Augmented Marked Graphs

Petri nets are a formal and theoretically rich model for the modelling and analysis of systems. A subclass of Petri nets, augmented marked graphs possess a structure that is especially desirable for the modelling and analysis of systems with concurrent processes and shared resources. This monograph consists of three parts: Part I provides the conceptual background for readers who have no prior knowledge on Petri nets; Part II elaborates the theory of augmented marked graphs; finally, Part III discusses the application to system integration. The book is suitable as a first self-contained volume on augmented marked graphs, and will be useful to both researchers and practitioners in the fields of Petri nets and system integration.

In the past decade, augmented marked graphs have evolved into a sub-class of Petri nets. They are often used for modelling shared resource systems, such as manufacturing systems. One major reason is that augmented marked graphs possess a special structure which is desirable for modelling shared resources. However, the properties of augmented marked graphs are not extensively studied. In the literature, there are a few published works on augmented marked graphs. This paper consolidates our earlier works on augmented marked graphs with a special focus on liveness, boundedness, reversibility and conservativeness. We provide a number of characterisations for live and reversible augmented marked graphs. In particulars, some of these characterisations are based on cycles, instead of siphons. Besides, we introduce the Rtransformation, on which characterisations for bounded and conservative augmented marked graphs are obtained. With these characterisations, some pretty simple conditions and procedures for checking the liveness, reversibility, boundedness and conservativeness of an augmented marked graph are derived. These have been illustrated using the dining philosophers problem. Typically, in designing shared resource systems, one need to achieve design objectives on two folds. On one hand, the resources are scarce and should be maximally shared. On the other hand, the system should be carefully designed so that erroneous situations due to the sharing of resources, such as deadlock and capacity overflow, can be avoided. Yet, the verification of liveness, boundedness and reversibility is very difficult and time-consuming. This paper contributes to provide an effective means to analysing these essential properties. By modelling a shared resource system as an augmented marked graph, its liveness, boundedness, reversibility and conservativeness can be effectively analysed, based on the characterisations and properties of augmented marked graphs. We specifically show the application to the analysis of manufacturing systems which are typically shared resource systems. Promising results are obtained.

This two volume set LNAI 8917 and 8918 constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Intelligent Robotics and Applications, ICIRA 2014, held in Guangzhou, China, in December 2014. The 109 revised full papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from 159 submissions. The papers aim at enhancing the sharing of individual experiences and expertise in intelligent robotics with particular emphasis on technical challenges associated with varied applications such as biomedical applications, industrial automations, surveillance, and sustainable mobility.

One critical barrier leading to successful implementation of flexible manufacturing and related automated systems is the ever-increasing complexity of their modeling, analysis, simulation, and control. Research and development over the last three decades has provided new theory and graphical tools based on Petri nets and related concepts for the design of such systems. The purpose of this book is to introduce a set of Petri-net-based tools and methods to address a variety of problems associated with the design and implementation of flexible manufacturing systems (FMSs), with several implementation examples.There are three ways this book will directly benefit readers. First, the book will allow engineers and managers who are responsible for the design and implementation of modern manufacturing systems to evaluate Petri nets for applications in their work. Second, it will provide sufficient breadth and depth to allow development of Petri-net-based industrial applications. Third, it will allow the basic Petri net material to be taught to industrial practitioners, students, and academic researchers much more efficiently. This will foster further research and applications of Petri nets in aiding the successful implementation of advanced manufacturing systems.

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 7th International Workshop on Advanced Parallel Processing Technologies, APPT 2007, held in Guangzhou, China, in November 2007. The 78 revised full papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from 346 submissions. All current aspects in parallel and distributed computing are addressed ranging from hardware and software issues to algorithmic aspects and advanced applications. The papers are organized in topical sections.

Discrete-event dynamic systems (DEDs) permeate our world. They are of great importance in modern manufacturing processes, transportation and various forms of computer and communications networking. This book begins with the mathematical basics required for the study of DEDs and moves on to present various tools used in their modeling and control. Industrial examples illustrate the concepts and methods discussed, making this book an invaluable aid for students embarking on further courses in control, manufacturing engineering or computer studies.

Deadlock problems in flexible manufacturing systems (FMS) have received more and more attention in the last two decades. Petri nets are one of the more promising mathematical tools for tackling deadlocks in various resource allocation systems. In a system modeled with Petri nets, siphons are tied to the occurrence of deadlock states as a structural object. The book systematically introduces the novel theory of siphons, traps, and elementary siphons of Petri nets as well as the deadlock control strategies for FMS developed from it. Deadlock prevention methods are examined comparatively. The many FMS examples presented to demonstrate the concepts and results of this book range from the simple to the complex. Importantly, to inspire and motive the reader’s interest in further research, a number of interesting and open problems in this area are proposed at the end of each chapter.

Complex computer-integrated systems offer enormous benefits across a wide array of applications, including automated production, transportation, concurrent software, and computer operating systems, computer networks, distributed database systems, and many other automated systems. Yet, as these systems become more complex, automated, distributed, and computing-intensive, the opportunity for deadlock issues rises exponentially. Deadlock modeling, detection, avoidance, and recovery are critical to improving system performance. Deadlock Resolution in Computer-Integrated Systems is the first text to summarize and comprehensively treat this issue in a systematic manner. Consisting of contributions from prominent researchers in the field, this book addresses deadlock-free models and scheduling, detection and recovery methods, the formulation of dynamic control policies, and comparison and industrial benchmark studies that evaluate various approaches. The editors lay the foundation for exploring deadlock issues with a typical example of an automated manufacturing process, illustrating three primary modeling methods (digraphs, Petri nets, and automata) and comparing their respective advantages and disadvantages. Providing all of the important models and resolution approaches, this book is the complete guide for electrical and control engineers and manufacturing, intelligent, and network systems designers to prevent and manage deadlock issues in their systems.