Development process for distributed automation systems based on elementary mechatronic functions

In this dissertation, two requirements on DASs are investigated: (1) flexibility and re-configurability of the control strategy and (2) a comprehensible development process. Three basic approaches are proposed regarding the first requirement. First, an Operation Modes (OMs) guideline is proposed to define different control scenarios for distinctive operations. Second, the concept of Functionality based Control (FBC) is proposed to improve reusability of the functional software components (i. e. model and source code). Third, the Scheduler-Selector-Synchronizer (S³) architecture is proposed to combine OMs and FBC based on scheduling management. For the second requirement, a development process model for DAS is provided integrating the three proposed approaches in different development phases. The development process considers three work domains, i. e. problem, solution and realization. The guideline of each domain is kept as simple as possible, leading to a better understanding in its adoption. Furthermore, an unambiguous mapping from user requirements into system requirements using relation theory is proposed. UML is used for high-level modeling and IEC 61499 is applied in low-level design and for the implementation in the automation plant. The practical application of the presented approach is illustrated with the automation process of a Festo didactic Modular Production System (MPS).