Challenges in Designing Mechatronic Systems

2012 ◽  
Vol 135 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonas Mørkeberg Torry-Smith ◽  
Ahsan Qamar ◽  
Sofiane Achiche ◽  
Jan Wikander ◽  
Niels Henrik Mortensen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Conceptual Design ◽  
Real World ◽  
Development Process ◽  
Research Work ◽  
Common Language ◽  
Relevant Research ◽  
Mechatronic Systems ◽  
Design Task ◽  
Multiple Domains

Development of mechatronic products is traditionally carried out by several design experts from different design domains. Performing development of mechatronic products is thus greatly challenging. In order to tackle this, the critical challenges in mechatronics have to be well understood and well supported through applicable methods and tools. This paper aims at identifying the major challenges, by conducting a systematic and thorough survey of the most relevant research work in mechatronic design. Solutions proposed in literature are assessed and illustrated through a case study in order to investigate if the challenges can be handled appropriately by the methods, tools, and mindsets suggested by the mechatronic community. Using a real-world mechatronics case, the paper identifies the areas where further research is required, by showing a clear connection between the actual problems faced during the design task and the nature of the solutions currently available. From the results obtained from this research, one can conclude that although various attempts have been developed to support conceptual design of mechatronics, these attempts are still not sufficient to help in assessing the consequences of selecting between alternative conceptual solutions across multiple domains. We believe that a common language is essential in developing mechatronics, and should be evaluated based on: its capability to represent the desired views effectively, its potential to be understood by engineers from the various domains, and its effect on the efficiency of the development process.

Mechatronic Design - Still a Considerable Challenge

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonas Mo̸rkeberg Torry-Smith ◽  
Sofiane Achiche ◽  
Niels Henrik Mortensen ◽  
Ahsan Qamar ◽  
Jan Wikander ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Conceptual Design ◽  
Real World ◽  
Development Process ◽  
Research Work ◽  
Common Language ◽  
Relevant Research ◽  
Design Task ◽  
Mechatronic Design ◽  
Multiple Domains

Development of mechatronic products is traditionally carried out by several design experts from different design domains. Performing development of mechatronic products is thus greatly challenging. In order to tackle this, the critical challenges in mechatronics have to be well understood and well supported through applicable methods and tools. This paper aims at identifying the major challenges, by conducting a survey of the most relevant research work in mechatronic design. Solutions proposed in literature are assessed and illustrated through a case study in order to investigate, if the challenges can be handled appropriately by the methods, tools, and mindsets suggested by the mechatronic community. Using a real world mechatronics case, the paper identifies the areas where further research is required, by showing a clear connection between the actual problems faced during the design task, and the nature of the solutions currently available. From the results obtained from this research, one can conclude that although various attempts have been developed to support conceptual design of mechatronics, these attempts are still not sufficient to help in assessing the consequences of selecting between alternative conceptual solutions across multiple domains. We believe that a common language is essential in developing mechatronics, and should be evaluated based on: its capability to represent the desired views effectively, its potential to be understood by engineers from the various domains, and its effect on the efficiency of the development process.

A Computational Product Model for Conceptual Design Using SysML

2009 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefan Wo¨lkl ◽  
Kristina Shea
Keyword(s):  
Product Development ◽  
Conceptual Design ◽  
Mechanical Design ◽  
System Development ◽  
Concept Design ◽  
Product Modeling ◽  
Product Model ◽  
Mechatronic Systems ◽  
Starting Point

The importance of the concept development phase in product development is contradictory to the level and amount of current computer-based support for it, especially with regards to mechanical design. Paper-based methods for conceptual design offer a far greater level of maturity and familiarity than current computational methods. Engineers usually work with software designed to address only a single stage of the concept design phase, such as requirements management tools. Integration with software covering other stages, e.g. functional modeling, is generally poor. Using the requirements for concept models outlined in the VDI 2221 guideline for systematic product development as a starting point, the authors propose an integrated product model constructed using the Systems Modeling Language (SysML) that moves beyond geometry to integrate all necessary aspects for conceptual design. These include requirements, functions and function structures, working principles and their structures as well as physical effects. In order to explore the applicability of SysML for mechanical design, a case study on the design of a passenger car’s luggage compartment cover is presented. The case study shows that many different SysML diagram types are suitable for formal modeling in mechanical concept design, though they were originally defined for software and control system development. It is then proposed that the creation and use of libraries defining generic as well as more complicated templates raises efficiency in modeling. The use of diagrams and their semantics for conceptual modeling make SysML a strong candidate for integrated product modeling of mechanical as well as mechatronic systems.

Mechatronic Multicriteria Profile (MMP) for Conceptual Design of a Robotic Visual Servoing System

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abolfazl Mohebbi ◽  
Sofiane Achiche ◽  
Luc Baron
Keyword(s):  
Conceptual Design ◽  
Visual Servoing ◽  
Design Thinking ◽  
Choquet Integral ◽  
Design Stage ◽  
Physical Aspect ◽  
Mechatronic Systems ◽  
Robotic Visual Servoing ◽  
And Control

Mechatronic systems are a combination of cooperative mechanical, electronics and control components. The high number of their components, their multi-physical aspect, the couplings between the different domains involved and the interacting design objectives makes the design task very tedious ad complex. Due to this inherent complexity, a concurrent systematic and multi-objective design thinking methodology is crucial to replace the often used sequential design approach that tends to deal with the different domains separately. In this research we present a new multi-criteria profile for mechatronic system performance evaluation in conceptual design stage. The newly introduced Mechatronic Multi-criteria Profile (MMP) includes various quantitative members such as intelligence, reliability, complexity, flexibility and cost. A nonlinear fuzzy integral called 2-additive Choquet Integral will be used for the aggregation of criteria and fitting the intuitive requirements for decision-making in the presence of interacting criteria. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed method will be validated via a case study of designing a robotic visual servoing system.

scholarly journals Topological approach for assessment of electromagnetic interferences to support mechatronic conceptual design

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (6) ◽  
pp. 609
Author(s):  
Mouna Kharrat ◽  
Olivia Penas ◽  
Nourhen Abdeljabbar Kharrat ◽  
Régis Plateaux ◽  
Jean-Yves Choley ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Conceptual Design ◽  
Quantitative Evaluation ◽  
Electromagnetic Compatibility ◽  
Research Work ◽  
Evaluation Process ◽  
Electromagnetic Modeling ◽  
Mechatronic Systems ◽  
Topological Approach ◽  
Electrical Vehicle ◽  
3D Architecture

The conceptual design is a crucial phase for the System Architects to evaluate 3D architecture concepts of mechatronic systems mainly with regard to the ElectroMagnetic Compatibility (EMC). Our research work deals with the combination of electromagnetic modeling and a topological approach to support the qualitative and quantitative ElectroMagnetic Interferences (EMI) evaluation process within the MBSE SAMOS approach as of the conceptual design. For a given interference, the analysis of topological models allows the qualitative identification of the existence of victims with their associated potential aggressors, based on the electrical schema of interacting components. Then, once the potential EMIs have been qualitatively identified, a quantitative evaluation can be performed based on the predefined electromagnetic and geometrical requirements, and on the analysis of the identified physical coupling law. Finally, this approach has been applied to the alien crosstalk occurring in an electrical vehicle powertrain, with a quantitative evaluation based on the two following methods: an analytical approach and Kron's approach.

Introducing and Promoting Human Factors in the Real World: A Case Study

1987 ◽  
Vol 31 (7) ◽  
pp. 732-735 ◽  
Author(s):  
Linda Rich
Keyword(s):  
Human Factors ◽  
Real World ◽  
Development Process ◽  
Organizational Context ◽  
Pilot Project ◽  
Systems Development ◽  
The Real ◽  
Underlying Causes ◽  
Human Factors Research

The application of human factors research outside academic and vendor domains has been limited, with corporate systems development departments often unaware of the field. Introducing human factors within a corporation requires addressing organizational context issues in the particular setting. At Chemical Bank a pilot project was conducted to introduce and promote the application of human factors in the design of interactive computer systems. The project involved comparative usability evaluations of existing systems, and development of recommendations for institutionalizing human factors within the development process. The project sought to tailor recommendations to the organizational context. This paper discusses the Chemical Bank project and presents an analysis of the underlying causes limiting the use of human factors techniques in that organization.

A knowledge-based system for multi-disciplinary conceptual design synthesis

2012 ◽  
Vol 226 (12) ◽  
pp. 2950-2966 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ze-Lin Liu ◽  
Yong Chen ◽  
You-Bai Xie
Keyword(s):  
Conceptual Design ◽  
Design Synthesis ◽  
Synthesis Algorithm ◽  
Design Task ◽  
Knowledge Based System ◽  
Domain Specific ◽  
Knowledge Based ◽  
Viable Approach ◽  
Prototype Software

Exploring wide multi-disciplinary solution spaces to create conceptual design solutions is a difficult task for human designers due to lack of sufficient multi-disciplinary knowledge. A viable approach would be to develop a computer-aided system to synthesize the wide variety of knowledge for a given design task. However, the existing design synthesis systems are mainly domain-specific, focusing on conceptual design synthesis in a single or few limited disciplines. Therefore, this article introduces the development of a knowledge-based system for multi-disciplinary conceptual design synthesis, including the establishment of a knowledge base for organizing multi-disciplinary principle solutions and a design synthesis algorithm. The implementation of a prototype software is also reported, with the conceptual design of a solar fountain as a demonstrative case. The results of the case study show that the system can automatically and conveniently generate multi-disciplinary conceptual solutions.

scholarly journals Investigation of a Process to Eco-Design LED Lighting Products

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (8) ◽  
pp. 4512
Author(s):  
Jose L. Casamayor ◽  
Daizhong Su
Keyword(s):  
Real World ◽  
Development Process ◽  
Case Study Research ◽  
Design And Development ◽  
Specific Product ◽  
Led Lighting ◽  
Product Categories ◽  
New Methods ◽  
Development Processes

To date, many studies have been carried out to develop new approaches and methods to eco-design products. However, these have not been implemented and adopted by industry as much as they should. A better understanding of real-world industrial eco-design and development processes, and the eco-design tools applied during these, could inform the development of more effective and applicable eco-design methods and tools, for generic as well as for specific product categories (e.g., LED lighting products). This paper addresses this issue by describing and examining a real-world process followed to design and develop a LED lighting product by a lighting manufacturer, via case study research. The case study involved direct participatory observation to gather the data and provided new insights about the stages of the design and development process, as well as the tools applied, which were examined and discussed to inform the improvement of existing methods and tools, or the development of better new methods and tools.

The Predictability of System Interactions at Early Phase of the Product Development Process

2003 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qi D. Van Eikema Hommes ◽  
Daniel E. Whitney
Keyword(s):  
Product Development ◽  
Early Phase ◽  
Development Process ◽  
Research Work ◽  
Transformation Process ◽  
Product Development Process ◽  
Matrix Transformation ◽  
Design Structure ◽  
The Matrix

This paper presents the research work to investigate how well we can predict system interactions at early phase of the product development process using the matrix transformation technique presented by Dong and Whitney [1] at DETC 2001. The technique to predict design information flow patterns using requirements was applied to a case study at Johnson and Johnson Ortho-clinical Diagnosis. Several Design Structure Matrices (DSM) were created. The DSM’s were compared to the system interactions that engineers actually experienced during the design process, recorded in their own DSM. The observations from this case study provided insights to the predictability of various types of product development process, and demonstrated the value of the matrix transformation process.

Using Active Patterns for the Conceptual Design of Self-Optimizing Systems Exemplified by an Air Gap Adjustment System

2007 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ju¨rgen Gausemeier ◽  
Wilhelm Dangelmaier ◽  
Detmar Zimmer ◽  
Alexander Schmidt ◽  
Ursula Frank ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Conceptual Design ◽  
Development Process ◽  
Design Knowledge ◽  
Design Phase ◽  
Mechatronic Systems ◽  
High Importance ◽  
Conceptual Design Phase ◽  
Principle Solution ◽  
Adjustment System ◽  
Holistic Description

The conceivable evolution of information technology will enable mechatronic systems with inherent partial intelligence. We call this kind of systems self-optimizing. Self-optimizing systems are able to react autonomously and flexible to changing environmental conditions. They are capable of learning and optimizing their behavior at run-time. This paper presents the paradigm of self-optimization and shows how to develop self-optimizing systems. Focus is the conceptual design phase. The result of this phase is the principle solution. In this paper at first we explain how to describe the principle solution in a domain-spanning way. This is of high importance because a holistic description of the principle solution constitutes the basis for the communication and cooperation between the engineers from different domains who are engaged in developing a self-optimizing system. At second we introduce solution patterns for developing principle solutions. Solution patterns enable the reuse of design knowledge so that the development process will be more effective. This paper focuses on solution patterns including self-optimizing solutions. How the methods work we explain by the complex magnetic linear drive of a shuttle.

scholarly journals Fast Prototype Framework for Deep Reinforcement Learning-based Trajectory Planner

2020 ◽  
Vol 48 (4) ◽  
pp. 307-312
Author(s):  
Árpád Fehér ◽  
Szilárd Aradi ◽  
Tamás Bécsi
Keyword(s):  
Reinforcement Learning ◽  
Real World ◽  
Development Process ◽  
Automated Driving ◽  
Vehicle Simulation ◽  
Simulation Validation ◽  
Training Approach ◽  
Resource Requirements ◽  
Insight Into

Reinforcement Learning, as one of the main approaches of machine learning, has been gaining high popularity in recent years, which also affects the vehicle industry and research focusing on automated driving. However, these techniques, due to their self-training approach, have high computational resource requirements. Their development can be separated into training with simulation, validation through vehicle dynamics software, and real-world tests. However, ensuring portability of the designed algorithms between these levels is difficult. A case study is also given to provide better insight into the development process, in which an online trajectory planner is trained and evaluated in both vehicle simulation and real-world environments.

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