Using Models at Runtime For Monitoring and Adaptation of Networked Physical Devices: Example of a Flexible Manufacturing System

The emergence of software-intensive systems connecting physical devices to network-based applications involves new design challenges. As an example, flexible manufacturing systems composed of multiple networked devices in interaction with the physical world, are subject to imprecision and to unpredictable breakdowns. Applications and control software are therefore highly complex, and must operate in heterogeneous and rapidly changing environments. To address these issues, we describe an approach using models at runtime for efficiently monitoring and adapting the software controlling mechatronic devices. We consider a decentralized system, in which each device is represented as an agent. Each agent maintains a model integrating a representation of itself, of its environment and of the agent society, and uses this model to detect inconsistencies, to envision possible future states and to create explanations based on past states. In this paper, we focus on presenting our model and highlighting the results, benefits and challenges arising from using models at run-time with networked physical devices.