Power distribution networks with distributed generators (DGs) can exhibit complex operational regimes which makes conventional management approaches no longer adequate. This paper looks into key communication infrastructure design aspects, and analyzes two representative evolution cases of Active Network Management (ANM) for distributed control. Relevant standard initiatives, communication protocols and technologies are introduced and underlying engineering challenges are highlighted. By analyzing two representative case networks (meshed and radial topologies) at different voltage levels (33 and 11 kV), this paper discusses the design considerations and presents performance results based on numerical simulations. This study focuses on the key role of the telecommunications provision when upgrading and deploying distributed control solutions, as part of future ANM systems.

/pdf/communication-infrastructures-for-distributed-control-of-kxnueadmku.pdf

Communication Infrastructures for Distributed Control of Power Distribution Networks

https://www.nics.uma.es/sites/default/files/papers/alcaraz%3A2015%3ACRI.pdf

Critical infrastructure protection

Cost pressure, flexibility, extensibility and the need for coping with increased functional complexity are changing the fundamental paradigms for the definition of automotive and aeronautics architectures. Traditional designs are based on the concept of a Federated Architecture in which integrated hardware/software components [Electronic Control Units (ECUs)] realize mostly independent or loosely interconnected functions. These components are connected by bus and cooperate by exchanging messages. This paradigm is now being replaced by the Integrated Architecture,―the concept comes from Integrated Modular Avionics (IMA) introduced by the avionics community (see C. B. Watkins and R. Walter, "Transitioning from federated avionics architectures to integrated modular avionics," in Proc. 26th Digital Avionics Syst. Conf., Oct. 2007) but it is certainly general and applicable to other fields and in particular, automotive—in which software components can be supplied from multiple sources, integrated on the same hardware platform or physically distributed and possibly moved from one CPU to another without loss of functional and time correctness and providing a guaranteed level of reliability. This shift will decouple software design from the hardware platform design and provide opportunities for the optimization of the architecture configuration, increased extensibility, flexibility and modularity. However, the integration of software components in a distributed system realizing a complex functional behavior and characterized by safety, time and reliability constraints requires a much tighter control on the component model and its semantics, new methods and tools for analyzing the results of the composition, whether by simulation or formal methods, and methods for exploring the architecture solution space and optimizing the configuration. We provide a general overview of existing challenges and possible solutions to the design and analysis problem, with special focus on the automotive domain. The development of such methods and tools must necessarily consider compatibility with existing modeling languages and standards, including UML, AUTOSAR and synchronous reactive models, on which the widely used commercial products Simulink and SCADE are based.

Moving From Federated to Integrated Architectures in Automotive: The Role of Standards, Methods and Tools Automotive electronics systems need to support an increasing number of features and functions. A new integrated architecture paradigm is needed to overcome the proliferation of Electronic Control Units (ECUs) and allow integration of software components on distributed platforms.

The three previous industrial revolutions profoundly transformed agriculture industry from indigenous farming to mechanized farming and recent precision agriculture. Industrial farming paradigm greatly improves productivity, but a number of challenges have gradually emerged, which have exacerbated in recent years. Industry 4.0 is expected to reshape the agriculture industry once again and promote the fourth agricultural revolution. In this paper, first, we review the current status of industrial agriculture along with lessons learned from industrialized agricultural production patterns, industrialized agricultural production processes, and the industrialized agri-food supply chain. Furthermore, five emerging technologies, namely, the Internet of Things, robotics, Artificial Intelligence, big data analytics, and blockchain, toward Agriculture 4.0 are discussed. Specifically, we focus on the key applications of these emerging technologies in the agricultural sector and corresponding research challenges. This paper aims to open up new research opportunities for readers, particularly industrial practitioners.

IEEE transactions on industrial informatics

Cost pressure, flexibility, extensibility and the need for coping with increased functional complexity are changing the fundamental paradigms for the definition of automotive and aeronautics architectures Traditional designs are based on the concept of a Federated Architecture in which integrated hardware/software components [Electronic Control Units (ECUs)] realize mostly independent or loosely interconnected functions These components are connected by bus and cooperate by exchanging messages This paradigm is now being replaced by the Integrated Architecture, - the concept comes from Integrated Modular Avionics (IMA) introduced by the avionics community (see C B Watkins and R Walter, ?Transitioning from federated avionics architectures to integrated modular avionics?, in Proc 26th Digital Avionics Syst Conf, Oct 2007) but it is certainly general and applicable to other fields and in particular, automotive - in which software components can be supplied from multiple sources, integrated on the same hardware platform or physically distributed and possibly moved from one CPU to another without loss of functional and time correctness and providing a guaranteed level of reliability This shift will decouple software design from the hardware platform design and provide opportunities for the optimization of the architecture configuration, increased extensibility, flexibility and modularity However, the integration of software components in a distributed system realizing a complex functional behavior and characterized by safety, time and reliability constraints requires a much tighter control on the component model and its semantics, new methods and tools for analyzing the results of the composition, whether by simulation or formal methods, and methods for exploring the architecture solution space and optimizing the configuration We provide a general overview of existing challenges and possible solutions to the design and analysis problem, with special focus on the automotive domain The development of such methods and tools must necessarily consider compatibility with existing modeling languages and standards, including UML, AUTOSAR and synchronous reactive models, on which the widely used commercial products Simulink and SCADE are based

Moving From Federated to Integrated Architectures in Automotive: The Role of Standards, Methods and Tools

We consider a set of control tasks that must be executed on distributed platforms so that end-to-end latencies are within deadlines. We investigate how to allocate tasks to nodes, pack signals to messages, allocate messages to buses, and assign priorities to tasks and messages, so that the design is extensible and robust with respect to changes in task requirements. We adopt a notion of extensibility metric that measures how much the execution times of tasks can be increased without violating end-to-end deadlines. We optimize the task and message design with respect to this metric by adopting a mathematical programming front-end followed by postprocessing heuristics. The proposed algorithm as applied to industrial strength test cases shows its effectiveness in optimizing extensibility and a marked improvement in running time with respect to an approach based on randomized optimization.

Optimizing the Software Architecture for Extensibility in Hard Real-Time Distributed Systems

We consider a set of control tasks that must be executed on distributed platforms so that end-to-end latencies are within deadlines. We investigate how to allocate tasks to nodes, pack signals to messages, allocate messages to buses, and assign priorities to tasks and messages, so that the design is robust with respect to changes in task requirements. The notion of extensibility is used to measure robustness. The extensibility metric measures how much the execution times of tasks can be increased without violating end-to-end deadlines. We optimize this metric by adopting a mathematical programming front-end followed by post-processing heuristics. The proposed algorithm as applied to industrial strength test cases shows its effectiveness in optimizing extensibility and a marked improvement in running time with respect to an approach based on randomized optimization.

Optimizing Extensibility in Hard Real-Time Distributed Systems

ICyPhy is a pre-competitive industry-academic partnership focused on architectures, abstractions, technologies, methodologies, and supporting tools for the design, modeling, and analysis of large-scale complex systems. The purpose of this partnership is to promote research that applies broadly across industries, providing the intellectual foundation for next generation systems engineering. The focus is on cyber-physical systems, which combine a cyber side (computing and networking) with a physical side (e.g., mechanical, electrical, and chemical processes). Such systems present the biggest challenges and biggest opportunities in several critical industrial segments such as electronics, energy, automotive, defense and aerospace, telecommunications, instrumentation, and industrial automation. The approach leverages considerable experience designing complex artifacts in the semiconductor, embedded systems, and software industries, and major recent advances in algorithmic techniques for dealing with complexity. This consortium adapts and extends these techniques to handle the fundamentally different challenges in largescale cyber-physical systems.

Industrial Cyber-Physical Systems – iCyPhy

We present a methodology and a software framework for the automatic design exploration of the communication network among sensors, actuators and controllers in building automation systems. Given 1) a set of end-to-end latency, throughput and packet error rate constraints between nodes, 2) the building geometry, and 3) a library of communication components together with their performance and cost characterization, a synthesis algorithm produces a network implementation that satisfies all end-to-end constraints and that is optimal with respect to installation and maintenance cost. The methodology is applied to the synthesis of wireless networks for an essential step in any control algorithm in a distributed environment: the estimation of control variables such as temperature and air-flow in buildings.

/pdf/synthesis-of-embedded-networks-for-building-automation-and-3f1x532jiu.pdf

Eelco Scholte

Papers

Optimizing the Software Architecture for Extensibility in Hard Real-Time Distributed Systems

Optimizing Extensibility in Hard Real-Time Distributed Systems

Industrial Cyber-Physical Systems – iCyPhy

Synthesis of embedded networks for building automation and control

A Methodology for Increasing the Efficiency and Coverage of Model Checking and its Application to Aerospace Systems