MICOSE4aPS: Industrially Applicable Maturity Metric to Improve Systematic Reuse of Control Software

automated Production Systems (aPS) are highly complex, mechatronic systems that usually have to operate reliably for many decades. Standardization and reuse of control software modules is a core prerequisite to achieve the required system quality in increasingly shorter development cycles. However, industrial case studies in aPS show that many aPS companies still struggle with strategically reusing software. This paper proposes a metric-based approach to objectively measure the m aturity of i ndustrial IEC 61131-based co ntrol s oftwar e in aPS (MICOSE4aPS) to identify potential weaknesses and quality issues hampering systematic reuse. Module developers in the machine and plant manufacturing industry can directly benefit as the metric calculation is integrated into the software engineering workflow. An in-depth industrial evaluation in a top-ranked machine manufacturing company in food packaging and an expert evaluation with different companies confirmed the benefit of efficiently managing the quality of control software.

Tool Integration for Automated Synthesis of Distributed Embedded Controllers

Controller design and their software implementations are usually done in isolated design spaces using respective COTS design tools. However, this separation of concerns can lead to long debugging and integration phases. This is because assumptions made about the implementation platform during the design phase—e.g., related to timing—might not hold in practice, thereby leading to unacceptable control performance. In order to address this, several control/architecture co-design techniques have been proposed in the literature. However, their adoption in practice has been hampered by the lack of design flows using commercial tools. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first article that implements such a co-design method using commercially available design tools in an automotive setting, with the aim of minimally disrupting existing design flows practiced in the industry. The goal of such co-design is to jointly determine controller and platform parameters in order to avoid any design-implementation gap , thereby minimizing implementation time testing and debugging. Our setting involves distributed implementations of control algorithms on automotive electronic control units ( ECUs ) communicating via a FlexRay bus. The co-design and the associated toolchain Co-Flex jointly determines controller and FlexRay parameters (that impact signal delays) in order to optimize specified design metrics. Co-Flex seamlessly integrates the modeling and analysis of control systems in MATLAB/Simulink with platform modeling and configuration in SIMTOOLS/SIMTARGET that is used for configuring FlexRay bus parameters. It automates the generation of multiple Pareto-optimal design options with respect to the quality of control and the resource usage, that an engineer can choose from. In this article, we outline a step-by-step software development process based on Co-Flex tools for distributed control applications. While our exposition is automotive specific, this design flow can easily be extended to other domains.

IMPROVEMENT OF ROBOTIC SYSTEMS BASED ON VISUAL CONTROL

The subject of research in the article is the use of adaptive visual control in flexible integrated robotic systems. The goal of the work is the integration of visual control facilities into automated control systems for transport and handling operations of flexible integrated production. The article solves the following tasks: analyze the application of visual control methods in robotics, consider methods for improving adaptive visual work control systems, formulate the basic requirements for adaptive visual control systems, and develop a control model for a mobile robot in the space of a flexible integrated production systems and computer vision systems. To solve the set tasks, the methods of set theory, methods of automatic control theory, and methods of the theory of image processing were used. The following results were obtained: the analysis of visual control systems was carried out from the point of view of solving the problems of flexible integrated systems of modern production; the adaptive visual control scheme was improved by introducing a declarative workspace model and a functional model of a flexible integrated system; the main requirements and tasks of adaptive visual control systems are formulated; considered the main stages of processing visual information and their practical implementation, including multi-zone workspaces; a model of visual control of a mobile robot in a flexible integrated production workspace has been developed; the practical tasks of managing mobile platforms have been solved. Conclusions: the use of adaptive visual control in a production environment will allow combining the elements of flexible integrated production distributed in space, providing monitoring, control and refinement of control processes in real time, the functioning of intelligent control tools, which will improve the quality of control processes.

Adaptive control systems for marine thermal installations

В статье рассмотрен вопрос повышения точности и качества управления приводом сетевых насосов в составе судовых тепловых установок в системе отопления судна путем применения адаптивной системы автоматического управления. При использовании классических систем управления на основе ПИД-регуляторов для управления мощностью электродвигателя по критерию обеспечения заданного давления в системе теплоснабжения в условиях резкопеременных тепловых нагрузок могут возникать ситуации разрегулирования системы вследствии возникновения дополнительного давления в тепловой установке при термическом расширении теплоносителя. Для обеспечения надежности и безаварийности работы судовых тепловых установок при резкоперменных нагрузках авторами рассматривается возможность использования для управления мощностью электропривода адаптивной системы управления. В статье рассмотрена схема управления с адаптацией коэффициентов ПИД-регулятора на базе нейронной сети (нейросетевой оптимизатор). Нейросетевой оптимизатор был применен как надстройка над ПИД-регулятором в схеме управления мощностью сетевого насоса в составе судовой тепловой установки. Рассмотрены зависимости характеристик систем управления от структуры и параметров модифицированных критериев точности и качества управления. Адаптация параметров регулирования позволяет обеспечить достижение желаемых параметров с меньшими затратами мощности при сохранении уровня надежности и исключить разрегулирование системы управления при резкопеременных тепловых нагрузках. The article discusses the issue of improving the accuracy and quality of control of the drive of network pumps as part of ship thermal installations in the ship's heating system by using an adaptive automatic control system. When using classical control systems based on PID regulators to control the power of the electric motor according to the criterion of providing a given pressure in the heat supply system under conditions of sharply varying thermal loads, situations of system maladjustment may occur due to the appearance of additional pressure in the thermal installation during thermal expansion of the coolant. To ensure the reliability and trouble-free operation of ship thermal installations under abruptly variable loads, the authors consider the possibility of using an adaptive control system to control the power of an electric drive. The article describes a control scheme with adaptation of the PID controller coefficients based on a neural network (neural network optimizer). The neural network optimizer was used as a superstructure over the PID controller in the power control circuit of a network pump as part of a ship's thermal installation. The dependences of the characteristics of control systems on the structure and parameters of the modified criteria for the accuracy and quality of control are considered. Adaptation of control parameters allows achieving the desired parameters with lower power consumption while maintaining the level of reliability and eliminating deregulation of the control system at abruptly varying thermal loads.

Динамическая коррекция чувствительности дефектоскопических каналов при высокоскоростном контроле рельсов

The article is aimed at increasing the reliability of high-speed ultrasonic monitoring of long-dimensional objects, in particular, railway rails. The technical documentation for the control does not take into account the features of high-speed rail monitoring, is focused on compliance with the initially set parameters and cannot provide the required reliability of defect detection. The factors that manifest themselves at high scanning speeds and negatively affect the quality of control are considered. Most of these factors cannot be quantified and accounted for in order to adjust the control parameters. An estimate of the number of undetected defects was made when working according to current documents. To ensure reliable control at high speeds, it is proposed to evaluate the current sensitivity of the control using signals from standard design reflectors of the controlled object. As such reflectors, when monitoring rails, it is proposed to use standard holes in the area of bolted joints that are regularly encountered along the scanning path. An expression is obtained for determining the value of the correction of the control sensitivity depending on the scanning speed and the measured size of the signals from the holes. An algorithm for dynamic adjustment of the parameters (sensitivity) of the control is proposed, which increases the reliability of detecting defects in high-speed scanning conditions.

Comparison of Control Algorithms by Simulating Power Consumption of Differential Drive Mobile Robot Motion Control in Vineyard Row

The paper deals with comparing electricity power consumption of various control algorithms by simulating differential mobile robot motion control in a vineyard row. In field of autonomous mobile robotics, the quality of control is a crucial aspect. Besides the precision of control, the energy consumption for motion is becoming an increasingly demanding characteristic of a controller due to the increasing costs of fossil fuels and electricity. A simulation model of a differential drive mobile robot motion in a vineyard row was created, including robot dynamics for evaluating motion consumption, and there were implemented commonly used PID, Fuzzy, and LQ control algorithms, the task of which was to navigate the robot through the centre of vineyard row section by measuring distances from trellises on both robot sides. The comparison was carried out using Matlab software and the best results in terms of both power consumption and control accuracy were achieved by LQI controller. The designed model for navigating the robot through the vineyard row centre and optimized controllers were implemented in a real robot and tested under real conditions.

The Standard of Care Definitions on COVID-19 Pharmacological Clinical Trials: A Systematic Review

Background: Standard of Care (SoC) has been used with different significance across Randomized Clinical Trials (RCTs) on the treatment of Covid-19. In the context of a living systematic review on pharmacological interventions for COVID-19, we assessed the characteristics of the SoC adopted in the published RCTs.Methods: We performed a systematic review searching Medline, Pubmed, Embase, Cochrane Covid-19 register, international trial registers, medRxiv, bioRxiv, and arXiv up to April 10, 2021. We included all RCTs comparing any pharmacological intervention for Covid-19 against any drugs, placebo, or SoC. All trials selected have been classified as studies with SoC including treatments under investigation for COVID-19 (SoC+); studies with SoC without specifications regarding the potential therapies allowed (SoC-); studies including as control groups Placebo (P) or active controls (A+).Results: We included in our analysis 144 RCTs, comprising 78,319 patients. Most of these trials included SoC (108; 75.0%); some in all arms of the study (69.7%) or just as independent comparators (30.3%). Treatments under investigation for COVID-19 in other trials were included in the SoC (SoC+) in 67 cases (62.0%), Thirty-one different therapeutic agents (alone or in combination) were counted within the studies with SoC+: mostly hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine (28), lopinavir/ritonavir (20) or azithromycin (16). No specification was given regarding treatment allowed in the control groups (SoC-) in 41 studies (38.0%).Conclusion: Our analysis shows that the findings emerging from several clinical trials regarding the efficacy and safety of pharmacological intervention for COVID-19 might be jeopardized by the quality of control arms.

Assessment of the quality of control of the ship “crosshair” under wind load conditions

There are few ports in the Far North. Therefore, it is not difficult to assume that most of the cargo operations in the future will be implemented in the open part of the sea space of the Arctic regions. In this regard, the safe maneuvering of a tanker at the offshore oil terminal when carrying out cargo operations with hydrocarbon raw materials is one of the most important and urgent tasks. When performing this type of operation, the main threat to environmental safety is a rupture of the cargo line hose and damage to the underwater pipeline due to the tanker piling up on the oil terminal. Therefore, the improvement of the methods of controlling the movement of the tanker during its positioning at the oil terminal in the process of carrying out the operation of loading oil is significant. Improving tanker control technologies can contribute to improving the quality of control, reducing the likelihood of emergencies, and, as a result, increasing the safety of cargo operations when transshipping oil products in the open sea.

RESEARCH SENSITIVITY OF THE ROTOR FLUX LINKAGE OBSERVER TO CHANGE PARAMETERS OF THE ASYNCHRONOUS MACHINE

When changing the parameters of the control object to ensure the required quality of control, the tuning parameters of the control system must be changed. Investigation of the sensitivity of mathematical models helps to choose the right technical parameters of the regulators. Therefore, there is an urgent scientific task, which consists in the development of mathematical models for calculating the steady-state values ​​of the sensitivity functions of the coordinates of non-linear systems to changes in their parameters. When synthesizing observers of the rotor flux linkage, it is indicated that the signal for evaluating the rotor flux linkage is most sensitive to a change in the active resistance of the rotor of an induction machine. However, the numerical values ​​of the transmission coefficients between the coordinates of the observer and the increments of the parameters of the asynchronous machine during its operation are not given, which does not allow a comparative analysis of the degree of influence of changes in certain parameters of the asynchronous machine on the signals of the observer of the flux linkage. The task is to find and compare the numerical values ​​of the functions of the sensitivity of the coordinates of the observer of the rotor flux linkage to the change in the parameters of the asynchronous machine by joint analytical solution of the static equations of the observer's sensitivity model and the state model of the asynchronous machine. In this work, analytical expressions are obtained for the steady-state values ​​of the sensitivity functions of the coordinates of such a nonlinear object as an observer of the rotor flux linkage to a change in the parameters of an asynchronous machine. A comparative analysis of the values ​​of the transmission coefficients between the parameters and coordinates in the system asynchronous machine — observer of the rotor flux linkage for its various rotation speeds is carried out. The proposed technique makes it possible to find the numerical values ​​of the transmission coefficients and to compare the degree of influence of various parameters of the asynchronous machine on the coordinates of the flux linkage observer. Transient processes obtained in the course of solving the equations of the dynamics of an asynchronous electric drive with an observer of flux linkage complement the results of analytical calculations. The performed calculations are aimed at increasing the depth of analysis of the properties of the flux link observer, which helps to reasonably choose the structure of feedbacks when synthesizing a closed observer.