System integration

About: System integration is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 8771 publications have been published within this topic receiving 117914 citations. The topic is also known as: systems integration.

Materials that couple sensing, actuation, computation, and communication

Abstract: BACKGROUND The tight integration of sensing, actuation, and computation that biological systems exhibit to achieve shape and appearance changes (like the cuttlefish and birds in flight), adaptive load support (like the banyan tree), or tactile sensing at very high dynamic range (such as the human skin) has long served as inspiration for engineered systems. Artificial materials with such capabilities could enable airplane wings and vehicles with the ability to adapt their aerodynamic profile or camouflage in the environment, bridges and other civil structures that could detect and repair damages, or robotic skin and prosthetics with the ability to sense touch and subtle textures. The vision for such materials has been articulated repeatedly in science and fiction (“programmable matter”) and periodically has undergone a renaissance with the advent of new enabling technology such as fast digital electronics in the 1970s and microelectromechanical systems in the 1990s. ADVANCES Recent advances in manufacturing, combined with the miniaturization of electronics that has culminated in providing the power of a desktop computer of the 1990s on the head of a pin, is enabling a new class of “robotic” materials that transcend classical composite materials in functionality. Whereas state-of-the-art composites are increasingly integrating sensors and actuators at high densities, the availability of cheap and small microprocessors will allow these materials to function autonomously. Yet, this vision requires the tight integration of material science, computer science, and other related disciplines to make fundamental advances in distributed algorithms and manufacturing processes. Advances are currently being made in individual disciplines rather than system integration, which has become increasingly possible in recent years. For example, the composite materials community has made tremendous advances in composites that integrate sensing for nondestructive evaluation, and actuation (for example, for shape-changing airfoils), as well as their manufacturing. At the same time, computer science has created an entire field concerned with distributed algorithms to collect, process, and act upon vast collections of information in the field of sensor networks. Similarly, manufacturing has been revolutionized by advances in three-dimensional (3D) printing, as well as entirely new methods for creating complex structures from unfolding or stretching of patterned 2D composites. Finally, robotics and controls have made advances in controlling robots with multiple actuators, continuum dynamics, and large numbers of distributed sensors. Only a few systems have taken advantage of these advances, however, to create materials that tightly integrate sensing, actuation, computation, and communication in a way that allows them to be mass-produced cheaply and easily. OUTLOOK Robotic materials can enable smart composites that autonomously change their shape, stiffness, or physical appearance in a fully programmable way, extending the functionality of classical “smart materials.” If mass-produced economically and available as a commodity, robotic materials have the potential to add unprecedented functionality to everyday objects and surfaces, enabling a vast array of applications ranging from more efficient aircraft and vehicles, to sensorial robotics and prosthetics, to everyday objects like clothing and furniture. Realizing this vision requires not only a new level of interdisciplinary collaboration between the engineering disciplines and the sciences, but also a new model of interdisciplinary education that captures both the disciplinary breadth of robotic materials and the depth of individual disciplines.

RT-middleware: distributed component middleware for RT (robot technology)

Abstract: In this paper, we propose RT-middleware for robot system integration. "RT" means "robot technology", which is applied not only to industrial field but also to nonindustrial field such as human daily life support systems. RT-middleware which is proposed in this paper is a software platform for RT systems. We have studied modularization of RT elements and have developed RT-middleware, which promotes application of RT in various fields. Robotic system development methodology and our RT-middleware concepts are discussed. The RT-component, which is a basic software unit of RT-middleware based system integration, is derived from this discussion. A methodology of system development by using RT-components, and a framework for component development are proposed. Evaluations of some RT-component based systems are performed. Finally, conclusions and future work is described.

myGrid: personalised bioinformatics on the information grid

Abstract: Motivation: The my Grid project aims to exploit Grid technology, with an emphasis on the Information Grid, and provide middleware layers that make it appropriate for the needs of bioinformatics. my Grid is building high level services for data and application integration such as resource discovery, workflow enactment and distributed query processing. Additional services are provided to support the scientific method and best practice found at the bench but often neglected at the workstation, notably provenance management, change notification and personalisation. Results: We give an overview of these services and their metadata. In particular, semantically rich metadata expressed using ontologies necessary to discover, select and compose services into dynamic workflows. Availability: Software is available on request from the authors and information from http://www.mygrid.org.uk.

Systems integration: a core capability of the modern corporation

Abstract: Many of the world’s leading firms are developing a new model of industrial organization based on systems integration. Rather than performing all productive tasks in-house, companies are building the capabilities to design and integrate systems, while managing networks of component and subsystem suppliers. This article illustrates how systems integration evolved from its military, engineering-based, origins in the 1940s and 1950s to a modern-day strategic capability across a wide variety of sectors. Taking a resource-based view of the firm, the article shows how systems integration capabilities underpin the way high-technology companies compete by moving selectively up- and downstream in the marketplace through the simultaneous “twin” processes of vertical integration and disintegration. Systems integrators of capital goods move downstream into service-intensive offerings to expand revenue streams and increase profitability. By contrast, producers of high-volume components and consumer goods use systems integration capabilities to exploit upstream relationships with input suppliers. In both cases, strategic options and capabilities are shaped by the life cycle of each product. The article develops a clearer understanding of systems integration, arguing that it now represents a core capability of the modern high-technology corporation.

Modern Systems Analysis and Design

Abstract: From the Publisher: NEW OR EXPANDED CONTENT COVERAGE TO KEEP YOU ON THE LEADING EDGE… Increased focus on "make versus buy" and systems integration. More and more systems development involves the use of packages in combination with legacy applications and new modules. Chapter 11 shows how companies deal with these issues. Coverage of Internet-based systems. The authors have redesigned the distributed systems design chapter (now Chapter 16) to also address Internet-based application design topics not covered in the other chapters: They cover Internet application design standards, how to maintain site consistency, security issues, and data warehousing, among other topics. Expanded coverage of process modeling techniques. Chapter 8 now includes an introduction to business process modeling and functional hierarchy modeling as alternatives to data flow diagramming. These three process-modeling techniques are compared so you know when to use each in practice. Unlike other SAD texts, Modern Systems Analysis and Design has continually offered strong coverage of RAD — an important element in systems design. FEATURES THAT MAKE THIS EDITION AN INDISPENSABLE RESOURCE: Expanded and updated coverage of systems analysis as a profession Updated coverage of codes of conduct and new material on how systems professionals approach business problems with ethical considerations. Updated information on career paths with the latest information gathered from professional societies. Net Search Exercises New marginicons for Net Search exercises on the Web site can be found in every chapter. The icon signals when a topic in the text has a corresponding Net Search exercise on the Web site. Integration of Electronic commerce into the running cases One of three fictional running cases in the text, Pine Valley Furniture, is a furniture company founded in 1980, that now, in the Third Edition, has decided to explore electronic commerce as an avenue to increase its market share. Broadway Entertainment Company, Inc., BEC, a fictional video and record retailer, is a project case that allows you to study and develop a Web-based customer relationship management system.