Evolution of software in automated production systems: Challenges and research directions

doi:10.1016/j.jss.2015.08.026

Journal of Systems and Software

Volume 110, December 2015, Pages 54-84

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jss.2015.08.026 Get rights and content

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Highlights

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Automated Production Systems (aPS) impose specific requirements regarding evolution.
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We present a classification of how Automated Production Systems evolve.
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We discuss the state of art and research needs for the development phases of aPS.
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Model-driven engineering and Variability Management are key issues.
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Cross-discipline analysis of (non)-functional requirements must be improved.

Abstract

Coping with evolution in automated production systems implies a cross-disciplinary challenge along the system's life-cycle for variant-rich systems of high complexity. The authors from computer science and automation provide an interdisciplinary survey on challenges and state of the art in evolution of automated production systems. Selected challenges are illustrated on the case of a simple pick and place unit. In the first part of the paper, we discuss the development process of automated production systems as well as the different type of evolutions during the system's life-cycle on the case of a pick and place unit. In the second part, we survey the challenges associated with evolution in the different development phases and a couple of cross-cutting areas and review existing approaches addressing the challenges. We close with summarizing future research directions to address the challenges of evolution in automated production systems.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

Evolution

Automation

Automated production systems

Software engineering

Cited by (0)

Birgit Vogel-Heuser is a Professor and Director of the Institute of Automation and Information Systems at Technische Universität München. Her main research interests are systems and software engineering, and modeling of distributed and reliable embedded systems. She is coordinator of the Collaborative Research Centre SFB 768: managing cycles in innovation processes – integrated development of product-service systems based on technical products.

Alexander Fay is a Professor at the Institute of Automation Technology of the Helmut Schmidt University, Hamburg. His main research interests are modeling languages, methods, and tools for efficient engineering of distributed automation systems.

Ina Schaefer is a Professor and Director of the Institute of Software Engineering and Automotive Informatics at Technische Universität Braunschweig. She got her Ph.D. degree at Technische Universität Kaiserslautern and worked as a PostDoc at Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg, Sweden. Her main research interests include verification and testing methods for variant-rich, evolvable software systems.

Matthias Tichy is a Professor at the Institute of Software Engineering and Compiler Construction at the University of Ulm, Germany. Previously, he was an Assistant and Associate Professor at Chalmers University of Technology and the University of Gothenburg in Sweden. His research focuses on cyber-physical systems. He works on model-driven system development, requirements, software evolution and empirical software engineering. Matthias Tichy is author or co-author of over 70 internationally reviewed publications.