System theoretic foundations of modeling and simulation: a historic perspective and the legacy of A Wayne Wymore

SIMULATION ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 88 (9) ◽  
pp. 1033-1046 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tuncer I Ören ◽  
Bernard P Zeigler
Keyword(s):  
System Theory ◽  
Modeling And Simulation ◽  
Systems Engineering ◽  
Discrete Event ◽  
Systems Design ◽  
General System ◽  
System Specification ◽  
Simulation Languages ◽  
Engineering Department ◽  
Theoretic Foundations

AW Wymore, the founder of the world’s first systems engineering department at the University of Arizona, has been at the origin of the system theoretic foundations of modeling and simulation. Wymore’s intellectual family tree, which goes back to Gauss and Weierstrass, is given. How the authors met, cooperated, and advocated system theory for the advancement of modeling and simulation are explained. The concept of model-based simulation was also one of the outcomes of this cooperation. This article reviews the emergence of systems-theory-based modeling and simulation languages and environments, such as the General System Theory implementor and Discrete Event System Specification, and their relation to Wymore’s concepts. We also discuss the application of powerful software development frameworks to support user-friendly access to systems concepts and to increase the power to support systems design and engineering.

The Role and Limitations of Modeling and Simulation in Systems Design

2004 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jason M. Aughenbaugh ◽  
Christiaan J. J. Paredis
Keyword(s):  
Modeling And Simulation ◽  
Systems Engineering ◽  
Design Method ◽  
Systems Design ◽  
Emergent Behavior ◽  
Research Directions ◽  
Decomposition Approach ◽  
System Decomposition ◽  
Complex Design

To design today’s complex, multi-disciplinary systems, designers need a design method that allows them to systematically decompose a complex design problem into simpler sub-problems. Systems engineering provides such a framework. In an iterative, hierarchical fashion systems are decomposed into subsystems and requirements are allocated to these subsystems based on estimates of their attributes. In this paper, we investigate the role and limitations of modeling and simulation in this process of system decomposition and requirements flowdown. We first identify different levels of complexity in the estimation of system attributes, ranging from simple aggregation to complex emergent behavior. We also identify the main obstacles to the systems engineering decomposition approach: identifying coupling at the appropriate level of abstraction and characterizing and processing uncertainty. The main contributions of this paper are to identify these short-comings, present the role of modeling and simulation in overcoming these shortcomings, and discuss research directions for addressing these issues and expanding the role of modeling and simulation in the future.

Discrete Event Modeling and Simulation of the Mythical Thought Morphodynamics Involved in Claude Levi Strauss Structural Analysis

2011 ◽  
pp. 152-178 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean-François Santucci ◽  
Emmanuelle De Gentili ◽  
Ghjasippina Thury-Bouvet
Keyword(s):  
Modeling And Simulation ◽  
Discrete Event ◽  
Simulation Software ◽  
Oral Literature ◽  
System Specification ◽  
Discrete Event System Specification ◽  
Book Series ◽  
Event Modeling ◽  
Human And Social Sciences ◽  
Potential Benefits

In this chapter the authors present an exploration into the potential benefits of deploying structuralism analysis in the framework of human and social sciences using computer science modeling and simulation concepts and tools. They describe in detail in this chapter object oriented modeling and simulation software allowing the analysis of folktales. This software is based on the DEVS (Discrete Event System specification) formalism in order to both propose the modeling of a given myth issued from the oral literature of a given culture and the simulation of the corresponding myth transformations as described by Claude Levi Strauss when he dealt with mythical thought. The resulting software has been realized using the PythonDEVS kernel. The validation of the implemented software is performed on a set of folktales issued from corsican mythology and a set of myths from South and North America taken from Claude Levi Strauss’s Mythologiques book series.

scholarly journals Enhancing the reusability and interoperability of artificial neural networks with DEVS modeling and simulation

2016 ◽  
Vol 07 (02) ◽  
pp. 1650005 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Ifeoluwa Adelani ◽  
Mamadou Kaba Traoré
Keyword(s):  
Neural Networks ◽  
Artificial Neural Networks ◽  
Modeling And Simulation ◽  
Computational Models ◽  
Learning Algorithm ◽  
Discrete Event ◽  
Neural Network Modeling ◽  
System Specification ◽  
Ann Models ◽  
Artificial Neural

Artificial neural networks (ANNs), a branch of artificial intelligence, has become a very interesting domain since the eighties when back-propagation (BP) learning algorithm for multilayer feed-forward architecture was introduced to solve nonlinear problems. It is used extensively to solve complex nonalgorithmic problems such as prediction, pattern recognition and clustering. However, in the context of a holistic study, there may be a need to integrate ANN with other models developed in various paradigms to solve a problem. In this paper, we suggest discrete event system specification (DEVS) be used as a model of computation (MoC) to make ANN models interoperable with other models (since all discrete event models can be expressed in DEVS, and continuous models can be approximated by DEVS). By combining ANN and DEVS, we can model the complex configuration of ANNs and express its internal workings. Therefore, we are extending the DEVS-based ANN proposed by Toma et al. [A new DEVS-based generic artficial neural network modeling approach, The 23rd European Modeling and Simulation Symp. (Simulation in Industry), Rome, Italy, 2011] for comparing multiple configuration parameters and learning algorithms and also to do prediction. The DEVS models are described using the high level language for system specification (HiLLS), [Maïga et al., A new approach to modeling dynamic structure systems, The 29th European Modeling and Simulation Symp. (Simulation in Industry), Leicester, United Kingdom, 2015] a graphical modeling language for clarity. The developed platform is a tool to transform ANN models into DEVS computational models, making them more reusable and more interoperable in the context of larger multi-perspective modeling and simulation (MAS).

scholarly journals Modeling and Simulation of Network-on-Chip Systems with DEVS and DEUS

2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michele Amoretti
Keyword(s):  
Modeling And Simulation ◽  
Discrete Event ◽  
General Purpose ◽  
System Specification ◽  
Modeling Framework ◽  
Steep Learning Curve ◽  
Networks On Chip ◽  
Systems On Chip ◽  
Communication Architectures ◽  
On Chip

Networks on-chip (NoCs) provide enhanced performance, scalability, modularity, and design productivity as compared with previous communication architectures for VLSI systems on-chip (SoCs), such as buses and dedicated signal wires. Since the NoC design space is very large and high dimensional, evaluation methodologies rely heavily on analytical modeling and simulation. Unfortunately, there is no standard modeling framework. In this paper we illustrate how to design and evaluate NoCs by integrating the Discrete Event System Specification (DEVS) modeling framework and the simulation environment called DEUS. The advantage of such an approach is that both DEVS and DEUS support modularity—the former being a sound and complete modeling framework and the latter being an open, general-purpose platform, characterized by a steep learning curve and the possibility to simulate any system at any level of detail.

scholarly journals Foreword

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 74
Author(s):  
Paul Evangelista
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
System Dynamics ◽  
Modeling And Simulation ◽  
Systems Engineering ◽  
Wide Spectrum ◽  
Discrete Event ◽  
Organizational Structures ◽  
The United States ◽  
Difficult Problem ◽  
Dynamics Modeling

This special issue of the Industrial and Systems Engineering Review once again showcases the top papers from the annual General Donald R. Keith memorial capstone conference at the United States Military Academy in West Point, NY.  After consideration of over 40 academic papers, the eight listed in this issue were selected for publication in this journal.  Topics addressed in the papers span a wide spectrum, however the distinguishing aspects of each paper included a common trend; each of these papers clearly implemented some aspect of systems or industrial engineering underpinned by thoughtful analysis.  The papers focus on three general bodies of knowledge:  systems engineering, modeling and simulation, and system dynamics modeling.Systems engineering topics included two unique contributions.  The work of Byers et. al examined the trades between weapon weight and weapon lethality.  Bares et. al. examined computing and storage needs of a simulation-intense analytical organization, considering the processing, storage, and growth that such an organization would need to consider as part of their IT solution. Three papers created unique contributions primarily through modeling and simulation studies.  Grubaugh et al. explored anomaly detection in categorical data, a notoriously difficult problem domain.  Bieger et al. used discrete event simulation to analyze rail yard operations in support of military deployments.  Kumar and Mittal analyzed the feasibility and benefits of alternative organizational structures to support cyber defense, primarily using a value modeling approach.       Lastly, applied system dynamics modeling and research produced several outstanding papers, primarily across social science problems.  Led by the extensive advising efforts of Jillian Wisniewski, three of her students contributed notably.  Ferrer and Wisniewski used system dynamics to understand the growth of Boko Haram over the course of the last decade.  Riedlinger and Wisniewski applied system dynamics to better understand the replication of mass killings across the United States.  Lastly, Provaznik and Wisniewski explored the diffusion of news and information using system dynamics, analyzing important social problems created by echo chambers for ideologies. Please join me in congratulating our authors, especially the young undergraduate scholars that provided the primary intellectual efforts that created the contents of this issue.COL Paul F. Evangelista, PhD, PE

scholarly journals Conjoining Wymore’s Systems Theoretic Framework and the DEVS Modeling Formalism: Toward Scientific Foundations for MBSE

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 4936
Author(s):  
Paul Wach ◽  
Bernard P. Zeigler ◽  
Alejandro Salado
Keyword(s):  
Systems Engineering ◽  
Mathematical Theory ◽  
Discrete Event ◽  
System Specification ◽  
Practical Application ◽  
Software Application ◽  
Research Article ◽  
Modeling Formalism ◽  
Model Based Systems Engineering ◽  
Initial Results

The objective of this research article is to re-introduce some of the concepts provided by A. Wayne Wymore in his mathematical theory of Model-Based Systems Engineering, discuss why his framework might have not been adopted, and define a potential path to modernize the framework for practical application in the digital age. The dense mathematical theory has never been converted to a practical form. We propose a path to modernization by creating a metamodel of Wymore’s mathematical theory of MBSE. This enables explaining the concepts in simple to understand terms and shows the internal consistency provided by the theory. Furthermore, the metamodel allows for conversion of the theory into software application, for which we show some initial results that open the research to the art of the possible. In recognition of limitation of the theory, we make the case for a merger of the theoretical framework with the enhanced formalism of Discrete Event System Specification (DEVS). This will establish a path toward the scientific foundations for MBSE to enable future implementations of the complementary pairing and their empirical results.

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