relative information capacity, in the restricted case of first-order schemas related by first-order mappings. It complements the existing definitions of information capacity preservation from the perspective of model theory, showing the exact relationships among the constraints of the involved schemas, the mappings between the components of these schemas, and the database states which the schemas admit. Since satisfying some sort of schema equivalence property is essential in areas such as database conceptual design and database reverse engineering, our approach allows us to characterize the notion of normalization in database design. We review the current literature concerning database normal forms and decompositions. We also review the process of reverse engineering a database schema. In addition, we provide deeper insight into database reverse engineering methodologies, suggesting horizontal decompositions as a useful tool for facilitating the discovery of more specific objects and relationships in the conceptualization phase of the process. With the aid of simple examples, we show the essence behind our reasoning. We discuss the need for an unambiguous means through which objects in the output schema can be identified. Ultimately, the knowledge this paper ensues will be beneficial to database engineers in performing a correct schema transformation.

Digital analysis of the geometric variability of Guadua, Moso and Oldhamii bamboo

The implementation of sustainable building materials is currently one of the principal global challenges faced by the construction industry. Natural bamboo culms are a potential alternative to tackle this challenge due to its favourable environmental credentials as well as affordability. However, the organic geometry of bamboo culms is one of the barriers that prevents them from being implemented in formal design procedures. This work presents the details of a new digitisation workflow to systematically capture the geometry of bamboo culms through the application of 3D scanning technologies and reverse engineering principles. This workflow is applied to carry out a comprehensive analysis of the geometric variability of Guadua angustifolia kunth (Guadua), Phillostachys pubescens (Moso) and Bambusa oldhamii (Oldhamii) to identify potential correlation patterns. This geometric analysis showed a wide variation in the geometric properties of all species and no particular pattern was found which could be adopted for a potential visual grading system. These results highlight the challenges that the use of bamboo culms pose for the traditional design and fabrication processes developed for manufactured structural elements. The proposed reverse engineering methodology adopted for this study can be used to quantify and manage the geometric variability of bamboo culms to support the development of new formal design and fabrication processes for this natural structural element.