Springer

Handbook oƒ
Automation
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Editor

2nd Edition

12 3
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Shimon Y. Nof
Editor

Springer Handbook
of Automation
Second Edition

With 809 Figures and 151 Tables

Editor
Shimon Y. Nof
PRISM Center and School of Industrial Engineering
Purdue University
West Lafayette, IN, USA

ISSN 2522-8692 ISSN 2522-8706 (electronic)

Springer Handbooks
ISBN 978-3-030-96728-4 ISBN 978-3-030-96729-1 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-96729-1

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This Springer Handbook is dedicated to all of us who
collaborate with automation to advance humanity
Foreword: Automation Is for Humans
and for Our Environment

Preparing to write the Foreword for this outstanding Springer Handbook of Automation, I have
followed Shimon Y. Nof’s statement in his original vision for this Handbook: “The purpose
of this Handbook is to understand automation knowledge and expertise for the solution of
human society’s significant challenges; automation provided answers in the past, and it will be
harnessed to do so in the future.” The significant challenges are becoming ever more complex,
and learning how to address them with the help of automation is significant too. The publication
of this Handbook with the excellent information and advice by a group of top international
experts is, therefore, most timely and relevant.
The core of any automatic system is the idea of feedback, a simple principle governing
any regulation process occurring in nature. The process of feedback governs the growth
of living organisms and regulates an innumerable quantity of variables on which life is
based, such as body temperature, blood pressure, and cells concentration, and on which the
interaction of living organisms with the environment is based, such as equilibrium, motion,
visual coordination, response to stress and challenge, and so on.
Humans have always copied nature in the design of their inventions: feedback is no
exception. The introduction of feedback in the design of man-made automation processes
occurred as early as in the golden century of Hellenistic civilization, the third century BC.
The scholar Ktesibios, who lived in Alexandria circa 240–280 BC and whose work has been
handed to us only by the later roman architect Vitruvius, is credited for the invention of the
first feedback device. He used feedback in the design of a water clock. The idea was to obtain
a measure of time from the inspection of the position of a floater in a tank of water filled at
constant velocity. To make this simple principle work, Ktesibios’s challenge was to obtain a
constant flow of water in the tank. He achieved this by designing a feedback device in which
a conic floating valve serves the dual purpose of sensing the level of water in a compartment
and of moderating the outflow of water.
The idea of using feedback to moderate the velocity of rotating devices eventually led to
the design of the centrifugal governor in the eighteenth century. In 1787, T. Mead patented
such a device for the regulation of the rotary motion of a windmill, letting the sail area
be decreased or increased as the weights in the centrifugal governor swing outward or,
respectively, inward. The same principle was applied two years later by M. Boulton and J. Watt

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viii Foreword: Automation Is for Humans and for Our Environment

to control the steam inlet valve of a steam engine. The basic simple idea of proportional
feedback was further refined in the middle of the nineteenth century, with the introduction
of integral control to compensate for constant disturbances. W. von Siemens, in the 1880s,
designed a governor in which integral action, achieved by means of a wheel-and-cylinder
mechanical integrator, was deliberately introduced. The same principle of proportional and
integral feedback gave rise, by the turn of the century, to the first devices for the automatic
steering of ships and became one of the enabling technologies that made the birth of aviation
possible. The development of sensors, essential ingredients in any automatic control system,
resulted in the creation of new companies.
The perception that feedback control and, in a wider domain, automation were taking the
shape of an autonomous discipline occurred at the time of the Second World War, where
the application to radar and artillery had a dramatic impact, and immediately after. By the
early 1950s, the principles of this newborn discipline quickly became a core ingredient of
most industrial engineering curricula; professional and academic societies were established and
textbooks and handbooks became available. At the beginning of the 1960s, two new driving
forces provoked an enormous leap ahead: the rush to space and the advent of digital computers
in the implementation of control system. The principles of optimal control, pioneered by R.
Bellman and L. Pontryagin, became indispensable ingredients for the solution of the problem
of soft landing on the moon and in manned space missions. Integrated computer control,
introduced in 1959 by Texaco for set point adjustment and coordination of several local
feedback loops in a refinery, quickly became the standard technique for controlling industrial
processes.
Those years saw also the birth of an International Federation of Automatic Control (IFAC),
as a multinational federation of scientific and/or engineering societies each of which represents,
in its own nation, values and interests of scientists and professionals active in the field of
automation and in related scientific disciplines. The purpose of such a federation, established
in Heidelberg in 1956, is to facilitate growth and dissemination of knowledge useful to the
development of automation and to its application to engineering and science. Created at a time
of acute international tensions, IFAC was a precursor of the spirit of the so-called Helsinki
agreements of scientific and technical cooperation between east and west signed in 1973. It
represented, in fact, a sincere manifestation of interest, from scientists and professionals of
the two confronting spheres of influence in which the world was split at that time, toward a
true cooperation and common goals. This was the first opportunity after the Second World
War that scientists and engineers had of sharing complementary scientific and technological
backgrounds, notably the early successes in the space race in the Soviet Union and the advent
of electronic computers in the United States. The first President of IFAC was an engineer from
the United States, while the first World Congress of the Federation was held in Moscow in
1960. The Federation currently includes 48 national member organizations, runs more than 60
scientific conferences with a three-year periodicity, including a World Congress of Automatic
Control, and publishes some of the leading journals in the field.
Since then, three decades of steady progress followed. Automation is now an essential
ingredient in manufacturing, in petrochemical, pharmaceutical, and paper industry, in mining
and metal industry, in conversion and distribution of energy, and in many services. Feedback
control is indispensable and ubiquitous in automobiles, ships, and aircrafts. Feedback control
is also a key element of numerous scientific instruments as well as of consumer products, such
as smartphones. Despite of this pervasive role of automation in every aspect of the technology,
its specific value is not always perceived as such and automation is often confused with other
disciplines of engineering. The advent of robotics, in the late 1970s, is, in some sense, an
exception to this, because the impact of robotics in modern manufacturing industry is visible to
everyone. However, also in this case there is a tendency to consider robotics and the associated
impact on industry as an implementation of ideas and principles of computer engineering rather
than principles of automation and feedback control.
Foreword: Automation Is for Humans and for Our Environment ix

In the last decade of the previous century and in the first decade of the present century,
automation has experienced a tremendous growth. Progresses in the automobile industry in the
last decade have only been possible because of automation. Feedback control loops pervade
our cars: steering, braking, attitude stabilization, motion stabilization, combustion, emissions
are all feedback controlled. This is a dramatic change that has revolutionized the way in which
cars are conceived and maintained. Industrial robots have reached a stage of full maturity,
but new generations of service robots are on their way. Four-legged and even two-legged
autonomous walking machines are able to walk through rough terrains, service robots are able
to autonomously interact with uncertain environment and adapt their mission to changing tasks,
to explore hostile or hazardous environments, and to perform jobs that would be otherwise
dangerous for humans. Service robots assist elderly or disabled people and are about to perform
routine services at home. Surgical robotics is a reality: minimally invasive micro robots are
able to move within the body and to reach areas not directly accessible by standard techniques.
Robots with haptic interfaces, able to return a force feedback to a remote human operator,
make tele-surgery possible. New frontiers of automation encompass applications in agriculture,
in recycling, in hazardous waste disposal, in environment protection, and in safe and reliable
transportation.
In the second decade of this century, artificial intelligence and machine learning have
characterized the beginning of a new age in automation. Intelligent machines now match or
in some cases outperform human performance in a range of activities, including ones requiring
cognitive capabilities. The development of sophisticated algorithmic systems, combined with
the availability of large amounts of data and processing power have been instrumental in
this respect. Automation and artificial intelligence are changing the nature of work. As
intelligent machines and software are integrated more deeply into the workplace, workflows
and workspaces will continue to evolve to enable humans and machines to work together. In the
manufacturing industry, this “fourth” revolution is characterized by widespread cooperation
between humans and robots, by integration of physical systems and virtual reality, and by
extensive interconnection of machines via Internet. Rapid developments in embedded and high-
performance computing, wireless communication, and cloud technology are inducing drastic
changes in the architecture and operation of industrial automation systems. Model-based design
is now accessible by individual users via widely available commercial software packages: a
well-known firm advertises that “a robot that sees, acts and learns can be programmed in an
afternoon.”
Increased automation will eventually contribute to higher productivity and wealth. A model
developed in 2019 by the McKinsey Global Institute predicts that automation could raise
productivity growth globally by 0.8–1.4% annually. Their model suggests that half of today’s
work activities could be automated by 2055, but this could happen up to 20 years earlier or
later depending on various scenarios. In the short term, jobs might be adversely affected, but in
the long range this will be offset by the creation of new types of work not foreseen at present.
It is foreseeable that a substantial shift will occur in workforces, similar to the shift away from
agriculture that occurred in the developed countries in the twentieth century.
At the dawn of the twentieth century, the deterministic view of classical mechanics and
some consequent positivistic philosophic beliefs that dominated the nineteenth century had
been shaken by the advent of relativistic physics. Today, after a century dominated by the
expansion of technology and, to some extent, by the belief that no technological goal was
impossible to achieve, similar woes are feared. The clear perception that resources are limited,
the uncertainty of the financial markets, the diverse rates of development among nations, all
contribute to the awareness that the model of development followed insofar in the industrialized
world will change. Today’s wisdom and beliefs may not be the same tomorrow. All these
expected changes might provide yet another great opportunity for automation. Automation
will no longer be seen only as automatic production but as a complex of technologies
that guarantee reliability, flexibility, and safety for humans as well as for the environment.
x Foreword: Automation Is for Humans and for Our Environment

In a world of limited resources, automation can provide the answer to the challenges of
sustainable development. Automation has the opportunity to make a greater and even more
significant impact on society. In the first half of the twentieth century, the precepts of
engineering and management helped solve economic recession and ease social anxiety. Similar
opportunities and challenges are occurring today.
This leading-edge Springer Handbook of Automation will serve as a highly useful and
powerful tool and companion to all modern-day engineers and managers in their respective
profession. It comes at an appropriate time and provides a fundamental core of basic principles,
knowledge, and experience by means of which engineers and managers will be able to quickly
respond to changing automation needs and to find creative solutions to the challenges of today’s
and tomorrow’s problems.
It has been a privilege for many members of IFAC to participate with Springer Publishers,
Dr. Shimon Y. Nof, and the over 250 experts, authors, and reviewers in creating this excellent
resource of automation knowledge and ideas. It provides also a full and comprehensive
spectrum of current and prospective automation applications, in industry, agriculture, infras-
tructures, services, health care, enterprise, and commerce. A number of recently developed
concepts and powerful emerging techniques are presented here for the first time in an organized
manner and clearly illustrated by specialists in those fields. Readers of this new edition of the
Springer Handbook of Automation are offered the opportunity to learn proven knowledge from
underlying basic theory to cutting-edge applications in a variety of emerging fields.

Rome Alberto Isidori

September 2022
Foreword: Automation Is the Science
of Integration

In our understanding of the word automation, we used to think of manufacturing processes

being run by machines without the need for human control or intervention. From the outset,
the purpose of investing in automation has been to increase productivity at minimum cost and
to assure uniform quality. Permanently assessing and exploiting the potential for automation
in the manufacturing industries has, in fact, proved to be a sustainable strategy for responding
to competition in the marketplace, thereby securing attractive jobs.
Automation equipment and related services constitute a large and rapidly growing market.
Supply networks of component manufacturers and system integrators, allied with engineering
skills for planning, implementing, and operating advanced production facilities, are regarded,
together with data science and Artificial Intelligence, as cornerstones of competitive manufac-
turing. Therefore, the emphasis of national and international initiatives aimed at strengthening
the manufacturing base of economies is on holistic strategies for research and technical devel-
opment, education, socio-economics, and entrepreneurship. As a result, progress automation
technologies enable industries to provide high product varieties from production lines up to
highly customized products.
Meanwhile our understanding of the world of product has also changed considerably.
Physical products have become cyber-physical entities existing in the physical world as well
as in a digital world and are expected to interact in the so-called Metaverse in the future. They
come as a bundle of hardware, software, and physical as well as digital services. Automation
has expanded into almost every area of daily life: from smart products for everyday use,
networked buildings, automated or autonomous vehicles and logistics systems, collaborative
robots, to advanced healthcare and medical systems. It includes the well-known control of
physical systems as well as data automation. In simplified terms, automation today can be
considered as the combination of processes, devices, and supporting technologies, all enabled
by advanced digitization.
As a world-leading organization in the field of applied research, the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft
has been a pioneer in relation to numerous technological innovations and novel system
solutions in the broad field of automation. Its institutes have led the way in research,
development, and implementation of industrial robots and computer-integrated manufacturing

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xii Foreword: Automation Is the Science of Integration

systems, service robots for professional and domestic applications, autonomous vehicles
advanced systems for office automation and e-Commerce, as well as automated residential
and commercial buildings. Moreover, our research and development activities in advanced
manufacturing and logistics as well as office and home automation have been accompanied
by large-scale experiments and demonstration centers, the goal being to integrate, assess, and
showcase innovations in automation in real-world settings and application scenarios.
On the basis of this experience we can state that, apart from research in key technologies
such as sensors, actuators, process control, and user interfaces, automation is first and
foremost the science of integration, mastering the process from the specification, design, and
implementation through to the operation of complex systems that have to meet the highest
standards of functionality, safety, cost-effectiveness, and usability. Therefore, scientists and
engineers need to be experts in their respective disciplines while at the same time having the
necessary knowledge and skills to create and operate large-scale systems.
The Springer Handbook of Automation is an excellent means of both educating students
and also providing professionals with a comprehensive yet compact reference work for the
field of automation. The Handbook covers the broad scope of relevant technologies, methods,
and tools and presents their use and integration in a wide selection of application contexts:
from agricultural automation to surgical systems, transportation systems, and business process
automation.
I wish to congratulate the editor, Prof. Shimon Y. Nof, on succeeding in the difficult task of
covering the multifaceted field of automation and of organizing the material into a coherent and
logically structured whole. The Handbook admirably reflects the connection between theory
and practice and represents a highly worthwhile review of the vast accomplishments in the
field. My compliments go to the many experts who have shared their insights, experience, and
advice in the individual chapters. Certainly, the Handbook will serve as a valuable tool and
guide for those seeking to improve the capabilities of automation systems – for the benefit of
humankind.

Stuttgart Hans-Jörg Bullinger

January 2022
Foreword: Automation Technology:
The Near Limitless Potential

The Springer Handbook of Automation (2nd Edition) is a truly remarkable resource volume
that will be indispensable to engineers, business managers, and governmental leaders around
the globe for years to come as they strive to better address the evolving needs of society. This
technology, or rather set of technologies, will be an essential tool in that effort. Some of my
comments will be specific to robotics which represents one of the key building blocks for
automation systems. Many of the characteristics associated with robots are clearly impacting
the design of other automation system building blocks.
My perspective was shaped by nearly five decades of experience while employed at both
General Motors R&D and its Manufacturing Engineering organization. I began my career
as a researcher in robotics and machine vision. I went on to eventually lead GM’s robotics
development team and to be an inaugural director of its Controls, Robotics & Welding
organization which supported plant automation throughout GM worldwide. From there, I had
the opportunity to lead GM’s global manufacturing research team. I am proud to have received
the Joseph F. Engelberger Robotics Award in 1998 for “contributing to the advancement of the
science of robotics in the service of mankind” in part because I believe that this stated goal is
so profoundly important. I was responsible for the first visually guided robot in the automotive
industry and several other industry firsts but even more important contributions came from an
impressive set of collaborators that I had the great fortune to have worked with. These included,
to name but a few, Joe Engelberger (father of robotics), Vic Scheinman, Brian Carlisle, Bruce
Shimano, John Craig, Seiuemon Inaba, Jean-Claude Latombe, Oussama Khatib, Shimon Y.
Nof, Berthold Horn, Marvin Minsky, Gary Cowger, Gerry Elson, Dick Beecher, Lothar Rossol,
Walt Cwycyshyn, Jim Wells, and Don Vincent. I wish to thank these people for their many,
many contributions to the field and for all that I learned from them. That said, I am writing
today more as an observer or witness since I was there when many of the key breakthroughs
were achieved and as seismic changes rocked the underlying automation technology.
GM had the vision and was able to pioneer many significant and successful robotics
and automation solutions along with a few less successful efforts. Other industries too have
advanced the use of innovative robotics and automation systems that similarly improved
competitiveness. GM was the first company to ever use a commercial robot in production.
That first one was built by George Devol and Joe Engelberger’s company, Unimation, and was

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xiv Foreword: Automation Technology: The Near Limitless Potential

used to perform a simple material handling function back in 1961. GM later was the first to
use a robot to perform spot welding, first to implement a line of spot-welding robots, first to
use a robot dedicated to painting, one of the first to do assembly with robots, first to install
a COBOT (Collaborative Robot) designed to work with people vs. being kept isolated from
people for safety reasons, first to implement fixturing robots, etc. GM’s huge buying power also
played a significant role in rapidly transforming the robotics industry away from less reliable
hydraulic machines to much more reliable, fast, precise electric ones that were controlled by
computers. This brought huge performance gains and much lower costs which in turn resulted
in accelerating the global implementation of automation systems across all industries. These
were exciting times pivotal to the advancement of automation technology, but I think I need
to also focus briefly on automation technology from a social point of view since it too is both
important and is so often misunderstood.
The adoption of automation is portrayed in the media as either something good and desirable
(occasionally) or something bad to be avoided (unfortunately, more likely) but this was always
a false choice. Media tried to paint it as a battle between “blue collar” workers and “steel
collar” workers (i.e., robots). Automation fundamentally improves efficiency, among its other
many benefits. We live in a world that is globally competitive, and this means those countries
that squander opportunities to improve efficiency for political or social reasons can expect an
inevitable declining standard of living over time. There may be a time lag but this conclusion
is inescapable. Clearly the introduction of automation can cause displacement of workers but
nothing can protect their jobs if those workers are allowed to become non-competitive in the
global market. I had the opportunity to speak with a VP of the United Auto Workers (UAW)
at an MIT tech conference in the 1990s. I was shocked when he shared with me that the UAW
has always been in support of automation. He went on to explain that this support was subject
only to two conditions. First, he said that workers who are either impacted or displaced by
automation must always be treated with dignity and respect. Second, workers should be allowed
to share in the benefits that accrue from that automation. This resonated with me then and I
never forgot. Of course, it makes great sense. I cannot say that displaced workers were always
treated properly but they clearly deserved that. In general, I can say that workers were allowed to
share in the benefits, at least in the automotive industry, in that those workers have long enjoyed
much higher wages and better benefits than available to workers in similar manufacturing
jobs in other industries. This of course was essentially paid for by the ever-higher production
efficiencies.
Other automation benefits include dramatically expanded production volume, lowered costs,
increased quality and safety, lessened energy demands, and the enablement of innovative
products not conceivable without automation. For example, modern microcomputers and
electronic chips which are so ubiquitous in our world could not be produced without automa-
tion. Similarly, smartphones, modern communication technology, and many other consumer
products would not be possible. Automation in a very real sense is one of the most successful
strategies ever devised to meet increasing demand from the global market and simultaneously
address critical social issues facing our planet – including climate change, food production,
and a host of other issues. To be sure, there is a balance to be struck in our world between
consumer demands and social issues, but the tools of automation dramatically enable much
better outcomes than would be possible without them.
Two of the hallmarks of a professional in our modern society are that they use the right
tools and they consistently produce high-quality results day in and day out. Automation
can be thought of as giving people improved tools to do their jobs better, faster, and more
economically. We can trace it back to the invention of the wheel and simple hand tools to
enhance human performance. This in turn eventually led to power tools to perform even better
and to lower the burden of often dirty, difficult, and dangerous jobs. This led to increasing
levels of automation and ever-improving performance. There is no end in sight for what can be
accomplished with unfathomable opportunities yet to be discovered.
Foreword: Automation Technology: The Near Limitless Potential xv

One interesting trend in mechanical automation has been what I think of as the robotization
of automation by using the characteristics inherent in robots to improve both flexibility and
adaptability in other automation system elements. That is, we are seeing robot technology per-
meating many aspects of automation and even consumer products resulting in more flexibility
or, in some cases, programmability. Beyond the mechanical aspects, we also see the penetration
of AI techniques to improve the logic or thinking aspects of our automation systems. The
first robots were large, rigid, expensive, powerful machines with limited programmability and
limited accuracy. Robots themselves have been adapted to the needs of many new application
areas. Material handling and spot-welding robots typically have very large work envelopes
along with great strength and speed. Fixturing robots have nearly the opposite characteristics
with small work envelopes, high rigidity, and slow speed. Painting and sealing robots need to
be able to execute complex motions very smoothly with a constant tip speed.
Lastly, one of the most important metrics for automation technology has always been
availability (or up-time). Automation systems do not accomplish much if you cannot keep
them working. My recent technical pursuits have centered around Vehicle Health Management
(VHM) primarily for consumer cars and trucks. One of the goals of VHM is to be able to predict
problems before they happen so that action can be taken in time to mitigate or avoid the issues
entirely. VHM is built on advanced analytics, and many of the same techniques that apply to
automobiles can be used to great benefit in manufacturing automation systems to keep them
operational and more available. This gives us yet another reason for tremendous optimism as
automation technology continues to evolve and advance. I believe that this new edition of the
Springer Handbook of Automation lays out a solid foundation for the automation innovators
and leaders of the future by capturing the lessons of the past and delivering a comprehensive set
of tools upon which automation will continue to advance for the benefit of our global society.

Detroit Steven W. Holland

July 2022
Foreword: The Dawn of the Smart
Manufacturing Era Enables High-Quality
Automation

In recent years, the term cyber-physical system (CPS) is often used to refer to production
systems as well as robots, NC machine tools, and other production machines that automate
these systems. “Physical” refers to things one can see and touch in the real world, while
“cyber” refers to virtual space within a computer that models the real world. In the “physical”
world, achieving high quality with customer satisfaction is one of the most important factors
for a product to become globally competitive. Manufacturing high-quality products requires
advanced manufacturing techniques such as high-precision machining and assembly, as well as
the large role that skilled experts play. In many industrialized countries, however, the number of
skilled experts is declining due to many factors, including lower birthrates, aging populations,
and higher education. Smart manufacturing is expected to solve this problem by utilizing
robots, IoT (Internet of Things), and AI (Artificial Intelligence), leading to the production of
high-quality products without requiring high levels of expertise. Also, with the introduction
of collaborative robots, humans and robots can work together in the same space. In addition
to allowing humans and collaborative robots to work together, this also enables a division of
labor between humans and robots, where most of the work is done with robotic automation
and the more advanced tasks are performed by humans. A mobile robot equipped with a
collaborative robot on an automatic guided vehicle (AGV) can freely move to where it is needed
and continue to work. In addition, the United Nations has been actively promoting Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs) to help reduce environmental burdens. If smart manufacturing
becomes a reality, it can be optimized by using the robots, machine tools, and the cells and
production systems that encompass them in the “cyber” space of CPS. These optimized results
can then be implemented in the “physical” world. For example, one can find a robot layout that
minimizes power consumption, which is in line with the concept of SDGs. Also, the breakdown
of a production machine can cause major damage to a factory. Collecting and analyzing large
amounts of operation data using IoT is making it possible to predict part failures in advance
to prevent serious damage. AI applications are also advancing, allowing the automation of
advanced tasks such as bin-picking (picking up randomly located objects inside a bin) with 3D
vision sensor and pass/fail judgement in assembly operations. Thus, with the help of robots,
IoT, and AI technologies we are about to open the door to a new era of smart manufacturing.

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xviii Foreword: The Dawn of the Smart Manufacturing Era Enables High-Quality Automation

This automation handbook contains a significant amount of information about cutting-edge

technologies including smart production, manufacturing, and services related to automation.
I am confident that it will provide a new vision for beginners, students, teachers, system
integrators, robot engineers, and business owners.

Yoshiharu Inaba
Doctor of Engineering
Chairman, FANUC Corporation
Foreword: Automation of Surgical Robots

Between the first and current editions of this book, over 12 years have passed in which surgical
robots have progressed from their infancy to childhood stage.
Twelve years ago, surgical robots struggled to gain acceptance in operating rooms in order
to prove their clinical benefits. With more applications of surgical robots and a larger number of
live operations, robots have been able to demonstrate their advantage in three main areas: higher
accuracy, better accessibility that allows for minimal invasiveness, and reduced radiation, all
of which translate to better patient outcomes. Given the growing number of surgical robot
companies, the question in some disciplines is no longer “do I need a robot?” but rather “which
robot should I use?”
There are more than a dozen companies that offer regulatory approved surgical robots as of
the end of 2021, and the number of cases performed with robotic assistance is on the order of
a million per year, spanning chirurgic, orthopedic, cardiovascular, urology, ENT, radiotherapy,
and other fields.
In recent years, a new player has emerged: Artificial Intelligence applied to Machine Learn-
ing. Machine learning has benefited all disciplines of medicine because it allows computers
to analyze millions of cases and determine the best procedure for the patients, whether it is
diagnostic or therapeutic. This enabling technology will become more and more dominant in
this and other fields as better algorithms and larger databases are utilized.
Even though machines make mistakes, it turns out that the experience computers can gain
from millions of cases far outweighs the experience a single person can gain in a lifetime.
Although it is still debatable whether a computer can diagnose better than a human, the odds
are shifting more and more in favor of computers, much to our dismay.
The majority of today’s surgical robotic procedures are performed in a remote manipulation
mode, in which the robot follows the surgeon’s hand motion. Some robots use a semi-active
mode, in which the robot directs the surgeon to the correct trajectory while the surgeon
performs the actual surgical procedure (e.g., cutting, drilling). Only two robots are currently
approved for active procedures, in which the robot holds the surgical tool and performs the
procedure autonomously. This, I believe, will change dramatically when the next edition of
this book comes out in a few years. Since robots are no longer an unknown in the operating
room, more active robots will be designed and regulatory approved, and the operating room

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xx Foreword: Automation of Surgical Robots

staff, particularly the younger ones, will be more accepting of them. When enhanced robot
capabilities are combined with the dramatic rise of machine learning, a new era of autonomous
surgical robots is on the horizon.
The shift of the surgeon from a dexterity-talented person to a decision-maker would be a
major impact of surgical robots on surgery. Because robots will play a key role in the precise
execution of the planned surgery, the surgeon will choose the best treatment option, and robots
that excel at precise manipulation will carry out the treatment with precision.
Robots can be made in a variety of sizes, from large size to miniature ones capable of treating
the human body from within. Several companies are working on small robots that are on the
verge of science fiction, capable of monitoring and administering therapeutic procedures from
within the human body. There are currently no FDA-approved robots capable of performing
these tasks, but in the long run, miniature robots that live unharmed in the human body and are
capable of detecting and treating, e.g., dangerous lesions at an early stage, are by far the best
and most efficient surgical robots as compared to the invasive ones.
Surgery is a cautious profession. In today’s world, having a robot disrupt the long tradition
of surgery and shift the paradigm is a revolution. Combined with more autonomy and machine
learning, the use of robots and automation in this conservative life-threatening field becomes
closer to the topic of this excellent and very informative Springer Handbook of Automation,
whether we like it or not. This new edition indeed adds expanded coverage of medical robotics
and automation.

Haifa, Israel Moshe Shoham

August 2022
Preface

There are at least three good reasons to create this new edition:

1. We want to understand automation better, realizing its exponential growth over the years
and in the past decade, and its wider and deeper impact on our life.
2. We want to know and clarify what has changed and evolved in automation over the past
decade, the future trends and challenges as we recognize them now.
3. We want to clarify and understand how automation is so helpful to us, as it has come to our
rescue during the recent pandemic period, and at the same time we keep wondering, can we
limit it from ever taking over our freedoms?

We love automation…

• When it does what we need and expect from it, like our most loyal partner: Wash our laundry
and dishes, secure financial transactions, supply electricity where and when it is needed,
search for answers, share music and movies, assemble and paint our cars.
• And more personally, image to diagnose our health problems and dental aches, cook our
food, and help us navigate.
• Who would not love automation?

We hate automation and may even kick it …

• When it fails us, like a betraying confidant: Turn the key or push a button and nothing
happens the way we anticipate – a car does not start, a TV does not display, our cellphone
or digital assistant is misbehaving, the vending machine delivers the wrong item or refuses
to return change.
• When planes are late due to a mechanical problem and business transactions are lost or
ignored due to computer glitches.
• Eventually those problems are fixed and we turn back to the previous paragraph, loving
automation again.

We are amazed by automation and all those people behind it. Automation thrills us when
we learn about its new abilities, better functions, more power, faster response, smaller size,
and greater reliability and precision. And we are fascinated by automation’s marvels: In
entertainment, communication, scientific discoveries; how it is applied to explore space and
conquer difficult maladies of society, from medical and pharmaceutical automation solutions
to energy supply, remote education, and smart transportation (soon to be autonomous?), and
we are especially enthralled when we are not really sure how it works, but it works.
It all begins when we, as young children, observe and notice; perhaps we are bewildered
that a door automatically opens when we approach it, or when we are first driven by a train or
bus, or when we notice the automatic sprinklers, or lighting, or home appliances: How can it
work on its own? Yes, there is so much magic about automation.

xxi
xxii Preface

This magic of automation is what inspired a large group of us, colleagues and friends from
around the world, all connected by automation, to compile, develop, revise, update, and present
the new edition of this exciting Springer Handbook of Automation: Explain to our readers what
automation is, how it works, how it is designed and built, where it can and is applied, and where
and how it is going to be improved and be created even better; what are the scientific principles
behind it and what are emerging trends and challenges being confronted. All of it concisely yet
comprehensively covered in the 74 chapters which are included in front of you, the readers.
Flying over beautiful Fall colored forest surrounding Binghamton, New York, in the 1970s
on my way to IBM’s symposium on the future of computing, I was fascinated by the miracle of
nature beneath the airplane: Such immense diversity of leaves changing colors; such magically
smooth, wavy movement of the leaves dancing with the wind, as if they are programmed with
automatic control to responsively transmit certain messages needed by some unseen listeners.
And the brilliance of the sunrays reflected in these beautiful dancing leaves (there must be some
purpose to this automatically programmed beauty, I thought). More than once, during reading
the new and freshly updated chapters that follow, I was reminded again of this unforgettable
image of multilayered, interconnected, interoperable, collaborative, responsive waves of leaves
(and services): The take-home lesson from that symposium was that mainframe computers hit,
about that time, a barrier – it was stated that faster computing was impossible since mainframes
would not be able to cool off the heat they generated (unless a miracle happened). As we all
know, with superb human ingenuity computing and automation have overcome that barrier and
other barriers. Persistent progress, including fast personal, cloud, and edge computers, better
software, machine learning, intelligent automation, and wireless communication, resulted
in major performance and cost-effective improvements: client-server workstations; wireless
access; local and wide area networks; multi-core, AI, and vision processors; web-based
Internetworking, grids, cyber-physical systems, and more have been automated, and there is so
much more yet to come. Thus, more intelligent automatic control and collaborative automation
and more responsive human–automation interfaces could be invented and deployed for the
benefit of all.
Progress in distributed, networked, and collaborative control theory, computing, commu-
nication, and automation has enabled the emergence of e-Work, e-Business, e-Medicine,
e-Service, e-Commerce, and many other significant e-Activities based on automation. By this
new edition, all of them have become common and evolved to c-Work, c-Business, c-Medicine,
c-Service, c-Commerce, c-Precision Agriculture, and more. And for the next edition, we
anticipate all of them will drop the e- (electronic) and c- (cyber collaborative), since all activities
with automation will inherently be automated electronically and cyber-collaboratively.
It is not that our ancestors did not recognize the tremendous power and value of delegating
effort to tools and machines; furthermore, of synergy, teamwork, collaborative interactions, and
decision-making. But only when efficient, reliable, and scalable automation reached a certain
level of maturity could it be designed into systems and infrastructures servicing effective supply
and delivery networks, social networks, and multi-enterprise practices.
In their vision and mission, enterprises expect to simplify their automation utilities and
minimize their burden and cost, while increasing the value and usability of all deployed
functions and acquirable information. Their goal: Timely conversion into relevant knowledge,
goods, services, and practices. Streamlined knowledge, services, and products would then be
delivered through less effort, just when necessary and only to those clients or decision-makers
who truly need them. Whether we are in commerce or in service for society, the real purpose
of automation is not merely better computing or better automation, but let us increase our
competitive agility and service quality!
The Springer Handbook of Automation Second Edition achieves this purpose well again.
Throughout the 74 chapters, divided into 10 main sections, with numerous tables, equations,
figures, and a vast number of references, with numerous guidelines, frameworks, proto-
cols, models, algorithms, theories, techniques, and practical principles and procedures, the
149 co-authors revise and present proven and up-to-date knowledge, original analysis, best
Preface xxiii

practices, and authoritative expertise. Plenty of case studies, creative examples and unique
illustrations covering topics of automation from the basics and fundamentals to advanced
techniques, case examples, and theories will serve the readers and benefit the students and
researchers, engineers and managers, inventors, investors, and developers.

Special Thanks To stimulate and accomplish such a complex endeavor of excellence and
bring to you this new edition, a Network of Friends (NoF) is essential. I wish to express
my gratitude and thanks to our distinguished Advisory Board members, who are leading
international authorities, scholars, experts, and pioneers of automation, and who have guided
the revision and development of this Springer Handbook, for sharing with me their wisdom and
advice along the challenging streamlining editorial effort; to the Advisory Board members and
co-authors of the original edition of this Handbook, upon whose efforts and expertise we have
built and updated this new edition; to our co-authors and our esteemed reviewers, who are also
leading experts, researchers, practitioners, and pioneers of automation. Sadly, several personal
friends and colleagues, Professors Yukio Hasegawa, Ted Williams, Christopher Bissel, Tibor
Vamos, and Daniel Powers, who took active part in helping create this Springer Handbook and
its new edition, passed away before they could see it published. They left enormous voids in
our community and in my heart, but their legacy will continue to inspire us.
All the new and revised chapters were reviewed thoroughly and anonymously by over 100
reviewers and went through several critical reviews and revision cycles. Each chapter was
reviewed by at least five expert reviewers to assure the accuracy, relevance, timeliness, and
high quality of the materials, which are presented in this Springer Handbook Second Edition.
The reviewers included:

• Vaneet Agrawal, Purdue University

• Praditya Ajidarma, Bandung Institute of Technology, Indonesia
• Juan Apricio, Siemens
• Parasuram Balasubramanian, Theme Work Analytics, India
• Ruth Bars, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Hungary
• Avital Bechar, Volcani Institute, Israel
• Saif Benjaafar, University of Minnesota
• Sigal Berman, Ben-Gurion University, Israel
• Radhika Bhargava, Twitter
• Jeff Burnstein, Association for Advancing Automation
• Barrett Caldwell, Purdue University
• Brian Carlisle, Precise Automation
• Jose A. Ceroni Diaz, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaiso, Chile
• David Hongyi Chen, PRISM Center, Purdue University
• Xin W. Chen, Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville
• Chris Clifton, Purdue University
• Juan Diego Velasquez de Bedout, Purdue University
• Juan Manuel de Bedout, Raytheon Technologies
• Alexandre Dolgui, IMT Atlantique-Nantes, France
• Puwadol Oak Dusadeerungsikul, Chulalongkorn University, Thailand
• Yael Edan, Ben-Gurion University, Israel
• Florin Gheorghe Filip, Romanian Academy, Romania
• Kenichi Funaki, Hitachi, Japan
• Micha Hofri, Worcester Polytechnic Institute
• Steven Holland, General Motors
• Chin-Yin Huang, Tunghai University, Taiwan
• Alf J. Isaksson, ABB, Sweden
• Kazuyoshi Ishii, Kanazawa Institute of Technology, Japan
• Alberto Isidori, University of Rome, Italy
xxiv Preface

• Sirkka-Liisa Jämsä-Jounela, Aalto University, Finland

• Wootae Jeong, Railroad Research Institute, Korea
• Sally Johnson, John Carroll University
• Hoo Sang Ko, Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville
• Samuel Labi, Purdue University
• Francoise Lamnabhi-Lagarrigue, University of Paris-Saclay, France
• Steven J. Landry, Pennsylvania State University
• Seokcheon Lee, Purdue University
• Louis Zekun Liu, Purdue University
• Freddy A. Lucay, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Chile
• Ramses Martinez, Purdue University
• Joachim Meyer, Tel Aviv University, Israel
• Mahdi Moghaddam, PRISM Center, Purdue University
• Mohsen Moghaddam, Northeastern University
• Gerard Morel, University of Lorraine-Nancy, France
• Francisco Munoz, Javeriana University Cali, Colombia
• Gaurav Nanda, Purdue University
• Ricardo Naon, Purdue University
• Win P.V. Nguyen, PRISM Center, Purdue University
• Brandon Pitts, Purdue University
• Rashed Rabata, PRISM Center, Purdue University
• Vingesh Ram, Purdue University
• Rodrigo Reyes Levalle, American Airlines
• Oliver Riedel, Fraunhofer Institute, Germany
• Jasmin Shinohara, University of Pennsylvania
• Keiichi Shirase, Kobe University, Japan
• Nir Shvalb, Ariel University, Israel
• Jose Reinaldo Silva, University of Sao Paolo, Brazil
• Maitreya Sreeram, PRISM Center, Purdue University
• Hak-Kyung Sung, Samsung Electronics, Korea
• Yang Tao, University of Maryland
• Itshak Tkach, University of London, UK
• Mario Ventresca, Purdue University
• François B. Vernadat, University of Lorraine-Metz, France
• Edward Watson, Louisiana State University
• James W. Wells, General Motors
• Wenzhuo Wu, Purdue University
• Sang Won Yoon, Binghamton University
• Zoltan Szabo, MTA SZTAKI, Hungary

I wish to express my gratitude and appreciation also to my resourceful coauthors, colleagues,

and partners from IFAC, IFPR, IFIP, IISE, NSF, TRB, RIA/A3, INFORMS, ACM, IEEE-ICRA,
ASME, and PRISM Center at Purdue and PGRN, the PRISM Global Research Network, for
all their support and cooperation leading to the successful creation of this Springer Handbook
of Automation Second Edition.
Special thanks to my late parents, Dr. Jacob and Yafa Berglas Nowomiast, whose brilliance,
deep appreciation to scholarship, and inspiration have kept enriching me; to my wife Nava
for her invaluable support and wise advice; to Moriah, Jasmin, Jonathan, Moshe Chaim,
Erez, Dalia, Hana, Daniel, Andrew, Chin-Yin, Jose, Moshe, Ed, Ruth, Pornthep, Juan Ernesto,
Richard, Wootae, Agostino, Daniela, Arnie, Esther, Hao, Mirek, Pat, David, Yan, Oak, Win,
Gad, Micha, Guillermo, Cristian, Carlos, Fay, Marco, Venkat, Masayuki, Hans, Manuel, Sigal,
Laszlo, Georgi, Arturo, Yael, Mohsen, Dov, Florin, Herve, Gerard, Gavriel, Lily, Ted, Isaac,
Dan, Veronica, Rolf, Steve, Justin, Mark, Arnie, Colin, Namkyu, Wil, Aditya, Ken, Hannah,
Preface xxv

Anne, Fang, Jim, Hoosang, Praditya, Rashed, Karthik, Seokcheon, John, Shelly, Jennifer,
Barrett, Hyesung, Kazuyoshi, Xin, Yehezkel, Bezalel, Al, Hank, Russ, Doug, Francois, Tom,
Frederique, Alexandre, Bala, Coral, Tetsuo, Oren, Asher, and to the late Izzy Vardinon,
Yukio, Kazuo, and Tibor, for sharing with me most generously their thoughts, smiles, ideas,
inspiration, encouragement, and their automation expertise. Deep thanks also to Springer’s Tom
Ditzinger, who inspired me to create this Handbook; to Springer’s project manager, the talented
and creative Judith Hinterberg; Juby George, Rajeswari Tamilselvan, and the entire Springer
Handbook production team for their valuable help and vision in completing this ambitious
endeavor.
The significant achievements of humans with automation – in sustaining and improving our
life quality, innovating and solving serious problems, and enriching our knowledge; inspiring
people to enjoy automation while bewaring of its risks, and provoking us to learn how to
invent even better and greater automation solutions; the wonders and magic, opportunities and
challenges with emerging and future automation – are all enormous. Indeed, automation is an
essential and wonderful augmenting power of our human civilization.

West Lafayette, Indiana Shimon Yeshayahu Nof Nowomiast

December 2022
Contents

Part I Development and Impacts of Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

1 Automation: What It Means to Us Around the World, Definitions,
Its Impact, and Outlook . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Shimon Y. Nof
2 Historical Perspective of Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Christopher Bissell, Theodore J. Williams, and Yukio Hasegawa
3 Social, Organizational, and Individual Impacts of Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Francoise Lamnabhi-Lagarrigue and Tariq Samad
4 Economic Effects of Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Piercarlo Ravazzi and Agostino Villa
5 Trends in Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
Christopher Ganz and Alf J. Isaksson

Part II Automation Theory and Scientific Foundations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119

6 Linear Control Theory for Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
István Vajk, Jenő Hetthéssy, and Ruth Bars
7 Nonlinear Control Theory for Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
Alberto Isidori
8 Control of Uncertain Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
Vaneet Aggarwal and Mridul Agarwal
9 Artificial Intelligence and Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205
Sven Koenig, Shao-Hung Chan, Jiaoyang Li, and Yi Zheng
10 Cybernetics, Machine Learning, and Stochastic Learning Automata . . . . . . . 233
B. John Oommen, Anis Yazidi, and Sudip Misra
11 Network Science and Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251
Lorenzo Zino, Baruch Barzel, and Alessandro Rizzo
12 What Can Be Automated? What Cannot Be Automated? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275
Richard D. Patton and Peter C. Patton

Part III Automation Design: Theory, Elements, and Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285

13 Designs and Specification of Mechatronic Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287
Rolf Isermann
14 Sensors, Machine Vision, and Sensor Networks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 315
Wootae Jeong

xxvii
xxviii Contents

15 Intelligent and Collaborative Robots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 335

Kenji Yamaguchi and Kiyonori Inaba
16 Control Architecture for Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 357
Oliver Riedel, Armin Lechler, and Alexander W. Verl
17 Cyber-Physical Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 379
Cesar Martinez Spessot
18 Collaborative Control and E-work Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 405
Mohsen Moghaddam and Shimon Y. Nof
19 Design for Human-Automation and Human-Autonomous Systems . . . . . . . . . 433
John D. Lee and Bobbie D. Seppelt
20 Teleoperation and Level of Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 457
Luis Basañez, Emmanuel Nuño, and Carlos I. Aldana
21 Nature-Inspired and Evolutionary Techniques for Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . 483
Mitsuo Gen and Lin Lin
22 Automating Prognostics and Prevention of Errors, Conflicts,
and Disruptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 509
Xin W. Chen and Shimon Y. Nof

Part IV Automation Design: Theory and Methods for Integration . . . . . . . . . . . . . 533

23 Communication Protocols for Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 535
Carlos E. Pereira, Christian Diedrich, and Peter Neumann
24 Product Automation and Innovation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 561
Kenichi Funaki
25 Process Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 585
Juergen Hahn and B. Wayne Bequette
26 Service Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 601
Christopher Ganz and Shaun West
27 Infrastructure and Complex Systems Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 617
Florin Gheorghe Filip and Kauko Leiviskä
28 Computer-Aided Design, Computer-Aided Engineering,
and Visualization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 641
Jorge D. Camba, Nathan Hartman, and Gary R. Bertoline
29 SafetyWarnings for Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 661
Mark R. Lehto and Gaurav Nanda

Part V Automation Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 681

30 Economic Rationalization of Automation Projects and Quality of Service . . . 683
José A. Ceroni
31 Reliability, Maintainability, Safety, and Sustainability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 699
Elsayed A. Elsayed
32 Education and Qualification for Control and Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 717
Juan Diego Velasquez de Bedout, Bozenna Pasik-Duncan,
and Matthew A. Verleger
Contents xxix

33 Interoperability and Standards for Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 729

François B. Vernadat
34 Automation and Ethics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 753
Micha Hofri

Part VI Industrial Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 773

35 Machine Tool Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 775
Keiichi Shirase and Susumu Fujii
36 Digital Manufacturing Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 805
Chi Fai Cheung, Ka Man Lee, Pai Zheng, and Wing Bun Lee
37 Flexible and Precision Assembly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 829
Brian Carlisle
38 Semiconductor Manufacturing Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 841
Tae-Eog Lee, Hyun-Jung Kim, and Tae-Sun Yu
39 Nanomanufacturing Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 865
Ning Xi, King Wai Chiu Lai, Heping Chen, and Zhiyong Sun
40 Production, Supply, Logistics, and Distribution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 893
Manuel Scavarda Basaldúa and Rodrigo J. Cruz Di Palma
41 Automation and Robotics in Mining and Mineral Processing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 909
Sirkka-Liisa Jämsä-Jounela and Greg Baiden
42 Automation in the Wood, Paper, and Fiber Industry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 923
Birgit Vogel-Heuser
43 Welding Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 935
Anatol Pashkevich
44 Automation in Food Manufacturing and Processing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 949
Darwin G. Caldwell
45 Smart Manufacturing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 973
Andrew Kusiak

Part VII Infrastructure and Service Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 987

46 Automation in Data Science, Software, and Information Services . . . . . . . . . . 989
Parasuram Balasubramanian
47 Power Grid and Electrical Power System Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1015
Veronica R. Bosquezfoti and Andrew L. Liu
48 Construction Automation and Smart Buildings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1035
Daniel Castro-Lacouture
49 Agriculture Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1055
Yael Edan, George Adamides, and Roberto Oberti
50 Connected Vehicles and Driving Automation Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1079
Yuko J. Nakanishi and Pierre M. Auza
51 Aerospace Systems Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1115
Steven J. Landry and William Bihlman
xxx Contents

52 Space Exploration and Astronomy Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1139

Barrett S. Caldwell
53 Cleaning Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1159
Norbert Elkmann and José Saenz
54 Library Automation and Knowledge Sharing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1171
Paul J. Bracke, Beth McNeil, and Michael Kaplan

Part VIII Automation in Medical and Healthcare Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1187

55 Automatic Control in Systems Biology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1189
Narasimhan Balakrishnan and Neda Bagheri
56 Automation in Hospitals and Health Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1209
Atsushi Ugajin
57 Medical Automation and Robotics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1235
Alon Wolf, Nir Shvalb, and Moshe Shoham
58 Precision Medicine and Telemedicine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1249
Kuo-Liang Chiang and Chin-Yin Huang
59 Wearables, E-textiles, and Soft Robotics for Personalized Medicine . . . . . . . . 1265
Ramses V. Martinez
60 Healthcare and Pharmaceutical Supply Chain Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1289
Sara Abedi, Soongeol Kwon, and Sang Won Yoon

Part IX Home, Office, and Enterprise Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1309

61 Automation in Home Appliances . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1311
Hoo Sang Ko and Sanaz Eshraghi
62 Service Robots and Automation for the Disabled and Nursing
Home Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1331
Birgit Graf and Jonathan Eckstein
63 Automation in Education, Training, and Learning Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1349
Kin’ya Tamaki and Kazuyoshi Ishii
64 Blockchain and Financial E-services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1371
Hong Wan, Kejun Li, Yining Huang, and Ling Zhang
65 Enterprise and Business Process Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1385
Edward F. Watson III and Andrew H. Schwarz
66 Decision Support and Analytics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1401
Daniel J. Power and Ramesh Sharda
67 E-commerce . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1411
Francisco Munoz, Clyde W. Holsapple, and Sharath Sasidharan

Part X Automation Case Studies and Statistics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1431

68 Case Study: Automation Education and Qualification Apprenticeships . . . . . 1433
Geanie Umberger and Dave Harrison
Contents xxxi

69 Case Study: IBM – Automating Visual Inspection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1439

Rishi Vaish and Michael C. Hollinger
70 Case Study: Infosys – Talent Management Processes Automation
with AI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1451
Parasuram Balasubramanian and D. R. Balakrishna
71 Case Study: Intel and Claro 360 – Making Spaces Safe During Pandemic . . 1459
Cesar Martinez Spessot and Luis Fuentes
72 Case Study: Siemens – Flexible Robot Grasping with Deep
Neural Networks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1467
Juan Aparicio Ojea and Eugen Solowjow
73 Case Study: 3M – Automation in Paint Repair . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1475
Carl Doeksen and Scott Barnett
74 Automation Statistics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1481
Puwadol Oak Dusadeerungsikul and Win P. V. Nguyen

Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1503
About the Editor

Shimon Y. Nof is Professor of Industrial Engineering at Purdue

University and Director of the NSF and industry funded PRISM
Center for Production, Robotics, and Integration Software for Manu-
facturing and Management. He earned his BSc and MSc in Industrial
Engineering and Management from Technion, Israel Institute of
Technology; his Ph.D. in Industrial and Operations Engineering
from the University of Michigan.
His professional merits include experience in full-time industrial
and governmental positions and visiting professorships at MIT and
at universities around the world. He was Secretary General and Pres-
ident of the International Foundation of Production Research and
Chair within the International Federation of Automatic Control. He
pioneered knowledge-based/AI robotic facility design and control
models, robot ergonomics, and collaborative control theory with
task-administration algorithms and protocols.
As an experienced author and editor, his impressive list of publi-
cations include the Handbook of Industrial Robotics and the Inter-
national Encyclopedia of Robotics and Automation. He is also the
editor of the Springer Book Series on Automation, Collaboration,
and E-Services.
Shimon Y. Nof is a Fellow of the Institute of Industrial and
Systems Engineering, and the International Foundation of Produc-
tion Research, recipient of the Joseph Engelberger Award and Medal
for Robotics Education, and Member of the Inaugural Book of Great
Teachers of Purdue University.

xxxiii
Advisory Board

Ruth Bars
Department of Automation and Applied Informatics
Budapest University of Technology and Economics
Budapest, Hungary

Ruth Bars graduated at the Electrical Engineering Faculty of the

Technical University of Budapest. She received her candidate of
sciences degree in 1992 from the Hungarian Academy of Sci-
ences and her PhD degree based on research in predictive con-
trol. She is honorary professor at the Department of Automation
and Applied Informatics, Budapest University of Technology and
Economics. Her research interests are predictive control, advanced
control algorithms, and developing new ways of control education.
She is the coauthor of the books Predictive Control in Process
Engineering, from the Basics to the Applications (2011) and Control
Engineering and Control Engineering: Matlab Exercises (2019).

Jeff Burnstein
Association for Advancing Automation
Ann Arbor, USA

Jeff Burnstein is the President of the Association for Advancing

Automation (A3), the leading North American trade group repre-
senting over 1000 global companies involved in robotics, artificial
intelligence, vision, motion control, and related automation tech-
nologies. Burnstein joined the association in 1983 and has held a
variety of senior positions, culminating in his promotion to President
in 2007. He is a frequent commentator in the media, often discusses
automation issues with policy makers, and regularly speaks at global
conferences on issues such as the impact of automation on jobs and
the future of automation beyond the factory floor. Burnstein also
serves on the Executive Board of the International Federation of
Robotics (IFR).

xxxv
xxxvi Advisory Board

Xin W. Chen
Department of Industrial Engineering
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
Edwardsville, USA

Xin W. Chen is Professor in the School of Engineering at Southern

Illinois University Edwardsville. He received his MS and PhD
degrees in Industrial Engineering from Purdue University and BS
degree in Mechanical Engineering from Shanghai Jiao Tong Uni-
versity. His research interests cover several related topics in the area
of conflict and error prognostics and prevention, production/service
optimization, and decision analysis. He is the author of the 2022
book titled Network Science Models for Data Analytics Automa-
tion – Theories and Applications in Springer ACES Automation,
Collaboration, and E-Services Book Series.

Juan M. de Bedout
Aerospace Technologies, Raytheon Technologies
Waltham, USA

Juan M. de Bedout is the Vice President of Aerospace Technol-

ogy at Raytheon Technologies. In this role, he works closely with
the company’s businesses to shape the technology strategy for a
broad portfolio of aerospace offerings. Prior to this role, Juan was
the Vice President of Advanced Technology at Collins Aerospace,
where he was responsible for helping to shape advanced technology
planning and investment, drive the vitality of the central engineer-
ing teams, streamline engineering supplier planning, and promote
continuous improvement throughout Collins’ businesses. Before
joining Collins, Juan was the Chief Technology Officer for General
Electric’s Grid Solutions business, after serving in the Company for
18 years in roles of increasing responsibility from his start at the
Global Research Center in 2000. Juan has Bachelors, Masters, and
Ph.D. degrees in Mechanical Engineering from Purdue University,
where his graduate work was focused on automation and controls.
Advisory Board xxxvii

Alexandre Dolgui
Department Automation, Production and Computer Sciences
IMT Atlantique, LS2N-CNRS
Nantes, France

Dr. Alexandre Dolgui is an IISE Fellow, Distinguished Professor,

and the Head of Automation, Production and Computer Sciences
Department at the IMT Atlantique, campus in Nantes, France. His
research focuses on manufacturing line design, production planning,
and supply chain optimization. His main results are based on the
exact mathematical programming methods and their intelligent cou-
pling with heuristics and metaheuristics algorithms. He is the author
of 5 books and more than 260 refereed journal papers. He is the
Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Production Research,
an Area Editor of Computers & Industrial Engineering and Member
of the editorial boards for several other journals, including the
International Journal of Production Economics. He is a Fellow
of the European Academy for Industrial Management, Member of
the Board of the International Foundation for Production Research,
former Chair (currently vice-chair) of IFAC TC 5.2 Manufacturing
Modelling for Management and Control, Member of IFIP WG 5.7
Advances in Production Management Systems, etc. He has been Sci-
entific Chair for a large number of leading international conferences.

Yael Edan
Agriculture, Biological – Cognitive Robotics Initiative
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
Beer-Sheva, Israel

Yael Edan is a Professor in Industrial Engineering and Director

of the Agricultural, Biological, Cognitive Robotics Initiative. She
holds a B.Sc. in Computer Engineering and an M.Sc. in Agricultural
Engineering, both from the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology,
and Ph.D. in Engineering from Purdue University. She performs
R&D of robotic and sensory systems focusing on human-robot
collaboration with major contributions in introduction and applica-
tion of intelligent automation and robotic systems in agriculture.

Florin Gheorghe Filip

The Romanian Academy
Bucharest, Romania

Florin Gheorghe Filip received his MSc and PhD degrees in

Automation from the “Politehnica” University of Bucharest in 1970
and 1982, respectively. In 1991, he was elected as a member of
the Romanian Academy, where he served as Vice President from
2000 to 2010. He was the chair of IFAC Technical Committee
“Large-scale complex systems” (2003–2009). His scientific interests
include complex systems and decision support systems. He has
authored/coauthored some 350 papers and 13 monographs.
xxxviii Advisory Board

Kenichi Funaki
Hitachi Ltd.
Tokyo, Japan

Kenichi Funaki received his doctoral degree in Industrial Engi-

neering and Management from Waseda University, Tokyo, in 2001.
Funaki began his career at Production Engineering Research Lab-
oratory, Hitachi Ltd. in 1993 and has over 20 years of experience
in developing production, logistics, and supply chain management
systems. He conducted joint research projects with world class
institutes, including Gintic Institute of Manufacturing Technology
(currently SIMTech) in Singapore, the Institute for Computer Sci-
ence and Control of Hungarian Academy of Sciences (SZTAKI),
and the Supply Chain and Logistics Institute at Georgia Institute of
Technology, where he stayed as a Research Executive in 2008 and
2009. In the last decade, he has been engaged in open innovation
strategy and practice with various types of collaboration such as joint
research with universities and institutes, co-creation program with
world-class leading companies, and joint business development with
startups with innovative ideas.

Steven W. Holland
General Motors R&D (retired), VHM Innovations, LLC
St. Clair, USA

Steve Holland retired from General Motors R&D as a Research

Fellow following 49 years of service. He pioneered applications of
robotics and vision- and computer-based manufacturing. He served
in a variety of GM leadership roles: Robotics Development; Con-
trols, Robotics and Welding plant support; and as Chief Scientist
for Manufacturing. He has been a leading proponent of prognostics
and vehicle health management for the global automotive industry
which continues via his consulting company: VHM Innovations,
LLC. Steve is a recipient of the Joseph F. Engelberger Robotics
Award and is a Fellow of IEEE, PHM Society, and SAE. He holds
technical degrees from Kettering and Stanford Universities.
Advisory Board xxxix

Chin-Yin Huang
Department of Industrial Engineering & Enterprise
Information
Tunghai University
Taichung, Taiwan

Chin-Yin Huang is Professor of Industrial Engineering and Enter-

prise Information at Tunghai University, Taiwan. He has a Ph.D.
degree from Purdue University, USA. His research interests include
Healthcare Management, Data Analytics, Ontology, and Industry
4.0. Prof. Huang is currently Vice President of International Foun-
dation for Production Research. He also serves as the Chairman
in the Asia Pacific Region. He is Board Member of Asia Pacific
Industrial Engineering and Management Society. In addition, he is
the Director of International Industrial Affairs of IIE in Taiwan.
He is former Dean of General Affairs, Tunghai University. Prof.
Huang has been serving as a professional consultant and advisor
in government, universities, hospitals, and the manufacturing sector.
He has published many papers in international journals with topics
ranging from production/supply chain integration to data analytics,
manufacturing/service automation, and AI applications.

Kazuyoshi Ishii
Academic Foundation Programs
Kanazawa Institute of Technology
Kanazawa, Japan

Kazuyoshi Ishii received his PhD in Industrial Engineering from

Waseda University. Dr. Ishii is a professor at Kanazawa Institute of
Technology, Japan, since 1988. He is a Fellow of IFPR, APIEMS,
and ISPIM. His research field covers production management, qual-
ity management, product/service development management, human
resource, and education/learning management.

Alberto Isidori
Department of Computer, Control, Management
Engineering
University of Rome “La Sapienza”
Rome, Italy

Alberto Isidori was a Professor of Automatic Control at the Univer-

sity of Rome Sapienza from 1975 to 2012, where is now Professor
Emeritus. His research interests are primarily in analysis and design
of nonlinear control systems. He is the author of several books and
of more than 120 articles on archival journals and the recipient
of various prestigious awards, which include the Quazza Medal of
IFAC (in 1996), the Bode Lecture Award from the Control Systems
Society of IEEE (in 2001), the Honorary Doctorate from KTH of
Sweden (in 2009), the Galileo Galilei Award from the Rotary Clubs
of Italy (in 2009), and the Control Systems Award of IEEE in 2012.
He is a Fellow of IEEE and of IFAC and the President of IFAC in
the triennium 2008–2011. Since 2012, he has been a corresponding
member of the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei.
xl Advisory Board

Steven J. Landry
Pennsylvania State University
State College, USA

Steven J. Landry is Professor and Peter and Angela Dal Pezzo Chair
and Department Head in the Harold & Inge Marcus Department of
Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering at The Pennsylvania State
University. He received his MS in Aeronautics and Astronautics
from MIT and his Ph.D. in Industrial and Systems Engineering
from Georgia Tech. He has over 2500 heavy jet flight hours as a
USAF C-141B pilot. His research interests are in aviation systems
engineering and human factors.

Oliver Riedel
Institute for Control Engineering of Machine Tools and
Manufacturing Unit
University of Stuttgart
Stuttgart, Germany

Prof. Oliver Riedel studied Technical Cybernetics at the University

of Stuttgart and earned his doctorate at the Faculty of Engineering
Design and Production Engineering. For over 25 years, he has
been involved with the theory and practical application of virtual
validation methods in product development and production. After
working for 18 years in the international IT and automotive industry,
he was appointed professor at the University of Stuttgart and is
managing director of the Institute for Control Engineering of Ma-
chine Tools and Manufacturing Units (ISW), holds the chair for
Information Technology in Production, and is managing director
of the Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Engineering (IAO). Oliver
Riedel specializes in information technology for production and
product development, IT-engineering methods, and data analytics.

José Reinaldo Silva

Mechatronics Department – Escola Polité-cnica
Universidade de São Paulo
São Paulo, Brasil

José Reinaldo Silva is a senior associate professor at Escola Polité-

cnica, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil. His research
deals with Engineering Design methods to automated systems, using
formal methods and artificial intelligence. In this area, he has more
than 130 articles and book chapters. He is a member of the Design
Society, ACM, IFAC special groups, and other international forums
of discussion on the design of automation systems.
Advisory Board xli

Hak-Kyung Sung
Mechatronics & Manufacturing Technology Center
Samsung Electronics
Suwon, Korea

Hak-Kyung Sung received his Master’s degree in Mechanical En-

gineering from Yonsei University in Korea and his PhD degree in
Control Engineering from Tokyo Institute of Technology, Japan, in
1985 and 1992, respectively. He is currently the Vice President in
the Mechatronics and Manufacturing Technology Center, Samsung
Electronics. His interests are in production engineering technology,
such as robotics, control, and automation.

François B. Vernadat
Laboratoire de Génie Informatique, de Production et de
Maintenance (LGIPM)
University of Lorraine
Metz, France

François B. Vernadat received his PhD in Electrical Engineering

and Automatic Control from University of Clermont, France, in
1981. He has been a research officer at the National Research
Council of Canada in the 1980s and at the Institut National de
Recherche en Informatique et Automatique in France in the 1990s.
He joined the University of Lorraine at Metz, France, in 1995 as a full
professor and founded the LGIPM research laboratory. His research
interests include enterprise modeling, enterprise architectures, en-
terprise integration and interoperability, information systems design
and analysis, and performance management. He has contributed to 7
books and published over 300 papers. He has been a member of IEEE
and ACM, has held several vice-chairman positions at IFAC, and has
been associate or area editor for many years of Computers in Indus-
try, IJCIM, IJPR, Enterprise Information Systems, and Computers
& Industrial Engineering. In parallel from 2001 until 2016, he held
IT management positions as head of departments in IT Directorates
of European institutions in Luxemburg (first European Commission
and then European Court of Auditors).
xlii Advisory Board

Birgit Vogel-Heuser
TUM School of Engineering and Design
Technical University of Munich
Garching, Germany

Birgit Vogel-Heuser graduated in Electrical Engineering and

obtained her Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the RWTH
Aachen in 1991. She worked for nearly 10 years in industrial
automation for the machine and plant manufacturing industry. She
is now a full professor and in charge of Automation and Information
Systems in the Department of Mechanical Engineering TUM-
School of Engineering and Design at the Technical University
of Munich. Her research work focuses on improving efficiency
in automation engineering for hybrid technical processes and
intelligent distributed field-level control systems. She is a member
of the German Academy of Science and Engineering (acatech),
Senior Editor of IEEE T-ASE, and IEEE Distinguished Lecturer.
Advisory Board Members
of the Previous Edition

• Hans-Jörg Bullinger, Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, Munich, Germany

• Rick J. Echevarria, Inter Corp., Santa Clara, USA
• Yael Edan, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel
• Yukio Hasegawa (), Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan
• Steven W. Holland, General Motors R & D, Warren, USA
• Clyde W. Holsapple, University of Kentucky, Lexington, USA
• Rolf Isermann, Technical University Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Germany
• Kazuyoshi Ishii, Kanazawa Institute of Technology, Hakusan City, Japan
• Alberto Isidori, University of Rome “La Sapienza”, Rome, Italy
• Stephen Kahne, Embry-Riddle University, Prescott, USA
• Aditya P. Mathur, Purdue University, West Lafayette, USA
• Gavriel Salvendy, Tshinghua University, Beijing, China
• George Stephanopoulos, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, USA
• Hak-Kyung Sung, Samsung Electronics, Suwon, Korea
• Kazuo Tanie (), Tokyo Metropolitan University, Tokyo, Japan
• Tibor Vámos (), Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest, Hungary
• François B. Vernadat, Université Paul Verlaine Metz, Metz, France
• Birgit Vogel-Heuser, University of Kassel, Kassel, Germany
• Andrew B. Whinston, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, USA

xliii
Contributors

Sara Abedi Department of Systems Science and Industrial Engineering, Binghamton

University; SUNY, Binghamton, NY, USA
George Adamides Department of Rural Development, Agricultural Research Institute,
Aglantzia, Cyprus
Mridul Agarwal Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA
Vaneet Aggarwal Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA
Carlos I. Aldana Department of Computer Science, University of Guadalajara, Guadalajara,
Mexico
Juan Aparicio Ojea Rapid Robotics, San Francisco, CA, USA
Pierre M. Auza Nakanishi Research and Consulting LLC, New York, NY, USA
Greg Baiden School of Engineering, Laurentian University, Sudbury, ON, Canada
D. R. Balakrishna Infosys Ltd., Bengaluru, India
Neda Bagheri Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Northwestern Univer-
sity, Evanston, IL, USA
Departments of Biology and Chemical Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA,
USA
Narasimhan Balakrishnan Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, North-
western University, Evanston, IL, USA
Parasuram Balasubramanian Theme Work Analytics Pvt. Ltd., Bangalore, India
Scott Barnett Application Engineering, Robotics and Automation, 3M Abrasive Systems
Division 3M Center, St. Paul, MN, USA
Ruth Bars Department of Automation and Applied Informatics, Faculty of Electrical
Engineering and Informatics, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Budapest,
Hungary
Baruch Barzel Department of Mathematics, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel
The Gonda Interdisciplinary Brain Science Center, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel
Manuel Scavarda Basaldúa Kimberly-Clark Corporation, Neenah, WI, USA
Luis Basañez Institute of Industrial and Control Engineering (IOC), Universitat Politècnica
de Catalunya, BarcelonaTech (UPC), Barcelona, Spain
B. Wayne Bequette Department of Chemical & Biological Engineering, Rensselaer
Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY, USA

xlv
xlvi Contributors

Gary R. Bertoline School of Engineering Technology, Purdue University, West Lafayette,

IN, USA
William Bihlman Aerolytics, LLC, Lafayette, IN, USA
Christopher Bissell Department of Communication and Systems, The Open University,
Milton Keynes, UK
Veronica R. Bosquezfoti School of Industrial Engineering, Purdue University, West
Lafayette, IN, USA
Paul J. Bracke Gonzaga University, Spokane, WA, USA
Barrett S. Caldwell Schools of Industrial Engineering and Aeronautics & Astronautics,
Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA
Darwin G. Caldwell Department of Advanced Robotics, Istituto Italiano Di Tecnologia,
Genoa, Italy
Jorge D. Camba School of Engineering Technology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN,
USA
Brian Carlisle Brooks Automation, Livermore, CA, USA
Daniel Castro-Lacouture Purdue Polytechnic Institute, Purdue University, West Lafayette,
IN, USA
José A. Ceroni School of Industrial Engineering, Pontifica Universidad Católica de Val-
paraíso, Valparaiso, Chile
Shao-Hung Chan Computer Science Department, University of Southern California, Los
Angeles, CA, USA
Heping Chen The Ingram School of Engineering, Texas State University, San Marcos, TX,
USA
Xin W. Chen Department of Industrial Engineering, Southern Illinois University,
Edwardsville, IL, USA
Chi Fai Cheung Behaviour and Knowledge Engineering Research Centre, Department of
Industrial and Systems Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom,
Kowloon, Hong Kong
Kuo-Liang Chiang Department of Pediatric Neurology, Kuang-Tien General Hospital,
Taichung, Taiwan
Rodrigo J. Cruz Di Palma Dollarcity, Antiguo Cuscatlan, El Salvador
Juan Diego Velasquez de Bedout Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA
Christian Diedrich Institute for Automation Engineering, Otto von Guericke University
Magdeburg, Magdeburg, Germany
Carl Doeksen Robotics & Automation, 3M, St. Paul, MN, USA
Puwadol Oak Dusadeerungsikul Department of Industrial Engineering, Chulalongkorn
University, Bangkok, Thailand
Jonathan Eckstein Formerly University of Stuttgart, Department Human-Machine Interac-
tion, Stuttgart, Germany
Yael Edan Department of Industrial Engineering and Management, Agriculture, Biological,
Cognitive Robotics Initiative, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel
Norbert Elkmann Fraunhofer IFF, Magdeburg, Germany
Contributors xlvii

Elsayed A. Elsayed Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, Rutgers University,

Piscataway, NJ, USA
Sanaz Eshraghi Department of Industrial Engineering, Southern Illinois University
Edwardsville, Edwardsville, IL, USA
Florin Gheorghe Filip The Romanian Academy, Bucharest, Romania
Luis Fuentes Claro 360, Mexico City, Mexico
Susumu Fujii Kobe University, Kobe, Japan
Kenichi Funaki Corporate Venturing Office, Hitachi Ltd., Tokyo, Japan
Christopher Ganz C. Ganz Innovation Services, Zurich, Switzerland
Mitsuo Gen Department of Research, Fuzzy Logic Systems Institute (FLSI), Iizuka, Japan
Research Institute of Science and Technology, Tokyo University of Science, Tokyo, Japan
Birgit Graf Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation IPA,
Department Robot and Assistive Systems, Stuttgart, Germany
Juergen Hahn Department of Biomedical Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute,
Troy, NY, USA
Department of Chemical & Biological Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy,
NY, USA
Dave Harrison FASTPORT, Inc., West Fork, AR, USA
Nathan Hartman School of Engineering Technology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN,
USA
Yukio Hasegawa System Science Institute, Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan
Jenő Hetthéssy Department of Automation and Applied Informatics, Faculty of Electrical
Engineering and Informatics, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Budapest,
Hungary
Micha Hofri Department of Computer Science, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester,
MA, USA
Michael C. Hollinger Sustainability Software, IBM Corporation, Austin, TX, USA
Clyde W. Holsapple School of Management, Gatton College of Business and Economics,
University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA
Chin-Yin Huang Department of Industrial Engineering and Enterprise Information, Tunghai
University, Taichung, Taiwan
Yining Huang Operations Research Graduate Program, North Carolina State University,
Raleigh, NC, USA
Kiyonori Inaba FANUC CORPORATION, Yamanashi, Japan
Alf J. Isaksson ABB AB, Corporate Research, Västerås, Sweden
Rolf Isermann Institute of Automatic Control, Research group on Control Systems and
Process Automation, Darmstadt University of Technology, Darmstadt, Germany
Kazuyoshi Ishii Kanazawa Institute of Technology, Academic Foundation Programs,
Kanazawa, Japan
Alberto Isidori Department of Computer, Control and Management Engineering, University
of Rome “La Sapienza”, Rome, Italy
xlviii Contributors

Sirkka-Liisa Jämsä-Jounela Department of Biotechnology and Chemical Technology, Aalto

University, Espoo, Finland
Wootae Jeong Korea Railroad Research Institute, Uiwang, South Korea
Michael Kaplan Ex Libris Ltd., Newton, MA, USA
Hyun-Jung Kim Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, KAIST, Daejeon,
South Korea
Hoo Sang Ko Department of Industrial Engineering, Southern Illinois University
Edwardsville, Edwardsville, IL, USA
Sven Koenig Computer Science Department, University of Southern California, Los Angeles,
CA, USA
Andrew Kusiak Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, Seamans Center,
The University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA
Soongeol Kwon Department of Systems Science and Industrial Engineering, Binghamton
University; SUNY, Binghamton, NY, USA
King Wai Chiu Lai Department of Biomedical Engineering, City University of Hong Kong,
Hong Kong SAR, China
Francoise Lamnabhi-Lagarrigue Laboratoire des Signaux et Systèmes CNRS, CentraleSu-
pelec, Paris-Saclay Univ., Paris, France
Steven J. Landry Pennsylvania State University, State College, PA, USA
Armin Lechler Institute for Control Engineering of Machine Tools and Manufacturing Unit,
University of Stuttgart, Stuttgart, Germany
John D. Lee Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, University of Wisconsin-
Madison, Madison, WA, USA
Ka Man Lee Behaviour and Knowledge Engineering Research Centre, Department of Indus-
trial and Systems Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon,
Hong Kong
Tae-Eog Lee Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, KAIST, Daejeon, South
Korea
Wing Bun Lee Behaviour and Knowledge Engineering Research Centre, Department of
Industrial and Systems Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom,
Kowloon, Hong Kong
Mark R. Lehto School of Industrial Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN,
USA
Kauko Leiviskä Control Engineering Laboratory, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland
Jiaoyang Li Computer Science Department, University of Southern California, Los Angeles,
CA, USA
Kejun Li Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, North Carolina State University,
Raleigh, NC, USA
Lin Lin International School of Information Science and Engineering, Dalian University of
Technology, Economy and Technology Development Area, Dalian, China
Andrew L. Liu School of Industrial Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA
Contributors xlix

Ramses V. Martinez Purdue University, School of Industrial Engineering and Weldon School
of Biomedical Engineering, West Lafayette, IN, USA
Cesar Martinez Spessot Intel Corporation, Hillsboro, OR, USA
Beth McNeil Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA
Sudip Misra Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Indian Institute of Technol-
ogy Kharagpur, Kharagpur, India
Mohsen Moghaddam Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Northeastern
University, Boston, MA, USA
Francisco Munoz School of Industrial Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN,
USA

Departamento de Ingeniería Civil e Industrial, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana Cali, Cali,

Colombia
Yuko J. Nakanishi Nakanishi Research and Consulting LLC, New York, NY, USA
Gaurav Nanda School of Engineering Technology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN,
USA
Peter Neumann Institut für Automation und Kommunikation – ifak, Magdeburg, Germany
Win P. V. Nguyen Grado Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, Virginia Tech,
Blacksburg, VA, USA
Shimon Y. Nof PRISM Center and School of Industrial Engineering, Purdue University,
West Lafayette, IN, USA
Emmanuel Nuño Department of Computer Science, University of Guadalajara, Guadalajara,
Mexico
Roberto Oberti Department of Agricultural and Environmental Science, University of Milan,
Milan, Italy
B. John Oommen School of Computer Science, Carleton University, Ottawa, ON, Canada
Department of Information and Communication Technology, University of Agder, Grimstad,
Norway
Anatol Pashkevich Department of Automation, Production and Computer Science, IMT
Atlantique, Nantes, France
Bozenna Pasik-Duncan Department of Mathematics, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS,
USA
Peter C. Patton School of Engineering, Oklahoma Christian University, Oklahoma City, OK,
USA
Richard D. Patton Lawson Software, St. Paul, MN, USA
Carlos E. Pereira Automation Engineering Department, Federal University of Rio Grande
do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, Brazil
Daniel J. Power College of Business Administration, University of Northern Iowa, Cedar
Falls, IA, USA
Piercarlo Ravazzi Department of Manufacturing Systems and Economics, Politecnico di
Torino, Torino, Italy
l Contributors

Oliver Riedel Institute for Control Engineering of Machine Tools and Manufacturing Unit,
University of Stuttgart, Stuttgart, Germany
Alessandro Rizzo Department of Electronics and Telecommunications, Politecnico di Torino,
Torino, Italy
Institute for Invention, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship, New York University Tandon School
of Engineering, Brooklyn, NY, USA
José Saenz Fraunhofer IFF, Magdeburg, Germany
Tariq Samad Technological Leadership Institute, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis,
MN, USA
Sharath Sasidharan Department of Management and Marketing, Marshall University,
Huntington, WV, USA
Andrew H. Schwarz Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, USA
Bobbie D. Seppelt Autonomous Vehicles, Ford Motor Company, Dearborn, MI, USA
Ramesh Sharda Spears School of Business, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK, USA
Keiichi Shirase Department of Mechanical Engineering, Kobe University, Kobe, Japan
Moshe Shoham Department of Mechanical Engineering, Technion Israel Institute of Tech-
nology, Haifa, Israel
Nir Shvalb Faculty of Engineering, Ariel University, Ariel, Israel
Eugen Solowjow Siemens, Berkeley, CA, USA
Zhiyong Sun Department of Industrial Manufacturing Systems Engineering, The University
of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
Institute of Intelligent Machines, Hefei Institute of Physical Science, CAS, Hefei, China
Kin’ya Tamaki School of Business, Aoyama Gakuin University, Tokyo, Japan
Atsushi Ugajin Hitachi, Ltd. Healthcare Innovation Division, Toranomon Hills Business
Tower, Tokyo, Japan
Geanie Umberger The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
Rishi Vaish Sustainability Software, IBM Corporation, San Francisco, CA, USA
István Vajk Department of Automation and Applied Informatics, Faculty of Electrical
Engineering and Informatics, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Budapest,
Hungary
Alexander W. Verl Institute for Control Engineering of Machine Tools and Manufacturing
Unit, University of Stuttgart, Stuttgart, Germany
Matthew A. Verleger Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Engineering Fundamentals
Department, Daytona Beach, FL, USA
François B. Vernadat Laboratoire de Génie Informatique, de Production et de Maintenance
(LGIPM), University of Lorraine, Metz, France
Agostino Villa Department of Manufacturing Systems and Economics, Politecnico di Torino,
Torino, Italy
Birgit Vogel-Heuser Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Institute of Automation and Infor-
mation Systems, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany
Contributors li

Hong Wan Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, North Carolina State Univer-
sity, Raleigh, NC, USA
Edward F. Watson III Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, USA
Shaun West Institute of Innovation and Technology Management, Lucerne University of
Applied Science and Art, Horw, Switzerland
Theodore J. Williams College of Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA
Alon Wolf Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Technion Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa,
Israel
Ning Xi Department of Industrial Manufacturing Systems Engineering, The University of
Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
Kenji Yamaguchi FANUC CORPORATION, Yamanashi, Japan
Anis Yazidi Computer Science Department, Oslo Metropolitan University, Oslo, Norway
Sang Won Yoon Department of Systems Science and Industrial Engineering, Binghamton
University; SUNY, Binghamton, NY, USA
Tae-Sun Yu Division of Systems Management and Engineering, Pukyong National Univer-
sity, Busan, South Korea
Ling Zhang Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, North Carolina State Uni-
versity, Raleigh, NC, USA
Pai Zheng Behaviour and Knowledge Engineering Research Centre, Department of Industrial
and Systems Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon,
Hong Kong
Yi Zheng Computer Science Department, University of Southern California, Los Angeles,
CA, USA
Lorenzo Zino Department of Electronics and Telecommunications, Politecnico di Torino,
Torino, Italy
Engineering and Technology Institute Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen,
The etherlands
 Part I
Development and Impacts of Automation
 Automation: What It Means to Us Around
the World, Definitions, Its Impact, and Outlook 1
Shimon Y. Nof

Contents 1.6.6 Quantum Computing and Quantum Automation . . . . . . . 36

1.1 The Meaning of Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 1.7 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
1.1.1 Definitions, Formalism, and Automation Examples . . . . . 4
1.1.2 Domains of Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

1.2 Brief History of Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

1.2.1 First Generation: Before Automatic Control (BAC) . . . . .
1.2.2 Second Generation: Automatic Control Before
Computer Control (ABC) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1.2.3 Third Generation: Automatic Computer/Cyber Control
(ACC) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1.2.4 Perspectives of Automation Generations . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1.3 Automation Cases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1.4 Flexibility, Degrees, and Levels of Automation . . . . . . .
1.4.1 Degree of Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1.4.2 Levels of Automation, Intelligence, and Human
Variability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1.5 Worldwide Surveys: What Does Automation Mean
to People? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1.5.1 How Do We Define Automation? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1.5.2 When and Where Did We Encounter Automation First
in Our Life? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1.5.3 What Do We Think Is the Major Impact/Contribution
of Automation to Humankind? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1.5.4 What Do We Think Is the Major Risk of Automation
to Humankind? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1.5.5 What Do We Think Is the Best Example
of Automation? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1.6 Emerging Trends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1.6.1 Automation Trends of the Twentieth and Twenty-First
Centuries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1.6.2 Bioautomation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1.6.3 Collaborative Control Theory and Collaborative
Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1.6.4 Risks of Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1.6.5 Need for Dependability, Survivability, Security,
Continuity of Operation, and Creativity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
12
Abstract
15
Introducing automation and this handbook, the meaning
15 of the term automation is reviewed through its definition
15 and related definitions, historical evolution, technological
15 progress, benefits and risks, and domains and levels of
applications. A survey of 506 respondents, including uni-
15
19 versity students and professionals around the world, adds
insights to the current and evolving meaning of automa-
23 tion to people, with regard to: What is your best example
and your own definition of automation?; Where did you
23 encounter automation first in your life?; and, what are the
28 top contribution and top risk of automation to individuals
28 and to society? The survey responses include five main
aspects of automation definitions; ten main types of first
28 automation encounter; and six types of benefits, six types
of risks, and ten types of best automation examples. The
29
most exciting contribution of automation found in the
30 survey (as it was found in the previous, original survey)
30
is to encourage/inspire creative work, inspire innovation
and newer solutions. Minor variations were found in dif-
30 ferent regions of the world. Responses about the first
30 automation encounter are somewhat related to the age of
34
the respondent, e.g., pneumatic versus digital, wireless,
35 and cyber control, and to urban versus farming childhood
environment. The chapter concludes with several emerg-
36 ing trends in nature-inspired and bioinspired automation,
cyber collaborative control and cyber physical automa-
tion, and risks to consider, avoid, and eliminate.

S. Y. Nof ()
PRISM Center and School of Industrial Engineering, Purdue
University, West Lafayette, IN, USA
e-mail: nof@purdue.edu

© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 3

S. Y. Nof (ed.), Springer Handbook of Automation, Springer Handbooks,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-96729-1_1
4 S. Y. Nof
Keywords
Assistive automation · Automatic computer/cyber
control · Automatic control · Automation platform ·
Before automatic control · Before computer control ·
Collaborative automation · Cyber intelligence ·
Cyber physical automation · Flexibility · Industrial
automation · Industrial revolution
1.1 The Meaning of Automation
What is the meaning of automation? When discussing this
term and concept with many colleagues and leading experts
in various aspects of automation, control theory, robotics
engineering, artificial intelligence, cyber systems, and com-
puter science during the development of this second edition
of the Springer Handbook of Automation, many of them
have different definitions; they even argue vehemently that
in their language, or their region of the world, or their
professional domain, automation has a unique meaning and
“we are not sure it is the same meaning for other experts.”
Yet there has been no doubt, no confusion, and no hesitation
that automation is powerful; it has tremendous and amazing
impact on civilization, on humanity, and it may carry risks,
even dangerous risks to individuals and to society.
So, what is automation? This chapter introduces the mean-
ing and definition of automation, at an introductory, overview
level. Specific details and more theoretical definitions are fur-
ther explained and illustrated throughout the following parts
and chapters of this handbook. A survey of 506 participants
from around the world (compared with 331 participants in the
previous, original survey) was conducted about the meaning
of automation, and is presented in Sect. 5.
1.1.1 Definitions, Formalism,
and Automation Examples
Automation: Operating or acting, or self-regulating, inde-
pendently, without human intervention, and the science and
technology that enable it.
The term evolves from automatos, in Greek, meaning
acting by itself, or by its own will, or spontaneously. Automa-
tion involves machines, tools, devices, installations, systems,
and systems-of-systems that are all platforms developed by
humans to perform a given set of activities without human
involvement during those activities. There are many varia-
tions of this definition. For instance, before modern automa-
tion (specifically defined in the modern context since about
1950s), mechanization was a common version of automa-
tion. When automatic control was added to mechanization
as an intelligence feature, the distinction and advantages of
automation became evident. In this chapter, we review these
related definitions and their evolvement, and survey how
people around the world perceive and understand automation.
Paraphrasing from this author’s definition [1] automation
can be described as follows:
As power fields, such as magnetic fields and gravitation, in-
fluence bodies to organize and stabilize, so does the sphere of
automation. It envelops us and influences us to organize our
life and work systems in a different way, and purposefully, to
stabilize life and work while effectively producing the desired
outcomes.
From the general definition of automation, the automation
formalism is presented in Fig. 1.1 with four main elements:
platform, autonomy, process, and power source. Automation
platforms are illustrated in Table 1.1. Autonomy, process,
and power source are illustrated by examples of automation:
ancient to early examples in Table 1.2, examples from the
Industrial Revolution to 1920 in Table 1.3, and modern and
emerging examples in Table 1.4.
This automation formalism can help us review some early
examples that may also fall under the definition of automa-
tion (before the term automation was even coined), and
differentiate from related terms, such as mechanization, cy-
bernetics, artificial intelligence, robotics, virtualization, dig-
italization, and cyberization (which are explained throughout
this handbook chapters.)
Automaton (plural: automata, or automatons): An au-
tonomous machine that contains its own power source and
can perform without human intervention a complicated series
of decisions and actions, in response to programs and external
stimuli.
The term automaton is used for a specific autonomous
machine, tool, or device. It usually does not include automa-
tion platforms such as automation infrastructure, automatic
installations, or automation systems such as automation soft-
ware (even though some use the term software automaton
to imply computing procedures). The scholar Al-Jazari from
al-Jazira, Mesopotamia, designed pioneering programmable
automatons in 1206, as a set of dolls, or humanoid automata.
Today, the most typical automatons are what we define as
individual robots.
Robot: A mechanical device that can be programmed to
perform a variety of tasks of manipulation and locomotion
under automatic control.
By this definition, a robot could also be an automaton. But
unlike an automaton, a robot is usually designed for highly
variable and flexible, purposeful motions and activities, and
for specific operation domains, e.g., surgical robot, service
robot, welding robot, toy robot, etc. General Motors imple-
mented the first industrial robot, called UNIMATE, in 1961
for die-casting at an automobile factory in New Jersey. By
now, millions of robots are routinely employed and integrated
throughout the world. Cobots (collaborative robots) are a
1 Automation: What It Means to Us Around the World, Definitions, Its Impact, and Outlook 5

1
Automation =

Platform
xMachine
Autonomy
xTool
xOrganization Process
xDevice
xProcess control xAction
xInstallation Power source
xAutomatic control xOperation
xSystem
xIntelligence xFunction
xSystem-of-systems
xCollaboration

Fig. 1.1 Automation formalism. Automation comprises four basic elements. See representative illustrations of platforms, autonomy, process, and
power source in Tables 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.6, and the automation cases below, in Sect. 3

Table 1.1 Automation platform examples

Platform Machine Tool Device Installation System System-of-systems
Example Mars lander Sprinkler Pacemaker AS/RC (automated ERP (enterprise Internet
storage/retrieval resource planning)
carousel)

Table 1.2 Automation examples: ancient to early history

Autonomous Autonomy: Process without
Machine/System action/Function control/intelligence Power source Replacing human intervention
1. Irrigation channels Direct, regulate water From-to and on-off Gravity Manual watering Water flow and
flow gates, predetermined directions
2. Water supply by Direct, regulate water From-to and on-off Gravity Practically Water flow and
aqueducts over large supply gates, predetermined impossible directions
distances
3. Sundial clocks Display current time Predetermined Sunlight Impossible Shadow indicating
timing otherwise time
4. Archytas’ flying Flying, playing, Predetermined sound Heated air and Real birds; human Mechanical bird or
pigeon (fourth century chirping, moving and movements with steam (early play toy motions and
BC); Chinese some feedback hydraulics and sounds
mechanical orchestra pneumatics)
(third century BC)
Heron’s mechanical
chirping birds and
moving dolls (first
century AD)
5. Ancient Greek temple, Open and close door Preset states and Heated air, steam, Manual open and Door movements
automatic door positions with some water, gravity close
opening feedback
6. Windmills Grinding grains Predefined grinding Winds Animal and human Grinding process
power

major recent development of robots that can work safely
with other robots and with humans, also in close proximity.
Bots are software (nonmechanical) robots that can perform a
variety of software-based tasks.
Robotics: The science and technology of designing, build-
ing, and applying robots, computer-controlled mechanical
devices, such as automated tools and machines.
Science fiction author and scientist Isaac Asimov coined
the term robotics in 1941 to describe the technology of robots
and predicted the rise of a significant robot industry, e.g., in
his foreword to [2]:
Since physics and most of its subdivisions routinely have the
“-ics” suffix, I assumed that robotics was the proper scientific
term for the systematic study of robots, of their construction,
maintenance, and behavior, and that it was used as such.
6 S. Y. Nof

Table 1.3 Automation examples: Industrial Revolution to 1920

Autonomous Autonomy: Process without
Machine/System action/function control/intelligence Power source Replacing human intervention
1. Windmills Flour milling Feedback keeping Winds Nonfeedback Milling process
(seventeenth century) blades always facing windmills
the wind
2. Automatic pressure Steam pressure in Feedback control of Steam Practically Pressure regulation
valve (Denis Papin, piston or engine steam pressure impossible
1680) otherwise
3. Automatic grist mill Continuous-flow Conveyor speed Water flow; steam Human labor Grains conveyance
(Oliver Evans, 1784) flour production line control; milling and milling process
process control
4. Flyball governor Control of steam Automatic feedback Steam Human control Speed regulation
(James Watt, 1788) engine speed of centrifugal force
for speed control
5. Steamboats, trains Transportation over Basic speed and Steam Practically Travel, freight
(eighteenth to very large distances navigation controls impossible hauling, conveyance
nineteenth century) otherwise
6. Automatic loom (e.g., Fabric weaving, Basic process control Steam Human labor and Cloth weaving
Joseph Jacquard, including intricate programs by supervision according to human
1801) patterns interchangeable design of fabric
punched card program
7. Telegraph (Samuel Fast delivery of text On-off, direction, Electricity Before Movement of text
Morse, 1837) message over large and feedback telecommunication, over wires
distances practically
impossible
otherwise
8. Semiautomatic Assembly functions Connect/disconnect; Electricity; Human labor Complex sequences of
assembly machines including process control compressed air assembly operations
(Bodine Co., 1920) positioning, drilling, through belts and
tapping, screw pulleys
insertion, and
pressing
9. Automatic Chassis production Parts, components, Electricity Human labor and Manufacturing
automobile-chassis and products flow supervision processes and part
plant (A.O. Smith Co., control, machining, handling with better
1920) and assembly process accuracy
control

Robotics and Automation
Robotics is an important subset of automation (Fig. 1.2).
For instance, of the 27 automation examples in Tables 1.2,
1.3, and 1.4, two examples are about robots, example 4 in
Table 1.2 and example 7 in Table 1.4. Beyond robotics,
automation includes:
• Infrastructure, e.g., water supply, irrigation, power supply,
and telecommunication
• Nonrobot devices, e.g., timers, locks, valves, and sensors
• Automatic and automated machines, e.g., flour mills,
looms, lathes, drills, presses, vehicles, and printers
• Automatic inspection machines, measurement worksta-
tions, and testers
• Installations, e.g., elevators, conveyors, railways, satel-
lites, and space stations
• Systems, e.g., computers, office automation, Internet, cell
phones, and software packages
Common to both robotics and automation are use of
automatic control, and evolution with computing, commu-
nication, and cyber progress. As in automation, robotics
also relies on four major components, including a platform,
autonomy, process, and power source, but in robotics, a robot
is often considered a machine, thus the platform is mostly a
machine, a tool, or device, or a system of tools and devices.
While robotics is, in a major way, about automation of motion
and mobility, automation beyond robotics includes major
areas based on software, decision-making, planning and op-
timization, systems collaboration, process automation, office
automation, enterprise resource planning automation, and
e-services. Nevertheless, there is clearly an overlap between
automation and robotics; while to most people a robot means
a machine with certain automation intelligence, to many an
intelligent elevator, or highly automated machine tool, or
even a computer may also imply a robot.
1 Automation: What It Means to Us Around the World, Definitions, Its Impact, and Outlook 7

Table 1.4 Automation examples: modern and emerging

Autonomous Autonomy: Process without human 1
Machine/System action/function control/intelligence Power source Replacing intervention
1. Automatic door Opening and closing Automatic control Compressed air or Human effort Doors of buses, trains,
opener of doors triggered by electric motor and buildings open and
sensors close by themselves
2. Elevators, cranes Lifting, carrying On-off, feedback, Hydraulic pumps, Human climbing, Speed and movements
preprogrammed, or electric motors carrying require minimal
interactive supervision
3. Digital computers Data processing and Variety of Electricity Calculations at Cognitive and
computing functions automatic and speeds, complexity, decision-making
interactive control and with amounts functions
and operating of data that are
systems; intelligent humanly impossible
control; mobility
(after (9) below)
4. Automatic pilot Steering aircraft or Same as (3) Electrical motors Human pilot Navigation, operations,
boat e.g., landing
5. Automatic Switch gears of Automatic control Electricity, Manual Engaging/disengaging
transmission power transmission hydraulic pumps transmission rotating gears
control
6. Office automation Document Same as (3) Electricity Some manual work; Specific office
processing, imaging, some is practically procedures
storage, printing impossible
7. Multirobot factories Robot arms and Optimal, adaptive, Hydraulic pumps, Human labor and Complex operations and
automatic devices distributed, robust, pneumatics, and supervision procedures, including
perform variety of self-organizing, electric motors quality assurance
manufacturing and collaborative
production processes control, and other
intelligent control
8. Medical diagnostics Visualization of Automatic control, Electricity Impossible Noncontact testing and
(e.g., computerized medical test results in automatic virtual otherwise results presentation
tomography [CT] and real time reality
magnetic resonance
imaging [MRI])
9. Wireless services Remote prognostics, Predictive control; Electricity Practically Monitoring remote
automatic repair, and interacting with impossible equipment functions,
exploration radio frequency otherwise executing self-repairs
identification
(RFID) and sensor
networks, IoT, IoS
10. Internet search Finding requested Optimal control, Electricity Human search, Search for specific
engine information multiagent control practically information over a vast
impossible amount of data over
worldwide systems
11. Cell phones, Smart Mobile and remote Same as (3) and (7) Electricity Stationary phones, Remote interaction with
phones communication, and (9) and (10); computers, and computing and
knowledge sharing, intelligent user digital cameras communication
collaboration interface and equipment
interaction controls;
machine learning
12. Remote meeting Telework, Same as (11) Electricity Face-to-face Remote access and
platforms tele-learning and meetings collaborative automation
teaching,
telemedicine

Cybernetics: The scientific study of control and commu- on applying technology to replicate or imitate biological
nication in organisms, organic processes, and mechanical control systems, often called today bioinspired, nature-
and electronic systems. It evolves from kibernetes, in inspired, or system biology. Cybernetics, a book by Norbert
Greek, meaning pilot, or captain, or governor, and focuses Wiener, who is attributed with coining this word, appeared
8 S. Y. Nof

Automation

Examples: 1. a) Just computers;

b) Automatic devices but no
robots
• Decision-support systems (a)
• Enterprise planning (a)
3. Robotics
• Water and power supply (b)
• Factory robots • Office automation (a+b)
• Soccer robot team • Aviation administration (a+b)
• Medical nanorobots • Ship automation (a+b)
• Smart building (a+b)

2. Automation including robotics

• Safety protection automation able to

activate fire-fighting robots when needed
• Spaceship with robot arm

Automation

1. Automation without robots/robotics

2. Automation also applying robotics

3. Robotics

Fig. 1.2 The relation between robotics and automation: The scope of automation includes applications: (1a) with just computers; (1b) with various
automation platforms and applications, but without robots; (2) automation including also some robotics; and (3) automation with robots and robotics

in 1948 and influenced artificial intelligence research.
Cybernetics overlaps with control theory and systems
theory.
Cyber: A prefix, as in cybernetic, cyberization, cyber
physical, cyber security, or cyborg. Cyber has also assumed
a meaning as a noun, meaning a combination of computers,
communication, information systems, artificial intelligence
(including machine learning), virtual reality, and the Inter-
net. This meaning has emerged because of the increasing
importance of these integrated automation systems to society
and daily life. Recently, cyber physical systems (CPS) have
been developed as integrated automation in which cyber tools
and techniques are intertwined to collaborate and control
physical automation. Realizing the increasing role of cyber
in automation, the current automation era of automatic com-
puter control, ACC, is now termed automatic computer/cyber
control.
Artificial intelligence (AI): The ability of a machine
system to perceive anticipated or unanticipated new condi-
tions, decide what actions must be performed under these
conditions, and plan the actions accordingly. The main areas
of AI study and application are knowledge-based systems,
computer sensory systems, language processing systems, and
machine learning. AI is an important part of automation, es-
pecially to characterize what is sometimes called intelligent
automation (Sect. 4.2).
1 Automation: What It Means to Us Around the World, Definitions, Its Impact, and Outlook
It is important to note that AI is actually human in-
telligence (including biological intelligence as observed by
humans) that has been implemented on machines, mainly
through computers and communication. Its significant ad-
vantages are that it can function automatically, i.e., with-
out human intervention during its operation/function; it can
combine intelligence from many humans (cumulative and
collaborative intelligence), and improve its abilities by au-
tomatic learning and adaptation (machine learning); it can be
automatically distributed, duplicated, shared, inherited, and,
if necessary, restrained and even deleted. With the advent
of these abilities, remarkable progress has been achieved.
There is also, however, an increasing risk of running out of
control (Sect. 6), which must be considered carefully as with
harnessing any other technology.
Collaborative automation (CA): The science and tech-
nology of designing, integrating, building, and applying au-
tomation systems, devices, and technologies that collaborate
effectively. CA accomplishes this effectiveness by AI and
cyber techniques. For example: (1) Automation platforms
that support and optimize human-human collaboration, such
as online meetings, file sharing, and online learning
(2) Automation installations enabling and optimizing
machine-machine collaboration and system-system collab-
oration, such as cobots interacting as a team with assembly
lines, and sensor networks collaborating to enable IoT
(Internet of Things) and IoS (Internet of Services)
(3) Automation infrastructure enabling and optimizing
human-automation collaboration (human-in-the-loop), such
as assistive cobots helping the elderly, smartphones, and
wearables assisting humans in their health care routines
The common goal and challenge of collaborative automa-
tion is to optimize the interactions between and among hu-
mans, between and among robots and machines, and between
and among humans, robots, and machines.
Early Automation
The creative human desire to develop automation, from an-
cient times, has been to recreate natural activities, either
for enjoyment or for productivity with less human effort
and hazard. The following six imperatives have been proven
about automation:
1. Automation has always been developed by people.
2. Automation has been developed for the sake of people.
3. The benefits of automation are tremendous.
4. Often automation performs tasks that are impossible or
impractical for humans.
5. As with other technologies, care should be taken to pre-
vent abuse of automation, and to eliminate the possibilities
of unsafe automation.
6. Automation is usually inspiring further creativity of the
human mind.
9
The main evolvement of automation has followed the
development of mechanics and fluidics, civil infrastructure, 1
and machine design, and since the twentieth century, of com-
puters, communication, and cyber. Examples of ancient au-
tomation that follow the formal definition (Table 1.3) include
flying and chirping birds, sundial clocks, irrigation systems,
and windmills. They all include the four basic automation el-
ements, and have a clear autonomous process without human
intervention, although they are mostly predetermined or pre-
defined in terms of their control program and organization.
But not all these ancient examples replace previously used
human effort: Some of them would be impractical or even
impossible for humans, e.g., continuously displaying time,
or moving large quantities of water by aqueducts over large
distances. This observation is important, since, as evident
from the definition surveys (Sect. 5):
1. In defining automation, over one-third of those surveyed
associate automation with replacing humans (compared
to over one-quarter in the previous survey), implying
somber connotation that humans are losing certain ad-
vantages. Many resources erroneously define automation
as replacement of human workers by technology. But the
definition is not about replacing humans, as many au-
tomation examples involve activities people cannot practi-
cally perform, e.g., complex and fast computing, wireless
telecommunication, additive, nano- and microelectronics
manufacturing, and satellite-based positioning. The defi-
nition is about the autonomy of a system or process from
human involvement and intervention during the process
(independent of whether humans could or could not per-
form it themselves). Furthermore, automation is rarely
disengaged from people, who must maintain and improve
it (or at least replace its batteries).
2. Humans are always involved with automation, to a certain
degree, from its innovation and development, to, at certain
points, supervising, maintaining, repairing, and issuing
necessary commands, e.g., at which floor should this
elevator stop for me? Or, what planning horizon should
be considered by this decision automation function?
Describing automation, Buckingham [4] quotes Aristotle
(384–322 BC): “When looms weave by themselves human’s
slavery will end.” Indeed, the reliance on a process that
can proceed autonomously and successfully to completion,
without human participation and intervention, is an essential
characteristic of automation. But it took over 2000 years
since Aristotle’s prediction till the automatic loom was de-
veloped during the Industrial Revolution.
Industrial Revolution
Some scientists (e.g., Truxal [5]) define automation as ap-
plying machines or systems to execute tasks that involve
10
more elaborate decision-making. Certain decisions were al-
ready involved in ancient automation, e.g., where to direct
the irrigation water. More control sophistication was indeed
developed later, beginning during the Industrial Revolution
(see examples in Table 1.3).
During the Industrial Revolution, as shown in the ex-
amples, steam and later electricity became the main power
sources of automation systems and machines, and autonomy
of process and decision-making increasingly involved feed-
back control models.
Modern Automation
The term automation in its modern meaning was actually
attributed in the early 1950s to D.S. Harder, a vice president
of the Ford Motor Company, who described it as a philosophy
of manufacturing. Toward the 1950s, it became clear that
automation could be viewed as substitution by mechanical,
hydraulic, pneumatic, electric, and electronic devices for a
combination of human efforts and decisions. Critics with
humor referred to automation as substitution of human error
by mechanical error. Automation can also be viewed as the
combination of four fundamental principles: (1) mechaniza-
tion, computerization, digitalization, and cyberization; (2)
process continuity; (3) automatic control; and (4) economic,
social, and technological rationalization.
Mechanization, Computerization, Digitalization,
and Cyberization
Mechanization is defined as the application of machines
to perform work. Machines can perform various tasks, at
different levels of complexity. When mechanization is de-
signed with cognitive and decision-making functions, such
as process control and automatic control, the modern term
automation becomes appropriate. Some machines can be
rationalized by benefits of safety and convenience. Some
machines, based on their power, compactness, and speed, can
accomplish tasks that could never be performed by human
labor, no matter how much labor or how effectively the
operation could be organized and managed. With increased
availability and sophistication of power sources and of au-
tomatic control, the level of autonomy of machines and me-
chanical system created a distinction between mechanization
and the more autonomous form of mechanization, which is
automation (Sect. 4).
With the advent of digital computers, it became clear that
these “digital machines” add computational and cognitive
dimensions to automation. The terms computerization, and
more recently, digitalization and cyberization have been used
to express the different processes increasing the power of
relatively more intelligent automation.
S. Y. Nof
Process Continuity
Process continuity is already evident in some of the ancient
automation examples, and more so in the Industrial Revolu-
tion examples (Tables 1.2 and 1.3). For instance, windmills
could provide relatively uninterrupted cycles of grain milling.
The idea of continuity is to increase productivity, the useful
output per labor-hour, and increase resilience, the ability to
continue productively and responsively despite disruptions.
Early in the twentieth century, with the advent of mass
production, it became possible to better organize workflow.
Organization of production flow and assembly lines, and
automatic or semiautomatic transfer lines increased produc-
tivity beyond mere mechanization. The emerging automobile
industry in Europe and the USA in the early 1900s utilized the
concept of moving work continuously, automatically or semi
automatically, to specialized machines and workstations. In-
teresting problems that emerged with flow automation in-
cluded balancing the work allocation and regulating the flow.
More recently, with intelligent automation, optimized oper-
ations have increasingly enabled and improved process con-
tinuity with effectiveness and longer-term resilience. These
continuity abilities by human-automation systems have been
vital during the recent pandemics, both in terms of supplies
continuity, and vaccines and therapies developments and
distribution.
Automatic Control
A key mechanism of automatic control is feedback, which
is the regulation of a process according to its own output,
so that the output meets the conditions of a predetermined,
set objective. An example is the windmill that can adjust
the orientation of its blades by feedback informing it of the
changing direction of the current wind. Another example
is a heating system that can stop and restart its heating or
cooling process according to feedback from its thermostat.
Watt’s flyball governor (1769) applied feedback from the
position of the rotating balls as a function of their rotating
speed to automatically regulate the speed of the steam engine.
Charles Babbage’s analytical engine for calculations applied
the feedback principle in 1840.
Automation Rationalization
Rationalization means a logical and systematic analysis, un-
derstanding, and evaluation of the objectives and constraints
of an automation solution. Automation is rationalized by
considering the technological and engineering aspects in the
context of economic, social, and managerial considerations,
including also: human factors and usability, organizational
issues, environmental constraints, conservation of resources
and energy, and elimination of waste.
1 Automation: What It Means to Us Around the World, Definitions, Its Impact, and Outlook 11

Soon after automation enabled mass production in facto-
ries of the early twentieth century and workers feared for
the future of their jobs, the US Congress held hearings in
which experts explained what automation means to them
(Table 1.5). From our vantage point several generations later,
it is interesting to read these definitions, while we already
know about automation discoveries yet unknown at that time,
e.g., mobile computers, robots, smart phones and personal
digital assistants, the Internet, drones, and more.
A relevant question is: Why automate? Several prominent
motivations are the following, as has also been indicated by
the worldwide automation survey participants (Sect. 3.5):
1. Feasibility: Humans cannot handle certain operations and
processes, either because of their scale, e.g., micro- and
nanoparticles are too small, the amount of data is too
vast, or the process happens too fast, for instance, missile
guidance; microelectronics design, manufacturing, and
repair; and Internet search.
2. Productivity: Beyond feasibility, computers, automatic
transfer machines, and other equipment can operate at
such high speed and capacity that it would be practically
impossible without automation; for instance, controlling
consecutive, rapid chemical processes in food produc-
tion; performing medicine tests by manipulating atoms
or molecules; optimizing a digital image; and placing
millions of colored dots on a color television or computer
screen. 1
3. Safety: Automation sensors and devices can operate well
in environments that are unsafe for humans, for example,
under extreme temperatures, nuclear radiation, or in poi-
sonous gas.
4. Quality and economy: Automation can save significant
costs on jobs performed without it, including consistency,
accuracy, and quality of manufactured products and of ser-
vices, and saving labor, safety, energy, and maintenance
costs.
5. Importance to individuals, to organizations, and to
society: Beyond the above motivations, service- and
knowledge-based automation reduces the need for
middle managers and middle agents, thus reducing or
eliminating the agency costs and removing layers of
bureaucracy, for instance, Internet-based travel services
and financial services, and direct communication between
manufacturing managers and line operators, or cell robots.
Remote supervision, telepresence, and telecollaboration
change the nature, sophistication, skills and training
requirements, and responsibility of workers and their
managers. As automation gains cyber intelligence and
competencies, it takes over some employment skills
and opens up new types of work, skills, and service
requirements, and new business opportunities.

Table 1.5 Definitions of automation in the 1950s. (After [3])

Source Definition of automation
1. John Diebold, President, John It is a means of organizing or controlling production processes to achieve optimum use of all
Diebold & Associates, Inc. production resources – mechanical, material, and human. Automation means optimization of
our business and industrial activities.
2. Marshall G. Nuance, VP, York Automation is a new word, and to many people it has become a scare word. Yet it is not
Corp. essentially different from the process of improving methods of production which has been going
on throughout human history.
3. James B. Carey, President, When I speak of automation, I am referring to the use of mechanical and electronic devices,
International Union of Electrical rather than human workers, to regulate and control the operation of machines. In that sense,
Workers automation represents something radically different from the mere extension of mechanization.
Automation is a new technology, arising from electronics and electrical engineering.
4. Joseph A. Beirne, President, We in the telephone industry have lived with mechanization and its successor automation for
Communications Workers of many years.
America
5. Robert C. Tait, Senior VP, General Automation is simply a phrase coined, I believe, by Del Harder of Ford Motor Co. in describing
Dynamics Corp. their recent supermechanization which represents an extension of technological progress
beyond what has formerly been known as mechanization.
6. Robert W. Burgess, Director, Automation is a new word for a now familiar process of expanding the types of work in which
Census, Department of Commerce machinery is used to do tasks faster, or better, or in greater quantity.
7. D.J. Davis, VP Manufacturing, The automatic handling of parts between progressive production processes. It is the result of
Ford Motor Co. better planning, improved tooling, and the application of more efficient manufacturing
methods, which take full advantage of the progress made by the machine-tool and equipment
industries.
8. Don G. Mitchell, President, Automation is a more recent term for mechanization, which has been going on since the
Sylvania Electric Products, Inc. Industrial Revolution began. Automation comes in bits and pieces. First the automation of a
simple process, and then gradually a tying together of several processes to get a group of
subassemblies complete.
12
6. Accessibility: Automation enables better accessibility to
knowledge, skills, education, and cultural engagement for
all people, including disadvantaged, limited, and disabled
people. Furthermore, automation opens up new types of
services and employment for people with limitations, e.g.,
by integration of speech and vision recognition interfaces,
and by cyber collaborative augmentation and assistive
devices of work and play.
7. Additional motivations: Additional motivations are the
competitive ability to integrate complex mechanization,
advantages of modernization, convenience, improvement
in quality of life, and improvement in resilience with
automated systems.
To be automated, a system (of humans and automation)
must follow the motivations listed above. The modern and
emerging automation examples in Table 1.4 and the au-
tomation cases in Sect. 3 illustrate these motivations, and
the mechanization, computerization, digitalization, process
continuity, and automatic control features.
Certain limits and risks of automation need also be con-
sidered. Modern, computer-controlled automation must be
programmable and conform to definable procedures, proto-
cols, routines, and boundaries. The limits also follow the
boundaries imposed by the four principles of automation: (1)
Can it be mechanized, computerized, and digitalized?; (2) Is
there continuity in the process?; (3) Can automatic control be
designed for it?; and (4) can it be rationalized? Theoretically,
all continuous processes can be automatically controlled,
but practically such automation must be rationalized first;
for instance, jet engines may be continuously advanced on
conveyors to assembly cells, but if the demand for these
engines is low, there is no justification to automate their flow.
Furthermore, all automation must be designed to operate
within safe, legal, and ethical boundaries, so it does not pose
hazards to humans and to the environment.
1.1.2 Domains of Automation
Some unique meanings of automation are associated with
the domain of automation. Several examples of well-known
domains are listed here:
• Detroit automation: Automation of transfer lines and as-
sembly lines adopted by the automotive industry [6].
• Flexible automation: Manufacturing and service automa-
tion consisting of a group of processing stations and robots
operating as an integrated system under computer control,
able to process a variety of different tasks simultaneously,
under automatic, adaptive control or learning control [6].
Also known as flexible manufacturing system (FMS),
S. Y. Nof
flexible assembly system, or robot cell, which are suitable
for medium-demand volume and medium variety of flex-
ible tasks. Its purpose is to advance from mass production
of products to more customer-oriented and customized
supply. For higher flexibility with low-demand volume,
stand-alone numerically controlled (NC) machines and
robots are preferred. For high-demand volume with low
task variability, automatic transfer lines are designed. The
opposite of flexible automation is fixed automation, such
as process-specific machine tools and transfer lines, with
relatively lower task flexibility. For mass customization
(mass production with some flexibility to respond to vari-
able customer demands), transfer lines with flexibility
can be designed (see more on automation flexibility in
Sect. 4).
• Office automation: Computer and communication ma-
chinery and software used to improve office procedures
by digitally creating, collecting, storing, manipulating,
displaying, and transmitting office information needed for
accomplishing office tasks and functions [7, 8]. Office
automation became popular in the 1970s and 1980s when
the desktop computer and the personal computer emerged.
Later, it expanded as part of business and enterprise au-
tomation.
Other examples of well-known domains of automation
have been factory automation (e.g., [9]), health care automa-
tion (e.g., [10]), workflow automation (e.g., [11, 12]), and
service automation (e.g., [13]). More domain examples are
illustrated in Table 1.6.
Throughout these different domains, automation has been
applied for various organization functions. Five hierarchical
layers of automation are shown in the automation pyramid
(Fig. 1.3), which is a common depiction of how to organize
automation implementation.
1.2 Brief History of Automation
Automation has evolved, as described in Table 1.7, along
three automation generations. (In the current third gener-
ation, events are organized by their approximate time of
widespread application.)
1.2.1 First Generation: Before Automatic
Control (BAC)
Early automation is characterized by elements of process
autonomy and basic decision-making autonomy, but without
feedback, or with minimal feedback. The period is generally
from prehistory till the fifteenth century. Some examples of
1 Automation: What It Means to Us Around the World, Definitions, Its Impact, and Outlook 13

Table 1.6 Examples of automation domains (Each example is shown as a pair of a domain, and under it, an example illustrating it.)
Accounting Agriculture Banking Chemical process Communication Construction Design Education 1
Billing software Harvester ATM Refinery Print press Truck CAD Television
(automatic (computer-
teller aided
machine) design)
Energy Engineering Factory Government Health care Home Hospital Hospitality
Power windmill Simulation AMR Government Web Biosensor Oven Drug delivery CRM
(autonomous portals (customer
mobile relations
robot) management)
Leisure Library Logistics Management Manufacturing Maritime Military Office
Movie E-books RFID (radio Financial analysis 3D printer Navigation Intelligence Copying
frequency software satellite machine
identifica-
tion)
Post Retail Safety Security Service Space Sports Transportation
Mail sorter E-commerce Fire alarm Motion detector Vending machine Exploratory Treadmill Traffic light
satellite

ts n
clie
MEN s–
lier
Multienterprise
p
sup
network level
s– nt
age

Communication layer
–
ors
vis

ERP
s

er
ice

sup

Enterprise resource planning level

erv

rs –
ns

ato
atio

Communication layer
er
tom

Op
Au

MES
:
nts
ipa

Management/manufacturing execution system level

tic
par

Communication layer
n
atio
om

Control level
ut
na

Machine and computer controllers

ma
Hu

Communication layer

Device level
Sensors, actuators, tools, machines, installations, infrastructure systems

Power source

Fig. 1.3 The automation pyramid: organizational layers

basic automatic control can be found earlier than the fif- also be found later, whenever automation solutions without
teenth century, at least in conceptual design or mathematical automatic control could be rationalized.
definition. Automation examples of the first generation can
14 S. Y. Nof

Table 1.7 Brief history of automation events

Period Automation inventions and innovations (examples) Automation generation
Prehistory Sterilization of food and water, cooking, ships and boats, irrigation, wheel and axle, First generation: before
flush toilet, alphabet, and metal processing automatic control (BAC)
Ancient history Optics, maps, water clock, water wheel, water mill, kite, clockwork, and catapult
First millennium Central heating, compass, woodblock printing, pen, glass and pottery factories,
AD distillation, water purification, wind-powered gristmills, feedback control, automatic
control, automatic musical instruments, self-feeding and self-trimming oil lamps,
chemotherapy, diversion dam, water turbine, mechanical moving dolls and singing
birds, navigational instruments, and sundial
Eleventh – Pendulum, camera, flywheel, printing press, rocket, clock automation, flow-control
Fifteenth century regulator, reciprocating piston engine, humanoid robot, programmable robot, automatic
gate, water supply system, calibration, and metal casting
Sixteenth century Pocket watch, Pascal calculator, machine gun, and corn grinding machine Second generation: automatic
control before computer
control (ABC)
Seventeenth century Automatic calculator, pendulum clock, steam car, and pressure cooker
Eighteenth century Typewriter, steam piston engine, Industrial Revolution early automation, steamboat,
hot-air balloon, and automatic flour mill
Nineteenth century Automatic loom, electric motor, passenger elevator, escalator, photography, electric
telegraph, telephone, incandescent light, radio, X-ray machine, combine harvester,
lead–acid battery, fire sprinkler system, player piano, electric street car, electric fan,
automobile, motorcycle, dishwasher, ballpoint pen, automatic telephone exchange,
sprinkler system, traffic lights, and electric bread toaster
Early twentieth Airplane, automatic manufacturing transfer line, conveyor belt-based assembly line,
century analog computer, air conditioning, television, movie, radar, copying machine, cruise
missile, jet engine aircraft, helicopter, washing machine, parachute, and flip-flop circuit
1940s Digital computer, assembler programming language, transistor, nuclear reactor, Third generation: automatic
microwave oven, atomic clock, barcode, and computer simulation computer/cyber control (ACC)
1950s Mass-produced digital computer, computer operating system, FORTRAN programming
language, automatic sliding door, floppy disk, hard drive, power steering, optical fiber,
communication satellite, computerized banking, integrated circuit, artificial satellite,
medical ultrasonics, and implantable pacemaker
1960s Laser, optical disk, microprocessor, industrial robot, automatic teller machine (ATM),
computer mouse, computer-aided design, computer-aided manufacturing, random
access memory, video game console, barcode scanner, radiofrequency identification
tags (RFID), permanent press fabric, and wide area packet switching network
1970s Food processor, word processor, Ethernet, laser printer, database management,
computer-integrated manufacturing, mobile phone, personal computer, space station,
digital camera, magnetic resonance imaging, computerized tomography (CT), email,
spreadsheet, and cellular phone
1980s Compact disk, scanning tunneling microscope, artificial heart, deoxyribonucleic acid
DNA fingerprinting, Internet transmission control protocol/Internet protocol TCP/IP,
camcorder, cybersecurity, and computer-supported collaborative work
1990s World- Wide Web, global positioning system, digital answering machine, smart pills,
service robots, Java computer language, wWeb search, Mars Pathfinder, and wWeb TV
2000s Artificial liver, Segway personal transporter, robotic vacuum cleaner, self-cleaning
windows, iPod, softness-adjusting shoe, drug delivery by ultrasound, Mars Lander,
disk-on-key, and social robots
2010s Voice assistant, reusable space rockets, iPad, self-driving car, home LED light bulbs,
gene editing, solar powerwall battery backup, IBM Watson supercomputer, wearable
technology, 4G network launch, Uber, virtual reality headset, consumer drones, movie
streaming, cryptocurrencies, image recognition, online social media, precision
medicine, and cloud computing and storage
2020s (Emerging) 5G wireless standard, edge computing, autonomous electric vehicles,
shared autonomous transportation, AI-based health care and telemedicine, AI-based
assistants (“avatars”), global IoT/IoS, quantum computers, quantum cyber, and
quantum Internet
1 Automation: What It Means to Us Around the World, Definitions, Its Impact, and Outlook 15

Table 1.8 Automation generations

Generation Typical Example 1
BAC Waterwheel
before automatic control; prehistoric, ancient
ABC Hydraulic automation Automobile
automatic control before computer control, sixteenth Pneumatic automation Hydraulic elevator
century to 1940 Electrical automation Door open/shut
Electric telegraph
ACC Electronic automation Microprocessor
automatic computer/cyber control, 1940 to present Micro automation Digital camera
Nano automation Nanomemory
Mobile automation Cell phone
Remote automation Global positioning system (GPS)
Assistive automation Home automation
Collaborative automation Wearables

1.2.2 Second Generation: Automatic Control
Before Computer Control (ABC)
Automation with advantages of automatic control, but before
the introduction and implementation of digital computers,
belongs to this generation. Automatic control emerging dur-
ing this generation offered better stability and reliability,
more complex decision-making, and in general better control
and automation quality. The period is between the fifteenth
century and the 1940s. It would be generally difficult to ra-
tionalize in the future any automation with automatic control
and without computers; therefore, future examples of this
generation will be rare.
1.2.3 Third Generation: Automatic
Computer/Cyber Control (ACC)
differentiate short-term, current innovations and distinguish
them from other recent, yet older innovations.
For Industry 4.0, what is the meaning? Some scientists
differentiate four clear industrial generations: 1.0 fire; 2.0
agriculture; 3.0 electricity; 4.0 scientific methods. Others
claim: 1.0 steam engines; 2.0 electricity; 3.0 computers; 4.0
wireless Internet; 5.0 AI, cyber.
Similarly, for automation scientists, we differentiate: 1.0
Computerized; 2.0 Computer integrated; 3.0 Internetworked
and mobile; 4.0 Cloud-based and machine learning; 5.0
Cyber-physical and cybernetic.
These multitude of ideas and perspectives, often being
revised to include the next innovation, reflect the rapid ad-
vancements over a relatively short period. Only future human
generations will be able to reflect back on the long-term
generational implications.

The progress of computers and communication, and more re-
cently cyber systems and networks has significantly impacted
the sophistication of automatic control and its effectiveness.
This generation began in the 1940s and continues today.
Further refinement of this generation, based on the significant
innovations in automation solutions and applications, can be
found in Sect. 4, discussing the levels of automation.
See also Table 1.8 for examples discovered or imple-
mented during the three automation generations.
1.2.4 Perspectives of Automation
Generations
1.3 Automation Cases
Twelve automation cases are illustrated in this section to
demonstrate the meaning and scope of automation in differ-
ent domains.
These 12 cases cover a variety of automation domains.
They also demonstrate different levels of intelligence pro-
grammed into the automation application, different degrees
of automation, and various types of automation flexibility.
The meaning of these automation characteristics is explained
in the next section.

The three main generations of automation defined above re-

flect a clear, historical perspective of the long-term evolution
of automation by our human civilization. Readers may ask: 1.4 Flexibility, Degrees, and Levels
“Then, what is being meant by the terms Automation 4.0, of Automation
Automation 5.0? and the related terms Industry 4.0, Industry
5.0?” These terms reflect current, on-going attempts by busi- Increasingly, solutions of society’s problems cannot be sat-
ness professionals and researchers (including this author) to isfied by, and therefore cannot mean the automation of just a
16
a)
Fig. 1.4 (a) Steam turbine generator. (b) Governor block diagram
(PLC: programmable logic controller; T&T: trip and throttle). A turbine
generator designed for on-site power and distributed energy ranging
from 0.5 to 100 MW. Turbine generator sets produce power for pulp and
Case 1 Steam Turbine Governor (Fig. 1.4)
Source Courtesy of Dresser-Rand Co., Houston
(http://www.dresser-rand.com/)
Process Operates a steam turbine used to drive a
compressor or generator
Platform Device, integrated as a system with
programmable logic controller (PLC)
Autonomy Semiautomatic and automatic
activation/deactivation and control of
the turbine speed; critical speed-range
avoidance; remote, auxiliary, and
cascade speed control; loss of generator
and loss of utility detection; hot standby
ability; single and dual actuator control;
programmable governor parameters via
operator’s screen and interface; and
mobile computer. A manual mode is
also available: The operator places the
system in run mode which opens the
governor valve to the full position, then
manually opens the T&T valve to idle
speed, to warm up the unit. After
warm-up, the operator manually opens
the T&T valve to full position, and as
the turbine’s speed approaches the rated
(desirable) speed, the governor takes
control with the governor valve. In
semiautomatic and automatic modes,
once the operator places the system in
run mode, the governor takes over
control
Collaborative automation Governors can collaborate with
preventive maintenance systems, and
with self-repair devices in case of
disruptions
S. Y. Nof
b) PLC
Process & machinery
Inputs and outputs
Operator
interface Steam turbine
Speed
Final
driver
Governor valve
Actuator
T&T valve
paper mills, sugar, hydrocarbon, petrochemical and process industries,
palm oil, ethanol, waste-to-energy, other biomass burning facilities, and
other installations. (With permission from Dresser-Rand)
single, repeated process. By automating the networking and
integration of devices and systems, they are able to perform
different and variable tasks. Increasingly, this ability also
requires cooperation (sharing of information and resources)
and collaboration (sharing in the execution, interactions, and
responses) with other devices and systems. Cyber collabo-
rative automation is rapidly emerging with higher levels of
learning-based, predictive, and feedforward control, enabling
better quality, responsiveness, resilience, and agility by au-
tomation. Thus, devices and systems have to be designed with
inherent flexibility, which is motivated by the application and
clients’ requirements. With growing demand for service and
product variety and individualization, there is also an increase
in the expectations by users and customers for greater re-
liability, responsiveness, and smooth interoperability. Thus,
the meaning of automation also involves the aspects of its
flexibility, degree, and levels.
To enable design for flexibility, certain standards and mea-
sures have been and will continue to be established. Automa-
tion flexibility, often overlapping with the level of automation
intelligence, depends on two main considerations:
1. The number of different states that can be assumed auto-
matically;
2. The length of time and amount of effort (setup or transition
process) necessary to respond and execute a change of
state (sometimes called response time).
1 Automation: What It Means to Us Around the World, Definitions, Its Impact, and Outlook 17

Case 3 Telephone (Fig. 1.6)

Source
Process
Platform
Autonomy
Collaborative Communication is an essential component of
automation
Fig. 1.5 Bioreactor system configured for microbial or cell culture
applications. Optimization studies and screening and testing of strains
and cell lines are of high importance in industry and research and
development (R&D) institutes. Large numbers of tests are required and
they must be performed in as short a time as possible. Tests should
be performed so that results can be validated and used for further
process development and production. (With permission from Applikon
Biotechnology)
Photos taken by the author of his past telephones 1
Automated transmission of information over
distance, telecommunication. In recent years,
cellphones and smartphones automate also the
integration of photography, navigation, and an
increasing number of other applications (“apps”)
A hardware-software system, increasingly a mobile
computer platform
As a human-operated automation device, the
telephone’s autonomy is limited to programmable
commands, such as alarms, timers, signal, location,
search, and updates
automated collaboration, and a telephone is a device
that enables it. While automatically interacting with
the Internet, including IoT and IoS, it enables and
automates humans’ collaboration, and
human-machine collaboration

Case 2 Bioreactor (Fig. 1.5)

Source Courtesy ofApplikon Biotechnology Co., Schiedam
(http://www.pharmaceutical-technology.com/
contractors/automation/applikon-technology/)
Process Microbial or cell culture applications that can be
validated, conforming with standards for equipment
used in life science and food industries, such as good
automated manufacturing practice (GAMP)
Platform System or installation, including microreactors,
single-use reactors, autoclavable glass bioreactors,
and stainless steel bioreactors
Autonomy Bioreactor functions with complete measurement
and control strategies and supervisory control and
data acquisition (SCADA), including sensors and a
cell retention device
Collaborative Bioreactors collaborate with sensor networks to
automation adjust and optimize their processing protocols

Fig. 1.7 (a) The historic Waterloo Boy tractor, celebrating its 100th
anniversary in 2021, with the author in Waterloo, Iowa. (b) Autonomous
tractor, with RTK-GPS, real-time kinematic positioning unit (on top) for
precision farming in Israel, Autumn 2021
Fig. 1.6 Telephone: (a) Landline telephone. (b) Cellphone
18 S. Y. Nof

Case 4 Tractor (Fig. 1.7)

Source With permission: Fig. 1.7a – John Deer Tractor &
Engine Museum at Waterloo, Iowa; photo credit:
N.C. Nof. Fig. 1.7b Prof. H. Eizenberg, Newe Ya’ar
Research Center, Volcani Institute, Israel
Process Tractors are designed to deliver mobility and high
power for integrated tools in agriculture,
construction, and transportation processes, such as
land clearing, soil cultivating, crop treatment and
harvesting, livestock care, heavy load moving, and
others.
A classic example of how automation is first
designed to replace workers’ effort, and later to
enable unforeseen benefits, tractors were originally
designed to replace human and animal farm work.
Increasingly, integrated with additional automation
functions and tools, they have added and enable
processes of construction, transportation, forestry,
and precision farming.
Platform A vehicle platform with high power engine, designed
to engage tools. Modern tractors integrate
automation systems for safety, comfort, and
intelligent control.
Autonomy Self-driving tractors can operate independently,
control their steering, navigation, acceleration, and
braking, and can activate and deactivate engaged
tools according to programs and sensor-based
commands.
Collaborative Tractors are engaged in all forms of collaborative
automation automation: Farmer-tractor-tools; tractor
collaboration with other vehicles, or tool exchangers;
tractor-tractor in-field collaboration for tool and
information sharing, scheduling, and exchange; and
remote knowledge-based monitoring of tractor’s
engines for reliability and engine health
maintenance.

Case 5 Digital Photo Processing (Fig. 1.8)

Source Adobe Systems Incorporated San Jose, California
(http://adobe.com)
Process Editing, enhancing, adding graphic features,
removing stains, improving resolution, cropping and
sizing, and other functions to process photo images
Platform Software system
Autonomy The software functions are fully automatic once
activated by a user. The software can execute them
semiautomatically under user control, or action
series can be automated too Fig. 1.8 Adobe Photoshop functions for digital image editing and
Collaborative Human-automation collaboration is enabled processing: (a) automating functional actions, such as shadow, frame,
automation reflection, and other visual effects; (b) selecting brush and palette
for graphic effects; and (c) setting color and saturation values. (With
permission from Adobe Systems Inc., 2008)

The number of different possible states and the cost of

changes required are linked with two interrelated measures
of flexibility: application flexibility and adaptation flexibility
(Fig. 1.16). Both measures are concerned with the possible
situations of the system and its environment. Automation
solutions may address only switching between undisturbed,
standard operations and nominal, variable situations, or can
also aspire to respond when operations encounter disruptions
and transitions, such as errors and conflicts, or significant
design changes.
Application flexibility measures the number of different
work states, scenarios, and conditions a system can handle. It
can be defined as the probability that an arbitrary task, out of
a given class of such tasks, can be carried out automatically.
1 Automation: What It Means to Us Around the World, Definitions, Its Impact, and Outlook
Fig. 1.9 A robotic painting line: (a) the facility; (b) programmer using
interface to plan offline or online, experiment, optimize, and verify
control programs for the line; and (c) robotic painting facility design
simulator. (With permission from ABB)
19
Case 6 Robotic Painting (Fig. 1.9)
Source Courtesy of ABB Co., Zürich http://www.ABB.com 1
Process Automatic painting under automatic control of car
body movement, door opening and closing,
paint-pump functions, fast robot motions to optimize
finish quality, and minimize paint waste
Platform Automatic tools, machines, and robots, including
sensors, conveyors, spray painting equipment, and
integration with planning and programming software
systems
Autonomy Flexibility of motions; collision avoidance;
coordination of conveyor moves, robots’ motions,
and paint pump operations; and programmability of
process and line operations
Collaborative Robots collaborate in real time with other robots and
automation material handling equipment to adjust their own
operation speed
A relative comparison between the application flexibility of
alternative designs is relevant mostly for the same domain
of automation solutions. For instance, in Fig. 1.16 it is the
domain of machining.
Adaptation flexibility is a measure of the time duration
and the cost incurred for an automation device or system to
transition from one given work state to another. Adaptation
flexibility can also be measured only relatively, by comparing
one automation device or system with another, and only for
one defined change of state at a time. The change of state
involves being in one possible state prior to the transition,
and one possible state after it.
A relative estimate of the two flexibility measures (dimen-
sions) for several implementations of machine tools automa-
tion is illustrated in Fig. 1.16. For generality, both measures
are calibrated between 0 and 1.
1.4.1 Degree of Automation
Another dimension of automation, besides measures of its
inherent flexibility, is the degree of automation. Automa-
tion can mean fully automatic or semiautomatic devices
and systems, as exemplified in case 1 (Sect. 3), with the
steam turbine speed governor, and in case 7 (Sect. 3), with
a mix of robots and operators in elevator production. When a
device or system is not fully automatic, meaning that some,
or more frequent human intervention is required, they are
considered automated, or semiautomatic, equivalent terms
implying partial automation.
A measure of the degree of automation, between fully
manual to fully automatic, has been used to guide the design
rationalization and compare between alternative solutions.
Progression in the degree of automation in machining is
illustrated in Fig. 1.16. The increase of automated partial
20 S. Y. Nof

Fig. 1.10 Pharmaceutical pad-stick automatic assembly cell

Case 7 Assembly Automation (Fig. 1.10) matic, the degree of automation is less than 1. Practically,
Source Courtesy ofAdapt Automation Inc., Santa Ana, there are several methods to determine the degree of automa-
California tion. The derived value requires a description of the method
http://www.adaptautomation.com/Medical.html assumptions and steps. Typically, the degree of automation is
Process Hopper and two bowl feeders feed specimen sticks associated with characteristics of:
through a track to where they are picked and placed,
two up, into a double nest on a 12-position indexed
dial plate. Specimen pads are fed and placed on the 1. Platform (device, system, etc.)
sticks. Pads are fully seated and inspected. Rejected 2. Group of platforms
and good parts are separated into their respective 3. Location, site
chutes
4. Plant, facility
Platform System of automatic tools, machines, and robots
5. Process and its scope
Autonomy Automatic control through a solid-state
programmable controller which operates the 6. Process measures, e.g., operation cycle
sequence of device operations with a control panel. 7. Automatic control
Control programs include main power, emergency 8. Power source
stop, manual, automatic, and individual operations
9. Economic aspects
controls
10. Environmental effects
Collaborative Interactive interfaces enable reprogramming
automation
In determining the degree of automation of a given appli-
cation, whether the following functions are also supposed to
functions is evident when comparing the drilling machine be considered must also be specified:
with the more flexible machines that can also drill and,
in addition, are able to perform other processes such as 1. Setup
milling. 2. Organization, reorganization
The degree of automation can be defined as the fraction 3. Control and communication
of automated functions out of the overall functions of an 4. Handling (of parts, components, etc.)
installation or system. It is calculated as the ratio between 5. Maintenance and repair
the number of automated operations and the total number of 6. Operation and process planning
operations that need to be performed, resulting in a value 7. Construction
between 0 and 1. Thus, for a device or system with partial 8. Administration
automation, where not all operations or functions are auto-
1 Automation: What It Means to Us Around the World, Definitions, Its Impact, and Outlook 21

(1) CAD 1
(2) DNC, bidirectional link from
Receiving control computer
department

Monorail 200 ton

PressBreak
Controller
Controller
Laser
Incoming Sheet metal Cart
queue crane
for
Laser O2 N2 Outgoing Pallet for incoming Pallet for outgoing
laser Laser queue
processing operator* for returns returns
operator* PressBreak
#1 laser
#2 operator #2
PressBreak Cart
(3) MIS and CIM (accounts payable and shipping data) operator #1
bidirectional link through computer to intranet

Microcomputer
Pallet for incoming
returns

Barcode
wand Engraver Controller
Cart
Forklift
Sanding station Buffing/grinding station
Pallet for incoming Pallet for outgoing
Downstream Pallet for outgoing returns returns returns Master
Sanding operator* Master buffer* engraver*
department
* Operator can be human and/or robot

Fig. 1.11 Elevator swing return computer-integrated production sys- (DNC) of work cell machine and manufacturing activities; and (3)
tem: Three levels of automation systems are integrated, including (1) link to management information system (MIS) and computer-integrated
link to computer-aided design (CAD) for individual customer elevator manufacturing system (CIM) for accounting and shipping management.
specifications and customized finish; (2) link to direct numerical control (Source: [14])

Case 8 Computer-Integrated Elevator Production (Fig. 1.11)
Source [14]
Process Fabrication, and production execution and
management
Platform Automatic tools, machines, and robots, integrated
with system-of-systems, comprising a
production/manufacturing installation, with
automated material handling equipment, fabrication
and finishing machines and processes, and software
and communication systems for production planning
and control, robotic manipulators, and cranes.
Human operators and supervisors are also included
Autonomy Automatic control, including knowledge-based
control of laser, press, buffing, and sanding
machines/cells; automated control of material
handling and material flow, and of management
information flow
Collaborative Automation systems, including CAD, DNC, MIS,
automation and CIM, interact through cyber collaborative
protocols to coordinate and optimize concurrent
design, concurrent engineering, and workflow
automation
For example, suppose we consider the automation of
digital document workflow system (case 10, Sect. 3) which
is limited to only the scanning process, thus omitting other
workflow functions such as document feeding, joining, vir-
tual inspection, and failure recovery. Then if the scanning is
automatic, the degree of automation would be 1. However,
if the other functions are also considered and they are not
automatic, then the value would be less than 1.
Methods to determine the degree of automation divide into
two categories:
• Relative determination applying a graded scale, contain-
ing all the functions of a defined domain process, relative
to a defined system and the corresponding degrees of
automation. For any given device or system in this domain,
the degree of automation is found through comparison
with the graded scale. This procedure is similar to other
graded scales, e.g., Mohs’ hardness scale and Beaufort
wind speed scale. This method is illustrated in Fig. 1.17,
22 S. Y. Nof

which shows an example of the graded scale of mecha-
nization and automation, following the scale developed by
Bright [17].
• Relative determination by a ratio between the autonomous
and nonautonomous measures of reference. The most
common measure of reference is the number of decisions
made during the process under consideration (Table 1.9).
Other useful measures of reference for this determination
are the comparative ratios of:
– Rate of service quality
– Human labor
– Time measures of effort
– Cycle time
– Number of mobility and motion functions
– Program steps
To illustrate the method in reference to decisions
made during the process, consider an example for case 2
(Sect. 3). Suppose in the bioreactor system process there is
a total of seven decisions made automatically by the devices
and five made by a human laboratory supervisor. Because
these decisions are not similar, the degree of automation
cannot be calculated simply as the ratio 7/(7 + 5) ≈ 0.58.
The decisions must be weighted by their complexity, which
is usually assessed by the number of control program
commands or steps (Table 1.9). Hence, the degree of
automation can be calculated as:

a)

b)

Fig. 1.12 (a) Municipal water treatment system in compliance with the Safe Drinking Water Federal Act. (courtesy of City of Kewanee, IL;
Engineered Fluid, Inc.; and Rockwell Automation Co.). (b) Wastewater treatment and disposal. (Courtesy of Rockwell Automation Co)
1 Automation: What It Means to Us Around the World, Definitions, Its Impact, and Outlook
Case 9 Water Treatment (Fig. 1.12)
Source Rockwell Automation Co., Cleveland
(www.rockwellautomation.com)
Process Water treatment by reverse osmosis filtering system,
and water treatment and disposal. When preparing to
filter impurities from the city water, the controllers
activate the pumps, which in turn flush wells to clean
water sufficiently before it flows through the
filtering equipment or activating complete system for
removal of grit, sediments, and disposal of sludge to
clean water supply (Fig. 1.12)
Platform Installation including water treatment plant with a
network of pumping stations, integrated with
programmable and supervisory control and data
acquisition (SCADA) control, remote
communication software system, and human
supervisory interfaces
Autonomy Monitoring and tracking the entire water treatment
and purification system
Collaborative Human-automation interaction and automated
automation supervisory control protocols enable error
prevention, recovery, and dynamic activation of
backup resources, to assure the quality of treated
water
degreeof automation  • I can’t imagine my life without a smartphone.
sum of decision steps made
automatically by devices
= meet you up there!
(total sum of decision steps made)
= 82/ (82 + 178) ≈ 0.32.
Now designers can compare this automation design
against relatively more and less elaborate options. Ratio-
nalization will have to assess the costs, benefits, risks, and
acceptability of the degree of automation for each alternative
design.
Whenever the degree of automation is determined by a
method, the following conditions must be followed:
1. The method is able to reproduce the same procedure
consistently.
2. Comparison is only done between objective measures.
3. Degree values should be calibrated between 0 and 1 to
simplify calculations and relative comparisons.
1.4.2 Levels of Automation, Intelligence,
and Human Variability
There is obviously an inherent relation between the level
of automation flexibility, the degree of automation, and the
level of intelligence of a given automation application. While
there are no absolute measures of any of them, their meaning
is useful and intriguing to inventors, designers, users, and
clients of automation. Levels of automation are shown in
Table 1.10 based on the intelligent human ability they rep-
resent or replicate.
23
It is interesting to note that the progression in our ability
to develop and implement higher levels of automation fol- 1
lows the progress in our understanding of relatively more
complex platforms; more elaborate control, communication,
cyber, and solutions of computational complexity; process
and operation programmability; and our ability to generate
renewable, sustainable, and mobile power sources.
1.5 Worldwide Surveys: What Does
Automation Mean to People?
With known human variability, we are all concerned about
automation, enjoy its benefits, and wonder about its risks. But
all individuals do not share the same attitude toward automa-
tion equally, and it does not mean the same to everyone. We
often hear people say:
• I’ll have to ask my granddaughter to program the video
recorder.
• I hate my cellphone.
• Blame those dumb computers.
• Sorry, I do not use elevators, I’ll climb the six floors and
etc.
In an effort to explore the meaning of automation to
people around the world, a random, nonscientific survey was
conducted during 2020–2021 by the author and his team, with
the help of the following colleagues who coordinated surveys
in the respective countries: Carlos E. Pereira, Jose Reinaldo
Silva (Brazil), Jose A. Ceroni (Chile), George Adamides
(Cyprus), Ruth Bars (Hungary), Praditya Ajidarma (Indone-
sia), Sigal Berman, Nir Shvalb (Israel), Funaki Kenichi,
Masayuki Matsui, Ryosuke Nakajima, Katsuhiko Takahashi,
Kinya Tamaki, and Tetsuo Yamada (Japan), Rashed Rabata
(Jordan, UAE, and USA), Jeong Wootae (Korea), Arturo
Molina (Mexico), Anthony S.F. Chiu (Philippines), Ana-
Maria Suduc, Florin G. Filip (Romania), Chin-Yin Huang
(Taiwan), Oak Puwadol Dusadeerungsikul (Thailand), Xin
W. Chen, and Seokcheon Lee (USA). Since the majority
of the survey participants are students, undergraduate, and
graduate, and since they migrate globally, the respondents
actually originate from all continents. In other words,
while it is not a scientific survey, it carries a worldwide
meaning.
In the current survey, we invited a wider range of re-
spondents from more countries, compared with the original
edition’s survey. The new survey population includes 506
respondents from three general regions: Americas; Asia and
Pacific; Europe and Middle East; and two respondents’ cate-
gories:
24 S. Y. Nof

a) The chaotic workflow The freeflow workflow

Multiple steps and software One streamlined solution

Pre- Mono digital

flight Edit Join
Save Notify
Convert Impose

Pre- Color digital

flight Edit Join
Save Notify Prepress Manage
Color Convert Impose
manage

Pre- Offset
flight Edit Join
Save Notify
Color Convert Impose
manage

b)

Fig. 1.13 Document imaging and color printing workflow: (a) streamlined workflow by FreeFlow. (b) Detail shows document scanner workstation
with automatic document feeder and image processing. (Courtesy of Xerox Co., Norwalk)

Case 10 Digital Document Workflow (Fig. 1.13)
Source Xerox Co., Norwalk (http://www.xerox.com)
Process On-demand customized processing, production, and
delivery of print, email, and customized websites
Platform Network of devices, machines, robots, and software
systems integrated within a system-of-systems with
media technologies
Autonomy Integration of automatic workflow of document
image capture, processing, enhancing, preparing,
producing, and distributing
Collaborative Automatically provide guidance for human repair
automation person to overcome problems and prevent failures in
the operation
1. Undergraduate and graduate students of engineering, sci-
ence, management, and medical sciences (S = 395)
2. Nonstudents, professionals in automation (P = 111)
Five questions were posed in this survey:
• How do you define automation (do not use a dictionary)?
• When and where did you encounter and recognize au-
tomation first in your life (probably as a child)?
• What do you think is the major benefit of automation to
humankind (only one)?
• What do you think is the major risk of automation to
humankind?
• Give your best example of automation
1 Automation: What It Means to Us Around the World, Definitions, Its Impact, and Outlook 25

a)
FRM
1
Finance
resource
management

MRP SCM
Manufacturing Supply
resource chain
planning management
ERP
system

CRM HRM
Customer Human
relationship resource
management management

b)

Welding robot automation

Hybrid welding automation Sensing measurement automation

Manufacturing
automation

Grinding, deburring automation Process monitoring automation

Welding line automation

Fig. 1.14 Automation and control systems in shipbuilding: (a) produc-
tion management through enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems.
Manufacturing automation in shipbuilding examples: (b) overview;
(c) automatic panel welding robots system; (d) sensor application in
membrane tank fabrication; (e) propeller grinding process by robotic
automation. Automatic ship operation systems examples: (f) overview;
(g) alarm and monitoring system; (h) integrated bridge system; (i) power
management system; and (j) engine monitoring system. (Source: [15])
(with permission from Hyundai Heavy Industries)
26 S. Y. Nof

c) d)

e) g)

f)

Integrated bridge system

Engine monitoring system

Power management system
Alarm and monitoring system

Fig. 1.14 (continued)

1 Automation: What It Means to Us Around the World, Definitions, Its Impact, and Outlook 27

h) 1

i)

j)

Fig. 1.14 (continued)

28
Case 11 Shipbuilding Automation (Fig. 1.14)
Source [15]; Korea Shipbuilders Association, Seoul (http://
www.koshipa.or.kr); Hyundai Heavy Industries, Co.,
Ltd., Ulsan (http://www.hhi.co.kr)
Process Shipbuilding manufacturing process control and
automation; shipbuilding production, logistics, and
service management; and ship operations
management
Platform Devices, tools, machines, and multiple robots;
system-of-software systems; and system-of-systems
Autonomy Automatic control of manufacturing processes and
quality assurance; automatic monitoring, planning,
and decision support software systems; integrated
control and collaborative control for ship operations
and bridge control of critical automatic functions of
engine, power supply systems, and alarm systems
Collaborative Automation systems collaborate at: the enterprise
automation resource planning level to automatically prevent
errors and recover from schedule conflicts; at the
manufacturing automation level, by applying best
matching workflow protocols to select and assign
available tools to robots’ required tasks; and at the
ship operating system to automatically activate
dynamic lines of collaboration among repair teams
The responses are summarized in five Tables 1.11, 1.12,
1.13, 1.14, and 1.15. Note: Not all survey participants chose
to respond to all five questions.
To enable effective analysis and presentation of the survey
results, responses to each of the five questions were catego-
rized in groups based on the similarity of their meanings.
(Percentage shown in the five survey tables is of the number
of S or P, respectively, who responded to this question, out of
all S or P responding in that region.)
1.5.1 How Do We Define Automation?
The top overall and regional response to this question is
(Table 1.11, no. 1): partially or fully replace human work
(variation: partially or fully replace human work without or
with little human participation); 36% total worldwide. This
response reflects a meaning that corresponds with the defini-
tion in the beginning of this chapter, described as incomplete:
Most modern automation enables work that people cannot
perform by themselves, as reflected in all other respondents’
definitions (Table 1.11, nos. 2–5). In the previous edition
survey, it was also the top response worldwide and regionally;
51% total worldwide.
Overall, the five types of definition meanings follow three
main themes: Automation replaces humans, works without
them, or augments their functions (responses no. 1 and 4,
total 50%); how automation works (responses no. 2 and
5, total 33%); and automation improves work and systems
(responses no. 3, total 17%).
S. Y. Nof
As indicated above, the overall most popular response
(no. 1; 36%) is based on partially wrong understanding.
Replacing human work may represent legacy fear of automa-
tion, lacking recognition that most automation applications
are performing tasks humans cannot accomplish. The latter
is also a partial, yet positive, meaning of automation as
addressed by the responses “Automation helps do things
humans cannot do” (included as one of the responses counted
in response no. 4).
Responses no. 2 and 5 (total 33%), and response no. 3
(total 17%) represent a factual meaning of how automation
is implemented, and its impact. They focus on automation
enablers, such as information technology, sensors, and com-
puter control, and imply that automation means improve-
ments, assistance, and promotion of human value. Response
no. 3 is found in Asia and Pacific, (S = 18%, P = 24%), and
Europe and Middle East (S = 18%, P = 24%), yet are scarce
in Americas, S = 8%, P = 0%, which may reflect cultural
meaning more than a definition.
1.5.2 When and Where Did We Encounter
Automation First in Our Life?
The top answer to this question, worldwide, is: automated
manufacturing machinery or factory (19%) followed closely
by transportation examples (18%). In the Americas region,
however, the top category for the first automation encounter
is computing and communication, perhaps because of the
cellphone impact. It is also the second top category in Europe
and Middle East (even though this category is only fourth
worldwide). This question presents an interesting change
from the previous survey. The top answer now, automated
manufacturing machinery or factory, was then the top answer
only in the Americas, but only the third in the other two
regions. In those regions, the top answers were shared be-
tween transportation examples and vending machines, which
appear now as second and third.
1.5.3 What Do We Think Is the Major
Impact/Contribution of Automation
to Humankind?
Six groups of impact or benefit types are found in the survey
responses overall. The most inspiring impact and benefit
of automation found is the answer in group no. 4, encour-
age/inspire creative work; inspire newer solutions.
The most popular response is (both now and in the previ-
ous survey): Save time, increase productivity/efficiency; 24/7
operations (31% overall). It is the consistent top response in
all three regions.
1 Automation: What It Means to Us Around the World, Definitions, Its Impact, and Outlook 29

1.5.4 What Do We Think Is the Major Risk
of Automation to Humankind?
The automation risks found in all regions are distributed over
a wide range of responses that are classified in six categories.
The top automation risk identified in the three regions are:
job loss or unemployment – in Asia and Pacific, as well as
in Europe and Middle East; safety or war – in Americas,
mostly with loss of control. These top two automation risks
are followed, as the second overall risk category, by the risk
of dependency on automation, in Asia and Pacific, and in 1
Europe and Middle East. Interestingly, that risk is almost not
considered in Americas, whereas there the third top category
is no risk, which is almost not considered in Europe and
Middle East. Another interesting note is that while 36%
of worldwide respondents defined automation as fully or
partially replacing human work, only 29% identified the
major risk of automation to be loss of job or employment.

a) Voice & Communications Fiber loop to

security equipment other sites
Power link
advantage HMI GE JungleMUX

Corp. LAN

High speed between relays

Ethernet LAN

Data concentration/
protocol conversion Status
control
GE IP server analogs
GE D20
D20 I/O modules
Ethernet relays GE UR relay

Transformer Bay monitor and

monitor and GE D25 control
control GE iBOX

GE hydran GE multlin Legacy relays

GE GE Legacy
tMEDIC multlin relays
Radio to DA system

b) D20EME Ethernet memory Up to four power supplies

expansion module

Power switch/fuse panel

10.5 in
14 in
D20ME or D20ME II 19 in
Main processors (up to seven) Modem slots (seven if MIC
installed, eight otherwise)
Media interface card (MIC)

Fig. 1.15 Integrated power substation control system: (a) overview; (b) substation automation platform chassis. (Courtesy of GE Energy Co.,
Atlanta) (LAN local area network, DA data acquisition, UR universal relay, MUX multiplexor, HMI human-machine interface)
30
Case 12 Energy Power Substation Automation (Fig. 1.15)
Source GE Energy Co., Atlanta (http://www.gepower.com/
prod serv/products/substation automation/en/
downloads/po.pdf)
Process Automatically monitoring and activating backup
power supply in case of breakdown in the power
generation and distribution. Each substation
automation platform has processing capacity to
monitor and control thousands of input–output points
and intelligent electronic devices over the network
Platform Devices integrated with a network of
system-of-systems, including substation automation
platforms, each communicating with and controlling
thousands of power network devices
Autonomy Power generation, transmission, and distribution
automation, including automatic steady voltage
control, based on user-defined targets and settings;
local/remote control of distributed devices;
adjustment of control set points based on control
requests or control input values; automatic reclosure
of tripped circuit breakers following momentary
faults; automatic transfer of load and restoration of
power to nonfaulty sections if possible;
automatically locating and isolating faults to reduce
customers’ outage times; and monitoring a network
of substations and moving load off overloaded
transformers to other stations as required
Collaborative This case illustrates collaborative automation at
automation multiple levels: At a local substation, at a regional
energy grid, interaction with other energy grids, and
with cyber physical infrastructure; at each level,
optimizing operations and cyber collaborative
interactions among the substation devices and other
networked subsystems
1.5.5 What Do We Think Is the Best Example
of Automation?
Finally, ten areas of best automation examples are found in
the survey. Overall, the majority of the best examples are of
automation in transportation, followed by manufacturing line
and machinery, even though in Asia and Pacific the order is
reversed. The next three areas are human-assistive technolo-
gies, data analysis or coding, and smart home technologies,
even though the latter area was ignored in Americas. In
Asia and Pacific, however, the best examples in human-
assistive technologies come third, followed by smart home
technologies.
1.6 Emerging Trends
Many of us perceive the meaning of the automatic and
automated factories and gadgets of the twentieth and twenty-
first century as outstanding examples of the human spirit and
human ingenuity, no less than art; their disciplined organi-
zation and synchronized complex of carefully programmed
S. Y. Nof
functions and services mean to us harmonious expression,
similar to good music (when they work).
Clearly, there is a mixture of emotions toward automation:
Some of us are dismayed that humans cannot usually be as ac-
curate, or as fast, or as responsive, attentive, and indefatigable
as automation systems and installations. On the other hand,
we sometimes hear the word automaton or robot describing
a person or an organization that lacks consideration and
compassion, let alone passion. Let us recall that automation
is made by people and for the people. But can it run away by
its own autonomy and become undesirable? Future automa-
tion will advance in micro- and nanosystems and systems-
of-systems. Bioinspired automation and bioinspired collab-
orative control theory will significantly improve artificial
intelligence, and the quality of robotics and automation, as
well as the engineering of their safety and security. In this
context, it is interesting to examine the role of automation in
the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.
1.6.1 Automation Trends of the Twentieth
and Twenty-First Centuries
The US National Academy of Engineering, which includes
US and worldwide experts, compiled the list shown in
Table 1.16 as the top 20 achievements that have shaped
a century and changed the world [19]. The table adds
columns indicating the role that automation has played in
each achievement, and clearly automation has been relevant
in all of them and essential to most of them.
The US National Academy of Engineers has also com-
piled a list of the grand challenges for the twenty-first cen-
tury. These challenges are listed in Table 1.17 with the
anticipated and emerging role of automation in each. Again,
automation is relevant to all of them and essential to most of
them.
Some of the main trends in automation are described next.
1.6.2 Bioautomation
Bioinspired automation, also known as bioautomation or
evolutionary automation, is emerging based on the trend of
bioinspired computing, control, and AI. They influence tra-
ditional automation and artificial intelligence in the methods
they offer for evolutionary machine learning, as opposed to
what can be described as generative methods (sometimes
called creationist methods) used in traditional programming
and learning. In traditional methods, intelligence is typically
programmed from top down: Automation engineers and pro-
grammers create and implement the automation logic, and
define the scope, functions, and limits of its intelligence.
Bioinspired automation, on the other hand, is also created
1 Automation: What It Means to Us Around the World, Definitions, Its Impact, and Outlook 31

Fig. 1.16 Application flexibility

and adaptation flexibility in
machining automation. (After
Adaptation flexibility (within application) 1
1
[16])
NC machining center
with adaptive and
optimal control
Machining center
with numerical
control (NC)
Milling
machine with
programmable
control (NC)
“Universal”
ty
milling ili
machine with x ib
e
Drilling conventional Fl
machine with control
conventional
control

0 1
Application flexibility (multiple applications)

Through control-mechanism,
From the Through variable influences in the Origin of
testing determined work
worker environment the check
sequences
Reacts to the execution
Type of the
Variable Fixed in the React to
Selects from deter- Changes actions it- machine
machine signals
mined processes self inside influences reaction

Manual Mechanical (not done by hand) Energy source

10 Signals pre-selected values of measurement, including error correction
11 Registers execution

12 Changes speed, position change and direction

13 Segregates or rejects according to measurements

14 Identifies and selects operations

15 Corrects execution after the processing

16 Corrects execution while processing

17 Foresees the necessary working tasks,

18 Prevents error and self-optimizes current execution

Step-No.
1 Manual
2 Manual hand tools
3 Powered hand tools

4 Machine tools, manual controlled

5 Powered tool, fixed cycle, single function

6 Powered tool, programmed control with a sequence of functions

7 Machine system with remote control

8 Machine actuated by introduction of work-piece or material

9 Measures characteristics of the execution

according to the measured signal

adjusts the execution

Steps of the automation

Fig. 1.17 Automation scale: scale for comparing grades of automation. (After [17])
32 S. Y. Nof

Table 1.9 Degree of automation: calculation by the ratio of decision types (example)
Automatic decisions Human decisions Total
Decision number 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Sum 8 9 10 11 12 Sum
Complexity (number of program steps) 10 12 14 9 14 11 12 82 21 3 82 45 27 178 260

Table 1.10 Levels of automation. (Updated and expanded after [18])

Level automation Automated human attribute Examples
A0 Hand tool, manual machine None Knife, scissors, and wheelbarrow
A1 Powered machine tools (non-NC) Energy, muscles Electric hand drill, electric food processor, and paint sprayer
A2 Single-cycle automatics and Dexterity Pipe threading machine and machine tools (non-NC)
hand-feeding machines
A3 Automatics, repeated cycles Diligence Engine production line, automatic copying lathe, automatic
packaging, NC machine, and pick-and-place robot
A4 Self-measuring and adjusting, Judgment Feedback about product: dynamic balancing, weight control.
feedback Feedback about position: pattern-tracing flame cutter, servo-assisted
follower control, self-correcting NC machines, and spray painting
robot
A5 Computer control, automatic Evaluation Rate of feed cutting, maintaining pH, error compensation, turbine fuel
cognition control, interpolator
A6 Limited self-programming Learning Sophisticated elevator dispatching, telephone call switching systems,
artificial neural network models
A7 Relating cause from effects Reasoning Sales prediction, weather forecasting, lamp failure anticipation,
actuarial analysis, maintenance prognostics, and computer chess
playing
A8 Unmanned mobile machines Guided mobility Autonomous vehicles and drones, nano-flying exploration monitors
A9 Collaborative networks Collaboration Internet, collaborative supply networks, collaborative sensor
networks, and networked learning
A10 Originality Creativity Computer systems to compose music, design fabric patterns,
formulate new drugs, play with automation, e.g., virtual reality
games; adaptive avatar tutors
A11 Human needs and animal needs Compassion Bioinspired robotic seals (aquatic mammal) to help emotionally
support challenged individuals, social robotic pets, assistive and nursing
devices
A12 Interactive companions Humor Humorous gadgets, e.g., sneezing tissue dispenser, automatic systems
to create/share jokes, and interactive comedian robot
NC, numerically controlled; non-NC, manually controlled

Table 1.11 How do you define automation (do not use a dictionary)? [S: Students; P: Professionals]
Automation definition responses Americas (%) Asia and Pacific (%) Europe and Middle East (%) Worldwide (%)
S P S P S P S P Total
1. Partially or fully replaces human work without or 61 70 38 6 30 30 40 22 36
with little human participationa
2. Uses machines/computers/robots/intelligence to 30 10 16 20 26 32 20 24 21
execute or help execute physical operations,
computational commands, or tasks/mechanisms
of automatic machines
3. Improves work/system in terms of labor, time, 8 0 18 24 14 19 16 20 17
money, quality, and productivity, and promotes
human value
4. Functions and actions that assist humans/enable 2 20 20 18 12 3 15 12 14
humans to perform multiple actions/help do
things humans cannot do
5. Integrated system of sensors, actuators, and 0 0 8 38 17 16 8 26 12
controllers/information technology for
organizational change
Total no. of respondents (491) 61 10 264 50 69 37 394 97
a Note: This definition is inaccurate; most automation accomplishes work that humans cannot do, or cannot do effectively
1 Automation: What It Means to Us Around the World, Definitions, Its Impact, and Outlook 33

Table 1.12 Where did you encounter and recognize automation first in your life (probably as a child)? [S: Students; P: Professionals]
Asia and Europe and 1
First encounter with automation Americas (%) Pacific (%) Middle East (%) Worldwide (%)
S P S P S P S P Total
1. Production machinery: Automated manufacturing machine, 11 20 20 25 16 18 18 22 19
factory/robot/ agricultural combine/fruit classification machine/milking
machine/automated grinding machine for sharpening knives
2. Transportation: Car, truck, motorcycle, and components or garbage 11 0 26 21 7 13 18 16 18
truck/train (unmanned)
3. Service: Vending machine: snacks, candy, drink, tickets/automatic teller 5 10 18 0 12 13 15 6 13
machine (ATM)/automatic check-in at airports/barcode
scanner/automatic bottle filling (with soda or wine)/automatic toll
collection/self-checkout machine
4. Computing and communication: Computer (software), e.g., Microsoft 19 40 6 6 19 11 10 11 10
Office, email, programming language/movie, TV/game
machine/calculator/clock, watch/tape recorder, player/ telephone,
answering machine/radio/video cassette recorder (VCR)
5. Building: Automatic door (pneumatic; 16 0 8 0 9 8 10 3 9
electric)/elevator/escalator/pneumatic door of the school bus
6. Home: Washing machine/dishwasher/microwave/air conditioner/home 2 0 8 0 16 26 8 10 8
automation/kitchen mixer/oven/toaster/bread machine/electric
shaver/food processor/kettle/treadmill
7. Game: Toy/amusement park/Lego (with automation) 6 0 5 9 9 5 6 7 6
8. Health care: Medical equipment in the birth delivery room/X-ray 0 0 5 38 0 0 3 20 6
machine/centrifuge/oxygen device/pulse
recorder/thermometer/ultrasound machine
9. Delivery: Automatic car wash/conveyor (to deliver food to 24 30 0 0 6 5 5 5 5
chickens)/luggage, baggage sorting machine/water delivery
10. Light and power: Fuse breaker/light by electricity/sprinkler/switch 6 0 5 2 4 0 5 1 4
(power, light)/ traffic light
Total no. of respondents (496) 63 10 265 53 67 38 395 101

Table 1.13 What do you think is the major impact/contribution of automation to humankind (only one)?
Europe and
Major impact or contribution of automation Americas (%) Asia and Pacific (%) Middle East (%) Worldwide (%)
S P S P S P S P Total
1. Save time, increase productivity/efficiency; 24/7 48 30 24 19 40 50 30 21 31
operations/mass production and service/increase consistency,
improve quality/save cost/improve security and safety/deliver
products, service to more people/flexibility in
manufacturing/save resources
2. Advance everyday life/improve quality of 27 20 27 17 33 14 18 10 25
life/convenience/ease of life/work/save labor/prevent people
from dangerous activities/save lives/extend life
expectancy/agriculture improvement
3. Medicine/medical equipment/medical 0 10 18 13 7 14 13 8 13
system/biotechnology/health care/computer/transportation
(e.g., train, traffic lights)/ communication
(devices)/manufacturing (machines)/robot; industrial robot/
banking system/construction/loom/weather prediction
4. Encourage/inspire creative work; inspire newer 13 30 10 21 7 5 10 9 11
solutions/change/improvement in (global) economy/
foundation of industry/growth of industry/globalization and
spread of culture and knowledge/Industrial Revolution
5. Detect errors in health care, flights, factories/reduce (human) 8 10 11 19 4 9 9 9 10
errors/identify bottlenecks in production
6. Assist/work for people/do things that humans cannot do/ 3 0 11 11 7 9 9 6 9
replace people; people lose jobs/help aged/handicapped
people/people lose abilities to complete tasks
Total no. of respondents (502) 62 10 266 53 67 44 395 107
34 S. Y. Nof

Table 1.14 What do you think is the major risk of automation to humankind (only one)?
Europe and Middle Worldwide
Major risk of automation Americas (%) Asia and Pacific (%) East (%) (%)
S P S P S P S P Total
1. Job loss/unemployment 31 30 27 24 42 26 31 25 29
2. Dependency 2 0 27 24 26 29 23 13 23
3. Safety/war 28 50 20 20 14 14 20 21 20
4. Social/economic inequality 7 10 18 20 12 11 16 16 15
5. Maintenance 8 0 5 6 5 17 5 9 6
6. No risk 25 10 2 12 2 3 6 8 6
Total no. of respondents (489) 61 10 266 51 66 35 393 96

Table 1.15 What do you think is the best example of automation (only one)?
Europe and Middle
Best example of automation Americas (%) Asia and Pacific (%) East (%) Worldwide (%)
S P S P S P S P Total
1. Transportation 44 40 30 12 20 31 31 29 29
2. Manufacturing line/machinery 28 20 27 25 20 14 26 20 25
3. Human-assistive technologies 10 0 15 17 5 8 13 8 12
4. Data analysis/coding 15 30 7 15 18 14 10 16 11
5. Smart home technologies 0 0 9 25 14 17 6 19 11
6. Kitchen appliances 3 0 6 2 9 0 6 1 5
7. Safety/war 0 10 3 0 0 8 2 4 2
8. Medical equipment 0 0 2 0 5 6 2 2 2
9. Banking/finance 0 0 1 4 5 3 1 3 2
10. Agriculture 0 0 1 2 5 0 2 1 1
Total no. of respondents (502) 62 10 266 53 67 44 395 107

and implemented by automation engineers and programmers,
but follows a bottom-up decentralized and distributed ap-
proach. Bioinspired techniques often involve a method of
specifying a set of simple rules, followed and iteratively
applied by a set of simple and autonomous human-made or-
ganisms. After several generations of rule repetition, initially
human-made mechanisms of self-learning, self-repair, and
self-organization enable self-evolution toward more complex
behaviors. Complexity can result in unexpected behaviors,
which may be robust and more reliable, can be counterintu-
itive compared with the original design, but can potentially
become undesirable, out-of-control, and unsafe behaviors.
This subject has been under intense research and examination
in recent years.
Natural evolution and system biology (biology-inspired
automation mechanisms for systems engineering) are the
driving analogies of this trend: concurrent steps and rules
of responsive selection, interdependent recombination,
reproduction, mutation, reformation, adaptation, and death
and birth can be defined, similar to how complex organisms
function and evolve in nature. Similar automation techniques
are used in genetic algorithms, artificial neural networks,
swarm algorithms, reinforcement machine learning, and
other emerging evolutionary automation systems. Mech-
anisms of self-organization, parallelism, fault tolerance,
recovery, backup, and redundancy are being developed and
researched for future automation, in areas such as neuro-
fuzzy techniques, biorobotics, digital organisms, artificial
cognitive models and architectures, artificial life, bionics,
and bioinformatics. See related topics in many following
handbook chapters, particularly 8, 9, 10, 21, and 55.
1.6.3 Collaborative Control Theory
and Collaborative Automation
Collaboration of humans and its advantages and challenges
are well known from prehistory and throughout history,
but have received increased attention with the advent
of communication and cyber technologies. Significantly
better enabled and potentially streamlined and even
optimized through e-collaboration (based on communication
via electronic means), and further enhanced by cyber
collaborative techniques, it is emerging as one of the most
powerful trends in automation, with telecommunication,
computer communication, and wireless communication
influencing education and research, engineering and
business, health care, telemedicine, and service industries,
and global society in general. Those developments, in turn,
motivate and propel further applications and theoretical
investigations into this highly intelligent level of automation
(Table 1.10, level A9 and higher).
1 Automation: What It Means to Us Around the World, Definitions, Its Impact, and Outlook 35

Table 1.16 Top engineering achievements in the twentieth century Table 1.17 Grand engineering challenges for the twenty-first century
[19] and the role of automation [20] and the role of automation 1
Achievement Role of automation Anticipated and emerging role of
Relevant Achievement automation
Essential Supportive Irrelevant Relevant
1. Electrification × Essential Supportive Irrelevant
2. Automobile × 1. Make solar energy ×
economical
3. Airplane ×
2. Provide energy from ×
4. Water supply and ×
fusion
distribution
3. Develop carbon ×
5. Electronics ×
sequestration methods
6. Radio and television ×
4. Manage the nitrogen ×
7. Agricultural × cycle
mechanization
5. Provide access to ×
8. Computers × clean water
9. Telephone × 6. Restore and improve ×
10. Air conditioning and × urban infrastructure
refrigeration 7. Advance health ×
11. Highways × informatics
12. Spacecraft × 8. Engineer better ×
13. Internet × medicines
14. Imaging × 9. Reverse-engineer the ×
15. Household appliances × brain
16. Health technologies × 10. Prevent nuclear terror ×
17. Petroleum and × 11. Secure cyberspace ×
petrochemical 12. Enhance virtual reality ×
technologies 13. Advance personalized ×
18. Laser and fiber optics × learning
19. Nuclear technologies × 14. Engineer the tools of ×
20. High-performance × scientific discovery
materials

30 years. Collaborative e-work is motivated by significantly

Interesting examples of the e-collaboration trend include
wikis, which since the early 2000s have been increasingly
adopted by enterprises as collaborative software, enrich-
ing static intranets and the Internet with dynamic, assistive,
timely updates. Examples of e-collaborative applications that
emerged in the 1990s include project communication for co-
planning, sharing the creation and editing of design docu-
ments as codesign and co-documentation, and mutual inspi-
ration for collaborative innovation and invention through co-
brainstorming. More recently, collaborative insight systems
have emerged for group networking in specific domains
and projects. During the recent pandemic, cyber-supported
video meetings enabled international conferences and remote
learning to fill in the gap created by the need for distancing
and limited travel.
Beyond human-human automation-supported collabora-
tion through better and more powerful communication and
cyber technologies, there is a well-known but not yet fully
understood trend for collaborative e-work, and more re-
cently, cyber collaborative e-work (also called cc-work).
Associated with this field is collaborative control theory
(CCT), which has been under development during the past
improved performance of humans leveraging their collab-
orative automatic software and physical agents. The latter,
from software automata (e.g., constructive bots as opposed
to spam and other destructive bots) to automation devices,
multisensors, multiagents, and multirobots, can operate in a
parallel, autonomous cyberspace, thus multiplying our pro-
ductivity and increasing our ability to design sustainable
systems, operations, and our life. A related important trend
is the emergence of cyber collaborative middleware for col-
laboration support of cyber physical device networks and of
human team networks, organizations, and enterprises.
More about this subject area can be found in several
chapters of this handbook, particularly in Chs.  9,  15,
 17,  18,  21,  22, and  62.
1.6.4 Risks of Automation
As civilization increasingly depends on automation and looks
for automation to support solutions of its serious problems,
the risks associated with automation must be understood
and eliminated. Failures of automation on a very large scale
36
are most risky. Just a few examples of disasters caused
by automation failures are nuclear accidents; power supply
disruptions and blackout; Federal Aviation Administration
control systems failures causing air transportation delays and
shutdowns; wireless communication network failures; and
water supply and other supply chain failures. The impacts
of severe natural and human-made disasters on automated
infrastructure are therefore the target of intense research and
development. In addition, automation experts are challenged
to apply automation to enable sustainability and better mit-
igate and eliminate natural and human-made disasters, such
as security, safety, and health calamities.
1.6.5 Need for Dependability, Survivability,
Security, Continuity of Operation,
and Creativity
Emerging efforts are addressing better automation depend-
ability and security by structured backup and recovery of
information and communication systems. For instance, with
service orientation that is able to survive, automation can
enable gradual and degraded services by sustaining criti-
cal continuity of operations until the repair, recovery, and
resumption of full services. Automation continues to be
designed with the goal of preventing and eliminating any
conceivable errors, failures, and conflicts, within economic
constraints. In addition, the trend of collaborative flexibil-
ity being designed into automation frameworks encourages
reconfiguration tools that redirect available, safe resources
to support the most critical functions, rather than designing
absolutely failure-proof system.
With the trend toward collaborative, networked automa-
tion systems, dependability, survivability, security, and con-
tinuity of operations are increasingly being enabled by au-
tonomous self-activities, such as:
• Self-awareness and situation awareness
• Self-configuration
• Self-explaining and self-rationalizing
• Self-healing and self-repair
• Self-optimization
• Self-organization
• Self-protection for security
Other dimensions of emerging automation risks involve
privacy invasion, electronic surveillance, accuracy and in-
tegrity concerns, intellectual and physical property protection
and security, accessibility issues, confidentiality, etc. Increas-
ingly, people ask about the meaning of automation, how can
we benefit from it, trust it, yet find a way to contain its risks
and limit its powers. At the extreme of this concern is the
automation singularity [21, 22].
S. Y. Nof
Automation singularity follows the evident acceleration of
technological developments and discoveries. At some point,
people ask, is it possible that superhuman machines can take
over the human race? If we build them too autonomous, with
collaborative ability to self-improve and self-sustain, would
they not eventually be able to exceed human intelligence? In
other words, superintelligent machines may autonomously,
automatically, produce discoveries that are too complex for
humans to comprehend; they may even act in ways that we
consider out of control, chaotic, and even aimed at damaging
and overpowering people. This emerging trend of thought
will no doubt energize future research on how to prevent
automation from running on its own without limits. In a way,
this is the twenty-first-century version of the ancient and still
existing human challenge of never play with fire.
Automation creativity is related to the concern with au-
tomation singularity, but in a positive way. People ask: Can
automation be designed to be creative and generate “out of
the box” solutions to our challenging problems? “Out the
box” here means solutions that humans have not prescribed
to the automation, or cannot create by themselves due to
various limitations. For example, to tackle the challenge of
climate change, humans have designed solutions that are
difficult to implement. Can collaborative automation, based
on collaborative intelligence, generate creative, simple, or
revolutionary solutions that are also practical? If successful,
automation creativity can augment our human civilization
by helping solve complex problems that require new ideas
and perspectives. It would possibly be able to also solve the
problems of automation singularity.
1.6.6 Quantum Computing and Quantum
Automation
An emerging area of interest to automation scholars and
engineers is the area of quantum computing, which has al-
ready seen intensive research and progress over the last three
decades. Recent surveys (e.g., [23, 24]) indicate promising
impacts over the next five to ten years and beyond. Quantum
computing algorithms have shown significant superiority
and faster computing relative to current computing in areas
relevant to robotics and automation, for example: (1) integer
and discrete algorithms; (2) solving problems with expo-
nential queries; (3) general search, and search in unstruc-
tured data storage; and (4) solving graph theory problems,
and more. There are challenges ahead, however, including
reliable, stable, and scalable quantum computer hardware,
and further progress required in algorithms, software, and
operating systems. Nevertheless, the promised impacts on
automation in an area we can term as quantum automation
merit investigation and study of this field.
1 Automation: What It Means to Us Around the World, Definitions, Its Impact, and Outlook
1.7 Conclusion
What is automation and what does it mean to people around
the world? After review of the evolution of automation, its
design and its influence on civilization, and of its main
contributions and attributes, a survey is used to highlight
the meaning of automation according to people around the
world. Emerging trends in automation and concerns about
automation are also described. They can be summarized as
addressing three general questions:
1. How can automation be improved and become more use-
ful and dependable?
2. How can we limit automation from being too risky when
it fails?
3. How can we develop better automation that is more au-
tonomous and performs better, yet does not take over our
humanity?
These topics are discussed in detail in the chapters of this
handbook.
Acknowledgments This chapter is a revised and updated version of the
original edition chapter, so first I repeat the original acknowledgment,
which appeared in 2009: “I received with appreciation help in preparing
and reviewing this chapter from my graduate students at our PRISM
Center, particularly Xin W. Chen, Juan Diego Velásquez, Sang Won
Yoon, and Hoo Sang Ko, and my colleagues on our PRISM Global
Research Network, particularly Professors Chin Yin Huang, José A.
Ceroni, and Yael Edan. This chapter was written in part during a visit
to the Technion, Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa, where I was
inspired by the automation collection at the great Industrial Engineering
and Management Library. Patient and knowledgeable advice by librar-
ian Coral Navon at the Technion Elyachar Library is also acknowl-
edged.” For the new edition, I repeat my appreciation for the help I
now received from the same colleagues listed above, and in addition, to
Professor Avital Bechar, distinguished members of our Advisory Board,
and several anonymous reviewers. Rashed Rabata, a former PRISM
Center graduate researcher, helped me analyze the current automation
survey.
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Alon, U.: An Introduction to Systems Biology: Design Principles of
Biological Circuits, 2nd edn. Chapman Hall/CRC (2019)
Axelrod, A.: Complete Guide to Test Automation: Techniques, Prac-
tices, and Patterns for Building and Maintaining Effective Software
Projects. Apress (2018)
Center for Chemical Process Safety (CCPS): Guidelines for Safe and
Reliable Instrumented Protective Systems. Wiley, New York (2007)
Dorf, R.C.: Modern Control Systems, 14th edn. Pearson, Upper Saddle
River (2020)
Dorf, R.C., Nof, S.Y. (eds.): International Encyclopedia of Robotics
and Automation. Wiley, New York (1988)
Evans, K.: Programming of CNC Machines, 4th edn. Industrial Press,
New York (2016)
Friedmann, P.G.: Automation and Control Systems Economics, 2nd
edn. ISA, Research Triangle Park (2006)
Noble, D.F.: Forces of Production: A Social History of Industrial
Automation. Oxford University Press, Cambridge (1986)
Parasuraman, R., Sheridan, T.B., Wickens, C.D.: A model for types
and levels of human interaction with automation. IEEE Trans. Syst.
Man Cyber. 30(3), 286–197 (2000)
Rabiee, M.: Programmable Logic Controllers: Hardware and Program-
ming, 4th edn. Goodheart-Wilcox (2017)
38 S. Y. Nof

Rainer, R.K., Prince, B.: Introduction to Information Systems, 9th edn.

Wiley, New York (2021)
Sands, N., Verhapen, I.: A Guide to the Automation Body of Knowl-
edge, 3rd edn. ISA, Research Triangle Park (2018)
Sheridan, T.B.: Humans and Automation: System Design and Research
Issues. Wiley, New York (2002)
Wiener, N.: Cybernetics, or the Control and Communication in the
Animal and the Machine, 2nd edn. MIT Press, Cambridge (1965)

Shimon Y. Nof is the director of the NSF-industry-supported PRISM

Center for Production, Robotics, and Integration Software for Man-
ufacturing and Management, and professor of industrial engineering
at Purdue University since 1977. Fellow of IFPR and IISE, he is the
former president of IFPR and former chair of IFAC CC5 Committee for
Manufacturing and Logistics. Nof is the author or editor of 16 books,
and editor of Springer’s ACES book series on automation, collaboration,
and e-services. His research, education, and industry contributions
are concerned with cyber collaborative automation, robotics, and e-
work; collaborative control theory (CCT); systems security, integrity,
and assurance; and integrated production and service operations with
decentralized decision support networks.
 Historical Perspective of Automation
Christopher Bissell, Theodore J. Williams, and Yukio Hasegawa
Contents
2.1 A History of Automatic Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.1.1 Antiquity and the Early Modern Period . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.1.2 Stability Analysis in the Nineteenth Century . . . . . . . . . .
2.1.3 Ship, Aircraft, and Industrial Control
Before World War II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.1.4 Electronics, Feedback, and Mathematical Analysis . . . . .
2.1.5 World War II and Classical Control: Infrastructure . . . . .
2.1.6 World War II and Classical Control: Theory . . . . . . . . . . .
2.1.7 The Emergence of Modern Control Theory . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.1.8 The Digital Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.1.9 The Socio-technological Context Since 1945 . . . . . . . . . .
2.1.10 Conclusion and Emerging Trends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.1.11 Further Reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.2 Advances in Industrial Automation: Historical
Perspectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.3 Advances in Robotics and Automation: Historical
Perspectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Abstract
Editor note: This chapter includes three parts: 2.1 A
History of Automatic Control by Christopher Bissell;
2.2 Advances in Industrial Automation: Historical
Perspectives by Theodore J. Williams; and 2.3 Advances
in Robotics and Automation: Historical Perspectives by
Christopher Bissell: deceased.
Theodore J. Williams: deceased.
Yukio Hasegawa: deceased.
C. Bissell ()
Department of Communication and Systems, The Open University,
Milton Keynes, UK
T. J. Williams
College of Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA
Y. Hasegawa
System Science Institute, Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023
S. Y. Nof (ed.), Springer Handbook of Automation, Springer Handbooks,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-96729-1_2
2
Yukio Hasegawa. The three parts were written by leaders
39 and pioneers of automation, at the time the original
40 edition of this handbook was published in 2009. Our
40 distinguished editorial advisory board members have
recommended to keep these chapters as originally
43
44 published, for their authentic historical value. Additional
45 historical perspectives, specific to chapter topics, are
47 provided throughout this Handbook.
48
49
50 Keywords
51
Automatic control · Industrial automation · Robotics ·
51
History of robotics and automation
51
2.1 A History of Automatic Control
55
57 (by Christopher Bissel)
Automatic control, particularly the application of feed-
back, has been fundamental to the development of automa-
tion. Its origins lie in the level control, water clocks, and
pneumatics/hydraulics of the ancient world. From the sev-
enteenth century onward, systems were designed for tem-
perature control, the mechanical control of mills, and the
regulation of steam engines. During the nineteenth century, it
became increasingly clear that feedback systems were prone
to instability. A stability criterion was derived independently
toward the end of the century by Routh in England and
Hurwitz in Switzerland. The nineteenth century, too, saw the
development of servomechanisms, first for ship steering and
later for stabilization and autopilots. The invention of aircraft
added (literally) a new dimension to the problem. Minorsky’s
theoretical analysis of ship control in the 1920s clarified the
nature of three-term control, also being used for process ap-
plications by the 1930s. Based on servo and communications
engineering developments of the 1930s, and driven by the
need for high-performance gun control systems, the coherent
body of theory known as classical control emerged during
and just after World War II in the USA, UK, and elsewhere,
as did cybernetics ideas. Meanwhile, an alternative approach
39
40
to dynamic modeling had been developed in the USSR based
on the approaches of Poincaré and Lyapunov. Information
was gradually disseminated, and state-space or modern con-
trol techniques, fueled by Cold War demands for missile
control systems, rapidly developed in both East and West.
The immediate postwar period was marked by great claims
for automation, but also great fears, while the digital com-
puter opened new possibilities for automatic control.
2.1.1 Antiquity and the Early Modern Period
Feedback control can be said to have originated with the
float valve regulators of the Hellenic and Arab worlds [1].
They were used by the Greeks and Arabs to control such
devices as water clocks, oil lamps, and wine dispensers, as
well as the level of water in tanks. The precise construction of
such systems is still not entirely clear, since the descriptions
in the original Greek or Arabic are often vague, and lack
illustrations. The best-known Greek names are Ktsebios and
Philon (third century BC) and Heron (first century AD)
who were active in the Eastern Mediterranean (Alexandria,
Byzantium). The water clock tradition was continued in the
Arab world as described in books by writers such as Al-
Jazari (1203) and Ibn al-Sa-ati (1206), greatly influenced by
the anonymous Arab author known as Pseudo-Archimedes of
the ninth–tenth century AD, who makes specific reference to
the Greek work of Heron and Philon. Float regulators in the
tradition of Heron were also constructed by the three brothers
Banu Musa in Baghdad in the ninth century AD.
The float valve level regulator does not appear to have
spread to medieval Europe, even though translations existed
of some of the classical texts by the above writers. It seems
rather to have been reinvented during the industrial revolu-
tion, appearing in England, for example, in the eighteenth
century. The first independent European feedback system
was the temperature regulator of Cornelius Drebbel (1572–
1633). Drebbel spent most of his professional career at the
courts of James I and Charles I of England and Rudolf II in
Prague. Drebbel himself left no written records, but a number
of contemporary descriptions survive of his invention. Essen-
tially an alcohol (or other) thermometer was used to operate
a valve controlling a furnace flue, and hence the temperature
of an enclosure [2]. The device included screws to alter what
we would now call the set point.
If level and temperature regulation were two of the major
precursors of modern control systems, then a number of
devices designed for use with windmills pointed the way
toward more sophisticated devices. During the eighteenth
century, the mill fantail was developed both to keep the mill
sails directed into the wind and to automatically vary the
angle of attack, so as to avoid excessive speeds in high winds.
Another important device was the lift-tenter. Millstones have
a tendency to separate as the speed of rotation increases, thus
C. Bissell et al.
impairing the quality of flour. A number of techniques were
developed to sense the speed and hence produce a restoring
force to press the millstones closer together. Of these, perhaps
the most important were Thomas Mead’s devices [3], which
used a centrifugal pendulum to sense the speed and – in some
applications – also to provide feedback, hence pointing the
way to the centrifugal governor (Fig. 2.1).
The first steam engines were the reciprocating engines
developed for driving water pumps; James Watt’s rotary
engines were sold only from the early 1780s. But it took
until the end of the decade for the centrifugal governor
to be applied to the machine, following a visit by Watt’s
collaborator, Matthew Boulton, to the Albion Mill in London
where he saw a lift-tenter in action under the control of a
centrifugal pendulum (Fig. 2.2). Boulton and Watt did not
attempt to patent the device (which, as noted above, had
essentially already been patented by Mead) but they did try
unsuccessfully to keep it secret. It was first copied in 1793
and spread throughout England over the next ten years [4].
2.1.2 Stability Analysis in the Nineteenth
Century
With the spread of the centrifugal governor in the early nine-
teenth century a number of major problems became apparent.
First, because of the absence of integral action, the governor
could not remove offset: in the terminology of the time it
could not regulate but only moderate. Second, its response to
a change in load was slow. And thirdly, (nonlinear) frictional
forces in the mechanism could lead to hunting (limit
cycling). A number of attempts were made to overcome these
problems: For example, the Siemens chronometric governor
effectively introduced integral action through differential
gearing, as well as mechanical amplification. Other
approaches to the design of an isochronous governor
(one with no offset) were based on ingenious mechanical
constructions, but often encountered problems of stability.
Nevertheless the nineteenth century saw a steady progress
in the development of practical governors for steam en-
gines and hydraulic turbines, including spring-loaded designs
(which could be made much smaller and operate at higher
speeds) and relay (indirect-acting) governors [5]. By the end
of the century governors of various sizes and designs were
available for effective regulation in a range of applications,
and a number of graphical techniques existed for steady-state
design. Few engineers were concerned with the analysis of
the dynamics of a feedback system.
In parallel with the developments in the engineering sector
a number of eminent British scientists became interested in
governors in order to keep a telescope directed at a particular
star as the Earth rotated. A formal analysis of the dynamics
of such a system by George Bidell Airy, Astronomer Royal,
in 1840 [6], clearly demonstrated the propensity of such
2 Historical Perspective of Automation 41

29

30 30 2
30 30

30 30

46 46
31
32
31

45 45

B 28

44 44
27
26
38 37 33 35
A 45
34

40 35 41
38 37
39
42

38
C
43
39
42

38

39
42

Fig. 2.1 Mead’s speed regulator. (After [1])

a feedback system to become unstable. In 1868, James
Clerk Maxwell analyzed governor dynamics, prompted by an
electrical experiment in which the speed of rotation of a coil
had to be held constant. His resulting classic paper On gover-
nors [7] was received by the Royal Society on 20 February.
Maxwell derived a third-order linear model and the correct
conditions for stability in terms of the coefficients of the
characteristic equation. Unable to derive a solution for
higher-order models, he expressed the hope that the question
would gain the attention of mathematicians. In 1875, the
subject for the Cambridge University Adams Prize in
mathematics was set as the criterion of dynamical stability.
42 C. Bissell et al.

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 feet

0 0.5 1 2 3 4m

Fig. 2.2 Boulton and Watt steam engine with centrifugal governor. (After [1])

One of the examiners was Maxwell himself (prizewinner
in 1857) and the 1875 prize (awarded in 1877) was won
by Edward James Routh. Routh had been interested in
dynamical stability for several years, and had already
obtained a solution for a fifth-order system. In the published
paper [8], we find derived the Routh version of the renowned
Routh–Hurwitz stability criterion.
Related, independent work was being carried out in Con-
tinental Europe at about the same time [9]. A summary of the
work of I.A. Vyshnegradskii in St. Petersburg appeared in the
French Comptes Rendus de l’Academie des Sciences in 1876,
with the full version appearing in Russian and German in
1877, and in French in 1878/1879. Vyshnegradskii (generally
transliterated at the time as Wischnegradski) transformed a
third-order differential equation model of a steam engine with
governor into a standard form:
ϕ 3 + xϕ 2 + yϕ + 1 = 0,
2 Historical Perspective of Automation 43

where x and y became known as the Vyshnegradskii param-
eters. He then showed that a point in the x–y plane defined
the nature of the system transient response. Figure 2.3 shows
the diagram drawn by Vyshnegradskii, to which typical pole
constellations for various regions in the plane have been
added.
In 1893, Aurel Boreslav Stodola at the Federal Polytech-
nic, Zurich, studied the dynamics of a high-pressure hy-
draulic turbine, and used Vyshnegradskii’s method to assess
the stability of a third-order model. A more realistic model,
however, was seventh order, and Stodola posed the general
problem to a mathematician colleague Adolf Hurwitz, who
very soon came up with his version of the Routh–Hurwitz
criterion [10]. The two versions were shown to be identical
by Enrico Bompiani in 1911 [11].
At the beginning of the twentieth century, the first general
textbooks on the regulation of prime movers appeared in a 2
number of European languages [12, 13]. One of the most
influential was Tolle’s Regelung der Kraftmaschine, which
went through three editions between 1905 and 1922 [14]. The
later editions included the Hurwitz stability criterion.
2.1.3 Ship, Aircraft, and Industrial Control
Before World War II

y
The first ship steering engines incorporating feedback ap-
G
L D N peared in the middle of the nineteenth century. In 1873,
Jean Joseph Léon Farcot published a book on servomotors in
which he not only described the various designs developed
in the family firm, but also gave an account of the general
principles of position control. Another important maritime
F application of feedback control was in gun turret operation,
and hydraulics were also extensively developed for transmis-
sion systems. Torpedoes, too, used increasingly sophisticated
feedback systems for depth control – including, by the end of
E
the century, gyroscopic action (Fig. 2.4).
During the first decades of the twentieth century, gy-
M
roscopes were increasingly used for ship stabilization and
autopilots. Elmer Sperry pioneered the active stabilizer, the
H
gyrocompass, and the gyroscope autopilot, filing various
x patents over the period 1907–1914. Sperry’s autopilot was
a sophisticated device: an inner loop controlled an electric
Fig. 2.3 Vyshnegradskii’s stability diagram with modern pole posi- motor which operated the steering engine, while an outer
tions. (After [9]) loop used a gyrocompass to sense the heading. Sperry also

m a k i j l d u
o r s
m' v
g f

e
p
y x
z
w h q n

b c
t

Fig. 2.4 Torpedo servomotor as fitted to Whitehead torpedoes around 1900. (After [15])
44 C. Bissell et al.

designed an anticipator to replicate the way in which an

experienced helmsman would meet the helm (to prevent 47
oversteering); the anticipator was, in fact, a type of adaptive
control [16]. 49
Sperry and his son Lawrence also designed aircraft au-
tostabilizers over the same period, with the added complexity 15 45

of three-dimensional control. Bennett describes the system 33

51 35
used in an acclaimed demonstration in Paris in 1914 [17]:
41
For this system the Sperrys used four gyroscopes mounted to 31
b 39 53
form a stabilized reference platform; a train of electrical, me- a
chanical and pneumatic components detected the position of the
aircraft relative to the platform and applied correction signals 43 55
to the aircraft control surfaces. The stabilizer operated for both
pitch and roll [ . . . ] The system was normally adjusted to give
23
an approximately deadbeat response to a step disturbance. The
incorporation of derivative action [ . . . ] was based on Sperry’s
intuitive understanding of the behaviour of the system, not on 21
any theoretical foundations. The system was also adaptive [ . . . ] 3
adjusting the gain to match the speed of the aircraft. 37 17 13

Significant technological advances in both ship and air- 18 11

craft stabilization took place over the next two decades, and
by the mid-1930s a number of airlines were using Sperry
autopilots for long-distance flights. However, apart from the
stability analyses discussed in Sect. 2.1.2 above, which were
not widely known at this time, there was little theoreti-
cal investigation of such feedback control systems. One of
the earliest significant studies was carried out by Nicholas
Minorsky, published in 1922 [18]. Minorsky was born in
Russia in 1885 (his knowledge of Russian proved to be
important to the West much later). During service with the
Russian Navy he studied the ship steering problem and,
following his emigration to the USA in 1918, he made the
first theoretical analysis of automatic ship steering. This
study clearly identified the way that control action should be
employed: Although Minorsky did not use the terms in the
modern sense, he recommended an appropriate combination
of proportional, derivative, and integral action. Minorsky’s
work was not widely disseminated, however. Although he
gave a good theoretical basis for closed-loop control, he was
writing in an age of heroic invention, when intuition and prac-
tical experience were much more important for engineering
practice than theoretical analysis.
Important technological developments were also being
made in other sectors during the first few decades of the
twentieth century, although again there was little theoretical
underpinning. The electric power industry brought demands
for voltage and frequency regulation; many processes using
driven rollers required accurate speed control; and consider-
able work was carried out in a number of countries on systems
for the accurate pointing of guns for naval and antiaircraft
gunnery. In the process industries, measuring instruments
and pneumatic controllers of increasing sophistication were
developed. Mason’s Stabilog (Fig. 2.5), patented in 1933,
included integral as well as proportional action, and by
9
29 27 25
5 7
Fig. 2.5 The Stabilog, a pneumatic controller providing proportional
and integral action [19]
the end of the decade three-term controllers were available
that also included preact or derivative control. Theoretical
progress was slow, however, until the advances made in
electronics and telecommunications in the 1920s and 1930s
were translated into the control field during World War II.
2.1.4 Electronics, Feedback,
and Mathematical Analysis
The rapid spread of telegraphy and then telephony from
the mid-nineteenth century onward prompted a great deal
of theoretical investigation into the behavior of electric cir-
cuits. Oliver Heaviside published papers on his operational
calculus over a number of years from 1888 onward [20],
but although his techniques produced valid results for the
transient response of electrical networks, he was fiercely
criticized by contemporary mathematicians for his lack of
rigor, and ultimately he was blackballed by the establishment.
It was not until the second decade of the twentieth century
that Bromwich, Carson, and others made the link between
Heaviside’s operational calculus and Fourier methods, and
thus proved the validity of Heaviside’s techniques [21].
2 Historical Perspective of Automation
The first three decades of the twentieth century saw im-
portant analyses of circuit and filter design, particularly in
the USA and Germany. Harry Nyquist and Karl Küpfmüller
were two of the first to consider the problem of the maximum
transmission rate of telegraph signals, as well as the notion
of information in telecommunications, and both went on to
analyze the general stability problem of a feedback circuit
[22]. In 1928, Küpfmüller analyzed the dynamics of an
automatic gain control electronic circuit using feedback. He
appreciated the dynamics of the feedback system, but his
integral equation approach resulted only in approximations
and design diagrams, rather than a rigorous stability criterion.
At about the same time in the USA, Harold Black was
designing feedback amplifiers for transcontinental telephony
(Fig. 2.6). In a famous epiphany on the Hudson River ferry
in August 1927 he realized that negative feedback could
reduce distortion at the cost of reducing overall gain. Black
passed on the problem of the stability of such a feedback
loop to his Bell Labs colleague Harry Nyquist, who published
his celebrated frequency-domain encirclement criterion in
1932 [24]. Nyquist demonstrated, using results derived by
Cauchy, that the key to stability is whether or not the open-
loop frequency-response locus in the complex plane encircles
(in Nyquist’s original convention) the point 1 + i0. One of
the great advantages of this approach is that no analytical
form of the open-loop frequency response is required: A
set of measured data points can be plotted without the need
for a mathematical model. Another advantage is that, unlike
the Routh–Hurwitz criterion, an assessment of the transient
response can be made directly from the Nyquist plot in terms
of gain and phase margins (how close the locus approaches
the critical point).
Black’s 1934 paper reporting his contribution to the devel-
opment of the negative feedback amplifier included what was
to become the standard closed-loop analysis in the frequency
domain [23].
me + n + d(E )
e
Amplifier circuit E+N+D
b (E + N + D) m discussed [29]. Also in Russia, a great deal of work was
mb (E + N + D)
Feedback circuit
b Infrastructure
Fig. 2.6 Black’s feedback amplifier. (After [23])
45
The third key contributor to the analysis of feedback
in electronic systems at Bell Labs was Hendrik Bode who
worked on equalizers from the mid-1930s, and who demon-
strated that attenuation and phase shift were related in any
realizable circuit [25]. The dream of telephone engineers to 2
build circuits with fast cutoff and low phase shift was indeed
only a dream. It was Bode who introduced the notions of
gain and phase margins, and redrew the Nyquist plot in its
now conventional form with the critical point at −1 +i0.
He also introduced the famous straight-line approximations
to frequency-response curves of linear systems plotted on
log–log axes. Bode presented his methods in a classic text
published immediately after the war [26].
If the work of the communications engineers was one
major precursor of classical control, then the other was the
development of high-performance servos in the 1930s. The
need for such servos was generated by the increasing use
of analogue simulators, such as network analyzers for the
electrical power industry and differential analyzers for a
wide range of problems. By the early 1930s, six-integrator
differential analyzers were in operation at various locations
in the USA and the UK. A major center of innovation was
MIT, where Vannevar Bush, Norbert Wiener, and Harold
Hazen had all contributed to the design. In 1934, Hazen
summarized the developments of the previous years in the
theory of servomechanisms [27]. He adopted normalized
curves, and parameters such as time constant and damping
factor, to characterize servo-response, but he did not give
any stability analysis: Although he appears to have been
aware of Nyquists’s work, he (like almost all his contem-
poraries) does not appear to have appreciated the close rela-
tionship between a feedback servomechanism and a feedback
amplifier.
The 1930s American work gradually became known else-
where. There is ample evidence from prewar USSR, Ger-
many, and France that, for example, Nyquist’s results were
known – if not widely disseminated. In 1940, for example,
Leonhard published a book on automatic control in which he
introduced the inverse Nyquist plot [28], and in the same year
a conference was held in Moscow during which a number
of Western results in automatic control were presented and
being carried out on nonlinear dynamics, using an approach
developed from the methods of Poincaré and Lyapunov at the
turn of the century [30]. Such approaches, however, were not
widely known outside Russia until after the war.
2.1.5 World War II and Classical Control:
Notwithstanding the major strides identified in the previous
subsections, it was during World War II that a discipline of
feedback control began to emerge, using a range of design
46
and analysis techniques to implement high-performance sys-
tems, especially those for the control of antiaircraft weapons.
In particular, World War II saw the coming together of engi-
neers from a range of disciplines – electrical and electronic
engineering, mechanical engineering, and mathematics – and
the subsequent realization that a common framework could
be applied to all the various elements of a complex control
system in order to achieve the desired result [19, 31].
The so-called fire control problem was one of the major
issues in military research and development at the end of
the 1930s. While not a new problem, the increasing impor-
tance of aerial warfare meant that the control of antiaircraft
weapons took on a new significance. Under manual con-
trol, aircraft were detected by radar, range was measured,
prediction of the aircraft position at the arrival of the shell
was computed, and guns were aimed and fired. A typical
system could involve up to 14 operators. Clearly, automation
of the process was highly desirable, and achieving this was to
require detailed research into such matters as the dynamics
of the servomechanisms driving the gun aiming, the design
of controllers, and the statistics of tracking aircraft possibly
taking evasive action.
Government, industry, and academia collaborated closely
in the USA, and three research laboratories were of prime im-
portance. The Servomechanisms Laboratory at MIT brought
together Brown, Hall, Forrester, and others in projects that
developed frequency-domain methods for control loop de-
sign for high-performance servos. Particularly close links
were maintained with Sperry, a company with a strong track
record in guidance systems, as indicated above. Meanwhile,
at MIT’s Radiation Laboratory – best known, perhaps, for
its work on radar and long-distance navigation – researchers
such as James, Nichols, and Phillips worked on the further
development of design techniques for auto-track radar for AA
gun control. And the third institution of seminal importance
for fire control development was Bell Labs, where great
names such as Bode, Shannon, and Weaver – in collaboration
with Wiener and Bigelow at MIT – attacked a number of
outstanding problems, including the theory of smoothing and
prediction for gun aiming. By the end of the war, most of the
techniques of what came to be called classical control had
been elaborated in these laboratories, and a whole series of
papers and textbooks appeared in the late 1940s presenting
this new discipline to the wider engineering community [32].
Support for control systems development in the USA
has been well documented [19, 31]. The National Defense
Research Committee (NDRC) was established in 1940 and
incorporated into the Office of Scientific Research and De-
velopment (OSRD) the following year. Under the director-
ship of Vannevar Bush, the new bodies tackled antiaircraft
measures, and thus the servo problem, as a major priority.
Section D of the NDRC, devoted to Detection, Controls,
C. Bissell et al.
and Instruments was the most important for the develop-
ment of feedback control. Following the establishment of
the O.R., the NDRC was reorganized into divisions, and
Division 7, Fire Control, under the overall direction of Harold
Hazen, covered the following subdivisions: ground-based
antiaircraft fire control; airborne fire control systems; ser-
vomechanisms and data transmission; optical rangefinders;
fire control analysis; and navy fire control with radar.
Turning to the UK, by the outbreak of World War II
various military research stations were highly active in such
areas as radar and gun laying, and there were also close
links between government bodies and industrial companies
such as Metropolitan–Vickers, British Thomson–Houston,
and others. Nevertheless, it is true to say that overall coor-
dination was not as effective as in the USA. A body that
contributed significantly to the dissemination of theoretical
developments and other research into feedback control sys-
tems in the UK was the so-called Servo Panel. Originally
established informally in 1942 as the result of an initiative
of Solomon (head of a special radar group at Malvern), it
acted rather as a learned society with approximately monthly
meetings from May 1942 to August 1945. Toward the end of
the war meetings included contributions from the USA.
Germany developed successful control systems for civil
and military applications both before and during the war
(torpedo and flight control, for example). The period 1938–
1941 was particularly important for the development of mis-
sile guidance systems. The test and development center at
Peenemünde on the Baltic coast had been set up in early
1936, and work on guidance and control saw the involve-
ment of industry, the government, and universities. However,
there does not appear to have been any significant national
coordination of R&D in the control field in Germany, and
little development of high-performance servos as there was
in the USA and the UK. When we turn to the German
situation outside the military context, however, we find a
rather remarkable awareness of control and even cybernetics.
In 1939, the Verein Deutscher Ingenieure, one of the two
major German engineers’ associations, set up a specialist
committee on control engineering. As early as October 1940
the chair of this body Herman Schmidt gave a talk covering
control engineering and its relationship with economics, so-
cial sciences, and cultural aspects [33]. Rather remarkably,
this committee continued to meet during the war years,
and issued a report in 1944 concerning primarily control
concepts and terminology, but also considering many of the
fundamental issues of the emerging discipline.
The Soviet Union saw a great deal of prewar interest in
control, mainly for industrial applications in the context of
five-year plans for the Soviet command economy. Develop-
ments in the USSR have received little attention in English-
language accounts of the history of the discipline apart from
2 Historical Perspective of Automation 47

a few isolated papers. It is noteworthy that the Kommis-

siya Telemekhanikii Avtomatiki (KTA) was founded in 1934, Imaginary
KG (iw) Plane
and the Institut Avtomatikii Telemekhaniki (IAT) in 1939 axis
Center of = – M 2
(both under the auspices of the Soviet Academy of Sciences, circles M 2–1
which controlled scientific research through its network of
M = 1.1
Radii of = M 2
institutes). The KTA corresponded with numerous Western circles M 2–1
manufacturers of control equipment in the mid-1930s and M = 1.3
M = 0.75
translated a number articles from Western journals. The early
days of the IAT were marred, however, by the Shchipanov M = 1.5
affair, a classic Soviet attack on a researcher for pseudo- M=2
science, which detracted from technical work for a consid- 3
–3 –2 –1 +1 +2
erable period of time [34]. The other major Russian center of 3
2 Real axis
research related to control theory in the 1930s and 1940s (if 2
not for practical applications) was the University of Gorkii 2 1
(now Nizhnii Novgorod), where Aleksandr Andronov and 0.5
colleagues had established a center for the study of nonlinear 1cps
dynamics during the 1930s [35]. Andronov was in regular K= 0.5
contact with Moscow during the 1940s, and presented the
emerging control theory there – both the nonlinear research at 1
0.5 cps
Gorkii and developments in the UK and USA. Nevertheless,
there appears to have been no coordinated wartime work on K=1
control engineering in the USSR, and the IAT in Moscow K=2
was evacuated when the capital came under threat. However,
there does seem to have been an emerging control community
in Moscow, Nizhnii Novgorod, and Leningrad, and Russian Fig. 2.7 Hall’s M-circles. (After [37])
workers were extremely well informed about the open liter-
ature in the West.
that would give the desired amplitude ratio. As an aid to finding
the value of K he superimposed on the polar plot curves of
2.1.6 World War II and Classical Control: constant magnitude of the amplitude ratio. These curves turned
out to be circles . . . By plotting the response locus on transparent
Theory paper, or by using an overlay of M-circles printed on transparent
paper, the need to draw M-circles was obviated . . .
Design techniques for servomechanisms began to be devel-
oped in the USA from the late 1930s onward. In 1940, Gor- A second MIT group, known as the Radiation Laboratory
don S. Brown and colleagues at MIT analyzed the transient (or RadLab), was working on auto-track radar systems. Work
response of a closed-loop system in detail, introducing the in this group was described after the war in [39]; one of the
system operator 1/(1 + open loop) as functions of the Heav- major innovations was the introduction of the Nichols chart
iside differential operator p. By the end of 1940 contracts (Fig. 2.8), similar to Hall’s M-circles, but using the more
were being drawn up between the NDRC and MIT for a convenient decibel measure of amplitude ratio that turned the
range of servo projects. One of the most significant con- circles into a rather different geometrical form.
tributors was Albert Hall, who developed classic frequency- The third US group consisted of those looking at smooth-
response methods as part of his doctoral thesis, presented ing and prediction for antiaircraft weapons – most notably
in 1943 and published initially as a confidential document Wiener and Bigelow at MIT together with others, including
[36] and then in the open literature after the war [37]. Hall Bode and Shannon, at Bell Labs. This work involved the
derived the frequency response of a unity feedback servo application of correlation techniques to the statistics of air-
as KG(iω)/[1 + KG(iω)], applied the Nyquist criterion, and craft motion. Although the prototype Wiener predictor was
introduced a new way of plotting system response that he unsuccessful in attempts at practical application in the early
called M-circles (Fig. 2.7), which were later to inspire the 1940s, the general approach proved to be seminal for later
Nichols chart. As Bennett describes it [38]: developments.
Formal techniques in the UK were not so advanced.
Hall was trying to design servosystems which were stable, had
a high natural frequency, and high damping. [ . . . ] He needed a Arnold Tustin at Metropolitan–Vickers (Metro–Vick)
method of determining, from the transfer locus, the value of K worked on gun control from the late 1930s, but engineers had
48 C. Bissell et al.

2.1.7 The Emergence of Modern Control

Loop gain (dB)
–28
Theory
0
–0.5 +0.5
–24 The modern or state-space approach to control was ulti-
–20 mately derived from original work by Poincaré and Lyapunov
+1
–1–0.2 at the end of the nineteenth century. As noted above, Russians
–16
had continued developments along these lines, particularly
–12 –2 during the 1920s and 1930s in centers of excellence in
+2
–3 400 Moscow and Gorkii (now Nizhnii Novgorod). Russian work
–8 –4
–0.4 +3 of the 1930s filtered slowly through to the West [45], but it
–4 –6 +4 was only in the postwar period, and particularly with the in-
0 –12
200 +5 troduction of cover-to-cover translations of the major Soviet
–0.6 +6
w journals, that researchers in the USA and elsewhere became
+4 familiar with Soviet work. But phase-plane approaches had
–0.8 100
w +9
+8 already been adopted by Western control engineers. One of
1.0 60
+12 the first was Leroy MacColl in his early textbook [46].
+12 40 The Cold War requirements of control engineering cen-
+16 1.5 tered on the control of ballistic objects for aerospace appli-
+18
+20 2 cations. Detailed and accurate mathematical models, both
20 4 6 linear and nonlinear, could be obtained, and the classical
+24 techniques of frequency response and root locus – essentially
10 8 +24
+28 approximations – were increasingly replaced by methods
–180 –160 –140 –120 –100 –80 –60 –40 –20 0
Loop phase angle (deg)
designed to optimize some measure of performance such
as minimizing trajectory time or fuel consumption. Higher-
order models were expressed as a set of first-order equations
Fig. 2.8 Nichols chart. (After [38]) in terms of the state variables. The state variables allowed
for a more sophisticated representation of dynamic behavior
little appreciation of dynamics. Although they used harmonic than the classical single-input single-output system modeled
response plots, they appeared to have been unaware of the by a differential equation, and were suitable for multivariable
Nyquist criterion until well into the 1940s [40]. Other key problems. In general, we have in matrix form
researchers in the UK included Whitely, who proposed using
the inverse Nyquist diagram as early as 1942, and introduced x = Ax + Bu,
his standard forms for the design of various categories y = Cx,
of servosystem [41]. In Germany, Winfried Oppelt, Hans
Sartorius, and Rudolf Oldenbourg were also coming to where x are the state variables, u the inputs, and y the outputs.
related conclusions about closed-loop design independently Automatic control developments in the late 1940s and
of allied research [42, 43]. 1950s were greatly assisted by changes in the engineering
The basics of sampled-data control were also developed professional bodies and a series of international conferences
independently during the war in several countries. The z- [47]. In the USA, both the American Society of Mechanical
transform in all but name was described in a chapter by Engineers and the American Institute of Electrical Engineers
Hurewizc in [39]. Tustin in the UK developed the bilinear made various changes to their structure to reflect the grow-
transformation for time series models, while Oldenbourg ing importance of servomechanisms and feedback control.
and Sartorius also used difference equations to model such In the UK, similar changes took place in the British pro-
systems. fessional bodies, most notably the Institution of Electrical
From 1944 onward, the design techniques developed dur- Engineers, but also the Institute of Measurement and Control
ing the hostilities were made widely available in an explosion and the mechanical and chemical engineering bodies. The
of research papers and text books – not only from the USA first conferences on the subject appeared in the late 1940s
and the UK, but also from Germany and the USSR. Toward in London and New York, but the first truly international
the end of the decade perhaps the final element in the classical conference was held in Cranfield, UK, in 1951. This was
control toolbox was added – Evans’ root locus technique, followed by a number of others, the most influential of which
which enabled plots of changing pole position as a function of was the Heidelberg event of September 1956, organized
loop gain to be easily sketched [44]. But a radically different by the joint control committee of the two major German
approach was already waiting in the wings. engineering bodies, the VDE and VDI. The establishment of
2 Historical Perspective of Automation 49

the International Federation of Automatic Control followed A development often neglected in the history of automatic
in 1957 with its first conference in Moscow in 1960 [48]. control is the programmable logic controller (PLC). PLCs
The Moscow conference was perhaps most remarkable for were developed to replace individual relays used for sequen-
Kalman’s paper On the general theory of control systems tial (and combinational) logic control in various industrial
which identified the duality between multivariable feedback sectors. Early plugboard devices appeared in the mid-1960s, 2
control and multivariable feedback filtering and which was but the first PLC proper was probably the Modicon, devel-
seminal for the development of optimal control. oped for General Motors to replace electromechanical relays
The late 1950s and early 1960s saw the publication of a in automotive component production. Modern PLCs offer a
number of other important works on dynamic programming wide range of control options, including conventional closed-
and optimal control, of which can be singled out those by loop control algorithms such as PID as well as the logic
Bellman [49], Kalman [50–52], and Pontryagin and col- functions. In spite of the rise of the ruggedized PCs in many
leagues [53]. A more thorough discussion of control theory industrial applications, PLCs are still widely used owing to
is provided in Chs.  9,  11, and  10. their reliability and familiarity (Fig. 2.9).
Digital computers also made it possible to implement the
more advanced control techniques that were being developed
2.1.8 The Digital Computer in the 1960s and 1970s [56]. In adaptive control the algorithm
is modified according to circumstances. Adaptive control has
The introduction of digital technologies in the late 1950s a long history: so-called gain scheduling, for example, when
brought enormous changes to automatic control. Control en-
gineering had long been associated with computing devices –
as noted above, a driving force for the development of servos
was for applications in analogue computing. But the great
change with the introduction of digital computers was that
ultimately the approximate methods of frequency-response
or root locus design, developed explicitly to avoid compu-
tation, could be replaced by techniques in which accurate
computation played a vital role.
There is some debate about the first application of digital
computers to process control, but certainly the introduction
of computer control at the Texaco Port Arthur (Texas) re-
finery in 1959 and the Monsanto ammonia plant at Luling
(Louisiana) the following year are two of the earliest [54].
The earliest systems were supervisory systems, in which
individual loops were controlled by conventional electrical,
pneumatic, or hydraulic controllers, but monitored and opti-
mized by computer. Specialized process control computers
followed in the second half of the 1960s, offering direct
digital control (DDC) as well as supervisory control. In DDC
the computer itself implements a discrete form of a control
algorithm such as three-term control or other procedure. Such
systems were expensive, however, and also suffered many
problems with programming, and were soon superseded by
the much cheaper minicomputers of the early 1970s, most
notably the Digital Equipment Corporation PDP series. But,
as in so many other areas, it was the microprocessor that had
the greatest effect. Microprocessor-based digital controllers
were soon developed that were compact, reliable, included
a wide selection of control algorithms, had good communi-
cations with supervisory computers, and comparatively easy
to use programming and diagnostic tools via an effective
operator interface. Microprocessors could also easily be built
into specific pieces of equipment, such as robot arms, to
provide dedicated position control, for example. Fig. 2.9 The Modicon 084 PLC. (After [55])
50
the gain of a controller is varied according to some measured
parameter, was used well before the digital computer. (The
classic example is in flight control, where the altitude affects
aircraft dynamics, and needs therefore to be taken into ac-
count when setting gain.) Digital adaptive control, however,
offers much greater possibilities for:
1. Identification of relevant system parameters
2. Making decisions about the required modifications to the
control algorithm
3. Implementing the changes
Optimal and robust techniques too were developed, the
most celebrated perhaps being the linear-quadratic-Gaussian
(LQG) and H∞ approaches from the 1960s onward. Without
digital computers these techniques, that attempt to optimize
system rejection of disturbances (according to some measure
of behavior) while at the same time being resistant to errors
in the model, would simply be mathematical curiosities [57].
A very different approach to control rendered possible by
modern computers is to move away from purely mathematic
models of system behavior and controller algorithms. In
fuzzy control, for example, control action is based on a set
of rules expressed in terms of fuzzy variables. For example:
IF the speed is “high”
AND the distance to final stop is “short”
THEN apply brakes “firmly.”
The fuzzy variables high, short, and firmly can be trans-
lated by means of an appropriate computer program into
effective control for, in this case, a train. Related techniques
include learning control and knowledge-based control. In the
former, the control system can learn about its environment
using artificial intelligence techniques (AI) and modify its
behavior accordingly. In the latter, a range of AI techniques
are applied to reasoning about the situation so as to provide
appropriate control action.
2.1.9 The Socio-technological Context Since
1945
This short survey of the history of automatic control has con-
centrated on technological and, to some extent, institutional
developments. A full social history of automatic control has
yet to be written, although there are detailed studies of certain
aspects. Here I shall merely indicate some major trends since
World War II.
The wartime developments, both in engineering and in
areas such as operations research, pointed the way toward
the design and management of large-scale, complex, projects.
Some of those involved in the wartime research were already
thinking on a much larger scale. As early as 1949, in some
C. Bissell et al.
rather prescient remarks at an ASME meeting in the fall of
that year, Brown and Campbell said [58–60]:
We have in mind more a philosophic evaluation of systems
which might lead to the improvement of product quality, to
better coordination of plant operation, to a clarification of the
economics related to new plant design, and to the safe oper-
ation of plants in our composite social-industrial community.
[ . . . ] The conservation of raw materials used in a process often
prompts reconsideration of control. The expenditure of power
or energy in product manufacture is another important factor
related to control. The protection of health of the population
adjacent to large industrial areas against atmospheric poisoning
and water-stream pollution is a sufficiently serious problem to
keep us constantly alert for advances in the study and technique
of automatic control, not only because of the human aspect, but
because of the economy aspect.
Many saw the new technologies, and the prospects of
automation, as bringing great benefits to society; others were
more negative. Wiener, for example, wrote [61]:
The modern industrial revolution is [ . . . ] bound to devalue the
human brain at least in its simpler and more routine decisions.
Of course, just as the skilled carpenter, the skilled mechanic,
the skilled dressmaker have in some degree survived the first
industrial revolution, so the skilled scientist and the skilled ad-
ministrator may survive the second. However, taking the second
revolution as accomplished, the average human of mediocre
attainments or less has nothing to sell that it is worth anyone’s
money to buy.
It is remarkable how many of the wartime engineers
involved in control systems development went on to look
at social, economic, or biological systems. In addition to
Wiener’s work on cybernetics, Arnold Tustin wrote a book
on the application to economics of control ideas, and both
Winfried Oppelt and Karl Küpfmüller investigated biological
systems in the postwar period.
One of the more controversial applications of control
and automation was the introduction of the computer
numerical control (CNC) of machine tools from the late
1950s onward. Arguments about increased productivity were
contested by those who feared widespread unemployment.
We still debate such issues today, and will continue to do
so. Noble, in his critique of automation, particularly CNC,
remarks [62]:
[ . . . ] when technological development is seen as politics, as it
should be, then the very notion of progress becomes ambigu-
ous: What kind of progress? Progress for whom? Progress for
what? And the awareness of this ambiguity, this indeterminacy,
reduces the powerful hold that technology has had upon our
consciousness and imagination [ . . . ] Such awareness awakens
us not only to the full range of technological possibilities and
political potential but also to a broader and older notion of
progress, in which a struggle for human fulfillment and social
equality replaces a simple faith in technological deliverance . . . .
2 Historical Perspective of Automation
2.1.10 Conclusion and Emerging Trends
Technology is part of human activity, and cannot be divorced
from politics, economics, and society. There is no doubt that
automatic control, at the core of automation, has brought
enormous benefits, enabling modern production techniques,
power and water supply, environmental control, information
and communication technologies, and so on. At the same
time automatic control has called into question the way we
organize our societies, and how we run modern technological
enterprises. Automated processes require much less human
intervention, and there have been periods in the recent past
when automation has been problematic in those parts of
industrialized society that have traditionally relied on a large
workforce for carrying out tasks that were subsequently
automated. It seems unlikely that these socio-technological
questions will be settled as we move toward the next genera-
tion of automatic control systems, such as the transformation
of work through the use of information and communication
technology ICT and the application of control ideas to this
emerging field [63].
Future developments in automatic control are likely to
exploit ever more sophisticated mathematical models for
those applications amenable to exact technological modeling,
plus a greater emphasis on human–machine systems, and
further development of human behavior modeling, including
decision support and cognitive engineering systems [64]. As
safety aspects of large-scale automated systems become ever
more important, large-scale integration and novel ways of
communicating between humans and machines are likely to
take on even greater significance.
2.1.11 Further Reading
• R. Bellman (Ed.): Selected Papers on Mathematical
Trends in Control Engineering (Dover, New York 1964)
• C.C. Bissell: http://ict.open.ac.uk/classics (electronic re-
source)
• M.S. Fagen (Ed.): A History of Engineering and Science
in the Bell System: The Early Years (1875–1925) (Bell
Telephone Laboratories, Murray Hill 1975)
• M.S. Fagen (Ed.): A History of Engineering and Science
in the Bell System: National Service in War and Peace
(1925–1975) (Bell Telephone Laboratories, Murray Hill
1979)
• A.T. Fuller: Stability of Motion, ed. by E.J. Routh,
reprinted with additional material (Taylor Francis, London
1975)
• A.T. Fuller: The early development of control theory,
Trans. ASME J. Dyn. Syst. Meas. Control 98, 109–118
(1976)
• A.T. Fuller: Lyapunov centenary issue, Int. J. Control 55,
521–527 (1992)
51
• L.E. Harris: The Two Netherlanders, Humphrey Bradley
and CornelisDrebbel (Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge
1961)
• B. Marsden: Watt’s Perfect Engine (Columbia Univ. Press,
New York 2002) 2
• O. Mayr: Authority, Liberty and Automatic Machinery
in Early Modern Europe (Johns Hopkins Univ. Press,
Baltimore 1986)
• W. Oppelt: A historical review of autopilot development,
research and theory in Germany, Trans ASME J. Dyn.
Syst. Meas. Control 98, 213–223 (1976)
• W. Oppelt: On the early growth of conceptual thinking in
control theory – the German role up to 1945, IEEE Control
Syst. Mag. 4, 16–22 (1984)
• B. Porter: Stability Criteria for Linear Dynamical Systems
(Oliver Boyd, Edinburgh, London 1967)
• P. Remaud: Histoire de l’automatiqueen France 1850–
1950 (Hermes Lavoisier, Paris 2007), in French
• K. Rörentrop: Entwicklung der modernenRegelungstech-
nik (Oldenbourg, Munich 1971), in German
• Scientific American: Automatic Control (Simon Shuster,
New York 1955)
• J.S. Small: The Analogue Alternative (Routledge, London,
New York 2001)
• G.J. Thaler (Ed.): Automatic Control: Classical Linear
Theory (Dowden, Stroudsburg 1974)
• (Added for this new edition) Bissell, C., and Dillon, C.
(Eds.): Ways of Thinking, Ways of Seeing (Springer ACES
Book Series 2012)
2.2 Advances in Industrial Automation:
Historical Perspectives
(by Theodore J. Williams)
Automation is a way for humans to extend the capability
of their tools and machines. Self-operation by tools and
machines requires four functions: performance detection,
process correction, adjustments due to disturbances, and
enabling the previous three functions without human inter-
vention. Development of these functions evolved in history,
and automation is the capability of causing machines to carry
out a specific operation on command from external source.
In chemical manufacturing and petroleum industries prior
to 1940, most processing was in batch environment. The
increasing demand for chemical and petroleum products by
World War II and thereafter required different manufacturing
setup, leading to continuous processing and efficiencies were
achieved by automatic control and automation of process,
flow, and transfer. The increasing complexity of the control
system for large plants necessitated applications of comput-
ers, which were introduced to the chemical industry in the
1960s. Automation has substituted computer-based control
52
systems for most, if not all, control systems previously based
on human-aided mechanical or pneumatic systems to the
point that chemical and petroleum plant systems are now
fully automatic to a very high degree. In addition, automation
has replaced human effort, eliminates significant labor costs,
and prevents accidents and injuries that might occur. The
Purdue Enterprise Reference Architecture (PERA) for hier-
archical control structure, the hierarchy of personnel tasks,
and plant operational management structure, as developed for
large industrial plants, as well as frameworks for automation
studies are also illustrated.
Humans have always sought to increase the capability
of their tools and their extensions, i.e., machines. A natural
extension of this dream was making tools capable of self-
operation in order to:
1. Detect when performance was not achieving the initial
expected result
2. Initiate a correction in operation to return the process
to its expected result in case of deviation from expected
performance
3. Adjust ongoing operations to increase the machine’s pro-
ductivity in terms of (a) volume, (b) dimensional accuracy,
(c) overall product quality, or (d) ability to respond to a
new previously unknown disturbance
4. Carry out the previously described functions without hu-
man intervention
Item 1 was readily achieved through the development of
sensors that could continuously or periodically measure the
important variables of the process and signal the occurrence
of variations in them. Item 2 was made possible next by
the invention of controllers that convert knowledge of such
variations into commands required to change operational
variables and thereby return to the required operational re-
sults. The successful operation of any commercially viable
process requires the solution of items 1 and 2.
The development of item 3 required an additional level
of intelligence beyond items 1 and 2, i.e., the capability
to make a comparison between the results achieved and
the operating conditions used for a series of tests. Humans
can, of course, readily perform this task. Accomplishing this
task using a machine, however, requires the computational
capability to compare successive sets of data, gather and
interpret corrective results, and be able to apply the results
obtained. For a few variables with known variations, this can
be incorporated into the controller’s design. However, for a
large number of variables or when possible unknown ranges
of responses may be present, a computer must be available.
Automation is the capability of causing a machine to carry
out a specific operation on command from an external source.
The nature of these operations may also be part of the external
command received. The devise involved may likewise have
C. Bissell et al.
the capability to respond to other external environmental
conditions or signals when such responses are incorporated
within its capabilities. Automation, in the sense used almost
universally today in the chemical and petroleum industries,
is taken to mean the complete or near-complete operation of
chemical plants and petroleum refineries by digital computer
systems. This operation entails not only the monitoring and
control of multiple flows of materials involved but also the
coordination and optimization of these controls to achieve
optimal production rate and/or the economic return desired
by management. These systems are programmed to compen-
sate, as far as the plant equipment itself will allow for changes
in raw material characteristics and availability and requested
product flow rates and qualities.
In the early days of the chemical manufacturing and
petroleum industries (prior to 1940), most processing was
carried out in a batch environment. The needed ingredi-
ents were added together in a kettle and processed until
the reaction or other desired action was completed. The
desired product(s) were then separated from the by-products
and unreacted materials by decanting, distilling, filtering,
or other applicable physical means. These latter operations
are thus in contrast to the generally chemical processes of
product formation. At that early time, the equipment and
their accompanying methodologies were highly manpower
dependent, particularly for those requiring coordination of
the joint operation of related equipment, especially when
succeeding steps involved transferring materials to different
sets or types of equipment.
The strong demand for chemical and petroleum prod-
ucts generated by World War II and the following years
of prosperity and rapid commercial growth required an en-
tirely different manufacturing equipment setup. This led to
the emergence of continuous processes where subsequent
processes were continued in successive connected pieces of
equipment, each devoted to a separate setup in the process.
Thus a progression in distance to the succeeding equipment
(rather than in time, in the same equipment) was now nec-
essary. Since any specific piece of equipment or location in
the process train was then always used for the same opera-
tional stage, the formerly repeated filling, reacting, emptying,
and cleaning operations in every piece of equipment were
now eliminated. This was obviously much more efficient
in terms of equipment usage. This type of operation, now
called continuous processing, is in contrast to the earlier
batch processing mode. However, the coordination of the
now simultaneous operations connected together required
much more accurate control of both operations to avoid the
transmission of processing errors or upsets to downstream
equipment.
Fortunately, our basic knowledge of the inherent chemical
and physical properties of these processes had also advanced
along with the development of the needed equipment and
2 Historical Perspective of Automation 53

Level 4b
Management
Management Sales
data
presentation
information orders 2
Scheduling and control hierarchy (Level 4) Level 4a
Production
Operational Communi-
scheduling and
and production cations with
operational
supervision other areas
management

Communi-
Supervisor's Intra-area cations with
(Level 3)
console coordination other super-
visory systems

Communi-
Supervisor's Supervisory cations with
(Level 2)
console control other control
systems

Operator's Direct digital

console control

(Level 1)

Specialized dedicated
digital controllers

All physical,
Process chemical or
spatial trans-
formations
(Level 0)

Fig. 2.10 The Purdue Enterprise Reference Architecture (PERA). Hierarchical computer control structure for an industrial plant [77]

now allows us to adopt methodologies for assessing the
quality and state of these processes during their operation,
i.e., degree of completion, etc. Likewise, also fortunately,
our basic knowledge of the technology of automatic con-
trol and its implementing equipment advanced along with
knowledge of the pneumatic and electronic techniques used
to implement them. Pneumatic technology for the necessary
control equipment was used almost exclusively from the
original development of the technique to the 1920s until its
replacement by the rapidly developing electronic techniques
in the 1930s. This advanced type of equipment became
almost totally electronic after the development of solid-state
electronic technologies as the next advances. Pneumatic tech-
niques were then used only where severe fire or explosive
conditions prevented the use of electronics.
The overall complexity of the control systems for large
plants made them objects for the consideration of the use
of computers almost as soon as the early digital computers
became practical and affordable. The first computers for
chemical plant and refinery control were installed in 1960,
and they became quite prevalent by 1965. By now, computers
are widely used in all large plant operations and in most small
ones as well. If automation can be defined as the substitution
of computer-based control systems for most, if not all, control
54
Level
Corporate officer
Division manager
Plant manager
Department manager
Foreman
Operator
Observer Outside
Sensors communi-
cations
Fig. 2.11 Personnel task hierarchy in a large manufacturing plant
systems previously based on human-aided mechanical or
pneumatic systems, then for chemical and petroleum plant
systems we can now truly say that they are fully automated,
to a very high degree.
As indicated above, a most desired by-product of the
automation of chemical and petroleum refining processes
must be the replacement of human effort: first, in directly
handling the frequently dangerous chemical ingredients in
the initiation of the process; second, that of personally mon-
itoring and controlling the carrying out and completion of
these processes; and finally that of handling the resulting
products. This omits the expenses involved in the employ-
ment of personnel for carrying out these tasks, and also
prevents unnecessary accidents and injuries that might occur
there. The staff at chemical plants and petroleum refineries
has thus been dramatically decreased in recent years. In
C. Bissell et al.
Output Task
Define and modify
Strategy objectives
Plans Implement objective
Operations
management Operations control
Control Supervisory control
Direct control
many locations this involves only a watchman role and an
emergency maintenance function. This capability has further
resulted in even further improvements in overall plant design
to take full advantage of this new capability – a synergy effect.
This synergy effect was next felt in the automation of the raw
material acceptance practices and the product distribution
methodologies of these plants. Many are now connected
directly to the raw material sources and their customers
by pipelines, thus totally eliminating special raw material
and product handling and packaging. Again, computers are
widely used in the scheduling, monitoring, and controlling
of all operations involved here.
Finally, it has been noted that there is a hierarchical
relationship between the control of the industrial process
plant unit automatic control systems and the duties of the
successive levels of management in a large industrial plant
2 Historical Perspective of Automation 55

Level 4b
Company or plant general
management and staff 1

Concept
phase
(Level 4)
Level 4a 2
Plant operational management Communi-
and staff cations with 2 3
other areas
4 5

Functional

Definition
6 7

phase
Communi-

view
Area operational management
(Level 3) cations with 8 9
and staff
other super-
visory levels

Functional
Unit operational management Communi-

design
(Level 2) cations with
and staff

Design phase
10 11 12
other control
level systems

(Level 1) Direct process operations

Detailed
Implementation view

design
13 14 15

Operations Construction and

installation phase
Physical communication
(Hardware
only) with plant processes

16 17 18
Process

phase 19 20 21
Fig. 2.12 Plant operational management hierarchical structure

from company management down to the final plant control

actions [65–76]. It has also been shown that all actions
normally taken by intermediary plant staff in this hierarchy
can be formulated into a computer-readable form for all
operations that do not involve innovation or other problem-
solving actions by plant staff. Figures 2.10, 2.11, 2.12, and
2.13 (with Table 2.1) illustrate this hierarchical structure and
its components. See more on the history of automation and
control in Chs.  3 and  4; see further details on process
industry automation in Ch.  31; on complex systems au-
tomation in Ch.  36; and on automation architecture for
interoperability in Ch.  86.
2.3 Advances in Robotics
and Automation: Historical
Perspectives
(by Yukio Hasegawa)
Historical perspectives are given about the impressive
progress in automation. Automation, including robotics, has
evolved by becoming useful and affordable. Methods have
been developed to analyze and design better automation, and
those methods have also been automated. The most important
issue in automation is to make every effort to paying attention
to all the details.
Fig. 2.13 Abbreviated sketch to represent the structure of the Purdue
Enterprise Reference Architecture
The bodies of human beings are smaller than those of
wild animals. Our muscles, bones, and nails are smaller
and weaker. However, human beings, fortunately, have larger
brains and wisdom. Humans initially learned how to use tools
and then started using machines to perform necessary daily
operations. Without the help of these tools or machines we, as
human beings, can no longer support our daily life normally.
Technology is making progress at an extremely high
speed; for instance, about half a century ago I bought
a camera for my own use; at that time, the price of a
conventional German-made camera was very high, as much
as 6 months income. However, the price of a similar quality
camera now is the equivalent of only 2 weeks of the salary of
a young person in Japan.
Seiko Corporation started production and sales of the
world’s first quartz watch in Japan about 40 years ago. At that
time, the price of the watch was about 400,000 Yen. People
used to tell me that such high-priced watches could only be
purchased by a limited group of people with high incomes,
such as airline pilots, company owners, etc. Today similar
watches are sold in supermarkets for only 1000 Yen.
56 C. Bissell et al.

Table 2.1 Areas of interest for the architecture framework addressing development and implementation aids for automation studies (Fig. 2.13)
Area Subjects of concern
1 Mission, vision, and values of the company, operational philosophies, mandates, etc.
2 Operational policies related to the information architecture and its implementation
3 Operational strategies and goals related to the manufacturing architecture and its implementation
4 Requirements for the implementation of the information architecture to carry out the operational policies of the company
5 Requirements for physical production of the products or services to be generated by the company
6 Sets of tasks, function modules, and macrofunction modules required to carry out the requirements of the information architecture
7 Sets of production tasks, function modules, and macrofunctions required to carry out the manufacturing or service production mission
of the company
8 Connectivity diagrams of the tasks, function modules, and macrofunction modules of the information network, probably in the form of
data flow diagrams or related modeling methods
9 Process flow diagrams showing the connectivity of the tasks, function modules, and macrofunctions of the manufacturing processes
involved
10 Functional design of the information systems architecture
11 Functional design of the human and organizational architecture
12 Functional design of the manufacturing equipment architecture
13 Detailed design of the equipment and software of the information systems architecture
14 Detailed design of the task assignments, skills development training courses, and organizations of the human and organizational
architecture
15 Detailed design of components, processes, and equipment of the manufacturing equipment architecture
16 Construction, checkout, and commissioning of the equipment and software of the information systems architecture
17 Implementation of organizational development, training courses, and online skill practice for the human and organizational architecture
18 Construction, checkout, and commissioning of the equipment and processes of the manufacturing equipment architecture
19 Operation of the information and control system of the information systems architecture including its continued improvement
20 Continued organizational development and skill and human relations development training of the human and organizational architecture
21 Continued improvement of process and equipment operating conditions to increase quality and productivity, and to reduce costs
involved for the manufacturing equipment architecture

Furthermore, nowadays, we are moving toward the au-
tomation of information handling by using computers; for
instance, at many railway stations, it is now common to
see unmanned ticket consoles. Telephone exchanges have
become completely automated and the cost to use telephone
systems is now very low.
In recent years, robots have become commonplace for
aiding in many different environments. Robots are machines
which carry out motions and information handling automat-
ically. In the 1970s I was asked to start conducting research
on robots. One day, I was asked by the management of a
Japanese company that wanted to start the sales of robots to
determine whether such robots could be used in Japan. After
analyzing robot motions by using a high-speed film analysis
system, I reached the conclusion that the robot could be used
both in Japan as well as in the USA.
After that work I developed a new motion analysis method
named the robot predetermined time standard (RPTS). The
RPTS method can be widely applied to robot operation sys-
tem design and contributed to many robot operation system
design projects.
In the USA, since the beginning of the last century, a lot
of pioneers in human operation rationalization have made
significant contributions. In 1911, Frederik Tailor proposed
the scientific management method, which was later reviewed
by the American Congress. Professor Gilbreth of Purdue
University developed the new motion analysis method, and
contributed to the rationalization of human operations. Mr.
Dancan of WOFAC Corporation proposed a human prede-
termined time standard (PTS) method, which was applied to
human operation rationalizations worldwide.
In the robotic field, those contributions are only part of
the solution, and people have understood that mechanical
and control engineering are additionally important aspects.
Therefore, analysis of human operations in robotic fields
are combined with more analysis, design, and rationalization
[78]. However, human operators play a very challenging role
in operations. Therefore, study of the work involved is more
important than the robot itself and I believe that industrial
engineering is going to become increasingly important in the
future [79]. Prof. Nof developed RTM, the robot time and
motion computational method, which was applied in robot
selection and program improvements, including selection of
robots and programs of both stationary and mobile robots.
Such techniques were then incorporated in ROBCAD, a
computer-aided design system to automate the design and
implementation of robot installations and applications.
A number of years ago I had the opportunity to visit the
USA to attend an international robot symposium. At that time
the principle of “no hands in dies” was a big topic in America
2 Historical Perspective of Automation
due to a serious problem with guaranteeing the safety of
metal stamping operations. People involved in the safety of
metal stamping operations could not decrease the accident
rate in spite of their increasing efforts. The government de-
cided that a new policy to fully automate stamping operations
or to use additional devices to hold and place workpieces
without inserting operators’ hands between dies was needed.
The decision was lauded by many stamping robot manufac-
turers. Many expected that about 50,000 pieces of stamping
robots would be sold in the American market in a few years.
At that time 700,000 stamping presses were used in the
USA. In Japan, the forecast figure was modified to 20,000
pieces. The figure was not small and therefore we immedi-
ately organized a stamping robot development project team
with government financial support. The project team was
composed of ten people: three robot engineers, two stamping
engineers, a stamping technology consultant, and four stu-
dents. I also invited an expert who had previously been in
charge of stamping robot development projects in Japan. A
few years later, sales of stamping robots started, with very
good sales (over 400 robots were sold in a few years).
However, the robots could not be used and were rather
stored as inactive machines. I asked the person in charge for
the reason for this failure and was told that designers had
concentrated too much on the robot hardware development
and overlooked analysis of the conditions of the stamping
operations. Afterward, our project team analyzed the working
conditions of the stamping operations very carefully and
classified them into 128 types. Finally, the project team
developed an operation analysis method for metal stamp-
ing operations. In a few years, fortunately, by applying the
method we were able to decrease the rate of metal stamping
operation accidents from 12,000 per year to fewer than 4000
per year. Besides metal stamping operations, we worked on
research projects for forgings and castings to promote labor
welfare. Through those research endeavors we reached the
conclusion that careful analysis of the operation is the most
important issue for obtaining good results in the case of any
type of operations [80].
I believe, from my experience, that the most important
issue – not only in robot engineering but in all automation –
is to make every effort to paying attention to all the details.
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engineering education. Dr. Bissell passed away in 2017.
2 Historical Perspective of Automation
Theodore J. Williams was professor emeritus of engineering in Purdue
University. He received BS, MS, and PhD in chemical engineering from
Pennsylvania State University and MS in electrical engineering from
Ohio State University. Before joining Purdue, he was senior engineering
supervisor at Monsanto Chemical, St.Louis. He served as chair of the
IFAC/IFIP Task Force, founding chair of IFIP TC-5, as well as president
of AACC, ISA, and of AFIPS. Among his honors is the Sir Harold
Hartley Silver Medal, the Albert F. Sperry Founder Award, Gold Medal
by ISA, and the Lifetime Achievement Award from ISA. Professor
Williams passed away in 2013.
59
Yukio Hasegawa was professor of the System Science Institute at
Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan. He enjoyed construction robotics
research since 1983 as Director of Waseda Construction Robot Research
Project (WASCOR) which impacted automation in construction and
in other fields of automation. He received the prestigious first Engel-
berger Award in 1977 from the American Robot Association for his
distinguished pioneering work in robotics and in robot ergonomics since
the infancy of Japanese robotics. Among his numerous international
contributions to robotics and automation, Professor Hasegawa assisted,
as a visiting professor, to build the Robotics Institute at EPFL (Ecole
Polytechnic Federal de Lausanne) in Switzerland. He passed away in
2016.
 Social, Organizational, and Individual Impacts
of Automation 3
Francoise Lamnabhi-Lagarrigue and Tariq Samad

Contents as different as aviation, automotive, healthcare, industrial

processes, the built infrastructure, and power grids. Hu-
3.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
manity has benefited in multifarious ways as a conse-
3.2 Impact of Automation and Control: Value Chain quence, through increased physical, social, and economic
Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
well-being. Yet, these same developments have also been
3.3 A Historical Case Study of Automation and Its at the center of concerns related to sustainability, equity,
Impact: Commercial Aviation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
and ethics. These concerns are being exacerbated with
3.4 Social, Organizational, and Individual Concerns . . . . 64 emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, ma-
3.4.1 Unintended Consequences chine learning, pervasive sensing, internet of things, nan-
of Automation Technology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
3.4.2 Sustainability and the Limits of Growth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 otechnologies, neurotechnologies, biotechnologies, and
3.4.3 Inequities of Impact . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 genetic technologies, which are being incorporated in a
3.4.4 Ethical Challenges with Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 new generation of engineered systems: smart cities, au-
3.5 Emerging Developments in Automation: Societal tonomous vehicles, advanced weapon systems, assistive
Implications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67 devices, and others. To ensure responsible innovation in
3.5.1 Smart Cities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67 these areas, new conceptual approaches are needed and
3.5.2 Assistive, Wearable, and Embedded Devices . . . . . . . . . . 67
3.5.3 Autonomous Weapon Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
more attention must be paid to ethical and related aspects.
3.5.4 Automotive Autonomy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68 Further advances in automation and control will be re-
3.5.5 Renewable Energy and Smart Grids . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 quired to sustain humanity and the planetary ecosystem,
3.6 Some Approaches for Responsible Innovation . . . . . . . 70 but the social, organizational, and individual impacts of
3.6.1 Ethics Guidelines and Ethically Aligned Designs . . . . . . . 70 automation must be kept in mind as these advances are
3.6.2 Conceptual Approaches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71 pursued.
3.6.3 Ethical Training . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
3.6.4 Standards, Policies, and Enforcement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
Keywords
3.7 Conclusions and Emerging Trends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73 Automation · Control technologies · Systems and
control · Cyber-physical-human systems · Societal
challenges · Societal impact · Environmental impact ·
Abstract Responsible innovation · Education · Ethics

Automation and control technologies have been a key

enabler of past industrial revolutions and thus of the world
we live in today, with substantial footprints in sectors 3.1 Introduction

F. Lamnabhi-Lagarrigue () Automation is embedded throughout the fabric of our world

Laboratoire des Signaux et Systèmes CNRS, CentraleSupelec, today. It has had transformational impacts on people, on
Paris-Saclay Univ., Paris, France
e-mail: francoise.lamnabhi-lagarrigue@l2s.centralesupelec.fr industrial and governmental organizations, and on society
as a whole. The quality of life enjoyed by many of us, the
T. Samad
Technological Leadership Institute, University of Minnesota, usually safe and reliable operation of complex engineered
Minneapolis, MN, USA systems, the products and conveniences we have become
e-mail: tsamad@umn.edu used to, longer lifespans, and greater prosperity – advances

© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 61

S. Y. Nof (ed.), Springer Handbook of Automation, Springer Handbooks,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-96729-1_3
62
in automation have had much to do with these enhancements
of the human condition.
Automation is a technological specialization that impacts
all sectors of society and industry [4, 23, 36]. When well
designed and operated, automation can result in substantial
benefits. These benefits are broad ranging. Several categories
can be identified that, overall, speak to the pervasiveness of
the positive impact of automation.
First, automation can enable human labor to be safer
and more productive; supported by automation, a manu-
facturing plant (for example) can produce the same output
with fewer workers. Repetitive, “turn-the-crank” tasks can be
taken up by machines. Unsafe working environments can be
addressed with automation, reducing accidents and adverse
health effects for workers. For the owners and managers
of enterprises, reducing human workers can be financially
advantageous too. Labor productivity and safety extends to
the domestic environment as well, where automation has
made such tasks as cleaning, laundry, food preparation, and
home temperature control easier. We can also note that bet-
ter automation improves safety and health not only of the
workers involved in an enterprise or system but of others
affected by it as well. For example, better automation to
support aircraft pilots provides safety benefits both to them
and to the flying public.
Automation also enables efficiency: The use of energy
and materials can be reduced. Such reduction directly re-
duces operational costs, so that enterprises can do more with
less and accrue financial benefits accordingly. But it would
be a mistake to correlate reduced resource use solely with
financial savings. Such reduction also has environmental
benefits, and these are increasingly critical today. Because
of automation, operations can be more sustainable, be less
polluting, and result in reduced greenhouse gas emissions.
Finally, automation can dramatically improve the quality
and quantity of outputs. Yields can be increased, variances
decreased, downtimes reduced, and reliability enhanced.
Higher production rates have often been a motivation for
investing in automation. Automation is also seen as a
solution for improving quality, particularly when precision
and consistency beyond the capabilities of human workers
are required.
Despite these benefits, both realized and potential, au-
tomation, no less than other areas of technology (but perhaps
more, given its definitional connection with human workers
and other stakeholders), cannot be seen as neutral in its
impacts on society, nor as impervious to influences from
society on its development and deployment. The different
categories of benefits noted above can be in conflict with
each other – reducing emissions, for example, may impose
additional costs in terms of equipment and processes. Thus
the societal impacts of automation are not universally a good
for all, even if on average the net outcome may be positive.
F. Lamnabhi-Lagarrigue and T. Samad
This chapter reviews the broader impacts that automa-
tion has had and continues to have, and it also discusses
prospects for the future. The rest of this chapter is organized
as follows. First, in Sect. 3.2, we discuss the footprint of
automation, highlighting the value chains involved that en-
gage (and impact) numerous stakeholders. Although exam-
ples are discussed throughout this chapter, in Sect. 3.3, we
present a case study in which we review the evolution of
technology in one specific automation domain, commercial
aviation, and we point out some of the principal human,
organizational, and social impacts that have resulted. Some of
the concerns arising from automation are discussed in Sect.
3.4. Ethical concerns are discussed in particular. Section 3.5
reviews a number of emerging domains in the development of
which automation is playing a prominent role; these domains
encompass transportation, health, infrastructure, and other
sectors. Some recommendations for how future research and
development can be more ethically aware are presented in
Sect. 3.6, before concluding remarks.
3.2 Impact of Automation and Control:
Value Chain Considerations
The impacts of automation are gained directly by people,
organizations, and society. In addition, there are indirect
impacts as well. Automation is an enabling technology for
developing automation products and services faster, better,
and cheaper. In that respect, automation can be seen as an
“exponential” technology in terms of its compounding effect.
The enablement can extend through a value chain of products
and services.
An example can help clarify the distinction between di-
rect and indirect impacts. Thermostats for home temperature
control are devices that automate the regulation of indoor
temperature in living spaces. In the absence of thermostats,
occupants of homes would have to rely on manually adjusting
heating or cooling devices – furnaces, fans, windows, doors,
etc. Thermostats thus save human labor. If properly used, they
can also reduce energy use. Because they operate automati-
cally, thermostats also help keep occupants more comfortable
than if control had to be done through manual actions.
Thermostats are automation devices and benefit their users
(and others) directly. But thermostats are also products of
automation. They are manufactured in factories, and these
factories rely on sensors, robotic machinery, assembly lines,
programmable logic controllers, manufacturing execution
systems, and a host of other automation components and
systems. This automation reduces human labor and will gen-
erally also reduce energy and material use, thereby reducing
production costs. The automation will also help the man-
ufacturer make thermostats that are closer to specification,
minimizing variance and enhancing production output.
3 Social, Organizational, and Individual Impacts of Automation
The automation components and systems used in factories
are themselves produced in other factories, and the chain
extends to upstream factories and other systems, all the
way to resource extraction/harvesting (e.g., petroleum for the
plastic components, energy generation from renewable and
fossil sources, and other primary resources that also rely on
automation for their exploitation). In fact, the chain is more
like a web. Factories, energy generation, resource extraction,
and other systems are all networked together, forming the
ecosystem that our modern economy and industrial infras-
tructure represents.
This picture, expansive though it may seem at first glance,
is still not comprehensive – the full ecosystem is a much
broader network. For example, the value chain sketched
above is only for the manufacturing of thermostats. But from
a life cycle perspective, other functions and processes – other
value webs – are involved. Thus, the design of a thermostat
requires computer-aided design tools, laboratories, and test
equipment, and, at the other end of the life cycle, recycling,
incineration, and landfill deposition are part of the big picture
as well.
Furthermore, the human impacts of today’s industrially
driven economy are multifarious too and relate to the value
network in multiple ways. Organizations associated in one
form or another with automation technologies employ a
significant – if hard to quantify – fraction of total global
employment, and virtually all people are users of automation
technology (for example, two-thirds of the population of the
world own mobile telephones, each of which is a product
of automation and incorporates automation systems such as
control loops [5]).
As technology, and in particular automation technology,
advances, the connections with human elements become
increasingly intricate. These connections are being explored
in the emerging field of cyber-physical-human systems
(CPHS). One classification of CPHS comprises the following
[35]: (1) human-machine symbiosis (e.g., smart prosthetics
and exoskeletons); (2) humans as supervisors/operators of
complex engineering systems (e.g., aircraft pilots, car drivers,
process plant operators, and robotic surgery operators);
(3) humans as control agents in multiagent systems (e.g.,
road automation, traffic management, and electric grid);
(4) humans as elements in controlled systems (e.g., home
comfort control and home security systems); and (5)
humans work in parallel with digital entities (e.g., digital
twins) in both physical and virtual spaces, i.e., parallel
intelligence. These CPHS are being designed to address
major technological applications that contribute to human
welfare in a wide range of domains, including transportation,
aerospace, health and medicine, robotics, manufacturing,
energy, and the environment. This perspective is profoundly
different from the conventional understanding where humans
are treated as isolated elements who operate or benefit from
63
the system. Humans are no longer passive consumers or
actors. They are empowered decision-makers and drive the
evolution of the technology.
Adding this human dimension, the footprint of automation
becomes even more extensive, and therefore the impact of
automation too.
3
3.3 A Historical Case Study of Automation
and Its Impact: Commercial Aviation
As an example of how automation technologies have resulted
in increasingly sophisticated engineered systems, which have
thereby effected society in substantial, even revolutionary
ways, in this section we review advances in the automation
of commercial aviation.
The first flight of a heavier-than-air powered aircraft was
in 1903 by the Wright brothers. In their Wright Flyer, au-
tomation was nonexistent. The Wright brothers relied on their
physiological sensors (their eyes, ears, and vestibular appara-
tus), processed these signals in their brains, and manipulated
the control surfaces by their bodily actions. The first autopilot
was demonstrated in 1914 [39] and relied on the Sperry
gyroscope. Autopilots made their commercial aviation debut
with the Boeing 247 in 1933 [6]. With the autopilot, what we
now call “inner-loop” flight control was automated. Sensing,
control computations, and actuation at the lowest level did
not require direct pilot engagement. Instead the pilot could
indicate the desired state of the aircraft (e.g., altitude, pitch,
and roll) and the inner-loop control would affect control to
follow the desired-state pilot input.
The next major step in the evolution, initiated with the
Boeing 707 and the McDonnell-Douglas DC-8, was the “han-
dling qualities controller.” With this automation innovation,
the control system would maintain the aircraft’s heading, and
a new heading command would result in a state trajectory to
effect the new heading, taking into account factors such as
passenger comfort, aircraft capabilities, and fuel consump-
tion. Today, commercial aircraft employ flight management
systems (FMSs). Through an FMS, a pilot can provide a
planned flight route in terms of space-time waypoints, and
under normal conditions the airplane will follow the way-
point sequence through its automation [21]. Figure 3.1 illus-
trates this architecture, whose loops-within-loops structure
recapitulates the historical evolution.
How has the technological evolution affected societal
development and people? The impacts have been manifold.
We examine how automation in aviation has changed the
roles of cockpit crew and the broader society.
Advances in automation (including in flight control as
outlined above but also in other areas such as communica-
tions) initially led to an increase in the number of personnel
in the cockpit. At its peak, in the 1940s and 1950s, five
64
Flight New
route heading
Flight command
management
“Handling
system
qualities”
controller
Feedback of aircraft state (via sensors)
Fig. 3.1 Today’s flight control system architecture. The role of the human pilot has steadily been “upgraded” since the Wright Flyer. ([37]; ©
Elsevier B.V)
crew members were involved, in one form or another, in
the operation of the aircraft: the pilot and copilot, who were
responsible for the real-time control of the airplane; the radio
operator, responsible for communications with the ground;
the flight engineer, who was responsible for engines and
fuel management; and the navigator, who would monitor
the position of the aircraft and, if needed, replan the flight
route. The latter three roles were made obsolete as a result of
technological advances (for example, GPS navigation made
the flight navigator role unnecessary). Today’s commercial
aircraft only employ a pilot and copilot in the cockpit.
Thus, as in many other fields, the development of au-
tomation resulted in the termination of some jobs and job
categories. However, at the same time and also driven by
technological advances, the business output of commercial
aviation increased substantially, leading to many more jobs
overall. From 1958 to 1996, for example, employment in
commercial aviation (not just cockpit crew) grew fourfold
[15]. As noted below, this quadrupling has gone along with
a much larger increase in the business output: “Over time,
fewer employees are hired for a given amount of additional
business because technological and operational progress al-
lows for more efficient use of both old and new employees.”
Similar increases in labor efficiency have occurred across
many technology-enabled sectors, not only aviation.
The impacts on the general population of the growth of
commercial aviation have indeed been dramatic. Over the
same period of 1958–1996, passenger miles flown in the
USA grew about 13-fold. Flying has become a commonplace
experience. Even until 1971, less than half of US adults had
traveled by an airliner. In 1997, that figure was 81%. Be-
tween 1960 and 1996, the output of the air transport industry
(passenger-miles and cargo) increased 16-fold compared to a
3.6X increase for the entire business sector.
F. Lamnabhi-Lagarrigue and T. Samad
Desired
aircraft
Control
state
surface Aircraft
movements state
“Inner-
Aircraft
loop” flight
controller structure
There is another critical improvement that the air travel
industry has seen over time, with automation as its central
enabler. Commercial flight is considerably safer than it used
to be. In terms of fatalities per revenue-passenger-kilometers,
the ratio has decreased 81-fold since 1970, to a five-year
average of 40 fatalities per trillion revenue-passenger-kms.
A number of specific automation subsystems and ca-
pabilities have been implemented in commercial aviation
that have enabled the improvement in safety and reliability.
These include Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast
(ADSB), the Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System
(TCAS), and Terrain Avoidance Warning Systems (TAWS).
See [16] for a summary of recent developments and future
challenges in aircraft control and air traffic management.
But whereas the substantial overall automation-enabled
improvement in aviation safety is unquestionable (see
Fig. 3.2), automation can also cause accidents if poorly
designed or incorrectly used. Examples include the crash of
American Airlines Flight 965 in Cali, Colombia, in 1995
[32]; and the crashes of two Boeing 737 MAX aircraft in
Asia and Africa in 2018 and 2019 [2, 20].
3.4 Social, Organizational, and Individual
Concerns
Although advances in automation have been a key contrib-
utor to much of modern life and quality of life, they have
also raised concerns in various respects. If the technology-
society nexus was complicated before, with the emerging
technologies of today a compounding of potential interplays
is imminent. With self-driving cars, facial recognition sys-
tems, gene editing technology, quantum encryption devices,
robotics systems, exoskeletons, and other new and emerging
3 Social, Organizational, and Individual Impacts of Automation
3,500
3,000
2,500
2,000
1,500
1,000
500
0 risk, people will react in ways that increase the risk. Advances
1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2018
Fig. 3.2 Improvement in aviation safety: reduction in fatalities per tril-
lion revenue-passenger-kilometers (five-year averages). (Adapted from:
Javier Irastorza Mediavilla [29])
technologies, the concerns go well beyond loss of employ-
ment and increasing inequality. The evolution of automation
is rapidly resulting in, or exacerbating, major concerns about
societal impacts, beyond the benefits noted elsewhere in this
chapter. Many of the consequences of emerging technologies
are unknown or poorly understood. In light of such concerns,
Lin and Allhoff [24] raise the question whether there should
be no restrictions, some restrictions, or a total ban on the
development of a concept.
3.4.1 Unintended Consequences
of Automation Technology
Automation and control technologies are implemented with
objectives in mind that relate to improvements in one or more
desired parameters, such as costs, outputs, emissions, and
productivity. But it is hard to predict with any certainty what
the outcome will be of a new technology [7]. Especially when
the technology involves human operators or users, surprising
feedback effects can occur that may offset, negate, or even
reverse the potential positive impacts. This topic of “unin-
tended consequences” is discussed at length in [47], with
numerous examples – such as that companies that downsize
expecting improved worker productivity to make up for fewer
workers can find productivity decreasing.
Complex systems can also have hidden bugs that may
not manifest themselves until well after the system has been
designed, installed, and commissioned. In 1990, the AT&T
long-distance network in the USA collapsed, with about
50% of calls failing to go through over a period of about
nine hours. AT&T lost more than $60 million in uncon-
nected calls, and business nationwide had unmeasurable fi-
nancial losses. Ultimately, the cause was traced to an incor-
rect “break” statement in a C-language program [9].
65
Often, it is the combination of automation and human op-
erators that result in system failure. Examples are numerous,
including the Chernobyl [44] and Three Mile Island nuclear
plant accidents [11] as well as the aviation accidents noted
above.
The pervasiveness of unintended consequences in human-
machine automation [42] has led to the hypothesis of “risk
homeostasis,” which states that people have an inherent level
3
of risk sensitivity; if technologies are implemented to reduce
in automotive safety provide some evidence for the hypoth-
esis. Thus, if safety technologies such as antilock brakes are
implemented, people will start to brake later or otherwise
change their driving habits to negate the improvement [50].
3.4.2 Sustainability and the Limits of Growth
Technology, in general, and automation, in particular, are
growth engines. They allow us to do more with less, to create
more products at lower cost, and to extract more resources
and consume more energy, even if the consumption is more
efficient. In technological and economic circles, growth in
itself is often taken to be a desideratum in its own right.
But untrammeled growth is unsustainable. Our resources –
whether minerals, clean water and air, or energy supplies –
are finite. Marketing machinery to stimulate continuously
increasing demand, resource extraction systems (enabled by
automation) to harvest the raw materials needed to satisfy the
demand, and enterprises geared to increasing production (en-
abled by automation) in alignment with the demand may lead
to good things in the near term but depletion of many good
things soon thereafter. As Edward Abbey [1] said, “Growth
for the sake of growth is the ideology of the cancer cell.”
The concern about unfettered growth was voiced by
Meadows et al. in their 1972 book [27], The Limits to
Growth. The book included simulation results based on
computer models for resource consumption that suggested
the message of the title. An updated version, three decades
later [28], reinforces the message and emphasizes the need
for holistic understanding and structural change with an
emphasis on feedback and dynamics: “The third way to
respond is to work on the underlying causes, to step back
and acknowledge that the human socioeconomic system
as currently structured is unmanageable, has overshot its
limits, and is headed for collapse, and, therefore, seek to
change the structure of the system . . . . In systems terms,
changing structure means changing the feedback structure,
the information links in a system: the content and timeliness
of the data that actors in the system have to work with, and the
ideas, goals, incentives, costs, and feedbacks that motivate
or constrain behavior” (pp. 236–237, italics in the original).
66
Automation and control have been central to growth in
modern times – growth of economies, population, and pros-
perity – and they are thus implicated in concerns of unsus-
tainability of growth. But automation and control can be part
of the solution as well, and indeed as disciplines that are
the repository of expertise in feedback structures and their
effects, they will be crucial in creating a more sustainable
and equitable future.
3.4.3 Inequities of Impact
The impacts and influences of automation can be beneficial
or adverse, but labeling a specific subfield or product of
automation as a force for good or ill is ill-advised. It is
the web of influences and the domino effects involved that
make absolute determinations of the value of technology
complicated.
Disagreements may also arise on whether a specific in-
stance of use is for the betterment or not of humanity. A
military armament – say a cruise missile, reliant on au-
tomation for its guidance and control – may be justified by
some on the basis of the putative evil nature of its target
and may be vilified by others because of a different per-
ception of the target, and by others yet based on a general
distrust of such destructive, killing devices, regardless of
the intention of a specific use. The global society, through
nongovernmental organizations such as the United Nations,
could be said to have come to a consensus on some uses of
military technology – antipersonnel mines, cluster bombs,
and poison gas come to mind. The consensus, however, is not
universal.
But the ambivalence on the morality and ethics of tech-
nology is not limited to military systems.
Factory automation is another example that can be cited.
From water mills for the milling of flour to sewing machines
for clothing, to assembly lines in automobile manufacturing,
and to today’s Industry 4.0, it is easy to point to the advan-
tages that workers and society have gained, but in many cases,
at least in the short term, some people and segments of society
have suffered as well.
Today, automation in manufacturing may be seen as a
boon by companies because of its potential for cost re-
duction – and these companies will claim with some jus-
tification that the end result will be cheaper products for
people and businesses to buy, thereby benefiting society and
not just the corporations and their employees. On the other
hand, automation will generally result in job losses, financial
hardship for the former workers, and economic downturns
in communities, and even if these consequences are felt in
specific geographies, among specific skill sets, and over a
limited time horizon, they are nonetheless real and significant
for those affected.
F. Lamnabhi-Lagarrigue and T. Samad
In some cases, these impacts and influences of automation
can be controlled, by incorporating ethical principles in the
design methodologies for complex systems as well as in their
operational algorithms. As an example, in the context of
Industry 4.0, [48] addresses the engineering of ethical behav-
iors in autonomous industrial cyber-physical-human systems
with ethical controllers “embedded into these autonomous
systems, to enable their successful integration in the society
and its norms.”
3.4.4 Ethical Challenges with Automation
Ethical concerns increase with the development of tech-
nologies [30]. Moor establishes “that we are living in a
period of technology that promises dramatic changes and
in which it is not satisfactory to do ethics as usual. Major
technological upheavals are coming. Better ethical thinking
in terms of being better informed and better ethical action
in terms of being more proactive are required.” Khargonekar
and Sampath [19] add, “While the fundamental canons of
ethics go back thousands of years in various societies and civ-
ilizations, and have a strong basis in the pro-social nature of
human beings, accelerating socio-technological changes in a
globally connected world create novel situations that require
us to be much more agile and forward-looking.” They also
noticed that “these issues will span across safety and security,
transparency, bias, and fairness arising from integration of
artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML), human
rights issues, and jobs. They will also include potential loss
of autonomy and empowerment with increased levels of
automation [34], broader problems of equitable access to
technology, and socioeconomic considerations.” New ethical
challenges with automation have indeed recently arisen and
will continue to grow. Some will be brought into light in the
next section when societal implications of some emerging
developments in automation will be considered.
As recalled by Kvalnes [22], “one notable example is that
of the programming of self-driving cars. It is likely that these
cars can contribute to considerably safer traffic and fewer ac-
cidents, as these vehicles will be able to respond much faster
and more reliably than fallible human drivers. However, they
also raise ethical questions about how to prioritize human
lives in situations where either people inside or outside the
car will die.” Kvalnes mentions also that the distinction
between proscriptive and prescriptive ethics is useful to bring
out the full scope of the ethical dimension of automation:
“Proscriptive ethics can also be called avoid-harm ethics,
which brings attention to the possible pitfalls of behaviors
and decisions. In the context of automation, it is an ethics that
warns us against mass unemployment, lack of control over
decision-making procedures, and the scary scenario where
the bots are smarter than humans and begin to communicate
3 Social, Organizational, and Individual Impacts of Automation
with each other in ways incomprehensible to human beings.
Prescriptive ethics can also fall under the name of do-good
ethics and concerns itself with how behaviors and decisions
can improve and advance human conditions. It is important
to keep in mind that there is a prescriptive dimension to the
ethics of automation, in that bots can improve the services
available to human beings through safer traffic; higher quality
and precision in medicine; improved control over health,
security, and environment issues in workplaces; and so on.”
See additional details on automation and ethics in other
chapters of this Handbook, particularly in Ch. 34.
3.5 Emerging Developments
in Automation: Societal Implications
Automation has currently, and will have more and more
in the future, a prominent role in many sociotechnical de-
velopments, including their interactions with human, and
will greatly support, in many domains, the globally desired
energy and ecological transition with huge societal impacts.
In this section, some emerging developments in automation,
at different stages of maturity, and some of their societal
implications are sketched. Although from different disci-
plines, these examples have common factors: they have the
potential to greatly improve the quality of life, there is a
tremendous economic pressure to develop them as quickly as
possible, the methodologies used are often extensively based
on AI/ML, they combine emerging technologies, and they
raise important concerns.
3.5.1 Smart Cities
The emerging smart city is a sociotechnical ecosystem of
people (residents, workers, and visitors), of technology, of
information, and of administrators of the city and urban au-
thorities. The concerned technological fields are numerous.
They include energy (efficiency, demand response, renew-
able integration, distributed energy resources, and microgrid
optimization and control), transportation (logistics, traffic
management, and fuel efficiency), water system management
(clean water, water distribution, water treatment, and conser-
vation), security (emergency response and city monitoring),
environmental monitoring and control, and e-government.
The information flow of this ecosystem is based on a network
of sensors and actuators embedded throughout the urban
terrain interacting with wireless mobile devices and with an
Internet-based backbone with cloud services. The collected
data may involve traffic conditions, occupancy of parking
spaces, air/water quality information, the structural health
of bridges, roads or buildings, as well as the location and
status of city resources including transportation vehicles,
67
police officers, and healthcare facilities. If successfully im-
plemented, smart cities ecosystems will improve the quality
of life of citizens and will decrease greenhouse gas emissions
to mitigate climate change.
Key components of the research agenda where automation
has a main role to play [23, Sect. 5.17] for making smart cities
a reality include the following: (1) sensing and cooperative
data collection, (2) security, safety, privacy, and energy man-
3
agement in the collection and processing of data, (3) dynamic
resource allocation, (4) data-driven control and optimization,
and (5) interdisciplinary research. What is unique in this
setting is that the developed devices are not merely used
for communication but also for monitoring and actuating
physical processes. One major impact is regarding “security”
that goes beyond protecting the privacy of citizens and
their ability to use their communication devices; it includes
safety-critical physical processes whose malfunction due to
malicious interference can have catastrophic repercussions.
It stands to reason that the deployment and operation of
emerging technologies in smart cities needs to be guided by
principles requiring developers to clearly inform users of
these technologies about their potential risks and negative
impact, to track unintended consequences making appro-
priate adjustments, and to actively protect against security
threats and vulnerabilities. Besides the impact on security
just evoked, the degree and magnitude of technological
integration in these new cities can amplify socioeconomic
inequality, displace segments of the workforce, create a new
precarious worker class, and pose issues of safety, privacy,
and resource sustainability among others.
3.5.2 Assistive, Wearable, and Embedded
Devices
Automation has impacted the development of assistive de-
vices for people with disabilities with the development of
powered wheelchairs and prostheses. More recently, automa-
tion plays also an important role in wearable robots which are
active devices developed to repair, support, correct, and/or
assist the capabilities (whether of action or perception) of
physically impaired people, such as powered exoskeletons
for paralyzed patients, bionic prostheses for limb amputees,
or artificial retinal implants for blind persons. Models and
controllers for designing these systems are very challenging,
see [23, Sect. 5.10].
Such mobility aids promote independence and enhance
quality of life. For children, the opportunities afforded by
mobility aids are crucial not only to their physical devel-
opment but also to their social and cognitive development.
Control paradigms will become increasingly centered on the
individual for whom a particular assistive device is being
68
developed, which will further enhance independence and
quality of life. This will ensure that a broader group of indi-
viduals will more keenly embrace the resulting technological
interventions, which in turn will improve success rates and
longevity, reducing the need for revision surgery.
On the negative impact side, the growing number of users
(both physically able and impaired) of these devices “worn
intimately” in everyday life is raising ethical concerns, for
instance the issue of privacy of users as data is collected by
these artificial parts of the body and the security of these
devices. They also raise broader questions surrounding the
inviolability of the human body – both physical and psycho-
logical integrity and human dignity in general – especially
when implants and/or heavy invasive surgical techniques are
required. When these devices come from nanotechnologies,
they also raise unprecedented challenges in terms of pre-
dictability and categorization, in part because nanosystems
are able to get through what were before considered as
“natural” boundaries in the human body, and in part because
they will be deployed inside discrete devices, sometimes
invisibly, in direct interface with the humans or in their
close environment. Further, there is a need to consider the
limits on developing devices that at their current stage of
development can reduce some human abilities to gain or
enhance others and that can boost sensorimotor performance
of the human body (human enhancement technologies). They
also raise concerns about the transformations of our forms
of life. Finally, there are questions surrounding the respect
for human diversity, nondiscrimination and equality, and the
change from medicine to anthropotechnics where bodies are
worked on to the point where the distinction between man
and machine is no longer clear. Thus, in the face of these
new possibilities offered by technology, it is pertinent for
developers, users, and society in general to see that ethical
considerations must guide innovation approaches.
3.5.3 Autonomous Weapon Systems
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) de-
fines an autonomous weapon system (AWS) as follows [49]:
“Any weapon system with autonomy in its critical functions.
That is, a weapon system that can select (i.e., search for
or detect, identify, track, select) and attack (i.e., use force
against, neutralize, damage or destroy) targets without human
intervention.” As any weapon developments, AWS designs,
in which intensive automation technology is a key element,
should be subject to arms control measures which “can help
ensure national and human security in the 21st Century, and
must be an integral part of our collective security system”
[40], in particular through the international humanitarian law
(IHL) which governs the choice of weapons.
We are witnessing an arms race to develop increasingly
autonomous weapons [41]. This new weaponry relies in-
F. Lamnabhi-Lagarrigue and T. Samad
tensively on complex AI/ML algorithms. As a result, the
behavior of these weapons is often unpredictable; they are
triggered by their environment at a time and place unknown
to the user who activates them. These algorithms also tend
to be “black boxes” and their development process also lacks
transparency; thus, the algorithms, and hence the weapons,
can be subject to bias, whether by design or not, and they can
be effectively out of control since explanations for their be-
havior will be unavailable. These unpredictability, unreliabil-
ity, vulnerability, and uncontrollability characteristics raise
questions regarding compliance with IHL; such compliance
requires that human control be retained at the different stages
of the “life cycle” of an AWS to ensure that technological
advancements do not outpace ethical deliberations [8, 12].
“ . . . Autonomous machines with the power and discretion
to select targets and take lives without human involvement
are politically unacceptable, morally repugnant and should be
prohibited by international law,” said UN Secretary-General
António Guterres at the Third Artificial Intelligence for Good
Summit, 2019. These concerns are even more amplified
with the development of biological weapons, where the con-
vergence of recent developments in biotechnology with AI
increases the possibilities for misuse.
Automation technology could bring complementary ex-
pertise in order to ensure meaningful human control of au-
tonomous weapon systems following the recommendations
[17] “that the behavior of autonomous functions should be
predictable to their operators, that those creating these tech-
nologies understand the implications of their work, that pro-
fessional ethical codes are developed to appropriately address
the development of autonomous systems and autonomous
systems intended to cause harm, that designers not only take
stands to ensure meaningful human control, but be proactive
about providing quality situational awareness to operators
and commanders using those systems.”
3.5.4 Automotive Autonomy
According to the World Health Organization [51], 1.35 mil-
lion people died worldwide in 2016 because of traffic inci-
dents, and about 90% of these deaths were caused by human
error. The importance of these statistics is underpinned by
the United Nations (UN), which has incorporated ambitious
goals to reduce road traffic deaths and injuries within the
UN Sustainable Development Goals. These figures could be
indeed significantly reduced if the human driver was helped
in case of drowsiness, fatigue, or lack of concentration.
Autonomous vehicles (AV) are key technologies to realizing
these improvements.
Maximum safety and minimum energy expenditure with
comfort characterizes the definition of ideal human mobility.
SAE International [34] has defined six levels of driving
automation as follows:
3 Social, Organizational, and Individual Impacts of Automation
• With human supervision:
– Level 0: No automation – the human driver takes all
actions necessary for driving.
– Level 1: Driver assistance – the vehicle is equipped
with driving aids (advanced driving assistance sys-
tems, ADAS) that can amplify emergency maneuvers
(antilock braking systems and enhanced stability pro-
grams), alert the driver to the presence of a danger
(blind spot detection and lane departure warnings),
or make driving more comfortable (adaptive cruise
control, which respects a safe distance from the vehicle
in front).
– Level 2: Partial automation – the driver benefits from
driving assistance that includes steering and control of
acceleration and braking; the driver no longer needs
to touch the pedals but must keep their hands on the
steering wheel at all times and continue to supervise
the driving.
• With machine supervision:
– Level 3: Conditional automation – the driver is au-
thorized to temporarily remove their hands from the
steering wheel, which can delegate responsibility for
driving to the car in certain situations, for example, in
traffic jams on expressways.
– Level 4: High automation – the driver is no longer
required to supervise the driving of the vehicle, but
remains inside the vehicle and can take back control
at any moment.
– Level 5: Full automation – there is no driver anymore,
because the vehicle is capable of driving itself, parking,
and going to pick up customers.
Advanced driving assistance systems have been tradition-
ally associated with driver/passenger comfort and safety en-
hancement and are generally divided into four main elements:
perception, localization and mapping, path planning, and
control (Level 1). On the other hand [23, Sect. 5.2], energy
efficiency, which is significant with respect to CO2 emissions
and carbon footprint of mobility, has been largely addressed
through power train or energy management systems. In an
autonomously driving vehicle, the architecture must support
simultaneous lateral and longitudinal autonomous control.
Hence, the active safety systems (integrated into motion
control) must cooperate with the power train control systems.
Therefore, a completely new and expanded architecture is
emerging where the advanced driving assistance systems
fully cooperate with the power train management systems
to generate a safe motion control vector for the vehicle. Ad-
ditionally [14], multiple studies consider adding connected
vehicle technologies, such as vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and
vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) technologies, where essential
information is shared to create an enhanced cooperative mo-
bility environment. This extended and improved cooperative
perception allows vehicles to predict the behavior of the key
69
environmental components (obstacles, roads, ego-vehicles,
environment, and driver behavior) efficiently and to antici-
pate possible hazardous events. Level 2 is the highest level
allowed by European legislation today and is available com-
mercially. There is currently a race for reaching levels where
machine supervision is involved. For instance, “Germany
will be the first country in the world to bring autonomous
vehicles from research laboratories onto the road - we have
3
now come one decisive step closer to this goal . . . We need
speedy implementation for innovations in the transformation
process, so that Germany can continue to be the number
one international leader in autonomous driving,” commented
federal minister Andreas Scheuer [3].
As Snell [43] mentions, “there is little doubt that au-
tonomous vehicles, more commonly known as self-driving
cars, are set to be transformational. The market is set to reach
roughly $42 billion by 2025 with a compound annual growth
rate projected at 21% until 2030. Not only will this disrup-
tion be immense, giving birth to new types of businesses,
services, and business models, but their introduction will
trigger similarly immense ethical implications.” The short
article [43] analyzes very clearly the ethical challenges pose
by AV: “One of the key challenges for autonomous vehicles
is centered around how they value human life. Who decides
who lives and who dies in split-second decision-making?
Who decides the value of one human life over another? And,
more importantly, how is that decision calculated? Being on
a road is inherently dangerous, and this danger means that
trade-offs will occur as self-driving cars encounter life or
death situations. It is inevitable. And with trade-offs, you
need ethical guidelines.”
3.5.5 Renewable Energy and Smart Grids
Electric power networks are among the largest and most com-
plex man-made systems. They connect hundreds of millions
of producers and consumers, cover continents, and exhibit
very complicated behaviors. The transition toward a low-
carbon economy leads to an even more complex system
of systems [23, Sect. 5.6]; as a result, there are still many
poorly understood phenomena caused by the interaction of
such a large number of devices and the large spatial di-
mensions. Currently, major changes to the grid structure are
being implemented, in particular to support the large-scale
introduction of renewable energy sources, such as wind farms
and solar plants. Two crucial features of these electric power
sources must be addressed: most renewable sources are small
generating units, dispersed over a wide geographical area,
and their primary energy outputs are by nature not control-
lable and fluctuate over time. Integration of these highly
intermittent, randomly variable, and spatially distributed re-
sources calls for new approaches to power system operation
and control.
70
The safety and security of these smart grids are crucial
challenges for the years ahead. Experience has shown
that such critical infrastructure systems do fail. When this
happens, the consequences may be disastrous in terms of
societal, health, and economic aspects. For example, if
a large geographical area experiences a blackout for an
extended period, huge economic and societal costs may
result. In November 2006, a local fault in Germany’s power
grid cascaded through large areas of Europe, resulting in
ten million people left in the dark in Germany, France,
Austria, Italy, Belgium, and Spain. Similar cascading
blackouts have taken place in the USA. Let us mention
the recent one in Texas due to bad weather conditions,
see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2021_Texas_power_crisis.
Malicious attacks which may occur directly at strategic
locations in the network or remotely by compromising
communication commands or automation software could
also happen, again with huge economic and societal issues.
Monitoring and control of these infrastructures is becoming
more multiscale, hierarchical, and distributed, which makes
them even more vulnerable to propagating failures and
targeted attacks. See [23, Sect. 4.4] for some research
perspectives.
3.6 Some Approaches for Responsible
Innovation
Some of the main questions around societal concerns are the
following, see [31] for instance:
• How should we assess and control the (short-, medium-,
and long-term) impacts – physical, mental, biological,
social, and ecological – on humans and the environment
arising from the application of emerging technologies, and
automation in particular?
• How should we design and manage systems with unpre-
dictable reactions and less than fully reliable outcomes?
• How should we we develop principles and guidelines
that attribute specific duties and responsibilities to the
stages of research, design, development, and adoption of
technologies?
• How should we focus on education and public awareness
at all levels, including engineers, scientists, and policy-
makers, toward the development of ethically aware and
responsible products and services?
We can identify three types of approaches on how to
address these questions for responsible innovation in order
to help the stakeholders involved in the development of these
technologies: guidelines and recommendations, conceptual
approaches, and ethical trainings. Standards and regulatory
mechanisms are also discussed.
F. Lamnabhi-Lagarrigue and T. Samad
3.6.1 Ethics Guidelines and Ethically Aligned
Designs
There are multiple initiatives and commissions around the
world (from academia, universities, learned societies, inside
disciplines, and at international bodies and governmental
agencies) working on setting up recommendations. Let us
mention for instance two of them, addressing, respectively,
artificial intelligence and autonomous and intelligent sys-
tems, both linked to current and future developments of
automation:
1. Ethics Guidelines for Trustworthy AI from the European
Commission
A public document prepared by the European Commis-
sion’s High-Level Expert Group on AI [13] mentions: “The
Guidelines put forward a set of 7 key requirements that AI
systems should meet in order to be deemed trustworthy. A
specific assessment list aims to help verify the application of
each of the key requirements:
• Human agency and oversight: AI systems should em-
power human beings, allowing them to make informed
decisions and fostering their fundamental rights. At the
same time, proper oversight mechanisms need to be en-
sured, which can be achieved through human-in-the-loop,
human-on-the-loop, and human-in-command approaches.
• Technical Robustness and safety: AI systems need to be
resilient and secure. They need to be safe, ensuring a fall
back plan in case something goes wrong, as well as being
accurate, reliable and reproducible. That is the only way
to ensure that also unintentional harm can be minimized
and prevented.
• Privacy and data governance: Besides ensuring full respect
for privacy and data protection, adequate data governance
mechanisms must also be ensured, taking into account the
quality and integrity of the data, and ensuring legitimized
access to data.
• Transparency: The data, system and AI business models
should be transparent. Traceability mechanisms can help
achieve this. Moreover, AI systems and their decisions
should be explained in a manner adapted to the stakeholder
concerned. Humans need to be aware that they are inter-
acting with an AI system, and must be informed of the
system’s capabilities and limitations.
• Diversity, non-discrimination and fairness: Unfair bias
must be avoided, as it could have multiple negative im-
plications, from the marginalization of vulnerable groups,
to the exacerbation of prejudice and discrimination. Fos-
tering diversity, AI systems should be accessible to all,
regardless of any disability, and involve relevant stake-
holders throughout their entire life circle.
3 Social, Organizational, and Individual Impacts of Automation
• Societal and environmental well-being: AI systems should
benefit all human beings, including future generations.
It must hence be ensured that they are sustainable and
environmentally friendly. Moreover, they should take into
account the environment, including other living beings,
and their social and societal impact should be carefully
considered.
• Accountability: Mechanisms should be put in place to en-
sure responsibility and accountability for AI systems and
their outcomes. Auditability, which enables the assess-
ment of algorithms, data and design processes plays a key
role therein, especially in critical applications. Moreover,
adequate and accessible redress should be ensured.”
2. Autonomous and Intelligent Systems: Ethically Aligned
Design
As mentioned in [19], the conceptual framework for eth-
ical analysis proposed in the recent report Ethically Aligned
Design, published by the IEEE Global Initiative on Ethics of
Autonomous and Intelligent Systems (A/IS) [17] “is based on
three pillars that capture the anthropological, political, and
technical aspects of ethics and design: (i) universal human
values, (ii) political self-determination and data agency, and
(iii) technical dependability. These three pillars form the
basis of eight general principles that are considered as im-
peratives for the ethical design of A/IS: human rights, well-
being, data agency, effectiveness, transparency, accountabil-
ity, awareness of misuse, and competence. Various ethical
issues under each of these eight topics are examined in depth.
Detailed recommendations on how to address these issues
are provided with the overall goal of helping A/IS creators
reduce to practice relevant principles in the context of their
own specific product or service.”
There is no doubt that these above resulting recommen-
dations cannot be fulfilled by using only AI/ML approaches
[7, 33]. Russell mentions [33] “ . . . the standard model - the
AI system optimizing a fixed objective - must be replaced.
It is simply bad engineering. We need to do a substantial
amount of work to reshape and rebuild the foundations of
AI.” Facing these recommendations indeed requires a rap-
prochement of areas such as machine learning, control the-
ory, optimization, and to bridge model-based and learning-
based control systems. Systems and control methodologies
and the derived automation technologies [23] can help to ad-
dress many technological concerns by bringing more robust-
ness, more precision, more security, and less vulnerability.
3.6.2 Conceptual Approaches
In a related vein, Sampath and Khargonekar [38] introduced
the vision, concept, and framework of socially responsible
71
automation (SRA) to help technologists and business leaders
drive the evolution of automation for societal good. The
“pyramid of progress,” a four-level model developed in [38]
(see Fig. 3.3) that captures current industry practices as well
as envisioned future approaches to automation, is summa-
rized as follows in [26]:
• “Level 0: Cost-focused automation. At the lowest level
3
of the pyramid, technology is used solely to gain eco-
nomic benefits by reducing human labor. These cost-
based programs are not only not socially conscious or
human-centric, they often fail to deliver and can even be
detrimental to business interests.
• Level 1: Performance-driven automation. This approach
is more cognizant of the role that humans play in the
loop. Processes and systems are reengineered to take
advantage of automation while still using human skills and
capabilities to fill in technological shortfalls.
• Level 2: Worker-centered automation. At this level, the
business goal is not just performance optimization, but
worker development and enrichment. In these systems,
the goal of automation is not to sideline people or re-
place them with machines, but to encourage new forms
of human-machine interaction that augment human capa-
bilities.
• Level 3: Socially responsible automation. At the top of
the pyramid, automation is deployed to produce more and
better jobs for humans, driving economic growth while
also promoting societal well-being. Attaining such a lofty
goal requires ‘explicit, active interventions,’ [as Sampath
and Khargonekar write]—that is, business leaders must
commit to proactively identifying new revenue streams
and job-enabling growth as they roll out and refine au-
tomation.”
The same authors in [19] outlined a framework for think-
ing about ethical issues in smart cyber-physical-human sys-
tems (CPHS), based on two main dimensions: (i) the stage of
development of the CPHS domain from early-stage research
to mature technologies and (ii) the locus of decision-making,
individual, corporate, and government settings. These sys-
tems promise to be widely deployed in society and there-
fore will have a very significant impact, including possible
negative consequences on individuals, communities, nations,
and the world. The authors argue that it is necessary to fight
the tendency toward technological determinism and that there
is a need to anticipate increasing capabilities and the future
deployment of such systems. In the same vein and regard-
ing emerging technology in general, one can cite Antonio
Guterres in his introduction to [10]: “A key takeaway from
the report is that technologies are not deterministic. We can
harness their potential for the common good, and we have an
obligation to do so.”
72
Socially
responsible
automation
Human
centered
automation
Performance driven
automation
Cost focused automation
Fig. 3.3 The socially responsible automation (SRA) pyramid [38]
captures four levels of automation, each with a distinct business goal
and set of stakeholder values, leading to socially responsible automation
3.6.3 Ethical Training
Besides recommendations and conceptual approaches, many
voices are being raised about the need to focus on education
and public awareness at all levels, including engineers and
scientists, toward the development of ethically aware and
responsible products and services. For instance, in [46]: “eth-
ical standards should be imposed in science and engineering
education so that students have an ethical training enabling
them to analyze, evaluate and transmit the ethical dimensions
of technologies.”
In particular, regarding technological universities, Taebi,
et al. claim [45]: “The twenty-first century will pose sub-
stantial and unprecedented challenges to modern societies.
The world population is growing while societies are pursu-
ing higher levels of global well-being. The rise of artificial
intelligence (AI) and autonomous systems, increasing energy
demands and related problems of climate change are only
a few of the many major issues humanity is facing in this
century. Universities of technology have an essential role
to play in meeting these concerns by generating scientific
knowledge, achieving technological breakthroughs, and ed-
ucating scientists and engineers to think and work for the
public good.”
It is important to foster understanding and discussion
about the process of ethical reasoning about emerging tech-
nologies. These are of utmost importance at all levels of edu-
cation at schools, colleges, and universities. A deep analysis
of the psychological effects of technologies and products,
their impact on human dignity and integrity, and their effects
on the understanding of human values and the human spirit
is necessary.
F. Lamnabhi-Lagarrigue and T. Samad
Business goals Stakeholder values
Create new revenue Society: Employment,
streams & Good jobs prosperity, opportunity
Enhance worker Employee: Safety,
performance, skills, quality autonomy, achievement
Increase productivity, Customer: Superior
quality, accuracy offering, service
Drive cost efficiency Stockholder: Profit
practices at the highest level that can support both business growth and
societal good
3.6.4 Standards, Policies, and Enforcement
Principles, concepts, guidelines, and training can increase
awareness of the ethical and related issues surrounding
automation-enabled emerging technologies. If developed
through inclusive and trusted processes, such products can
also spur ethical practices by individuals and organizations.
However, voluntary and independent adoption by entities
individually has numerous shortcomings. Even when groups
are fully committed to being ethical, different groups
may have different ideas about the best path forward.
With opportunities for public relations benefits abounding,
companies and others are likely to have pressures to present
their initiatives in as positive a light as possible, resulting
in loss of transparency for the public. And if some entities
adopt ethical practices while others focus on profits to the
exclusion of societal concerns, at least in the short term the
latter may win in the competitive marketplace.
For these and other reasons, the technology community,
business leaders, and policymakers need to work together
to develop and promote standardized and enforceable ap-
proaches. Standards help establish uniformity in how dif-
ferent organizations address an issue. In complex systems
where components from multiple suppliers may be needed
to implement an integrated system, standards can also of-
fer interoperability. Certification authorities may need to be
formed to ensure a standard is being correctly implemented
by all providers.
Especially where the safety and well-being of the public
are at stake, policies and regulations can be enacted, often
by governmental bodies. If laws are promulgated, compli-
ance is no longer optional. Of course, to ensure compliance,
3 Social, Organizational, and Individual Impacts of Automation
enforcement will be needed. The products and services of
automation technologies are rarely confined to one country
or region. Thus standards, policies, and enforcement need
to be considered from an international perspective, which
renders them more complicated to pursue. Complexity is
even reinforced by the multiple disciplines involved due to
the convergence of automation technologies with AI/ML, 5G,
IoT, nanotechnologies, neurotechnologies, biotechnologies,
and genetic technologies.
Generally speaking, technologists tend not to consider
such aspects in their research and development activities.
Yet, for scalable impact and to ensure societal benefits of
technological developments are not compromised by ethical
lapses, researchers seeking to make a positive impact on the
world need to understand how technologies are commer-
cialized, deployed, and adopted: how the risks that come
with the power and capabilities of automation systems can
be mitigated, and how a technology-for-technology’s-sake
attitude can result in adverse impacts and backlash [25].
3.7 Conclusions and Emerging Trends
In this chapter, we have discussed the numerous benefits
that developments in automation technology have provided
to societies and to humankind. We have also identified sev-
eral concerns with the increasingly sophisticated engineered
systems that are now being developed and in which au-
tomation is responsible for autonomous and semiautonomous
decision-making.
In closing, we want to address a perception that some
readers may have after reading to this point: that automation
systems are fraught with challenges for the future and their
continued evolution will create major crises for society. This
is not the message we want to leave the reader with. To
the contrary, advances in automation will be essential for
enhancing society and for creating a sustainable world for
people, organizations, and society (see, for instance, chapters
7 and 8 of [28]). Indeed, automation, leveraging its scien-
tific roots in the systems and control discipline, can help
ensure methodological transparency, stability, robustness,
safety, security, reliability, and precision in the accelerating
complexity of our technological world. Without advances in
automation, the world is likely to become a worse place for
humanity and the rest of its inhabitants, and in the near future.
In this context, we point to the recently released (at the
time of this writing) Net Zero by 2050 report from the
International Energy Agency [18]. This report urges for a
large number of specific actions that policymakers and other
stakeholders should take in order to keep global temperature
rise to 1.5 ◦ C. Technology and automation may be implicated
in the industrial growth that has resulted in the drastic climate
change that appears to be imminent, but technology and au-
tomation are now being called upon to address this existential
73
threat. The actions recommended cut across many sectors
of the economy. Examples include: enhancements in energy
efficiency; more flexibility in energy generation, storage,
and consumption; a rapid transition to electrification across
multiple sectors, especially transportation; dramatic increase
in renewable generation while maintaining the reliability and
availability of supply; zero-carbon buildings; carbon capture,
utilization, and storage; and global deployment of advanced
3
heat pumps. Each of these represents a call to action for
automation and control scientists and engineers; without their
engagement the prospects for a livable planet for future
generations will fade.
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UNESCO Report (2007)
47. Tenner, E.: Why Things Bite Back: Technology and the Revenge
of Unintended Consequences. Vintage (1996)
48. Trentesaux, D., Karnouskos, S.: Engineering Ethical Behaviors in
Autonomous Industrial Cyber-Physical Human Systems, Cogni-
tion, Technology & Work, March 2021. https://doi.org/10.1007/
s10111-020-00657-6
49. Views of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) on
autonomous weapon system. https://www.icrc.org/en/download/
file/21606/ccw-autonomous-weapons-icrc-april-2016.pdf
50. Wilde, G.J.S.: Target Risk 2: A New Psychology of Safety and
Health, 2nd edn. PDE Publications (2001)
51. World Health Organization: Global Status Report on Road
Safety 2018. (2018). https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/
10665/277370/WHO-NMH-NVI-18.20-eng.pdf?ua=1
3 Social, Organizational, and Individual Impacts of Automation
Françoise Lamnabhi-Lagarrigue IFAC Fellow, is a CNRS Emeritus
Distinguished Research Fellow of the Laboratory of Signals and Sys-
tems, Paris-Saclay University. She obtained the habilitation doctorate
degree in 1985. Her main recent research interests include observer
design, performance, and robustness issues in control systems. She
has supervised 26 PhD thesis. She founded and chaired the EECI
International Graduate School on Control. She is the editor-in-chief of
Annual Reviews in Control. She is the prizewinner of the 2008 French
Academy of Science Michel Monpetit prize and the 2019 Irène Joliot-
Curie prize, Woman Scientist of the Year. She is a knight of the Legion
of Honor.
75
3
Tariq Samad IEEE Fellow, IFAC Fellow, holds the W.R. Sweatt Chair
and is a senior fellow in the Technological Leadership Institute, Uni-
versity of Minnesota, where he leads the Management of Technology
program. He previously worked for Honeywell, retiring as corporate
fellow. He is a past president of the American Automatic Control
Council and IEEE Control Systems Society. He is co-editor-in-chief
of the Springer Encyclopedia of Systems and Control. He is the editor
of the Wiley/IEEE Press book series on “Technology Management,
Innovation, and Leadership.”
 Economic Effects of Automation
4
Piercarlo Ravazzi and Agostino Villa

Contents Abstract
4.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
The growing diffusion of automation in all production
4.2 Basic Concepts to Assess the Effects sectors is causing a profound change in the organization
of Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
of work and requires a new approach to assessing the
4.3 Production and Distribution in Economic Theory . . . . 79 efficiency, effectiveness, and economic convenience of
4.3.1 Preliminary Elements of Production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79 processes. Analysis criteria, based on robust but simple
4.3.2 Measurement and Characteristics
of Production Factors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79 models and concepts, are necessary above all for small
4.3.3 The Neoclassical Function of Production and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). This chapter offers
and the Distribution to Production Factors . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80 an overview of concepts, based on economic theory but
4.4 Microeconomic Effects of Automation revised in light of industrial practice, to reflect on how to
in Enterprises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80 evaluate the impact of the diffusion of automation both at
4.4.1 Effects on the Production Function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80 the microeconomic level and at the macroeconomic level.
4.4.2 Effects on Worker Incentives and Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
4.4.3 Effects on Cost Structure and Labor Demand in the
The analysis is useful to understand the current phase (the
Short Term . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83 short period) and the final trends (the long period), toward
which the economic system is converging, following a
4.5 Macroeconomic Effects of Automation in the Short
Period . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85 path (the transient) in which the advantages of digital
4.5.1 Demand for Labor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85 technologies are opposite to significant risks.
4.5.2 Labor Offer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
4.5.3 Equilibrium and Disequilibrium in the Labor Market . . . 88 Keywords
4.6 Macroeconomic Effects of Automation in the Long
Period . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89 Production and cost economics · Efficiency wages ·
4.6.1 A Brief Historical Excursus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89 Labor market · Sector interdependencies · Economic
4.6.2 First Era of Machines: An Intersectoral Model growth · Technical progress · Prospects for capitalism
with Consumption and Capital . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
4.6.3 Second Era of Machines: Automation and Artificial
Intelligence (AI) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
4.7 Final Comments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98 4.1 Introduction
4.7.1 Psychological Benefits of Labor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
4.7.2 Use of Free Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99 In recent decades, automation of processes has spread both
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 in industry and in services. The preconditions that ensured
widespread diffusion were firstly the development of elec-
tronics, then of computer science and more recently of digital
technologies. Since late 1970s, major investments in automa-
tion have been developed, followed by periods of reflection,
with critical reviews of the implementations made and their
economic returns. Paradigmatic could be the case of FCA
P. Ravazzi · A. Villa () (Fiat Chrysler Automobiles), which reached the highest level
Department of Manufacturing Systems and Economics, Politecnico di
Torino, Torino, Italy
of automation in its assembly lines at the end of 1980s, but in
e-mail: piercarlo.ravazzi@formerfaculty.polito.it; the following decade it suffered from a deep crisis, in which
agostino.villa@polito.it investments in automation seemed not to be profitable. In

© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 77

S. Y. Nof (ed.), Springer Handbook of Automation, Springer Handbooks,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-96729-1_4
78
the following period there was significant growth for which
the high level of automation seems to be one of the main
conditions of economic efficiency.
Implementation of automation is different, as is the per-
ception of its convenience in the electronic and IT sector. This
sector is specific, however, because innovation and research
are endogenous tools for the development of automation.
Other industrial and service sectors have a typical attitude
of “strong but cautious” interest. The main reason for this
prudence is the difficulty of assessing the economic impact
of automation in its production process, a difficulty that arises
from the (substantial, non-statistical) uncertainty inherent in
the assessment of the future profitability of investments.
This chapter aims to deal with this problem using simple
economic models, useful for analyzing some of the main
effects of automation on production, labor incentives, and
costs. First, some concepts on which the evaluation of the
effects of automation is based (Sect. 4.2) are provided. Then,
the dominant model in economic theory is summarized (Sect.
4.3), in order to understand the subsequent changes induced
by automation in enterprises (Sect. 4.4) regarding production,
incentives for control of workers and flexibility of costs. In
the final part of the chapter, the macroeconomic effects of
automation are analyzed, both in the short (Sect. 4.5) and in
the long term (Sect. 4.6). Some final comments (Sect. 4.7)
summarize the most significant considerations and results of
the paper.
We do not deal with the topic of automation sharing,
because it goes beyond the strictly economic topics cov-
ered in the paper. It is a very specific aspect concerning
the collaboration between SMEs interconnected into a net-
work, aimed at sharing information, taking advantage of
mutual interaction, thus reducing relative costs. On this sub-
ject, we refer to the book edited by Villa [1] and EASME/
COSME [2].
4.2 Basic Concepts to Assess the Effects
of Automation
Every manager who has profit as a goal wants to compare
the cost of a potential application of some automated de-
vices (processing units, handling and moving systems or
automated devices to improve the production organization)
with the increase in revenues or the reduction of other costs,
resulting from such a capital investment. First of all it is
necessary to list the potential types of automation; therefore it
is necessary to highlight the links between these types and the
main variables of the company’s financial statements, which
are influenced by the process and labor changes induced by
the automation there applied. The analysis of a large number
of SME clusters in ten European countries, carried out in the
CODESNET (COllaborative Demand & Supply NETworks)
P. Ravazzi and A. Villa
project, funded by the European Commission, shows that
the most important types of automation in industry can be
classified as follows:
(a) Robotization, that is, automation of production opera-
tions
(b) Flexibility, that is, “flexibility through automation” of
set-up and supply
(c) Monitoring, that is, “automated control” of measure-
ments and operations
These three types of automation can have effects both on
the organization of the production process and on the staff:
robotization allows to achieve a higher operating speed and
requires a reduced amount of hours of direct labor; flexibility
is crucial to reduce the response time of the company’s offer
to the specific customer demand, leading to an increase in
the mix of products and facilitating producer/buyer interac-
tion; monitoring can guarantee product quality for a wide
range of final goods through widespread control of work
operations.
Table 4.1 summarizes only the technical effects of au-
tomation, but does not allow to evaluate the economic ones,
on which the interest of company managers is focused.
To carry out an economic evaluation it is necessary to
consider three fundamental elements:
1. An investment in automation is generally burdensome for
any company, but is often critical for an SME, since the
replacement of simple work with technical capital and
specialized work shifts the time horizon of the assessment
from short to medium-long term.
2. The success of such a decision depends both on the
amount of the investment and on the managerial ability
to reorganize the workforce within the company with
minimal friction.
3. A significant investment in automation has long-term and
wide-ranging effects on the overall employment of the
economic system.
These effects must be interpreted through coherent mod-
els, in order to carry out:
• A microeconomic analysis, useful to the manager of the
company, in order to understand how investments in au-
tomation and the consequent reorganization of the work-
force can influence the expected production target, the
current and expected costs and profits
• A macroeconomic analysis, to understand how the dif-
fusion of automation affects employment and the distri-
bution of incomes in the economic system both in the
short and long term, since the macroeconomic effects
subsequently fall on individual companies
4 Economic Effects of Automation
Table 4.1 Links between automation and process/personnel in the firm
Automation typology induces . . . . . . effects on the process . . . .
a) Robotizing Operation speed
b) Flexibility Response time to demand
c) Monitoring Process accuracy and product quality
Then automation calls for...
Investments
Investments and new labor positions should give rise to an expected target of production, conditioned on investments in high-technologies and
high-skill workforce utilization
These two aspects are treated in this chapter, after in-
troducing (Sect. 4.3) the production and distribution model
proposed by the neoclassical economic theory, which is still
the foundation of DSGE (Dynamic Stochastic General Equi-
librium) models, dominant in macroeconomics [3].
4.3 Production and Distribution
in Economic Theory
To evaluate the economic effects of automation on the pro-
duction and costs of a company, it is appropriate to recall
some definitions drawn from economic theory, which will be
used in the subsequent analysis.
4.3.1 Preliminary Elements of Production
1. A production technique (method or process) is a combina-
tion of factors (inputs) acquired from the market and used
to obtain a unity of good/service.
2. The factors of production for simplicity are limited to
capital K (plants, machinery, etc.), to labor L, and to inter-
mediate goods X (purchased externally to be transformed
into the finished product).
3. A production function is represented by a technical re-
lationship Q = Q(K, L, X), which describes the output
Q as a function of the inputs entered in the production
process,
 both in the short term, in which  the capital is
given K = K, ∂Q/∂L > 0, ∂Q/∂X > 0 , and in the long
run, in which the capital is variable (∂Q/∂K > 0).
4. Technological progress A, of which automation is the most
relevant component, is inserted mainly as an exogenous
factor [Q = Af (K, L, X)]; its nature is instead endogenous,
since it is essentially incorporated in capital, through
process innovations, and in labor, through investment in
human capital (training), increasing productivity [4].
5. Technical efficiency requires that the rational en-
trepreneur, if he decides to make new investments,
chooses among the available methods/processes that
allow to obtain the same quantity of product without
wasting the factors (if a method requires K0 capital units
and L0 labor units, and another is requiring L1 > L0 labor
79
and effects on personnel
Work reduction
Higher skills
... and search for . . .
New labor positions
4
units, with the same capital and product, the first method
is preferred).
6. Economic efficiency, on the other hand, requires that if
the combinations of factors are different (with the same
production, the second method uses K1 < K0 capital units),
then the choice depends on the cost he has to bear to acti-
vate the process, considering the prices of the production
factors.
In economics, production techniques are divided into
two large families:
(a) fixed coefficient technologies, characterized by
zero substitutability (strict complementarity) of
the productive factors, assuming that a given
quantity of product can be considered only
by combining the factors in fixed proportions
(isoquant at an angle), in the minimum quantities
imposed by the efficiency technique; so let’s write
Q = f (K, L, X) = K/v = λL L = X/b, where λL = Q/L
is the labor constant productivity and v = K/Q,
b = X/Q are the fixed coefficients of use of capital and
intermediate goods in the short term; all coefficients
may vary in the long run due to technical progress.
(b) technologies with flexible coefficients, assumed by
neoclassical economic theory, which instead admit the
possibility of imperfect substitutability of the produc-
tion factors, thus assuming that the same production
can be achieved by means of a convex variable com-
bination.
4.3.2 Measurement and Characteristics
of Production Factors
The amount of labor L can be measured by the product
between the hours h provided by each employee in a work
shift, the number N of the workers of a shift, and the number
T of the work shifts carried out in the unit of time considered
(one day, one month, one year):
L = hNT (4.1)
Capital K, on the other hand, cannot be considered ho-
mogeneous, since normally there are interconnected plants
80
and machinery of different characteristics in the company.
However, the problem of its measurement is not crucial if
production is connected to capital by a fixed coefficient: the
capital stock can be measured in machine hours at steady
speed.  
In the short term, capital is a fixed factor K = K , which
delimits production capacity Q of the company and involves
a sunk cost (irrecoverable), since any underutilization of
the production capacity cannot be eliminated, by selling
the machinery on the market, without incurring significant
realizable losses. Labor and intermediate goods are variable
factors depending on the quantities produced.
In the long run, all factors are variable: after a few years,
when the useful life of the capital has run out due to physical
deterioration or due to the effect of technological overshoot,
the plants and machinery can be replaced with others that are
more economically efficient.
4.3.3 The Neoclassical Function
of Production and the Distribution
to Production Factors
At this point it is possible to write the neoclassical pro-
duction function with flexible coefficients, supposing – for
simplicity – the constant ratio b = X/Q between intermediate
goods and produced quantities, but attributing decreasing
returns to capital and labor, so marginal productivity (the first
partial derivative) is a decreasing function of the quantity of
input:
Q = f (K, L, X) = Q (K, L) = X/b;
∂Q ∂ 2Q ∂Q ∂ 2Q
> 0, 2
< 0, > 0, 2 < 0 (4.2)
∂K ∂K ∂L ∂L
Economic theory (from Clark and Marshall until today)
has therefore assumed as the foundation of production the
hypothesis that there is no perfect substitution between the
factors, attributing to each of them the law of diminishing re-
turns, which initially Malthus, West, and Ricardo had limited
to the earth.
We indicate with p the selling price of the product, with
w the monetary wages paid to workers, with pK the price of
a unit of capital and with r the percentage cost of capital,
defined in an economic perspective, which considers the
entire gross operating margin on the value of the capital.
Therefore it differs from the accounting cost, which includes
only the depreciation charge and the cost of debt, attributing
to the profit gross of tax charges and the residual (oper-
ating income) allocated to equity. We also considered the
current value of capital (pK K) and not the evaluation done
P. Ravazzi and A. Villa
by the financial market, because this last one is continuously
changing, owing to the speculations on enterprise shares in
condition of uncertainty with respect to future gain.
We therefore define the profit  by the difference be-
tween the added value [pQ − pX X = (p − pX b) Q = p̂Q] and
the cost of labor and capital (wL + rpK K). If the factors
are characterized by decreasing productivity, companies can
achieve the objective of maximum profit by combining them
in order to equal the marginal productivity of each factor to
the relative cost:
max  = p̂Q − wL − cK pK K ⇒

p̂ (∂Q/∂L) = w ∂Q/∂L = w/p̂
(4.3)
p̂ (∂Q/∂K) = rpK ∂Q/∂K = rpK /p̂
It follows a fair distribution of income, since each factor
of production is remunerated according to its contribution
to production:
  labor and capital, respectively,
 receive
 a real
wage w/p̂ and a real return on capital rpK /p̂ equal to
the physical marginal productivity. The econometric results
of the hypothesis of flexible coefficients have been con-
firmed only in the presence of a relative constancy of the
shares of wages and profits on the value of the product,
exchanging a trivial accounting identity for a homogeneous
first degree production function, such as shown by [5]. A
realistic approach to the problem requires to interface with
the production engineer to write a functional form that in-
corporates the specific characteristics of a given observed
production process, leaving the econometrician only the task
of estimating the parameters and checking the goodness of
the equation. In the subsequent analysis, a technological-
economic approach will be followed, on the basis of which
the effect of automation on the production processes and
costs of the company will be assessed.
4.4 Microeconomic Effects of Automation
in Enterprises
4.4.1 Effects on the Production Function
First of all, consider the case of production with only labor,,
that is, without the use of capital or, to be more realistic,
with the use of extremely elementary production tools. In this
case, a characteristic of human’s psychophysical structure is
his ability to produce with decreasing returns: natural fatigue
grows during the production process, so the marginal pro-
ductivity of work is decreasing with the increase in working
hours. Let a shift be measured in hours, and h be the time
provided by a standard worker. To express that the efficiency
E of a worker is decreasing in the shift, it can be used with
4 Economic Effects of Automation 81

a simple exponential function that allows to transform the chines with respect to human; while the psychophysical
homogeneous hours into differentiated units of efficiency: nature of human is characterized by decreasing returns,
the machines or any production tool do not suffer from
E = hα (4.4) increasing fatigue during the work shift.

where 0 < α = (dE/dh)(h/E) < 1 is the constant elasticity of Therefore, we must exclude the hypothesis of decreasing
efficiency with respect to the hours provided by a worker and marginal productivity of capital and connect it to production
represents a measure of the average psychophysical strength capacity Q through a constant coefficient of potential pro-
of the worker. ductivity of capital λK , which represents the reciprocal of the
The relation (4.4) is characterized by decreasing returns, constant capital / product ratio (λK = 1/v): 4
since dE/dh = αE/h > 0 and d2 E/dh2 = (α − 1)(dE/dh)/h < 0.
Denoting with λE the constant productivity of an effi- Q = λK K = K/v (4.8)
ciency unit, we write the production function:
Since it is the human who works in collaboration with
Q = λE ENT (4.5) the machines and imposes his biological rhythms, the capital
must be connected to the actual production Q through a
By substitution of (4.4) and (4.1) (putting in evidence NT) variable degree of use 0 < θ K < 1, as a consequence of the
in (4.5) and therefore dividing by L the hourly productivity λL decreasing performance of the work, which expresses the
is obtained: effective time of use of the machines in relation to the time
in which they are potentially available:
λL = Q/L = λE hα−1 > 0 (4.6)
Q = θK λK K = θK K/v = θK Q (4.9)
decreasing compared to the hours worked by an operator in
a shift [dλL /dh = (α − 1)λE hα−2 < 0].
Dividing the relationship by the working hours needed to
Now capital as an auxiliary tool of labor is being intro-
saturate the production capacity, which correspond to those
duced. Three problems arise in this regard:
K = L of potential use of capital, and using Eq. (4.7), it is
possible to explain how the degree of use of capital is adapted
1. The measurement of capital, since capital goods are het-
to decreasing returns on labor:
erogeneous and therefore a specific physical quantity can-
not be used; a practical method, adopted by companies, is
θK = vγ λE hα+δ−1 (4.10)
to consider the hours of potential use of the heterogeneous
set of available production tools.
leading to a decreasing use of capital [dθ K /dh = (α + δ − 1)
2. The evaluation of the effects produced by the associa-
θ K /h < 0].
tion of capital with labor; a first effect contemplated by
Condition 0 < α + δ < 1 allows to define labor-intensive
economic theory [6–9] is the increase in productivity of
technique in which work and capital collaborate, but the
labor; expressing the capital-induced empowerment with
former dominates the latter: the decrease in the marginal
a coefficient γ > 1 to be applied to the hourly productivity,
productivity of labor remains as a characteristic of the pro-
the function (4.6) can be rewritten as λL = γ λE hα−1 ; how-
duction process, even if mitigated by the aid of capital.
ever, an equally important factor, omitted from economic
However, the decreasing returns are exclusively attributed to
theory, is the effect that capital has on the psychophysical
the psychophysical characteristics of human.
force of labor, since the tools to help work enhance by
Finally, mechanization and above all automation have the
a factor δ the elasticity of efficiency, alleviating both
property of canceling labor fatigue (α + δ = 1) and therefore
physical and mental fatigue, so that it is obtained:
they reverse the role of production factors: capital dominates
over labor, imposing its mechanical rhythms on the latter. The
relationship (4.7) changes to:
λL = γ λE hα+δ−1 (4.7)
λL = γ λE ⇐ α + δ − 1 = 0 (4.11)
where now E = hα+δ and condition 0 < α + δ < 1 allows to
preserve decreasing returns.
  by substitution in (4.10), implies θK = vλL =
 That,
K/Q Q/L = 1 ⇐ K = L, at the full utilization of the
3. The way of inserting capital into the production function,
production capacity. Automation therefore transforms labor
which depends strictly on the characteristics of the ma-
returns from decreasing to constant and, therefore, changes
82
the function of production to flexible coefficients (in the
technological sense described) into a function with fixed
coefficients.
We define capital-intensive systems as all those processes
in which α + δ = 1, that is, all the technologies that use
machines, although a negligible residual of worker fatigue
may remain in the setup phase.
This analysis makes it possible to distinguish the pro-
duction techniques (labor or capital intensive) on the basis
of an absolute criterion, avoiding the need for a relative
classification with respect to an average of the production per
employee or of the capital/labor or capital/product ratio of the
productive sectors.
4.4.2 Effects on Worker Incentives
and Controls
Another problem related to automation concerns the trade-
off between incentives and control of production workers.
The economic literature identifies three fundamental reasons
that induce the company to pay efficiency wages higher than
those of the market [10]: (a) the need to minimize the costs
for hiring and training workers, by stemming so the voluntary
resignation [11, 12]; (b) the information asymmetry between
worker and company (only the former knows his ability and
his commitment) for which this uses the incentive ex ante
in order to avoid the adverse selection (by rationing the job
application to select the best elements) and ex post in order
to contain the moral hazard of employees, causing them
to engage in the production process, in the event that the
supervision costs are too high [13–15]; (c) the specificity
of some production technologies that require leaving some
groups of workers autonomous (the individual commitment
is under the control of the team), paying an incentive to
stimulate conscious participation in teamwork [16–18].
To analyze the effects of automation, we neglect the last
motivation, more suitable for connoting research groups,
design and development of new products. On the other hand,
we consider the other motivations for intensive work systems
to be crucial: productivity is not exclusively attributable
to the technology and psychophysical characteristics of the
workers, but also depends on their commitment.
Assume that productivity λL of each worker is a concave
increasing function of the hourly wage w, that is, it grows
rapidly in a first interval in which the wages play an incen-
tive role, but which subsequently grows weakly due to the
decrease in the marginal utility of the remuneration in relation
to the fatigue of the extension of working hours:
λL = λL (w), λL (0) = 0, dλL /dw > 0, d2 λL /dw2 < 0
(4.12)
P. Ravazzi and A. Villa
As an intermediate objective of the company we assume
the maximization of the hourly margin mh , defined
 as the
difference between the hourly value added p̂λL and the
hourly wage w:
max mh = p̂λL (w) − w (4.13)
The first-order condition requires that the company pays
the worker an additional monetary unit of wages up to the
point where it equals the value of its marginal productivity,
that is when the elasticity w of productivity with respect to
wages equals the share of labor costs on the value added:
dmh dλL dλL w w
= 0 → p̂ = 1 → w = = (4.14)
dw dw dw λL p̂λL
In correspondence we obtain the optimal values of the
hourly monetary wage w∗ , the hourly productivity λ∗L , and the
hourly added value p̂λ∗L . The duration of the shift is therefore
endogenous. In fact, from Eq. (4.7) we obtain the optimal
time of each worker h∗ , explaining why in the labor-intensive
systems the hours provided by the worker may differ from the
contractual hours:
  
h∗ = λ∗L / γ λE
α+δ−1
(4.15)
Instead in capital-intensive systems λL = γ λE , whereby
workers are forced to adapt to the needs of mechanized or
automated production and therefore efficiency wages have
no reason to exist. The maximum profit solution simply
requires that the wage be set at its minimum contractual level:
max mh = p̂γ λE − w ⇐ min w.
In conclusion, in labor-intensive systems, a variable wage
can represent an incentive to maximize profit, extracting the
optimal effort for the company from workers. However, if
the productivity of the worker cannot be measured due to
the complexity of the performance, control by a supervisor,
to whom an incentive has to be paid, becomes preferable.
In capital-intensive systems, the incentive is not justified,
since there is no need to extract the effort of workers: both
in industry and in services (especially financial ones), au-
tomation eliminates the problem of moral hazard at the root,
since the machines carry out standardized work and are
equipped with devices to report anomalies with respect to
the correct execution of the process, thus minimizing worker
opportunism. The only reason for paying an efficiency wage
is the reduction of absenteeism.
In summary, automation – in addition to increasing
productivity directly and indirectly (neutralizing worker
fatigue) – minimizes labor costs, eliminating direct incentives
for workers or indirect incentives for supervisors in charge
of process control. Obviously in the face of these benefits,
the company must bear the greater burdens and risks of an
4 Economic Effects of Automation 83

automated process, which requires significant investments In systems of pure labor, in which capital is insignificant,
in physical and human capital, as will be highlighted in the the hypothesis of marginal productivity (λm = dQ/dL) and
next paragraph. average productivity (λ = Q/L) both decreasing, hold:

dλm d2 Q dλ
λm (L) > 0, = < 0,
dL dL2 dL
4.4.3 Effects on Cost Structure and Labor d (Q/L) λm − λ
Demand in the Short Term = = < 0 ⇐ λ > λm
dL L
(4.23)
The transition from an intensive labor process to a capital 4
intensive one has transformed the cost structure of the com- It follows that marginal variable cost (cm = dCv /dQ) and
pany, amplifying the costs of capital (given in the short term) average cost c, growing as the quantities produced grow,
and reducing those of labor. derive from Eqs. (4.18) and (4.21):
We define the total costs CT as the sum of the costs of the
three factors (intermediate goods, labor, and capital), whose cm = pX b + w/λm > 0
prices (pX , w, rpk ) are given for the individual company, to
which are added the organizational costs CH (relating to man- dcm d2 Cv w dλm dλm
= =− 3 >0⇐ (4.24)
agerial staff and persons in charge of accounting, financial, dQ dQ2 λm dL dL
information, and control activities): dc d (Cv /Q) cm − c
< 0, = = > 0 ⇐ cm > c
dQ dQ Q
CT = CH + pX X + wL + rpK K (4.16)
From Eq. (4.22) it is also noted that the total average cost
In the short term, the organization of the company and has a minimum point when the marginal cost is equal to the
 
the capital stock are given CH = CH , K = K , so one can average total cost:
separate the fixed costs Cf (organization and capital) from
variable costs Cv (intermediate goods and labor dependent on dcT C cm − c
=− 2 +  0 ⇐ cm  cT (4.25)
production Q through the respective input b and productivity dQ Q Q
coefficients λ):
The relations from (4.23) to (4.25) represent the general
Cf = CH + rpK K = C (4.17) case contemplated by neoclassical economic theory, which
is sustainable only in the presence of production processes of
pure work or with simple aid tools, unsuitable to neutralize
Cv = pX X + wL = (pX b + w/λ) Q (4.18) the growing fatigue during the work shift.
In labor-intensive systems, however, an incentive is
CT = Cf + Cv (4.19) required to achieve maximum efficiency, so relationships
(4.18) and (4.21) can be rewritten simply by replacing
the values of the efficiency wage w∗ and the optimum
Relation (4.8) defines the production capacity Q as a
productivity associated with it λ = λ∗L . Variable and
technical constraint that the current production Q cannot
total costs [relations (4.18) and (4.19)] then become linear
exceed:
functions of the quantity produced. The variable average cost
[relationship (4.21)] is constant and the average total cost
Q = λL = X/b ≤ Q = K/v (4.20) [relationship (4.22)] is a decreasing function of the quantity
produced in the interval 0, Q: dcT /dQ = −C/Q2 < 0.
If the variable cost (4.18) and the total cost (4.19) are On the other hand, in capital-intensive systems, automa-
divided by Q, after replacing Eqs. (4.17) and (4.18), the tion has the following effects:
variable average cost (c = Cv /Q) and the average total cost
(cT = CT /Q) are obtained: 1. A constant productivity λA higher than that obtainable in
intensive work systems λ = λA > λ∗L .
c = pX b + w/λ (4.21) 2. A wage wA set by collective or company bargaining
between workers and companies, normally lower than the
typical efficiency of intensive work systems (wA < w∗ ),
cT = C/Q + c (4.22)
84
since it requires no incentive to extract the optimal effort;
the wages paid to workers are generally higher than the
minimum wages ŵ paid for a simple job, in order to select
and train specialized
 personnel,
 suitable to collaborate
with the machines wA > ŵ ; then, it is difficult to evalu-
ate if wA be greater, less or equal to w∗ (in the following,
it will be assumed wA = w∗ = w).
3. A positive correlation (for linear simplicity) of labor pro-
ductivity compared to the quantity produced, because the
company is reluctant to replace qualified personnel in
the presence of production declines induced by a fall in
market demand
λA = λA (Q), dλA /dQ > 0, d2 λA /dQ2 = 0 (4.26)
4. A cost of capital rpKA higher than that of labor-intensive
systems, due to the higher purchase price of the machines
(pKA > pK ), with the same average useful life and cost of
financing.
With these premises we can compare the average cost
of company 1, which adopts an intensive capital production
system, with that of company 2, which adopts an intensive
labor system, using the relation (4.22) and considering an
equal coefficient of input of intermediate goods:
CT1 C1 w price (or list price) pi (i = 1, 2) to be proposed to the market,
c1 = = + pX b +  c2
Q Q λ1 (Q)
CT2 C2 w
= = + pX b + ∗
Q Q λ2
As mentioned, in company 1 compared to company 2, the
labor cost per unit of product decreased [w/λ1 (Q) < w/λ∗2 ]
but the cost of capital is increased (pK1 > pK2 ), assuming
equal organization costs (CH1 = CH2 ). The negative sign of
the cost gap D indicates the advantage of automation:
D(Q) = c1 − c2 = r (pK1 − pK2 ) K/Q
(4.27)
+ w [1/λ1 (Q) − 1/λ∗2 ] < 0
Inequality r (pK1 − pK2 ) K/Q < w [1/λ∗2 − 1/λ1 (Q)] is
a necessary condition for the capital-intensive production
technique to be economically efficient: the higher cost of
capital of the automated system must be lower than the
higher labor cost of the labor intensive system. The difference
in cost, however, benefits the automated company as the
production grows:
dD/dQ = −w (∂λ1 /∂Q) /λ21 − r (pK1 − pK2 ) K/Q2 < 0
It can therefore be said that an intensive work system is
more advantageous for low Q values, while the automated
P. Ravazzi and A. Villa
technique dominates for high Q values: there is a critical
level of production which makes the two technologies indif-
ferent. Capital-intensive techniques (high fixed costs and low
variable costs) are therefore more risky than intensive labor
techniques (low fixed costs and high variable costs), in the
event that there is a significant drop in the demand for goods
produced by company: excess work can be expelled from the
production process in a short time while excess capital, which
is a sunk cost, requires long amortization of its value.
Total costs of firms 1 and 2 are shown in quadrant a of
Fig. 4.1. Costs are reformulated in average terms in quadrant
b. In both cases up to point A, firm 2 has total and unit costs
lower than those of firm 1; in the 0QA range is therefore
more efficient. Beyond point A, in the interval QA Q, the
situation reverses, but this is the normal condition, since the
previous decision of both companies
  was to have an equally
high production capacity Q > QA , as shown in quadrant
c, which describes their linear functions of production with
respect to the amount of work. Firm 1 is more efficient than
firm 2 also in terms of programmed quantity Qe on the basis
of demand expectations, lower than the production capacity
for a part θ Q reserved to cope with excess demand:
 
Qe = 1 − θQ Q (4.28)
On the basis of Qe each firm calculates an experimental
sufficient to cover the unit cost of its product (full pricing),
which includes the depreciation rate and the normal profit
rate (indicated with r) on the capital value pK K:
p1 = cT1 (Qe ) < p2 = cT2 (Qe ) (4.29)
If the market price p of the product is high enough to
allow the less efficient company to achieve normal profit
[p = p2 = cT2 (Qe )], the most efficient company benefits from
the effects of its automated technology, creating a differential
return or surplus or extra profit S1 :
S1 = (p − p1 ) Qe = [cT2 (Qe ) − cT1 (Qe )] Qe (4.30)
If the
 market price allows firm 2 to cover only variable
costs p = c2 = pX b + w/λ∗2 , this company would be about
to leave the market in the short term (marginal firm): it can
survive only until the capital is wiped out (in the long run)
and the firm close the activity.
Finally, in quadrant d we associated different productiv-
ities levels (on the abscissas) to the cumulative quantities
of work (on the ordinates) for the entire interval up to
the programmed production and then extending it until the
saturation of the production capacity. This results in two
decreasing step-by-step relationships between productivity
and employment, from which it is evident that the aggregate
4 Economic Effects of Automation 85

a) CT b) CT/Q
tan a1 = c1
CT2
tan b1 = p1 CT1/Q
tan a2 = c2
tan b2 = p2
E1
CT2
CT1
A Q
E2
a1
Cf 1 A
p2
Cf 2
a2 c2 4
p1
c1
b2
b1
Q Q
0 QA Qe Q 0 QA Qe Q

c) L d) L
D P O

tan g1 = l1
tan g2 = l2 I
C H

L2
E2

g1 B N M
L1 F
g2 E1 G

Q Q/L
0 Qe Q 0 l2 l1

Fig. 4.1 Costs relating to firms 1 (capital intensive) and 2 (labor intensive)

demand for labor rotates with the increase in production from the relationship (4.21), in order to move from the concept
the position λ1 FGHI (continuous line) to the position λ1 of gross production Q to that of gross domestic product Y
MNOP (dashed line). in real terms. We therefore rewrite the variable average cost
relationship (4.21), which is also the minimum price p̂m at
which the least efficient firm remains temporarily on the
market in the short term:
4.5 Macroeconomic Effects
of Automation in the Short Period p̂m = cm = w/λm (4.31)

Even if we have abandoned the microeconomic postulate
of decreasing marginal productivity of production factors,
from quadrant d of Fig. 4.1, it is possible to derive a
macroeconomic function of short-term labor demand that
proposes it based on the decreasing marginal efficiency of the
companies.
4.5.1 Demand for Labor
To extend the model to companies operating in the economic
system, at the aggregate level we must eliminate intermediate
goods and consider only the added value, placing b = 0 in
where cm and λm indicate the average variable cost and
the (constant) productivity of the marginal firm and not the
marginal cost and marginal productivity of the neoclassical
theory. The equation shows that
 price is an increasing
 lin-
ear function of money wages ∂ p̂/∂w = 1/λm > 0 . Intra-
marginal firms (with more efficient technologies), on the
other hand, are able to partially or completely recover fixed
costs or even obtain profits higher than normal due to their
higher productivity. Considering a large number of com-
panies under free competition, the production capacity of
each is a sub-multiple of the market extension. Consequently,
inframarginal companies should align their planned list price
with the higher one of the marginal company: if they did
86
not carry out this alignment, selling their product at a lower
price, they would quickly saturate their production capacity,
creating a queue of unsatisfied demand that would pour on
other companies that apply a higher price, up to paying the
maximum price of the marginal company. The production
(or offer) price charged by the marginal company therefore
represents the equilibrium price (P∗ = pm ), dependent on
nominal wage level w. In a short-term equilibrium from the
Eq. (4.31), the equality between productivity and real wage
ω is rediscovered:
λm = w/P∗ = ω (4.32)
If the aggregate demand (and therefore the actual pro-
duction Y) is greater than the programmed production Ye of
all the enterprises (Y > Ye ), the incomes of inframarginal
enterprises will increase, because the average fixed cost
decreases, without prejudice to the average variable cost,
while the marginal enterprise will continue to remain at the
point of exit from the market, since the total fixed costs
remain unchanged and the revenues cover only the variable
costs both increased in the same proportion. If the aggregate
demand is lower (Y < Ye ) and the restriction is uniformly
distributed, inframarginal companies will face a reduction in
extra profits or will have to renounce coverage of a portion of
their fixed costs. The dismissal of labor force induced by the
fall in production will lighten variable costs, but the average
fixed cost will rise for all companies at the same price.
In Fig. 4.2 the graph of quadrant d of Fig. 4.1 has been
re-proposed with the Cartesian axes inverted, ordering the
companies according to their relative efficiency: from that
with higher productivity up to that which in the abstract has
zero productivity. A continuous differentiation of companies
was assumed
 and three
e
levels
 of aggregate production were
considered Y0 < Y < Y . The flatter the curves, the lighter
the technological diversity between firms: at the limit, a
horizontal straight line excludes differentiation and involves
three vertical straight lines for the three production levels
indicated.
Consider the planned production curve Ye : moving along
the downward curve, companies make decreasing profits. In
correspondence with point D (ω = ω) the marginal company
is located, while the underlying companies are out of the
market, because the price does not
 cover the average variable
cost; if real wage drops ω̂ < ω , a greater number of ineffi-
cient firms
 remain on the market, which increase the demand
for labor ω̂I > ωD .
If actual production expands to saturate production capac-
 sufficiently long time, aimed at guaranteeing the company
ity Y = Y > Y e , the demand for work is increasing from
ωD to ωE and from ω̂I to ω̂M; if it falls to a level below
the programmed level (Y = Y0 < Ye ), demand for work drops
from ωD to ωC and from ω̂I to ω̂H.
P. Ravazzi and A. Villa
w
A L
E
w F
C D
I M
w^ N
H
Y0 Ye Y
LD
0
Fig. 4.2 Balance in the labor market: decreasing demand from busi-
nesses and rigid supply
In this model, real wages have the role of selecting the
number of companies able to survive on the market. Unlike
the neoclassical approach of a single representative company
that produces with decreasing returns with respect to each
production factor, the assumption of linear technologies (with
constant productivity), ordered on the basis of their decreas-
ing efficiency, entails an aggregate demand for work LD
depending not only on real wages ω, but also from production
 
Y within the limit of short-term production capacity Y ≤ Y :
 
LD = LD (Y, ω) ∂LD /∂Y > 0, LD /∂ω < 0 (4.33)
4.5.2 Labor Offer
The dominant economic theory hypothesizes that a free
worker can rationally choose how to use his available time,
dividing it optimally between work and free time: an increase
in real wages would induce him – except in extreme cases of
very high wages – to give up free time, in order to acquire
more income to be used for consumption and savings. From
this behavior derives a job offer LS increasing compared
to real wages: LS = LS (ω) with dLS /dω > 0. Keynesian
criticism of this postulate underlines that the employment
contract stipulated between the parties has on the one hand
the job performance (hours, shifts, rules of conduct, etc.) and
on the other hand the payment of a nominal wage w.
Bonds are not instantly redeemable, but are fixed for a
the opportunity to evaluate the monetary profit expected from
the planned production and investment decisions. In this time
span, nominal wages remain fixed, but prices can vary.
4 Economic Effects of Automation
At the salary established by the contract, the labor supply
can be considered infinitely elastic, in the sense that the entire
workforce is willing to work on that salary (provided it is able
to ensure subsistence), regardless of the disutility of the work,
a more suitable concept to choose the type of work logic
than to decide whether to work or not to work and for how
long, since contracts are imposed by the needs of production.
Workers cannot therefore make an excellent choice between
work and leisure: at the contracted wages w the job offer
LS is given by the existing quantity of the workforce L. The
following two conditions can be written, indicating the price
level with P:
w = w ⇒ ω = w/P (4.34)
LS = L (4.35)
To support the hypothesis of fixed nominal wages during
the average duration of contracts, we can write the following
relation, which incorporates some suggestions of the Keyne-
sian theory [19]:
w = w (, u, Pe ) = w (0 , u0 , P0 ) = w (4.36)
The nominal wage depends on three exogenous variables,
which in order of relevance are:
1. The institutional, political, and social conditions of the
historical moment in which the employment contract is
signed (time 0), which are summarized by means of the
exogenous variable  =  0 .
2. The contractual strength of the parties, largely condi-
tioned by the unemployment rate u experienced in a
sufficiently long time preceding the negotiation (u = u0 ).
3. The expectation of the general price level Pe , agreed
between the parties at the time of signing the contract
and therefore incorporated in it (Pe = P0 ); the expectation
is generally extrapolative, because a rational expectation
(deduced from a model of macroeconomic forecasts) is
credible only if it reflects the beliefs about perceived infla-
tion compared to that statistically detected, but perceived
inflation is strongly conditioned by inflation experienced
in the current period.
Eq. (4.36) establishes that the nominal wage is fixed for
the entire duration of the contract, while the real one in (4.34)
decreases as the price level increases: dω/dP = − ω/P < 0, in
line with the statements of Keynes [20]. But the equilibrium
price P∗ is given, since it is calculated by the companies
on the basis of the programmed quantity. Consequently, the
royal hall is also fixed, as subsequently affirmed by Keynes
[21]: ω = w/P∗ = ω.
87
4.5.3 Equilibrium and Disequilibrium in the
Labor Market
To ensure full employment, the job application LD must
absorb all the offer available on the market, but it is not
said that this will happen, having excluded the neoclassical
hypothesis of free choice between work and free time, which
would entail a growing curve of job supply according to real
wages, able to intersect the job application. Instead, we hired
in the short term: 4
LD ≤ L (4.37)
In Fig. 4.2 we have added a vertical line that delimits the
short-term job offer L.
The following question arises: is it more effective an
increase in production or a reduction in real wages to achieve
a higher growth rate gL of the demand for work?
The answer depends on the value of the elasticities
with respect to production and real wages – respectively
εY = (∂L/∂Y)(Y/L) > 0 and εω = (∂L/∂ω)(ω/L) < 0 – and the
uniform growth rate of these variables (g = dY/Y = dω/ω):
 
dL 1 ∂L ∂L
gL = = dY + dω
L L ∂Y ∂ω (4.38)
= (εY + εω ) g > 0 ⇒ εY > εω
If firms are not differentiated in terms of technological
efficiency (equal productivity), the changes in real wages
are irrelevant (the labor demand curves are vertical), so only
changes in production count. Only if there is a differentia-
tion of technological efficiency (decreasing demand curves),
a decrease in real wages can induce greater employment.
The stronger the differentiation (the more elastic the job
demand curves are), the more likely is to achieve a point of
contact with the potential job supply curve, thus ensuring
full employment. Otherwise, even a minimum real wage,
for example w = ŵ, may be insufficient to achieve full
employment of workers, as in Fig. 4.2, where it can be
distinguished:
(a) Technological or structural unemployment (the MN sec-
tion), which cannot be absorbed even by fully utilizing
the production capacity, this being a technological con-
straint
(b) Rising cyclical unemployment (HM > HI) as production
decreases
 OnlyDif the job demand is constrained by the potential offer
L < L , then the labor force is scarce compared to the pro-
ductive capacity of the economy, so it is possible to achieve
full employment of the labor force, but not necessarily that of
88
capital. If the offer intersects the demand at a point in the IM
interval, the full employment of the workforce corresponds
to that desired by the companies; if the intersection occurs at
a point to the left of point I, the capital is underutilized.
In these cases, a strengthening of workers’ power should
occur, which could lead to an increase in the nominal wages
at the subsequent contract renewal. This causes firms to
translate it on the equilibrium price P∗ , in proportion to the
growth in variable costs: dP∗ /dw = 1/λm > 0.
The increase in the nominal wage, however, is greater than
the increase in prices (the real wage increases), not rendering
the contractual action of the workers in vain:
 
∂ω ∂ω dw ω
dω = dw + ∗ dP∗ = ∗ 1 − > 0 ⇐ ω < λm
dw dP P λm
(4.39)
The conclusions drawn on differentiation are paradoxical:
the more an economy is characterized by inefficient small
businesses (as in Italy), the more employment benefits from
wage reductions; if on the other hand the most efficient tech-
nologies are widespread among companies (as in Germany),
employment gets little benefit from wage compression and
mainly benefits from the growth of production.
It is therefore no coincidence that wages are higher in
economies with higher average productivity, induced by
the adoption of capital-intensive techniques, compared to
economies in which technological backwardness compels
companies to compete on labor costs.
A problem that emerges from this analysis is the pos-
sibility that the differentiation of the companies remains
in the long run: the marginal ones are forced to exit the
market and can be replaced by new incoming companies
equipped with more efficient technologies, thus eliminating
the differentiation. To maintain it, it is necessary to conceive a
dynamic process in which the new technologies of the incom-
ing companies allow a positioning at the top in the ranking of
production efficiency, moving the others downwards through
a creative destruction [22, 23], that is, a process of gradual ex-
pulsion of less efficient firms, so as to always propose a curve
of decreasing productivity and labor demand, even if shifted
upwards. Even the existing companies that come down in the
ranking, after having partially or totally recovered the value
of the capital invested, can in turn adopt new technologies
that allow them to go back to the highest positions. In this dy-
namic process it is necessary to assume that in the long term
the technical progress incorporated in the capital is such as to
allow a continuous replacement of the old enterprises by the
new ones and a continuous reinvestment by the existing ones.
This dynamic is not a groundless hypothesis in contemporary
capitalism, characterized by continuous digital innovations.
P. Ravazzi and A. Villa
4.6 Macroeconomic Effects
of Automation in the Long Period
Long-term analysis requires a different model to tackle the
problem of the growth of the economic system. For a com-
plete analysis, it can be referred to Ravazzi and Abrardi [24].
Before proceeding in this direction, it is appropriate to outline
some historical events to understand the drastic change that
has occurred in the production systems compared to the past.
4.6.1 A Brief Historical Excursus
Morris [25] classified humanity’s progress through four char-
acteristics, assigning each a score, which he then added to
obtain an indicator of social evolution: the ability to dominate
energy for the development of economic activity; the ability
to organize, which was mainly expressed in the transfor-
mation of the village into a city; the war force, that is, the
number of soldiers and the type of weapons; the information
technology, aimed at sharing and processing data.
From this classification it emerges that the only event
that caused a truly significant leap in economic development
was the first industrial revolution of the second half of the
eighteenth century, whose determining factors were first the
division of labor, as it was documented by Smith [26], then
the diffusion of the machines in the production processes,
highlighted by Ricardo [27], and then by Marx [28]. This
innovative phase concerned mechanics, chemistry, and tech-
nology and was above all a consequence of the invention
of the steam engine and subsequent improvements. Together
with the division of labor, machines have determined both
the creation of factories for large-scale production and the
organization of fast transport means. A second industrial rev-
olution occurred between the end of the nineteenth century
and the 40 years following the Second World War, but the
basic characters of new production processes still connote the
first era of machines [29].
A much more radical revolution has only recently ap-
peared: a second era of machines.
4.6.2 First Era of Machines: An Intersectoral
Model with Consumption and Capital
In this phase, capitalism evolved as a result of the cooperation
of machines with labor, aimed at obtaining higher productiv-
ity, changing the organization of production.
The first era of machines will be described by means of
a model of sectoral interdependencies [30–32] in physical
terms with three sectors: one industry producing consumer
goods (sector 1), exclusively demanded by workers, and two
specific industries to the production of capital goods (sectors
2 and 3), used as inputs in production processes.
4 Economic Effects of Automation 89

The Model in Terms of Quantity: Potential
Growth without Technical Progress
The production of the first sector Q1 is destined to satisfy the
demand for consumer goods of the workers employed in each
of the three sectors (L = L1 + L2 + L3 ):
The technology of each sector can also be summarized
by a specific rate fixed capital/work coefficient ki , which
represents the degree of mechanization or capital intensity
of a given production sector. Using the relationships (4.44)
and (4.45), we can obtain:

Q1 = c1 (L1 + L2 ) + c3 L3 = c1 L + s3 L3 (4.40) ki = Ki /Li = vi /li (4.46)

To find the solution of the model, we replace the relations

where c1 is the quantity of consumer goods per unit of labor,
purchased by workers in the first two sectors, who perform
(4.44) and (4.45), respectively, in (4.40) and (4.43), obtaining 4
a system of three equations that guarantees the balance of the
simple work; c3 is the quantity consumed by third sector
markets:
workers, who perform complex work, for which they benefit
from greater consumption (s3 = c3 − c1 > 0). Sector 1 (consumer goods) Q1 = c1 (l1 Q1 +l2 Q2 )+ c3 l3 Q3
As for capital, the machines used in the production of Sector 2 (machines T1) Q2 = gv1 Q1
consumer goods differ from those for the production of Sector 3 (machines T2) Q3 = gv2 Q2
capital goods: but we assume that the machines made by
(4.47)
sector 3 for sector 2 are built with the exclusive application
of complex work, in order to design and manufacture com- For the first equation in balance, the supply of consumer
puters (hardware and software). The second and third sector goods Q1 must be equal to the demand from workers em-
productions are therefore aimed at satisfying the demand for ployed in all three sectors (second member). Based on the
investment goods of the first two sectors (Ii ; i = 1, 2), which second relation, production Q2 of machines of first type (T1)
correspond to the increase in the capital stock Ki , given the must match the demand for fixed capital investments in the
hypothesis of infinite duration: consumer goods sector. For the third relation, production Q3
of new capital goods of the second type (T2) must be equal
Qi+1 = Ii = Ki (i = 1, 2) (4.41) to the demand for investments in fixed capital of the second
sector.
Considering perfectly competitive markets, the long-term The system (4.47) is indeterminate, being composed of
intersectoral mobility of capital (in search of maximum yield) three linearly independent equations and four unknowns: Q1 ,
determines the leveling of profit rates and – since in the Q2 , Q3 , g. By using exchange relations Rij = Qi /Qj and
model, profits are all invested – the equality of the growth selecting Q2 as a unit of measurement, we rewrite the system
rate g of the capital: in the form:
+c3 l3 R32
Sector 1 (consumer goods) R12 = Q1 /Q2 = c1 l21−c
  1 l1
Ki = gK i (4.42) Sector 2 (machines T1) R12 = 1/ gv1
Sector 3 (machines T2) R32 = Q3 /Q2 = gv2
Substituting the relation (4.42) in (4.41), we obtain: (4.48)

By matching the first two equations and replacing the

Qi+1 = gK i (4.43)
third, we obtain a second degree equation:
It is assumed that the workers are all employed in the three c1 l2 + c3 l3 v2 g 1
sectors, according to fixed utilization coefficients of work per R12 = = → c3 l3 v2 g2 + c1 l2 g
1 − c1 l1 gv1 (4.49)
product unit (li = Li /Qi = 1/λi ):
− (1 − c1 l1 ) /v1 = 0

3 
3
L= Li = li Qi (4.44) from which the equilibrium growth rate is obtained g∗ > 0,
i=1 i=1 having appropriately chosen the positive sign:

 2
The capital stock, installed in each production sector, is 1 c1 l2 1 c1 l2 1 − c1 l1
also considered fully utilized with fixed capital coefficients g∗ = − + + (4.50)
2 c3 l3 v2 2 c3 l3 v2 c3 l3 v1 v2
per unit of product: vi . Then, it is possible to write:
If we replace the relations (4.40) and (4.43) in (4.44) and
Ki = vi Qi (4.45) (4.45), we get the system in terms of factors:
90 P. Ravazzi and A. Villa

Labor (1
− c1 l1 ) L = l2 gK 1 + (1 + l1 s3 ) l3 gK 2 plex work) are intended to purchase consumer goods, while
  profits are entirely invested in capital goods. Furthermore,
K1 = v1 c1 L + s3 l3 gK 2
Capital the rate r of profit on invested capital (or interest rate) must
K2 = v2 gK 1
be uniform in all productive sectors, in order to prevent
(4.51) capital move from one sector to another, in search of greater
performance.
The first equation expresses the intersectoral equilibrium Denoting with pi the unit prices of goods produced by the
of the labor market. The other two describe the balance of three sectors (i = 1, 2, 3), then rp2 and rp3 represent the usage
the capital market. From the solution the relative quantities prices or unit costs of capital. For each sector we write the
(K1 /K2 ) and the same growth rate g∗ are obtained. Economy equality between the total cost (of labor and capital) at the
develops along a trajectory of potential equilibrium with full first member and the total revenue at the second member:
occupation of resources: a golden age, as defined by Joan
Robinson [33]. Sector 1 (Consumer goods) wL1 + rp2 K1 = p1 Q1
To compute the absolute quantities of products and fac- Sector 2 (machines T1) wL2 + rp3 K2 = p2 Q2
tors, the perspective is shifted to the short term, characterized Sector 3 (machines T2) zL3 = p3 Q3
by two types of constraints: (a) a given capital stock of an (4.52)
industrial sector, typically that of the production of consumer
goods, which affects  others K1 = K 1 ; (b) a given
 all the Real wages ω and ζ , can be defined by dividing the nomi-
aggregate job offer L = L . nal wages w and z by the price p1 of consumer goods, impos-
In case a we include the constraint in the system (4.51), ing the following conditions (ω̂ is the subsistence wage):
obtaining the same equilibrium growth rate (g∗ ) and the
quantities ∗
 ∗of
 work balance (L ) and the capital of the second w = c1 p1 → ω = w/p1 = c1 ≥ ω̂ (4.53)
sector K2 .
By replacing these variables in (4.43), the productions of
the
 ∗ two∗ machine manufacturing sectors arefinally  obtained z = c3 p1 > w → ζ = z/p1 = c3 > ω (4.54)
Q2 , Q3 and then that of consumer goods Q∗1 by the first
equation of the system (4.47).
We use these two relationships to rewrite the system
If the existing offer is L̃ > L∗ , the unemployment rate
(4.52), dividing each element by Qi , in order to obtain the
(0 ≤ u = (L̃ − L∗ )/L̃ < 1 ⇐ L̃ > L∗ ) is positive or even
equality between the average cost (first member) and the
advantageous for companies, because production capacity
average revenue (the selling price) of each sector:
is fully occupied and unemployment reduces the bargaining
power of workers.  
Sector 1 (consumer goods) ωp1 l1 + rp2 v1 = p1
In case b, existing workers are all employed L = L̃ and
Sector 2 (machines T1) ωp1 l2 + rp3 v2 = p2
they constitute a constraint for production. From the system
∗ ) and the
Sector 3 (machines T2) ζ p 1 l3 = p 3
(4.51) we obtain the equilibrium growth rate  (g  (4.55)
capital stock of the first and second sectors K1 , K2∗ , from
∗

which we then obtain the quantities produced by all the three

sectors.
It is possible that the degree of utilization of the cap-
ital stock of one or both sectors be not fully utilized, so
entrepreneurs are no longer inclined to acquire new capital
goods based on the equilibrium growth rate: the expected
growth rate ge and the effective rate g of capital accumulation
would slow down (g = ge < g∗ ). The demand for capital
goods would be lower than potential production, triggering
a period of recessive instability [34–37], that cannot be
avoided without an intervention from the state, as suggested
by Keynes [20].
The Model in Terms of Prices: Wages and Profits
We must now moving from the model in physical terms to
that expressed in value, assuming – for simplicity – that the
nominal wages w (paid for simple work) and z (for com-
We rewrite the system in terms of relative prices, assuming
the price of the consumer goods sector as a unit of measure
(p1 = 1, p21 = p2 /p1 , p31 = p3 /p1 ):
Sector 1 (consumer goods) ωl1 + rp21 v1 = 1
Sector 2 (machines T1) ωl2 + rp31 v2 = p21
Sector 3 (machines T2) ζ l3 = p31
(4.56)
The system is now composed of three equations and
five variables: ω, ζ , r, p21 , p31 . We obtain a second degree
equation Z equal to (4.49) of the model in physical units,
being ω = c1 e ζ = c3 , with the only difference of having
the variable of the profit rate r instead of the growth rate g:
Z = ζ l3 v2 r2 + ωl2 r − (1 − ωl1 ) /v1 = 0 (4.57)
4 Economic Effects of Automation 91

It follows that the profit rate and the growth rate of The first case is evidently unsustainable: the zero wages
the economic system are the same (r∗ = g∗ ), because we would make the production of consumer goods disappear
assumed exogenous the remuneration of work  determined by
 and the economic system would implode. In the second case,
the bargaining between the social partners ω = ω, ζ = ζ , the production of capital goods would disappear, but the
so the solution of (4.57) is analogous to (4.50): economy could survive in a steady state, because the workers
of the first sector could continue to utilize existing machines
 2 (obviously as long as they last).
∗ 1 ωl2 1 ωl2 1 − ωl1
r =− + + (4.58) It is necessary to place a reciprocal bond: a subsistence
2 ζ l3 v2 2 ζ l3 v2 v1 v2 ζ l3 wage ω̂ and a minimal profit rate rm , indicated in Fig. 4.3 by
means of straight vertical and horizontal lines, respectively. 4
If we remove the hypothesis of real wages given for simple A balance in A or in C is achieved when the bargaining
work, the previous relationship expresses the link existing force is all concentrated in the workers’ unions. Bargaining
between the rate of profit r and the real wages ω. Using the between the social partners is therefore limited to the AC
derivation rule of the implicit function (4.57), we obtain the section of the curve and the trade-off between the income
marginal rate of substitution between profit and real wages: received by the two social classes depends on the relative
strength, which depends on the variables described in the
dr ∂Z/∂ω l2 r + l1 /v1 relation (4.36).
=− =− <0
dω ∂Z/∂r 2ζ l3 v2 r + ωl2 A compromise is represented by point B, which entails a
real wage higher than the subsistence wage and a rate of profit
The profit rate decreases as real wages rise, thus highlight- and capital growth greater than the minimum.
ing a conflict of interest between capitalists and workers for An unbalanced situation can emerge when both workers
the distribution of the net product (the added value). and capitalists have equivalent bargaining power and each
In Fig. 4.3 the relationship (4.58) is represented by a party wants to maximize its goal: wages and profits respec-
decreasing curve which is first convex and then concave tively. This situation (point D) implies strong turbulence in
(based on the analysis of the second derivative) with the the labor market: strikes on the one hand and tight on the
turning point at ⏞ . other, which cause product losses, but at the same time rep-
The curve intersects the axes: if the real wage were resent a dispute resolution mechanism, bringing the economy
zero (ω = 0), the rate of profit and the rate of growth back on the wage-profit frontier.
of
 the economic system
 would be at the maximum level:
  
rM = 1/ v1 v2 ζ l3 ; if on the contrary the profits were Use of the Model to Explain the Events
of the Second Half of the Twentieth Century
all attributed to the workers (r = 0), the real wage would be The previous model can be used to summarize the events that
maximum (ωM = 1/l1 = λ1 ). characterized the European economy from the 1950s to the
threshold of the new century.
After the war, the misery of families and widespread
r=g
unemployment, caused by the war destruction of most of
the factories and the historical backwardness of some areas
of Europe, explain the extreme weakness of the bargaining
rM
force of the workers and the dominance of the power of the
companies, factors that kept economies on the wage-to-profit
frontier near point A in Fig. 4.3. This situation ensured 20
^r A D years of low wages, high profits, and high growth rates of
the economic systems (in Italy is the period of the economic
B miracle).
r
The process of absorbing unemployment subsequently
C strongly strengthened the power of the workers, who claimed
rm
and obtained in the seventies and eighties a radical shift in
the share of income from profits to wages: the European
w economy has gradually moved from point A to point C,
0 w^ w w (r
(rm) wM
with a significant drop in the growth rate of the economies.
The reduction in growth was accentuated by restrictive eco-
Fig. 4.3 Relationship between profit rate and real wages in a dynamic nomic policies of governments, induced by the oil crisis: the
economy quintupling of the price of oil by the producing countries,
92
adhering to the OPEC cartel, had severely imbalanced the
external accounts, driving up the value of crude oil imports
and inflation. It is the period of stagflation.
After the eighties until today the advantage gained by
workers has been gradually eroded for various reasons, but
above all for an increase in the unemployment rate induced
by the slowdown in growth, which in some countries is
partly due to a fragile industrial structure dominated by small
businesses and by the adoption of automated labor-saving
technologies by medium and large enterprises.
The power of capital then gradually took over the heavily
weakened one of labor, so the European economy moved
again along the frontier of Fig. 4.3 from point C to point A:
a return to the conditions of the first postwar period, but this
time – especially in the Mediterranean countries – without
prospects for rapid growth.
4.6.3 Second Era of Machines: Automation
and Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Compared to the first machine age, the second era has three
fundamental characteristics:
1. The expansion of the variety of consumer goods and the
explosion of services (financial, health, legal, administra-
tive, tax, etc.), characterized by high labor intensity
2. A more extensive automation of production processes, due
to the creation and exponential diffusion of Information
and Communication Technology (ICT)
3. The production of digital goods (information, music and
IT applications), which use the infrastructures created by
ICT innovations, circulating on a worldwide network of
interconnected computers
Proliferation of Services, Diversification
of Consumption, and Digital Revolution
The transformation of capitalism from a producer of indus-
trial goods to a prevalent service provider has supplied a very
high demand for consumer goods, so that the system has
been able to grow after the Second World War in substantial
equilibrium, even if there have been sporadic recessions.
ISTAT data on Italian consumption from 1970 to 2010
represent a significant sample of the trends that have also
characterized other European countries:
• Significant, but essentially stable, weight of public ser-
vices (around a quarter of the total)
• The increase of share of private services over the total
private consumption from 30% to 45%
• The fall of 15 percentage points in food consumption
absorbed by the increase in expenses for housing and
P. Ravazzi and A. Villa
related services (water, electricity and gas), health care,
telecommunications, and leisure
This transformation made it possible to create labor-
intensive activities, but digital applications and communi-
cations networks are rapidly spreading automation also in
services.
From an economic point of view, an efficient division of
labor should entail the choice between human and machine
based on their comparative advantage: some tasks are more
suitable for human functions and others for mechanical ones.
Computers have replaced workers in many tasks: ma-
chines are cheaper, faster and error-proof and outperform
men’s performance. Their field of application gradually and
increasingly expanded to more complex tasks (mathematics,
logic, and language). However, we continue to believe that
in many activities human is irreplaceable for his artistic,
literary, and scientific abilities and decision-making attitudes
[38]. Today we must modify these beliefs, because enormous
progress has been achieved in fields that were considered
exclusive human prerogative: autonomous driving of the car
seemed impossible, but today it is a reality; complex com-
munication between human and machine through a speech
synthesis language, similar to natural language; simultaneous
translation into various languages; the analysis of economic
and statistical data in literary form indistinguishable from
that carried out by an expert journalist; additive manufactur-
ing to create objects in plastic, metal, and other materials.
Today companies buy expensive machines, with special-
ized functions for the type of production to be carried out;
these machines require specific programming by specialized
workers to be inserted in the assembly line and reprogram-
ming with machine stoppage whenever small changes occur
in the production process, but recent robotic innovations are
learning to do more complex work at a decreasing and highly
competitive purchase price.
Based on data reported by Forni [39], setting the average
cost per hour of a US worker equal to 100, we find that
the cost of a Chinese worker falls to around 11, but the
cost of a robot is around 1. It is clear that the international
movement of capital, induced by labor cost differences, loses
its relevance and the replacement of humans by intelligent
machines maximizes efficiency. Frey and Osborne [40] es-
timated, through an analysis of 702 types of occupations,
that almost 50% of US employment is already at high risk
of substitution. Furthermore, Bostrom [41] predicts that by
2040, artificial intelligence will achieve substantial parity
with humans in many decisional and intellectual activities.
We can say that today we have definitely entered the
second era of machines.
The components of this unpredictable technological
progress are:
4 Economic Effects of Automation
(a) The exponential growth of the computing capacity of
computers; in 1965, Gordon Moore, a researcher at
Fairchild Semiconductor, then co-founder of INTEL, had
stated that the computing power of integrated circuits,
for the same cost, was and would double every year;
Moore’s Law has proved correct to this day, although
the doubling time has been lengthened by about half a
year; the growth in computing power can therefore be
described by an exponential function, showing that in
2020 we were still in the embryonic stage, but in the last
ten years the curve began to steepen and will become
very steep in the next 10; such a rapid pace of innovation
will upset the traditional balance of the economic
system, where robotics and artificial intelligence will
dominate.
(b) The capillarity and strengthening of telecommunication
networks (xDSL and optical fiber), creating the physical
support indispensable for the transport of a huge mass
of digitized information and allowing access to a vast
network of computers scattered around the world.
li = li(t) − li(t−1) = θ0 − θ1 li(t−1) − θ2 g
(c) The digitization of a mass of information, a huge database
that has involved huge costs to realize it, but now its use
and its reproduction have negligible costs.
(d) The explosion of digital products, which are the natural
consequence of the aforementioned innovations.
These technologies, which allow a strong increase in
labor productivity and therefore an accelerated growth of the
economy, are generally derived from: radical innovations
of general purpose, which allow a widespread diffusion in
many productive sectors; incremental innovations, which
guarantee an increase in continuous productivity; collateral
innovations, which arise as a recombination of the existing
ones, ensuring a continuum of innovations.
Wright [2000] underlined the importance of the first two
types of innovation, attributing to their slowdown (and to
li < 0 ⇐ g > θθ02 − θθ12 li(t−1) .
the rigidity of the labor market) the tendential decline in
the rate of productivity growth in Europe in the last quarter
of the twentieth century. Arthur [42], on the other hand,
highlighted the effectiveness of the collateral innovations,
which guarantee uninterrupted productivity growth.
Recent developments in e-learning and AI present ele-
ments of all three types of innovation [43], ensuring contin-
uous productivity growth.
A very intense competition can provide the indispensable
stimuli for innovation, on the other hand only large enough
companies have the tools (financial and organizational) to
manage the complexity and risk of innovative processes.
Investment in innovation is reduced both when the market
is concentrated and when it is dispersed [44]; for the sec-
  
tors characterized by high technical progress (e.g., those of
consumer electronics and software) have both characteristics:
alongside large-scale companies there is a fringe of innova-
93
tive start-ups, which develop new technologies and they then
transfer them to the dominant firms.
Endogenous Technical Progress
Innovations are essentially conveyed by new, more efficient
machines acquired by companies. The organizational change
that follows takes place through the process of investing in
new capital goods. Automation is endogenous in nature, in-
corporating itself into the capital of the first two sectors, and
comes from product innovations that research & development 4
(implemented by sector 3) introduces into new machines. The
intensity of labor savings therefore depends on the rate at
which the machines are introduced by the companies into the
production processes, which in turn depends on the growth
rate of the capital g. Then, we formulate the following non-
homogeneous first order finite difference equation, according
to which the working coefficient decreases (productivity
increases) if g increases:
(4.59)
→ li(t) − (1 − θ1 ) li(t−1) = θ0 − θ2 g
The relation assumes that – in the absence of interven-
tions – a drift of inefficiency (the constant 0 < θ 0 < 1)
could occur in the production process. Parameter 0 < θ 1 < 1
represents the organizational effort that companies make to
counteract the previous effect; this effort is related to the
amount of work per unit of product in the previous period
(0 < θ 1 li(t−1) < 1). Only if θ 0 ≤ θ 1 li(t−1) , companies manage
to improve or only recover the organizational efficiency of
the production process. Then, parameter θ 2 > 0 highlights the
role of endogenous technical progress induced by the rate of
capital growth.
The condition for obtaining a decrease in the work content
per unit of product requires a critical value of the growth rate:
The general solution of Eq. (4.59) is the following:
 
li = li∗ + li(0) − li∗ (1 − θ1 )t (4.60)
where li∗ is the particular equilibrium solution (li(t) = li(t−1) ),
in which h0 = θ 0 /θ 1 , h1 = θ 2 /θ 1 :
θ0 − θ2 g h0 θ0
li∗ = = h0 − h1 g ≥ 0 ⇐ g ≤ = (4.61)
θ1 h1 θ2
The limit of (4.60) for t → ∞ is the particular solution
(4.61), if 0 < θ 1 < 1 ⇒ lim (1 − θ 1 )t = 0:
lim h0 − h1 g + li(0) − h0 − h1 g (1 − θ1 )t = h0 + h1 g
This solution shows that in a stationary state (g = 0), in
which no new machines are produced, the work content per
94
unit of product and productivity are constant: li∗ = h0 . Instead
in a progressive economy (g > 0), the former decreases and
productivity increases: dl∗i /dg = −h1 < 0.
The speed of convergence toward the equilibrium solution
depends on θ 1 : if θ 1 → 1, the equilibrium level li∗ can be
achieved quickly, so h0 = θ 0 e h1 = θ 2 . This hypothesis is
reasonable in the long run and therefore we include it in the
model. Finally, unlike the first era of machines, in the second
era automation and AI continuously increase the parameter
θ 2 , due to the exponential increase in productivity and the
symmetrical fall in the work content.
Now consider the capital / product coefficient vi . Based on
the relationship (4.46) it can be expressed as the interaction
between capital per unit of work ki and work per production
unit li :
vi = ki li = ki /λi (4.62)
All the coefficients (ki , λi , li ) depend on the diffusion of
machines in production processes and are therefore functions
of the growth rate g of capital. We can therefore rewrite the
previous relationship, using the concepts of elasticity of each
coefficient (εv , εk , ελ ) with respect to g:
ki (g) dvi g dki g dλi g
vi = ⇒ εv = = −
λi (g) dg vi dg ki dg λi (4.63)
= εk − ελ  0 se εk  ελ
The acquisition of the machines on the one hand leads to
an increase in the capital ratio per unit of work (mechaniza-
tion effect: dki /dg > 0) and on the other – due to the technical
progress incorporated in capital – it induces an increase in
the productivity of labor (dλi /dg > 0), that is, a decrease in
the amount of work per unit of product (substitution effect:
dli /dg < 0), which counteracts the first effect.
In the following analysis, we assume that the two forces
are perfectly opposed so the capital / product relationships
do not change significantly in the long run [45, 46]: for
a verification, we used Mediobanca data, available online,
approximating the capital/product ratio with the ratio be-
tween the book values of gross tangible fixed assets and net
turnover; given the delay with which inflation corrects the
values of the stock of fixed assets (only occasionally revalued
by specific laws), it is not surprising the fall in the relationship
in the period of the great inflation of the seventies and the rise
in the following decade; making the data homogeneous, the
ratio was stable around 0.3 for medium-sized enterprises and
1 for large ones.
So in terms of elasticity, let’s assume: εk = ελ . At this
point we can replace the particular solution (4.61) in the
relation (4.49), obtaining a new second degree equation:
P. Ravazzi and A. Villa
c1 (θ0 − θ2 g) + c3 l3 gv2 1
R12 = = → (c3 l3 v2 − c1 θ2 ) g2
1 − c1 (θ0 − θ2 g) gv1
 
θ2 1 − c1 θ0
+ c1 θ0 − g− =0
v1 v1
(4.64)
The solution provides equilibrium growth rate with en-
dogenous technical progress g̃∗ :
c1 (θ0 v1 − θ2 )
g̃∗ = −
2v1 (c3 l3 v2 − c1 θ2 )
 2
c1 (θ0 v1 − θ2 ) 1 − c1 θ0
+ +
2v1 (c3 l3 v2 − c1 θ2 ) v1 (c3 l3 v2 − c1 θ2 )
(4.65)
The condition for the positivity of the growth rate requires
that the following inequalities be verified: c3 l3 v2 > c1 θ 2 ,
θ 0 < c1 . In equilibrium, the growth rate g̃∗ with endogenous
technical progress (incorporated into capital) is greater than
that without progress: g̃∗ > g∗ ⇐ c1 θ2 < 1.
Ultimately, technical progress increases the potential
growth of the economic system and in the second era of
the machines it undergoes a continuous and significant
acceleration, due to automation, so that even aggregate
demand must necessarily grow at a higher and higher rate to
ensure dynamic balance over time.
The economic system moves along a path where the
simple work of the first two sectors is first gradually and
then exponentially replaced by machines and specialized
work, converging toward a final goal characterized by its
disappearance.
In the transient period, the increase in productivity, in-
duced by this replacement, is however gradual and can even
be disappointing [47, 48], with a mean delay estimated in
7 years [49, 50]. Adoption of new technologies clashes
with human’s incompetence and inertia toward organiza-
tional change. But learning by doing helps to derive from
the reorganization of the processes the advantage that new
technologies promise, allowing to increase productivity and
to expel simple work to replace it with specialized work. Ace-
moglu and Autor [51] have tried to understand that machines
in the transient period mainly replace both cognitive (e.g.,
bookkeeping) and manual (e.g., assembly line) routine work,
but not non-repetitive, whether cognitive (e.g., finance) or
manual (e.g., hair cutting).
Long-Term Trends: Complete Automation
and Diffusion of Digital Goods
Some economists [52] show underlying optimism, since they
see only the supply side of this new industrial revolution,
neglecting the risks associated with the massive replacement
of labor and the consequent fall in consumption. When the
4 Economic Effects of Automation
machines will completely replace both simple and special-
ized work, that is, when the amount of work per unit of
product will tend to cancel itself, the system (4.48) expressed
in physical units will be simplified by placing l1 = l2 → 0:
Sector 1 (consumer goods) R12 = c3 l3 R32
Sector 2 (machines T1) R12 = 1/gv1
Sector 3 (machines T2) R32 = gv2
(4.66)
In this final phase, sector 1 produces all consumer goods,
including personal services, only purchased by workers in
sector 3. Workers from the other two sectors, without means
of subsistence, would be destined to perish, unless the State
provides for their maintenance with a subsidy, comparable
to the basic universal income proposed to reduce inequalities
[53, 54].
By adding suffixes I and II to associate the growth rates to
the respective machine age, the system
  solution (4.66) results

in an equilibrium growth rate g∗II greater than g∗I (for
simplicity without technical progress), expressed by (4.50):
 l1
g∗II = 1/ c3 l3 v1 v2 > g∗I ⇐ g∗II + >0 (4.67)
l2 v1
Let us now reformulate the model (4.56), expressed in
value, by placing l1 = l2 → 0 and ω = 0, since the non-
existence of simple work excludes the payment of real wages
to workers:
Sector 1 (consumer goods) rp21 v1 = 1
Sector 2 (machines T1) rp31 v2 = p21
Sector 3 (machines T2) ζ l3 = p31
(4.68)
from which the profit rate is obtained equal to the capital
growth rate (4.67), being c3 = ζ :
Z = ζ l3 v1 v2 rII2 − 1 = 0 → rII∗
 l1 (4.69)
= 1/ ζ l3 v1 v2 > rI∗ ⇐ rII∗ + >0
l2 v1
The consequent greater surplus will be acquired by the
owners of the machines and destined for accumulation, thus
allowing a higher growth rate, with the same capital/product
ratio.
The relation (4.69) also shows that in the final phase of
complete automation the trade-off between the rate of profit
and real wages disappears, since one of the two antagonistic
parties in wage bargaining is expelled from the production
processes.
Only workers in sector 3 remain active, dedicated to the
production of digital goods (hardware and software) or char-
95
acterized by high artistic, scientific, and operational skills
(researchers, innovators, entrepreneurs, and managers), who
receive a remuneration that is no longer constant (as in the
first era), but variable according to their success in the market.
In this final phase, therefore, another conflict arises for
the distribution of income between the class of innova-
tors/entrepreneurs and the class of capitalists. The trade-off
is represented by a decreasing and convex curve:
∂Z ∂Z dr r d2 rII 1 drII 4
dζ + drII = 0 → II = − II < 0, =− >0
∂ζ ∂rII dζ 2ζ dζ 2 ζ dζ
The bargaining between the parties is however limited to
only two subjects: the owners of capital and the managers,
who however are destined to disappear because the machines
equipped with artificial intelligence are able to process all
the information available and can make better decisions than
humans [55, 56], without the need for incentives to align
their goals with those of the owners. Innovators, artists and
scientists can obtain a higher compensation at the expense
of the capitalists, only if their innovative products and their
capabilities are successful on the market. Once the division
between the two new social classes has been resolved, the
system (4.68) allows to determine the relative prices.
To determine the absolute quantities of the products, we
assume that, in the final stage, the complex work of sector 3
is less than the total workforce of the first era (0 < θ 3 < 1):
L 1 = L 2 = 0 ⇒ L 3 = θ3 L < L (4.70)
The quantities of capital and production and the amount
of profits of the second era of the machines will therefore be
lower than those of the first era. If the rational objective of
the capitalists is not the maximization of the profit rate r, but
the pursuit of the maximum profit (i = rKi ), then the final
phase will not be appreciated by the owners of the capital.
Avoiding the implosion is a priority for the whole popula-
tion.
The Transient: Inequality and Unemployment
The increase in productivity induced by automation implies
greater competitiveness on domestic and international mar-
kets. The associated reduction in the quantity of work per
unit of product also leads to the loss of workers’ bargaining
power, with a consequent drop in wages, strengthening com-
petitiveness in a virtuous circle for capital owners.
This entails: (a) the progressive concentration of wealth in
a small part of the population, thus producing the two classes
that dominates the second era of machines (the traditional
class of capital owners and the emerging class of superstars
of the digital economy); (b) an increase of unemployment in
the absence of compensatory interventions by the State for
the support of aggregate demand.
96
With regard to inequality, OECD [57] notes that the
wages/GDP ratio from 1980 to 2010 has fallen by 13 points
in France and Japan (from 76% to 63% and from 78% to
65%, respectively), in the USA by almost 10 points (from
70% to about 60%), in Italy of 8 points (from 70% to 62%),
and in the United Kingdom of 5 points (from 75% to 70%).
World Inequality Database data [58] reinforce this inequality
for the USA: from 1980 to 2016 the income share of the
richest 1% of the population doubled (from 10% in 1980 to
20% in 2016), while that of the poorest 50% fell from 20%
to 13%.
According to the trickle theory, an increase in the income
and wealth of the richest 1% also benefits the poorest 50%,
because innovations reduce the costs of goods produced [59].
This theory is not confirmed by empirical evidence, be-
cause the real income of this part of the population has
decreased, reducing the consumption of quality goods and
forcing them to choose low-priced substitutes [60].
The myth of social mobility has also been dispelled: those
born poor remain poor for many generations [61]. As shown
by the OECD data [62]: in the USA, Great Britain, and
Italy it takes on average five generations for children of
a low-income family reach an average income; in France
and Germany mobility is lower (six generations); only the
Scandinavian countries are characterized by high upward
social mobility (two to three generations).
The inequality of wealth is even more striking. The sit-
uation in Italy is emblematic: the division into deciles of
the possession of Italian financial wealth [63] shows that in
2016 10% of the wealthiest families owned 52% of financial
assets, while 50% of the poorest families owned just over
10%, essentially bank and similar deposits.
Concerning unemployment, we reformulate the relation-
ship (4.59), considering only the impulse of the capital

growth rate on the variation of the work content per unit
of product (i = 1, 2):
li = li(t) − li(t−1) = −θ2 g → limli(t) = li(t−1) − θ2 g = 0
t→T
(4.71)
The time needed to converge toward this final phase
(indicated by T) depends both on the actual growth rate
(g ≤ g∗ ) of the economy, and from the effect θ 2 that this
exerts on labor productivity. If automation incorporated in
capital is small (θ 2 → 0), the dynamic to achieve work
euthanasia will be slow. If instead it is high (θ 2 > 0) and
even growing (dθ 2 /dt > 0) convergence will be rapid. In the
transitory period, therefore the simple works of the first two
sectors are gradually expelled from the increasing pace of the
production of goods and from that of services and replaced
with a reduced number of skilled workers, also destined to be
eliminated subsequently. During this phase, the demand for
consumer goods will gradually decrease, creating a progres-
P. Ravazzi and A. Villa
sive excess of supply of goods in sector 1, which will affect
the demand for machines in sector 2 and therefore on the
production of machines in sector 3. Aggregate demand will
continually be insufficient to absorb the productive capacity
of the economic system (the effective growth rate will be
lower than the potential one: g < g∗ , leading to a progressive
drop in production. As mentioned, exogenous support from
the state will be needed to avoid recessions: expansive public
expenditure, financed with taxes on the capital and income of
those who are lucky enough to still have a job.
The system (4.52) must therefore be completed by adding
a sector 4, which summarizes the budget of the Public Ad-
ministration (PA):
 
Sector 4 (P.A.) : w N − L12 = τw wN + τz zL3
+ τk (p2 K1 + p3 K2 )
(4.72)
where N is the offer of simple and specialized work (sep-
arating it from complex work L3 ) and L12 is the  demand
(employees) of the first two sectors; w N − L12 therefore
indicates both public transfers to the unemployed U and the
wages of employees L4 of the PA, so that N − L12 = U + L4 ,
assuming to pay everyone the same salary; τw wN represents
the levy on wages received by all labor forces, hit at the rate
τ w ; τ z zL3 are taxes on sector 3 revenues, to which a rate has
been applied τ z > τ w ; τ k (p2 K1 + p3 K2 ) is the tax levy on the
total value of the capital, hit by a rate τ k .
From the relation (4.72) we derive the deficit (DPA) of
the public budget as the difference between expenditure and
revenue:
DPA = wL4 + wU − τw wN + τz zL3 + τk (p2 K1 + p3 K2 )
(4.73)
Assuming therefore that the public budget must be kept in
balance over the long term, the State can choose a combina-
tion of rates, respecting the following balance relationship,
which is simplified in the final phase (L = 0):
 
w (1 − τw ) N − L − τz zL3 w (1 − τw ) N − τz zL3
τk = →
p2 K1 + p3 K2 p2 K1 + p3 K2
(4.74)
The state will face a linear trade-off between taxation of
capital and taxation of third-sector workers’ incomes in order
to be able to pay a salary to the unemployed and public
administration employees.
This would allow capitalism to continue to expand to its
potential level, avoiding a downward screwing which would
be disadvantageous for all.
4 Economic Effects of Automation
Already in the early twentieth century the forecasts for
the future of capitalism contrasted the optimism of Clark
[64], who considered the phenomenon of unemployment
transitory, to the realism of Keynes [65] and Meade [66],
convinced that mechanization would have resulted in per-
manent technological unemployment, an idea taken up by
Leontief and Duchin [67], who however thought of a non-
traumatic period in which governments would have been able
to manage change.
Some scenarios are possible but not desirable: chain
bankruptcies of micro and small enterprises that do not
automated their production; activities outside the market and
legality in order to survive; forms of Luddism; the risk of the
collapse of democracy.
So it is necessary for the state to intervene with economic
policies that preserve capitalism, the market and democratic
institutions, maintaining their merits (incentives for effi-
ciency, decentralized allocation exchange, environment con-
ducive to development), and removing defects (disparity
between those who have capital and talent and those who only
own their workforce).
Artificial Intelligence
The traumatic effects induced by automation are amplified
with the spread of Machine Learning (ML) and AI (machines
capable of performing tasks that normally require human
intelligence).
In this regard, there is a considerable heterogeneity of
opinions.
From an extreme perspective, someone thinks that AI will
replace human labor in any aspect.
At the other end, the dominant economic theory considers
AI as a simple support of human work [68–70], since it
requires an increase in specialized work greater than the
decrease in simple work [71–73] and job creation both in
the new technologies sector [29, 74, 75], and among self-
employed workers [76], however, creating a wage gap be-
tween low-level and skilled workers [76, 77].
AI would also reduce production costs and sales prices,
stimulating demand for goods and creating more jobs [78–
80], based on the hypothesis (empirically not verified for
poor) of a high elasticity of demand [81]. Agrawal et al.
[54] emphasize instead the role of AI in supporting research,
increasing the probability of innovations.
In our model, where Sect. 4.3 is present, to deliver a
complex work, we have adopted an intermediate scenario of a
partial replacement of men, since AI is able to perform better
only certain tasks: these also include mid-level monitoring
tasks, leading to a migration toward flatter and more decen-
tralized organizational structures [82], comforting with the
econometric verification our analysis carried out in paragraph
4.2. Creative, strategic works or social interaction should
remain, even if AI could support these activities [83].
97
ML and AI have potential implications also in terms of
competition: the cost structure typical of capital-intensive
technologies (labor savers) with high fixed costs and signifi-
cant economies of scale, which in many cases are combined
with strong network externalities, could determine only one
dominant or a limited number of companies [84]. Reduced
competition can slow down the pace of innovation, but algo-
rithms can facilitate consumers to compare different products
and thereby promote competition [85, 86].
A crucial aspect is the use of data: lower privacy could 4
favor buyers to evaluate product characteristics and encour-
age high quality production. However, Jin [87] notes that
artificial intelligence exacerbates some privacy issues thus
favoring sellers at the expense of consumers.
4.7 Final Comments
Industrial automation is characterized by the predominance
of capital over human labor, increasing productivity and
the rate of growth of production. Automation also plays a
positive role in reducing costs of labor control, making use-
less monetary incentives both direct to production workers
and indirect to supervisors employed to ensure maximum
commitment of personnel. It is automation itself that dictates
the pace of production and forces workers to respect it.
Despite these positive effects, the increase in capital in-
tensity implies a greater rigidity of the cost structure: a
higher cost of capital according to the higher value of the
investment, with the transformation of some variable costs
(those of labor) into fixed costs. This induces a greater
variance of profit in relation to production volumes and a
greater risk for automated systems. The trade-off between
return and automation risk encourages companies resort to
capital-intensive systems in cases where the use of a high
production capacity is envisaged.
New digital technologies have their most significant ef-
fects on a macroeconomic level. In the short term they differ-
entiate companies based on the technologies adopted (more
or less efficient), with significant consequences on employ-
ment and inflation, creating in certain situations stagflation
effects and ensuring only in particular cases the full employ-
ment of the resources.
In the long run, new technologies increase the growth rate
of the economic system, but also the unemployment rate,
and inequalities that economic policy must counter. In the
first era of machines, which began following the Industrial
Revolution and continued until the end of the twentieth
century, machines played a role in substitution and in part
complementary to human work. Workers expelled from the
production process found their place in other production
activities, typically those of services.
98 P. Ravazzi and A. Villa

In the second era, machines have gradually lost their At this point another question arises: how will humanity
complementary character with human activity, accentuating use the abundance of free time?
that of replacement first in industry and then in services,
due to the spread of increasingly automated technologies
unemployment and inequality become endemic phenomena.
It follows that the adoption of public policies to support the
4.7.2 Use of Free Time
aggregate demand will play a key role in guaranteeing the
To analyze this problem, we use a rational choice model [91]
growth of the economic system balancing costs and benefits
which considers two uses of free time:
of automation [88], so it is precisely at the political level to
find the correct solution [89].
(a) an active use (spent in study and research aimed at en-
The new technologies will be able to ensure greater well-
riching one’s knowledge), which involves low monetary
being, through better diagnostic methods, greater safety in
costs, but imposes a strongly increasing subjective cost,
transport and traffic, widespread dissemination of innovative
due to the increasingly intense effort, induced by the
products, liberation from tiring work, greater availability of
diminishing returns of learning; the psychological cost
free time, etc.
Caf of the active time Ta can be expressed as an increasing
However, these benefits come with risks that could lead
function at increasing rates, with a constant that measures
to regret the first machine age. Someone could use new
the monetary cost Ca of the tools required to carry out this
technologies in a perverse way, destroying people’s privacy
activity
and undermining companies interconnected to the digital
network [29]. Public resources need to be invested to counter
these harmful effects.
Caf = Ca + fa (Ta ) ; df a /dT a > 0, d2 fa /dT 2a > 0 (4.75)
Other effects of digital innovations are of psychological
nature with regard to labor and leisure.
(b) a passive use, characterized by a subjective cost which
is also increasing due to boredom, induced by repeti-
tiveness, and dissatisfaction with wasting one’s available
4.7.1 Psychological Benefits of Labor time; the psychological cost Cpf of the passive time Tp can
be formalized through a similar function with a constant
Labor is not just a sacrifice, as claimed by neoclassical monetary cost Cp to acquire entertainment tools
economists, for whom wages are the reward for giving up free
time. Regular labor is also dignity, self-esteem, pride, social  
Cpf = Cp + fp Tp ; dfp /dT p > 0, d2 fp /dT 2p > 0 (4.76)
commitment, medicine against boredom and depression, dis-
cipline, and organization of one’s time. The loss of a job is
The problem of rational choice can be formulated as a
a misfortune, which predisposes the individual to physical
minimum investment cost over the time of the two activities.
and mental illnesses and the failure of family relationships,
The overall psychological cost Cf of free time is obtained by
because one feels excluded from the active part of society.
adding the relations (4.75) and (4.76), the minimization of
A human without a regular job or with an irregular job
which must respect the constraint of free available time T:
lives in worse mental conditions than a poor but regularly
employed individual, because he/she loses the spatial and
temporal reference of daily life [90]. Ensuring a job for the min Cf = Caf + Cpf = Ca + Cp + fa (Ta )
unemployed should, therefore, be the main objective of a   (4.77)
+ fp Tp sub Ta + Tp ≤ T
policy maker who intends to pursue collective well-being.
Our model contemplates the euthanasia of simple work The optimal solution implies the cancellation of the dif-
and the persistence of the class of artists, innovators and ferential and the equality of the marginal costs:
entrepreneurs in the final phase of capitalism. But how many
people can aspire to be part of this small circle? If we are con- ∂fa ∂fp ∂fa /∂Ta dTp
vinced that only a portion of the population has the necessary dCf = dT a + dT p = 0 → − =
∂Ta ∂Tp ∂fp /∂Tp dTa
skills to be a creative, a researcher, or an entrepreneur, even if
it does not rise to the heights of a superstar, the State should ∂fa ∂fp
= −1 → =
create a series of social activities, useful to the community, ∂Ta ∂Tp
carried out by people and not by robots, in exchange for (4.78)
a guaranteed minimum wage. In this case, those who want
to commit themselves can provide socially useful work and In this way the optimal quantities of free active time and
those who want to laze can enjoy their free time. passive time Ta∗ e Tp∗ are obtained.
4 Economic Effects of Automation
a) b)
∂Cpf ∂Caf ∂Caf
∂Tp ∂Ta ∂Ta
∂ Cpf
E ∂Tp
Cp E 1. Villa, A. (ed.): Managing Cooperation in Supply Network Struc-
Ca Ca Tp*
Ta* Tp* Ta*
0 T 0 T
Fig. 4.4 Optimal distribution of free time in the absence (a) and in the
presence (b) of digital goods
The psychological cost of active time is generally more in-
tense than passive time, but the monetary cost in the absence
of digital goods (games and multimedia content, chats, social
sites, etc.) is lower (Ca < Cp ), so it can turn out Ta∗  Tp∗ .
In quadrant (a) of Fig. 4.4 we have placed on the ordinates
the costs of the use of free time and on the abscissas the hours
used for active time (measured from left to right) and passive
time (from right to left), whose constraint is given by the
vertical line T.
The two curves growing at increasing rates, representative
of marginal costs, intersect at point E of excellent distribution
of the free available time.
We have hypothesized a solution, presumably optimistic,
in which Ta∗ > Tp∗ .
At this point we introduce digital goods, which the second
era of machines makes available in large quantities, whose
monetary cost has become low and, in some cases, even zero.
Digital goods also reduce the marginal costs of passive
free time: the variety of services and the possibility of creat-
ing interactions of the subject with sounds, images, and other
individuals on Internet, according to a practically infinite
combination, allows to drastically reduce the boredom and
the discomfort associated with prolonged use.
In quadrant (b) of Fig. 4.4 we have introduced digital
goods, shifted downwards the monetary cost Cp and flattened
the curvature of the marginal cost of passive leisure. The
effects on the cost of active free time are on the other hand
much smaller, for simplicity negligible. The availability of
digital goods therefore shifts the balance in favor of an
intense use of passive free time, which could lead to compul-
sive behavior and isolation of individuals. It is necessary to
invest in educational programs, which stimulate intellectual
curiosity, avoiding the perverse use of free time.
This pessimistic conclusion contrasts with the idealis-
tic ones proposed by [92] and by Keynes (4.65) of a hu-
manity dedicated to culture, arts, and sciences, but these
great economists could not imagine the explosion of digital
products of the second era of the machines.
99
See in Chapter 30 related details on economic rationaliza-
tion of automation projects and quality of service.
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82. Bloom, N., Garicano, L., Sadun, R., Van Reenen, J.: The distinct
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84. Varian, H.: Artificial intelligence, economics, and industrial or- Agostino VILLA is Former Faculty Professor of Politecnico di Torino
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ganization. In: Agrawal, A., Gans, J., Goldfarb, A. (eds.) The since November 1, 2020. During his career, Villa has acquired the
Economics of Artificial Intelligence: An Agenda. University of official titles of Full Professor of Technologies and Production Systems
Chicago Press, Chicago (2018) and of Automatic Controls and Systems Theory. He is a member, Past-
85. Chevalier, J.: Antitrust and artificial intelligence: discussion of var- president and fellow of international scientific institutions among which
ian. In: Agrawal, A., Gans, J., Goldfarb, A. (eds.) The Economics IFPR, IFAC, IFIP, responsible of about 15 European or national research
of Artificial Intelligence: An Agenda. University of Chicago Press, projects, and author of 10 books and more than 200 papers. Since 2017,
Chicago (2018) Villa has been founder of the PMInnova Program, an agreement between
86. Milgrom, P.R., Tadelis, S.: How Artificial intelligence and machine Politecnico di Torino and Banca di Asti, to support the innovation of
learning can impact market design. In: NBER Working Paper, small-mid enterprises.
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88. Agrawal, A., Gans, J., Goldfarb, A.: Economic policy for artificial
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1970

Piercarlo Ravazzi, graduated in Economics at the University of Rome,

was professor of Economic Growth Theory and Political Economy at the
University of Trieste and full professor of Analysis of Economic Systems
at the Polytechnic of Turin from 1990 to 2017. In 2018–19 he taught
Capitalism and new technologies in Management Engineering PhD.
He is the author of essays and books on economic growth, production
economics, managerial finance, telecommunications economics, and
industrial history.
 Trends in Automation
5
Christopher Ganz and Alf J. Isaksson

Contents expand the traditional automation stack with more ad-

5.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
5.2 Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
5.2.1 Market Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
5.2.2 Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
5.3 Current Trends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5.3.1 Digitalization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5.3.2 Communication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5.3.3 Collaborative Robots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5.3.4 Industrial AI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5.3.5 Virtual Models and Digital Twin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5.4 Outlook . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5.4.1 Autonomous Industrial Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5.4.2 Collaborative Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5.4.3 New Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5.5 Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
Abstract
The growing importance of digitalization in business also
has its impact on automation. In this section, we will
put this into the perspective of significant market drivers,
and different views on aspects of automation, across the
industrial value chain, or along the automation lifecycle.
Key trends in digitalization are having an impact on
automation. Making data available for more applications
through the industrial Internet of Things (industrial IoT)
and cyber physical systems will be covered. Such systems
C. Ganz ()
C. Ganz Innovation Services, Zurich, Switzerland
e-mail: christopher.ganz@cginnovation.ch
A. J. Isaksson
ABB AB, Corporate Research, Västerås, Sweden
e-mail: alf.isaksson@se.abb.com
vanced (wired and wireless) communication technologies,
and the computing power and storage available in a cloud
further extends capacity for additional functionality.
An important use of data is artificial intelligence. We
will cover AI’s impact on the industry, and how it plays
106
106 into the automation functionality. The context of the data
110 and its analysis is brought together in the concept of the
111 digital twin that is covered as well.
111
The availability of these technologies, from IoT to
112
AI, allows for an evolution of automation toward more
114 autonomous systems. Autonomy is today mostly seen in
114
115 vehicles, we will put it into the context of the industrial
115 automation system and will show how systems (among
other robots) will become more autonomous, and will get
the capability to collaborate.
This will open a whole new range of applications,
enabled by a bright future of automation.
Keywords
Digitalization · Industrial Internet of Things ·
Cyber-physical systems · Collaborative robots ·
Industrial AI · Digital twin · Autonomous systems ·
Collaborative systems
5.1 Introduction
When this chapter was written for Edition 1 of the Springer
“Handbook of Automation” more than a decade ago,
automation technology was changing incrementally adding
new technologies to established concepts and architectures.
Shortly after that, several developments, mostly in the
consumer market (e.g., smartphones and cloud storage),
started to take off and have an impact also on industrial
applications.
Many of the trends described in Edition 1 are still steadily
developing and remain important. Topics such as safety and

© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 103

S. Y. Nof (ed.), Springer Handbook of Automation, Springer Handbooks,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-96729-1_5
104
cyber security are technologies that can be seen as the “li-
cense to play,” today even more than in the past. But unlike
earlier developments, where a technology had an impact
on a component of the architecture, the current technology
developments are moving the coordinate systems of what is
possible in several axes. Cloud computing and IoT, massively
increasing computing power not only in cloud but also in
devices, ultra-low-cost smartphone sensors, wired (TSN) and
wireless (5G) communication capacity, and advancements in
machine learning (ML) open the door to new solutions of the
traditional automation use cases. The different technologies
build on each other and create a momentum that is beyond
the incremental developments of the decades before. In the
market, the impact has been recognized by labeling what is
going on as the “Fourth Industrial Revolution” [1].
As we write, these technology trends start to show their
impact in automation. While many plants are still operat-
ing on traditional automation structures, advancements of
automation toward autonomy, incorporating artificial intel-
ligence enabled by new levels of computing power, will not
only lead to new architectures, but also to new applications
in areas where automation levels are low today.
In this chapter, we look into some environmental factors
in the markets and outlay how some of the current tech-
nology trends will impact automation going forward. The
comparison Edition 1 of the “Handbook of Automation” are
mentioned in the respective sections. Many of the trends
identified materialized, and new trends are on the rise as we
write.
With all the dynamics in markets and technologies, this
is an interesting time to look at trends in automation. At this
time, it is much more difficult to predict, where these trends
will lead the automation industry in another decade. It will
be interesting to watch.
5.2 Environment
Automation requirements are driven by the process (physical
or business process) that is automated. This automated con-
text itself is subject to global drivers and trends. To identify
the promising trends in automation, they have to support
those overall drivers. We will therefore have a closer look
at markets and applications.
5.2.1 Market Requirements
There is no successful technology that does not meet the mar-
ket requirements. To know some of the market requirements
and resulting trends is one key input for the analysis.
C. Ganz and A. J. Isaksson
Global Versus Local
Over the last few decades, economy of scale has led to
ever larger factories manufacturing for the global market.
These factories have followed the lowest labor rates and have
concentrated in East Asia. Value chains today are spanning
the globe, tightly interrelating economies. These interdepen-
dencies come at a cost: Disruptions anywhere in the chain
quickly lead to downstream supply problems. Inventories
along the supply chain help mitigating this risk, again at a
cost. And the delay between production and consumption re-
quires long-term planning and limits flexibility in production.
Re-shoring production may address some of these issues.
Re-shored plants produce for a more regional market and are
therefore potentially smaller. Together with the potentially
increased labor cost, higher productivity is required to remain
competitive. Automation has a major role to play in such a
scenario.
Demographic trends in developed countries also put a
limit on re-shoring: The workforce to handle the manufactur-
ing may not be available or may not be willing to work in a
dull, dirty, or dangerous environment. In such environments,
automation is one way of scaling production cost effectively.
“The Economist” has analyzed automation levels around
the globe [2] and has found a correlation between the automa-
tion level and increased employment. A flourishing industry
enabled by automation will create jobs the demographically
available workforce is interested in rather than destroy them.
Enterprise Cash Flow Optimization
Most industrial investment decisions are based on net present
value (NPV) analysis, which includes the cash flow without
compared to with the investment. An investment in a higher
level of automation therefore needs to have a positive impact
on cash flow.
The cash flow calculation can be broken down to the
following contributors:
• Sales/Top line: The ability to sell offerings, as well as the
ability to produce what was sold. The volume of produced
units in relation to the theoretical maximum capacity of
a plant is often referred to as the “overall equipment
effectiveness (OEE).”
• Operational cost (COGS – cost of goods sold and OpEx –
operational expenditure), the running production cost.
• CapEx – capital expenditure: the investments in equip-
ment, buildings, etc.
• Working capital: the change in working capital, i.e., inven-
tory, and changes in accounts receivable/payable.
The benefits of increasing the automation level are often
focusing on increasing OEE only. However, the other factors
5 Trends in Automation 105

Sales price
Time to market Product attractiveness
Flexibility
Defective units Quality Sales
Uptime
Availability Produced units
Time to repair
Parts produced
Idle time Productivity
Operating time Free cash flow
NPV
Material new
Energy
Health
Personnel COGS & OpEx
Productivity 5
Oper. risk
Lifecycle cost Equipment
CapEx
Real estate
Free cash flow
Inventory old
Working cap
Accounts R/P

Fig. 5.1 Levers influencing cash flow and NPV

listed in Fig. 5.1 may generate additional value. Furthermore,

the automation solution comes at a cost (e.g., CapEx or non-
monetary cost such as software maintenance efforts) which
needs to be considered in the overall cash flow analysis as
well. Consumers

manufacturing
Discrete
Consumer industries
5.2.2 Applications

In order to further structure this section, we are now looking Capital goods
into it from a number of application angles, along different
axes. Automation has different requirements and properties
depending on key properties of these applications. Process
P
Process / Utilities

Industrial Value Chain
Automation requirements vary greatly between use cases and
industry verticals. However, there are some commonalities
along the industrial value chain (a simplified version is shown
in Fig. 5.2). Raw material extraction and processing for use
in industry and power is mostly done in continuous processes
that produce large amounts of material. To optimize asset
utilization, such plants mostly run 24/7 over a longer period
of time. The material produced is very often a commod-
ity. Differentiation in process industries is typically through
price, therefore process effectiveness is important. Indus-
tries that produce industrial equipment or consumer goods
mostly generate discrete pieces of products. Factories may
shut down more easily, some do over nights or weekends.
Differentiation in these industries is through customer spec-
ification (capital goods) or product attractiveness (consumer
goods). Flexibility in production is one driving requirement
for automation there. Many plants within the value chain are
Continuous
process
Extraction
E
Natural resources
Fig. 5.2 Value chain across industries
hybrid though, where a continuous process paired with some
discrete production steps (e.g., for packaging).
The automation trends that we analyze in this chapter
mostly touch on the industries depicted in Fig. 5.2. We do
mention some additional applications in Sect. 5.4.3, but many
service industries (financial, travel, entertainment, etc.) are
outside the covered scope.
106
Plants: Continuous Versus Discrete
The operational boundary conditions described in section
“Industrial Value Chain” greatly drive the structure and ca-
pabilities of the automation system. While process plants
are rarely changed after construction, discrete factories are
more frequently reconfigured to produce new products. This
has an impact on engineering, operations, and maintenance
procedures.
It also drives the overall automation level. The continuous
flow of material and energy calls for a higher automation
level for a process plant. This may require a higher engineer-
ing effort, which is justified, because the automation applica-
tion is only slightly modified as plant or recipe change over
time. The continuous and often tightly interconnected nature
of the process also requires a control system architecture that
has full control over the complete process, i.e., which can
monitor and control the plant centrally. This is the primary
application of a distributed control system (DCS).
The flexibility required in discrete manufacturing plants
often does not justify the design and programming of a com-
plex automation system, since the product changes more fre-
quently. Furthermore, discrete manufacturing steps happen
in manufacturing lines built from individual manufacturing
cells or machines. Such machines are specifically designed
for a particular process step, and the machine builder delivers
it with all controls installed. The cells and machines are only
loosely coupled, with buffers and intermediate storage re-
ducing the interdependency between components. Automa-
tion is mostly done on the machine or cell level by use of
programmable logic controllers (PLC). A supervisory func-
tion may be available in a manufacturing execution system
(MES) or SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition)
system.
Service Industries
A whole range of industries does not show up in Fig. 5.2:
service industries. Service industries are characterized such
that they provide services to their customers. Examples are
transportation, healthcare, hospitality, but also communities
and cities. To deliver their services, they mostly also employ
industrial size plants. But the plant outcome is not a product
that is shipped to a customer, but a service that is executed for
a customer. Compared to products, services cannot be pre-
produced, stored, or transported. Services are delivered in-
stantaneously. The transaction between the service provider
and the customer is executed simultaneously.
In both processes and discrete industries, the plant can
mostly operate independently from the supply chain (up-
stream or downstream). Incoming material as well as pro-
duced output can be stored and shipped at a different time
than the production is executed. Service industries typically
reach beyond their own organization, they have to interact
with the customer consuming the service.
C. Ganz and A. J. Isaksson
Still, the service may be relying on an industrial plant (e.g.,
wastewater treatment in a city, HVAC in a hotel, etc.). Such
a plant often has to respond to an immediate request of the
service customer.
Plant Lifecycle
Optimizing plant operations by advanced automation appli-
cations is definitely an area where an owner gets most of
his operational benefits. Although the main benefit of an
advanced automation system is with the plant owner (or
operator), the automation system is very often not directly
sold to that organization, but to an engineering, procurement,
and construction (EPC) contractor instead. And for these
customers, price is one of the top decision criteria.
As automation systems are hardly ever sold off the shelf,
but are engineered for a specific plant, engineering costs
are a major portion of the price of an automation system.
Engineering efficiency is therefore a key capability for the
automation supplier. Corresponding tools and data manage-
ment with models and digital twins will be discussed in Sect.
5.3.5. While discrete manufacturing plants are already built
in a modular structure, this concept is more and more also
coming to process plants. Engineering is done for the module
or cell, while the overall automation connects the high-level
components and orchestrates them. Furthermore, as we will
discuss in Sect. 5.4.1, autonomous systems may lead toward
automation systems that do not need to be preconfigured to
the extent done today, but that can perceive the situation and
react accordingly.
The very long lifecycle of industrial plants compared
to IT systems requires a long-term strategy to manage the
lifecycle of the automation system accordingly. The total cost
of ownership not only includes the initial installation cost,
but also the cost to maintain the system hardware, operating
system, and application code. Adaptation to new technol-
ogy can hardly be done by replacing the old installation
completely. Questions such as compatibility with already
installed automation components, upgrade strategies, and
integration of old and new components become important to
obtain the optimal automation solution for the extended plant.
5.3 Current Trends
5.3.1 Digitalization
Digitalization, or digital transformation, is one of the key top-
ics today that influences many businesses. Its goal is mostly
to become more data driven, run business processes more
efficiently by using more data in decision and optimization
routines.
In automation in general, and in industrial automation
in particular, data is an integral part. Automation takes
5 Trends in Automation
(measured) data, analyzes it, and turns it into action
through actuators (see Fig. 5.12). Digitalization in industrial
automation finds its representation in a number of trends that
we will discuss in this section.
Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT)
The smartphone revolution gave the idea of the “Internet
of Things” a massive boost. The concept originates in the
1980s and describes devices that are directly connected to the
Internet. With communication, intelligence, and sensing built
into the device, the technology that allowed the cost-effective
production of IoT devices became available. Starting at home
applications, surveillance cameras, lightbulbs, door locks,
and home appliances became Internet accessible.
Organizations such as the Industrial Internet Consortium
(IIC)) [3] or the German “Plattform Industrie 4.0” [4] are
providing guidance on how to incorporate the Internet of
Things in industrial environments. To arrive at a common
understanding on what “Industrial IoT” means and how it
shall be organized, participating industries have agreed on
a number of references and artifacts that describe it. Of
particular interest are the reference architectures that resulted
from these activities.
The Industrial Internet Consortium reference architec-
ture [5] is structured along four “viewpoints”: business, us-
age, functional, and implementation. They follow the hi-
erarchy of requirements, where business requirements are
cascaded down to the implementation. Cross-cutting aspects
such as industry vertical specifics or lifecycle views are con-
sidered inherently. Particular emphasis is on cyber security,
where the IIC has published an Industrial Internet Security
Framework [6].
Fig. 5.3 Reference Architectural Model for Industry 4.0 (RAMI4.0). (© Plattform Industrie 4.0 and ZVEI)
107
A similar set of reference documents was published by the
Plattform Industrie 4.0. Their Reference Architectural Model
for Industry 4.0 (RAMI 4.0)) [7] specifies layers similar
to the IIC’s viewpoints (business, functional, information,
communication, integration, and asset), but covers lifecycle
aspects (according to IEC62890) and hierarchical levels (IEC
62264/61512) in a more structured way (Fig. 5.3).
This hierarchical level axis of the RAMI4.0 framework
makes reference to automation system architectures. This is
an essential aspect in many industrial Internet applications:
Unlike consumer systems, where a single device/sensor
(smartphone, light bulb, and temperature sensor) is directly
connected to an Internet platform, industrial installation 5
typically has some levels of automation (DCS and PLC)
installed. Sensors are integral parts of devices needed for
control, and data is very often collected in a plant historian
or MES system. Before connecting a device directly to the
Internet, it needs to be checked whether the data is not
already available in a historian database and can be fetched
from there. In many cases, it is also not desired to allow
direct access, since the real-time control requirements take
precedence over data collection.
Industrial installations also provide more on-site comput-
ing capacity than consumer installations. Whether data is
exported to the cloud and analyzed there or whether some
analysis can be done on-site on a local cloud-like infrastruc-
ture (“fog computing”) is a design decision that depends on
the plant’s use cases and requirements [8].
While short response time and low latency requirements
are preferably implemented near the physical process, i.e.,
on-site, high computing requirements, e.g., training of an ar-
tificial intelligence (AI) network, require computing capacity
that is typically only available in a cloud. If all the data that
108 C. Ganz and A. J. Isaksson

is analyzed is available on-site, moving it to a cloud may of physics is cyber-physical systems (CPS). The concept of
create significant communication overhead, i.e., favor local CPS applies to much more than industrial automation and
analytics. If data from many sites need to be analyzed, e.g., can be found in many domains such as energy systems,
to analyze faults across a fleet of installed products, it is easier transportation, and medical systems. For a recent overview
to bring the data to the cloud than to one site. of CPS and its research challenges, see [11].
For process automation the implementation of CPS has
Industrial Internet of Services for decades almost been synonymous with that of distributed
In many industrial Internet concepts, the focus is on data control systems (DCS). Despite the name a DCS is sur-
collection and storage, and on some of the data analytics. prisingly centralized where still all measurement signals are
But even if the concepts mention “actionable insights,” the often brought into a so-called marshalling room where all
action that follows the insight is hardly ever mentioned. But control nodes are located. The first DCS was introduced in
without the action resulting from the insight from data and process industry in the 1970s, and their overall architecture
analytics, there is no gain. To create value, the insights gained is in many ways similar also today.
digitally need to reach the physical world again. If analysis As indicated in the upper right-hand corner of Fig. 5.4,
reveals where bottlenecks are, where energy is lost, or where the DCS is linked to other functions such as computerized
equipment is not performing as desired, these problems re- maintenance management systems (CMMS), manufacturing
main. Only when things are changed in the physical world, execution systems (MES), and enterprise resource planning
the situation can improve. These changes are very often done (ERP) systems. This attempt to encapsulate most automation
by the plant personnel, or by service technicians. To really functions from one entry point has led to the term collabora-
create value, the Internet of Things has to incorporate people tive process automation systems (CPAS), see the book [12].
as well as services [9]. Functionally, we are typically describing the various au-
In addition to industrial services, the cloud-based infras- tomation tasks as a hierarchy (see Fig. 5.5 for the ISA-95
tructures introduced by the IoT open the possibilities for new definition). What separates the different levels is a number
business models. Infrastructure, platform, or other software of things such as the closeness to the physical process, the
offerings can now be offered “as a service,” paid when used. time scale and latency requirements, the need for computing
This supports the overall business trend to turn CapEx into power, and data storage requirements. This may be summa-
OpEx. Products as a service have been introduced as well, for rized as different levels having a different quality of service
example, by Rolls-Royce aircraft engines in their “power by requirement. Still to this day different levels of the automa-
the hour” concept [10]. This approach was tried by a number tion hierarchy are in many process industries dealt with by
of companies, but many have failed. different softwares, in different departments, not seldom in
different geographic locations.
Cyber-Physical Systems Architectures The hierarchy illustrated in Fig. 5.5 is of course valid also
A slightly more recent term for communication, computing, for discrete manufacturing automation, with PLCs primar-
and control combined with processes governed by the law ily controlling binary on-off signals. As already mentioned,

Business systems

— — — — —
Panel 800 System Wireless Extended Collaboration
—
workplaces network operator workplace table CMMS, ERP, DMS,
DM
CAD, Video…
System networks
Router/
r fi
f rewall
Router/firewall
Internet

Base system AC 800M Wireless HART AC 800M ABB and 3rd party DMZ MI
servers controller gateway High integrity controller PLC & DCS servers

Field networks
IEC 61850

Profibus / profinet / devicenet / modulebus / devicent

Profibus / foundation fieldbus / modulebus

Modbus

Modulebus

Motor Fire & gas Other PLC

controller

S800 I/O
Protection & control IED
Variable speed
arive
Wireless HART
S900 I/O Shut-down

LV switch gear

Power automation Process electrification Process instrumentation Safety PLC & DCS

Fig. 5.4 Modern DCS – ABB’s System 800xA. (With permission)

5 Trends in Automation
Business planning
Level 4 & logistics
Manufacturing
Level 3 operations
management
Level 2
Manufacturing
control
Level 1
Level 0
Fig. 5.5 The ISA-95 automation hierarchy
above machine automation is, however, by nature in fact often
more distributed since much of the control is built into the
individual machines or robots.
An immediate impact of the industrial Internet of Things
is that not all measurement signals are channeled through
the DCS. Already today in particular condition monitoring
data, such as vibration measurements for motors, may be
directly connected to a cloud server. In, for example, [13,
14], it is argued that the future factory from a communication
perspective may not have a hierarchy at all. Instead signals
from all products and devices would be available at all
locations in the system. Hence from a communication and
data flow perspective the future production facility may not
have a hierarchy but rather be connected in a mesh network.
Much of the same ideas were presented also by Exxon-
Mobil already in 2016 [15]. They promoted a use of open
standards and that the processing of automation functions
may be divided between so-called distributed control nodes
(DCN) near or in the devices, an on-premise computing
platform, and the global cloud. This has now been further
developed into a first version of a standard reference archi-
tecture presented by The Open Group [16].
A much simplified version of their O-PAS™ architecture
is shown in Fig. 5.6, where it has been indicated that this
shift will have to be gradual maintaining some form of con-
nectivity or backward compatibility to legacy systems such
as, for example, DCS, PLC, and safety systems. A natural
109
Plant production scheduling, business
management, etc.
Time frame: months, weeks, days, shifts
Dispatching production, detailed
production scheduling, quality monitoring
Time frame: shifts, hours, minutes,
seconds
5
Process monitoring, supervisory and basic
automatic control
Process sensing and manipulation
The physical production process
On-premise
Global cloud
platform
Firewall
Real-time bus
Safety
DCS
PLC
Distributed control nodes (DCN)/devices Legacy systems
Fig. 5.6 Potential future control architecture
progression is then that what is today considered as a Level
2 function such as advanced process control (APC) could be
carried out in the DCN (if timing critical) or in the on-premise
platform (most likely) or even in the global cloud (if slow and
noncritical). A logical consequence of this is that there needs
to be a decoupling between the engineering of automation
functions and their deployment.
With devices such as pumps and valves containing more
computing power, it may be appealing to embed the control
functionality directly into the devices instead of using a
separate hardware called the DCN. Here standardization may
become an issue since, for example, there are still many
110
different ways to parametrize a PID controller. One way to
alleviate this would be to group some measurement, actu-
ation, and process devices together into modules. Ongoing
development is mainly driven by time to market requirements
in specialty chemicals and pharma and has led to standardiza-
tion of module-type packages (MTP) [17]. Such a modular
automation approach will make the engineering process more
efficient [18], very much in the same manner as machine
automation for discrete manufacturing.
Similarly, Level 3 functions such as production planning
and scheduling may be carried out either in the on-premise
platform or in the global cloud. In fact, as pointed out in
a 2018 survey, almost 50% of responding manufacturing
companies were already considering shifting their MES to
the public cloud [19]. Despite the data flow and deployment
being much more flexible it may well be that the ISA-95
hierarchy will still be helpful to functionally structure the
different parts of the automation system in different quality
of service clusters.
This increased level of connectivity and further integration
of OT and IT of course puts even more emphasis in the
future on cyber security. For a thorough account of past cyber
security events see [20], and academic activities on cyber
security from an automatic control perspective are nicely
surveyed in [21].
5.3.2 Communication
As described in the previous version of this chapter there
are many means of communication available to the industrial
user. For wired communication there is the traditional 4–
20 mA cables but also various different fieldbus standards
(Foundation Fieldbus, Profibus, etc).
What has happened since the publication of the previous
version is a path toward increased use of industrial Ethernet
via standards like IEC 61784. In particular, the introduc-
tion of the standard on time-sensitive networking (TSN) –
IEC/IEEE 60802 – that supplements the standard Ethernet
with time synchronization and guaranteed delivery times has
made it possible to use industrial Ethernet also for fast and
time-critical applications. This harmonization on Ethernet
means that it is possible to combine more or less all needs
for industrial communication within one standard. Another
important development in recent years is the increased adop-
tion of OPC UA [22], with its integrated information model
with predescribed modules for many different industrial ap-
plications. This promises to greatly reduce the engineering
time when configuring the automation system.
For wireless communication, there was already in 2009,
at the time of the Handbook Edition 1, a number of different
technologies available (Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and GSM/3G). For
process industry one standard that was only emerging at the
C. Ganz and A. J. Isaksson
time is WirelessHART, first introduced in 2007 but ratified
by IEC only early 2009. WirelessHART uses a time-slotted
protocol built on top of the IEEE 802.15.4 radio standard,
which like Wi-Fi operates in the 2.4 GHz open industrial,
scientific, and medical (ISM) frequency band. Later in 2009,
the relatively similar standard ISA 100.11a built on the same
radio standard was introduced. It is fair to say that both
these standards were developed primarily for monitoring
applications. With time slots of 10 ms, the capacity is not
sufficient to handle closing a large number of control loops
in a process industry. Nevertheless, for condition monitor-
ing a reasonably large market has been reached. However,
closed-loop wireless process control is to a large extent still
aspirational, even though some small-scale experiments with
protocols more dedicated to control look very promising [23].
Meanwhile, another very important development is the
transition via 4G into the newly released 5G mobile commu-
nication standard. With 5G we now for the first time see signs
of convergence between the different wireless standards,
where the cellular network is split into three use cases:
• Enhanced mobile broadband – for high data rates, wide
coverage, high mobility, and large data rates
• Massive machine-type communication (mMTC) – for
wide coverage, low power, and small data amounts
• Ultrareliable low-latency communication (URLLC) – de-
terministic, low latency, and small data amounts
Very much the same as Ethernet for wired communica-
tion, this promises that 5G may be used to combine many
industrial tasks such as production order dispatch, handheld
operator stations, video streaming, condition monitoring, and
closed-loop control within the same standard.
Especially 5G URLLC corresponds to a major technical
leap making it more attractive to closed-loop control in man-
ufacturing and process industry. In particular, since at least
in some countries there may be the possibility of dedicated
frequencies for industry.
Another important development that has mainly occurred
in the last decade is the shift to smart mobile phones. It is
sometimes easy to forget that the Apple iPhone was only
released in June of 2007, and the App Store about a year
later followed by android market (now Google Play) the same
autumn. As we know for us as consumers it has changed
almost every facet of our life. There are now apps for almost
everything we do: how we interact with our friends, how we
book travel, do our banking, watch TV, etc.
As discussed in the previous section, the concept of apps
in industrial platforms is still developing. Although most
smartphone apps are more consumer oriented, we should
not forget that smartphones and tablets have had a profound
impact also for industry. What in the past needed a lot of
proprietary solutions can today be realized by programming
5 Trends in Automation 111

an app in Apple iOS or android. Examples include a hand- 5.3.4 Industrial AI

held mobile DCS operator terminal, work order dispatch in
an underground mine with a Wi-Fi network installed, and The current popularity of artificial intelligence is mostly
creating a user interface for smart motor sensor uploading driven by the increased availability of data, and the com-
the information via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi. puting power available not only in small devices such as
smartphones, but also in cloud computing environment. Fur-
thermore, recent advancements in neural network technolo-
gies (e.g., convolutional NN) have led to breakthroughs in,
5.3.3 Collaborative Robots
for example, image processing. These drivers have made it
possible to address larger, more complex problems, mostly
An interesting classification of cyber-physical systems is
by applying variants of neural networks.
presented in [11], where a simultaneous development is seen
in two independent directions (see Fig. 5.7). One trend toward
Consumer Versus Industrial AI 5
autonomous system is further discussed in Sect. 5.4.1. The
The recent developments are driven in the consumer space,
other observed trend is toward more collaborative systems.
where companies like Google and Facebook get hold on
Nowhere is this trend more visible than for collaborative
personal data that was never available before (even if they
robots, also known as cobots.
then use the consumer data in B2B relations with advertisers).
As the name collaborative robot indicates, it is a robot
The successes in this area led to the increased attention also
intended to work in direct collaboration with humans or at
in industrial applications.
least in close proximity of humans (Fig. 5.8). Unlike con-
While some of the technologies can easily be applied,
ventional industrial robots, who are fenced off from human
some fundamental properties of industrial applications re-
contact, cobots using lightweight softer material and limited
quire a more distinct approach. This chapter addresses some
speed are designed to be inherently safe for working close to
of the challenges and proposes an industrial approach to AI. It
humans. Even though the term “cobot” was coined already
covers three areas, where the difference between a consumer
in the 1990s the market has not really taken off until the
application and an industrial use case is significant:
last decade after the previous version of this handbook was
published. The global cobot market was estimated at about
• Individuals: While most current AI use cases look at a very
980 million USD in 2019 but with a projected compound
large number of comparable individuals (humans, images,
annual growth rate (CAGR) of more than 40% in coming
etc.), industry often deals with a smaller population of
years [24].
greater variance. Current ML approaches are quite sensi-
Notice, however, that today’s collaborative robots are
tive to the type of equipment they are trained on. To arrive
merely designed to coexist with humans without a fence,
at a sufficient amount of data, it needs to be collected
rather than being truly collaborative. For robots to fully col-
from similar devices in different plants. This again may
laborate with humans will require significant further steps in
be difficult because customers are quite careful with what
their development, for example, introducing intelligence that
data is shared to a common platform.
can anticipate and understand human intent without explicit
programming.
Connectivity

Distributed Connected Collaborative

Automatic Adaptive Autonomous

Computational complexity

Fig. 5.8 ABB’s YuMi introduced in 2015 as the world’s first dual-arm
Fig. 5.7 Proposed classification of CPS. (Adopted from [11])
collaborative robot
112
• Information: In addition to industrial data being more
complex to collect, the data contains much less informa-
tion that can be used to learn. Data collected during steady-
state operation does hardly vary and provides no new
information over time, whereas the interesting abnormal
cases are rare. Unlike consumer applications, industrial
use cases such as failure detection are not focusing on the
average, but on the outliers.
• Impact: Industrial systems interact with a lot of energy in
potentially dangerous environments. Mistakes may have
an immediate and highly unpleasant impact. Systems that
deal with industrial installations today (automation and
safety systems) therefore take special measures to avoid
a malfunction in the plant to the greatest extent possible.
Unfortunately, an ML system does not show a consistent
behavior. Its reliability cannot be properly calculated. At
the time of writing, AI struggles to achieve the required
reliability for safety applications.
Merging AI with Conventional Algorithms
In order to successfully apply AI in applications where the
data is generated by known physics, using an AI system
would at most reproduce the physical laws we already know.
The known physics need to be calculated out of the data to get
to the unknown, the deviations, the failure patterns, and the
areas where we observe an effect that was not considered in
the models. Even though some of these effects can indeed be
modeled by physics, it might not be realistic to do so, either
because it is too complex, or because the parameters needed
(e.g., material fatigue, etc.) are not easily measured. These are
the areas where the data-driven approaches such as machine
learning (ML) are very helpful: to explain effects that were
not considered in the physical model.
To achieve this, a combination of algorithms, first
principle-based as well as data-driven methods, is most
helpful in getting most of the insight from process data. Such
algorithms can be split into explainable and unexplainable
subsystems that are analyzed with the respective methods.
It may also be beneficial to create a truly hybrid algorithm
that uses AI to tune some of the first principles parameters
or learn from the deviations.
The lack of information from the field, in particular rare
data from failures, quality issues, or from other events not
observed before (e.g., shapes of parts to be gripped), can
sometimes be compensated by using simulated data. As we
will see in Sect. 5.3.5, equipment is often designed using
simulation. Such a simulator model may be used to run the
virtual device (i.e., its digital twin) under rare or failure
conditions, or a wild variety of shapes can be automatically
created to simulate varying parts. If the AI solution is then
trained with the simulated data, a large amount of data can
be generated by varying the conditions over a wider range. In
C. Ganz and A. J. Isaksson
operation, the trained model then does not need the complex
and expensive simulation tool, but can detect the effects
similar to those seen in the simulator. The nature of current
ML approaches however is such that it will still not detect
something where the simulator did not produce data. The
allocation of functionality in a physical model, an AI model,
and in getting real data or simulated data is a nontrivial design
decision.
5.3.5 Virtual Models and Digital Twin
The broader availability of real-time data (as discussed in
section “Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT)”) allows deeper
insight into the behavior of the equipment. If all the infor-
mation about a device is available from the IoT, the idea
is to create a digital representation of an asset that behaves
exactly in the same way as a real asset, but only in the virtual
environment. This representation is commonly referred to as
the “digital twin.”
The exact nature and scope of a digital twin is widely
discussed in literature [25]. If indeed the digital twin is
analyzed to retrieve knowledge about the asset in the field,
more than just the measurements are required. The additional
information needed depends on the use case. If a device is to
be analyzed in depth, its exact type needs to be known, to-
gether with type-related information: 3D design drawings or
manufacturer instructions (installation, operation, and main-
tenance) are examples of digital representations available
for a whole fleet of products. The particular instance of the
device may have test records or supplier factory information.
Most use cases however also need information about the
device’s context: If it is to be physically accessed, its location
needs to be known, signal cable wiring is required to diagnose
communication problems, and electrical supply and wiring is
needed in case it does not have power. In many situations and
use cases, the device is analyzed in the context of the process:
what is its function, and what other devices are operating to
provide that function. All these use cases require different
sets of aspects that are typically available in digital form. In
all the use cases, the information must be available for human
or machine analysis. A consistent digital twin framework that
allows the access of a wide variety of digital information is
therefore needed to enable this.
The different digital representations of an asset are created
along its lifecycle (Fig. 5.9). Today’s equipment is mostly
designed in software tools, and design-stage simulation al-
ready shows how the device will behave in reality. The digital
variant of the asset therefore exists before its physical variant.
At some point, the asset is created physically and is installed
on a plant in the context of its function. Once commissioned,
it is operated, and then maintained. The digital twin should
5 Trends in Automation 113

Design Manufacture Build / integrate Operate / maintain

Live data
System context System context

Product instance Product instance Product instance

Product type Product type Product type Product type

Digital twin
5

Physical instance System twin Live!

Fig. 5.9 Digital twin aspects along the equipment lifecycle

Fig. 5.10 Virtual commissioning of robot cell – simulated cell to the (a) and real cell to the (b)

carry all the digital representations along the value chain, to
make use of information that was already created in an earlier
step. The digital twin is therefore not only an important
operational concept to analyze equipment but can also serve
as an engineering framework where data is only entered
once and can seamlessly be accessed through the digital
twin interfaces. The engineering integration and required
efficiency already listed as an important driver in Edition 1
has found its key platform in digital twin concepts.
Figure 5.10 shows the digital twin of a robot cell that can
be programmed using the same tools as the real robot. Its
behavior can be tested virtually such that when the software
is loaded into the real robot controller, the commissioning
time is cut to a fraction because most can already be run in
the digital twin.
One key functionality of a digital twin that is very often
mentioned is the capability to simulate its behavior. Such
simulation models are state of the art in the design stage, and
at times also in operation. To then map the simulated model
to the physically measured parameters to recreate operational
situations for in-depth understanding and maybe for what-if
simulations is still a more complex step that requires system
identification and parameter estimation.
It is to be noted that although simulation and modeling
is frequently mentioned as one of the advantages of using
a digital twin, creating a model that serves the purpose of
114
No autonomy, humans are
Level 0
in complete control without
assistance.
Assistance with or control
Level 1 of subtasks. Humans always
responsible, specifying set points.
Occasional autonomy in certain
Level 2 situations. Humans always
responsible, specifying intent.
Prerequisite: Automation
system monitors
the environment.
Fig. 5.11 Proposed autonomy levels for industrial systems. (From [29])
a use case is still not a trivial task. While we had predicted
increasing importance of modeling in Ed. 1 of the “Handbook
of Automation,” this has not progressed. Creating a physical
model from first principles is still a complex and largely
manual task. Digital twin offers one advantage that models
created in one lifecycle stage may be reused in another, but
the fundamental problem remains for the time being. There
has been development, however, in auto-generating a process
model based on a library of component models once a process
topology is available in electronic format [26].
To cover the variety of possible digital representations of
not just single devices, but also machines, main equipment,
or plants, a digital twin concept in essence requires a data
interchange framework. One that has already successfully
been applied is the “Asset Administration Shell” defined by
the Plattform Industrie 4.0 [27]. It provides relevant guidance
on how to uniquely identify components, how to publish
and access information, and how to relate components and
systems.
5.4 Outlook
After walking through those trends that are currently ob-
served in implementation projects at various stages, let us
have a broader look into the future to see where automation
systems may be heading to.
5.4.1 Autonomous Industrial Systems
Although the level of automation and amount of human inter-
action has been a field of study for many years, see for exam-
C. Ganz and A. J. Isaksson
Autonomous operation
Level 5 in all situations. Humans
may be completely absent.
System in full control
Level 4
in certain situations.
Humans might supervise.
Limited autonomy in
Level 3 certain situations. System
alerts to issues. Humans
confirm proposed solutions
or act as a fallback.
ple [28] and the references therein, it has received renewed
interest with the ongoing development of self-driving cars.
In the automotive industry there are now agreed standards of
autonomy levels ranging from fully manual driving – Level
0 – to fully autonomous – Level 5. Inspired by this a level 0–5
taxonomy for industrial systems autonomy was proposed in
[29], see Fig. 5.11.
Industrial systems autonomy is, however, more complex
than autonomous cars which is mainly about replacing or
assisting the driver gradually with more automation. An
industrial plant needs automation along the entire lifecycle
of its existence, for the engineering, operation, and mainte-
nance. For a more elaborate discussion on the implications of
this, see [29].
One way to look at the move toward more autonomy is that
it adds another outer layer of feedback. While most classical
control loops are based on a single measured variable and
consist of the phases sense, analyze, and act, an autonomous
system has to process many different inputs together to
reach a decision. This can be described in the three steps of
perceive, understand, and solve, see Fig. 5.12.
Perceive combines signals from often heterogeneous sen-
sors into information. In the future also process industry will
see more automated use of unconventional sensor sources
such as visual or infrared images, requiring application of
modern AI technology.
Understand is meant to provide the reasoning explaining
what is happening and its consequences, while solve should
decide on the next steps and implement this action to the
system.
This loop is superimposed over the automation loop that
remains in place. While automation takes care of the stability
and safety of the process, the autonomous loop adds flexibil-
5 Trends in Automation
Understand
Analyze
Sense Act
Perceive Solve
Fig. 5.12 Loops in classical control systems (grey) and autonomous
systems (red)
ity and resilience. See more on automation and autonomy in
Chs.  19 and  20.
5.4.2 Collaborative Systems
Collaboration in the context of automation has different
meanings, depending on who is collaborating with whom:
• Collaboration between two systems
• Collaboration between a system and a human
• Collaboration between humans, supported by a system
Collaboration between two systems is mainly a question
of communication technology (as discussed in Sect. 5.3.2)
and the required protocols that the collaborating entities
commonly understand.
Collaboration between humans and the system is a key
component of automation systems: Operator stations in con-
trol rooms are the traditional way of interfacing with the sys-
tem. Little has changed in interaction principles since early
days of graphical screens. Process graphics, alarm lists, and
objects with faceplates are still the standard today. Moving
from automated to autonomous systems, this takes on an even
higher complexity. Autonomy levels discussed in Sect. 5.4.1
show that humans remain involved, from “in the loop” toward
“on the loop,” before humans stay completely out of the loop.
For the foreseeable future, humans still have at least a super-
visory task even in autonomous systems. This results in an
effect that is commonly referred to as “automation paradox”
[30]: If the system becomes more automated/autonomous,
the human has to interact more rarely. His or her exposure
to the system and the experience on the job is therefore
lower. However, at the time of interaction, the situation is
115
more complex, because the autonomous system has run the
process to the current state in ways not comprehensible by
the operator. This challenge is not solved today.
While the traditional control room is located on-site, a
higher level of autonomy combined with the installed com-
munication bandwidth allows operation to be shared between
local and remote staff, where local staff is primarily skilled
to physically interact with the process (e.g., maintenance
and repair), whereas process optimization specialists and
other experts can be colocated remotely to be available to
a number of plants without travel. New technologies, such
as augmented or virtual reality (AR/VR) , help to not only
transmit technical data, but to allow for a more immersive 5
experience for the remote operator. Furthermore, analytics
information can be blended with the real-time image, to give
direct insight into the plant while looking at it.
Such remote expert centers may be set up by service
providers, e.g., by the equipment supplier. One example is the
concept of a “collaborative operations center” in the marine
industry, where the vessel, the ship owner’s operations center,
and the supplier’s expert center are connected to continu-
ously not only monitor the vessel’s technical performance
(fuel consumption and equipment health), but also consider
schedules, weather forecast, etc. to optimize routes collabo-
ratively [31]. See more on collaborative systems in Chs.  15
and  18.
5.4.3 New Applications
As we have seen earlier in this chapter, devices become
more intelligent, and have the communication capabilities
to interact with other devices. Automation of even simple
processes becomes possible on a device level, combined with
IoT technology that makes available powerful functionality
as a service. Such devices may contain technology that was
not available at today’s cost level even a few years ago.
Hospital labs are seeing highly integrated analyzers that
contain automated functions that used to be spread over a
whole lab in the past. Further automation in the form of
autonomous guided vehicles (AGV) combined with robots
is gaining importance in that sector.
Another area that is very quickly seeing advancements
in automation is agriculture. Again, AGVs play a role here,
allowing tractors to very precisely plant and harvest crop
and vegetables. Further functions such as quality control
and robotic manipulation of food are seen in advanced
applications.
But automation is also becoming popular further away
from the plant floor. Robotic process automation does neither
deal with robots nor process automation in the industrial
sense, but is covering automated business processes on the
enterprise level. An enterprise that is fully autonomously
116
accepting orders, producing and shipping the products, and
billing, without human interaction, may be the ultimate au-
tonomous industrial plant we may see in the future. Such effi-
ciency improvements through automated processes are today
referred to as “hyperautomation,” more and more addressing
white-collar tasks. See more on device-level automation in
Chs.  13,  16, and  17; on hospital and healthcare automa-
tion in Chs. in Section H of this Handbook; on agriculture
automation in Ch.  19; and on enterprise and business
process automation in Ch.  65.
5.5 Conclusions
Technologies that support automation use cases are going
through a major transition. While some have already reached
a level of maturity that resulted in a wide application in
automation applications (e.g., cloud in IoT), others are still
rapidly progressing at a speed that makes projections of their
possible impact difficult. What can be said is that they will
have an impact.
Key drivers observed are the steady increase in computing
power also in low-energy environments that makes very low
footprint solutions possible. The mass market technology
used in smartphones may well lead to similarly compact
solutions integrated in industrial devices, leading to automa-
tion functionality moving far toward the edge. Paired with
powerful back-end IoT cloud solutions, a new architecture of
intelligent devices, and distributed software agents (on edge,
fog, and cloud), may evolve that enables new automation
functionalities at higher efficiencies. An industrialized flavor
of AI is key and could be driving the move from automation
to autonomous systems.
Further technologies that are appearing on the horizon,
such as quantum computing, may have an even larger impact.
But this development is still too far out to speculate about a
successful industrial implementation.
The enthusiasm about the new possibilities of technolo-
gies has to be put in relation to the use cases and values
delivered. Still today, most advanced implementations of new
technology just reached a proof-of-concept level and have
difficulties to scale. Configuration and engineering effort is
in many cases still significantly too high, and new business
models that justify the spending for production sites are hard
to find.
The inclusion of new technologies into the world of in-
dustrial automation must consider all lifecycle aspects, and
before all must focus on the value of the use case. Technology
will always be just the enabler.
C. Ganz and A. J. Isaksson
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(2018) ETH Zürich. Christopher holds a doctorate degree (technical sciences)
26. Arroyoa, E., Hoernicke, M., Rodriguez, P., Fay, A.: Automatic from ETH Zürich.
derivation of qualitative plant simulation models from legacy pip-
ing and instrumentation diagrams. Comput. Chem. Eng. 92, 112–
132 (2016)
27. Platenius-Mohr, M., Malakuti, S., Grüner, S., Goldschmidt, T.:
Interoperable digital twins in IIoT systems by transformation of
information models: a case study with asset administration shell.
In: 9th International Conference on the Internet of Things, Bilbao
(2019)
28. Parasuraman, R., Sheridan, T.B., Wickens, C.D.: A model for types
and levels of human interaction with automation. IEEE Trans. Syst.
Man Cybern. Syst. Hum. 30(3), 286–297 (2000)
29. Gamer, T., Hoernicke, M., Kloepper, B., Bauer, R., Isaksson,
A.J.: The autonomous industrial plant-future of process engineer- Alf J. Isaksson is an automation and control expert with ABB Corporate
ing, operations and maintenance. J. Process Control. 88, 101–110 Research in Västerås, Sweden. He first pursued an academic career
(2020) culminating in promotion to full professor at the Royal Insititute of
30. Bainbridge, L.: Ironies of automation. Automatica. 19(6), 775–779 Technology (KTH) in 1999. In 2001 he joined ABB and has since been
(1983) one of its foremost control specialists covering the full range of process
31. Ralph, M., Domova, V., Björndahl, P., Vartiainen, E., Zoric, G., automation applications.Between 2012 and 2019, he was coordinating
Windischhofer, R., Ganz, C.: Improving remote marine service. all control research at ABB’s seven global research centers. He now
ABB Rev. 05(12), 44–48 (2016) since 2020 has a position as corporate research fellow. Alf holds a PhD
in Automatic Control from Linköping University.
 Part II
Automation Theory and Scientific Foundations
 Linear Control Theory for Automation
6
István Vajk, Jenő Hetthéssy, and Ruth Bars

Contents 6.14 Robust Stability and Performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152

6.1 Systems and Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
6.15 LMI in Control Engineering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
6.2 Open Loop Control, Closed Loop Control . . . . . . . . . . 122
6.16 Model-Based Predictive Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
6.3 Quality Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
6.17 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
6.4 Types of Signals and Models of Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
6.5 Description of SISO Continuous-Time References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
Linear Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
6.5.1 Description in the Time Domain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
6.5.2 Description in the Frequency Domain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
Abstract
6.5.3 Description in the Laplace Operator Domain . . . . . . . . . . 129
6.6 Description of SISO Discrete-Time Automation means automatic control of various processes
Linear Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130 in different areas of life. Control is based mainly on
6.6.1 Description in the Time Domain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130 the notion of negative feedback. Analysis and design of
6.6.2 Description in the z – Operator Domain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
control systems is a complex field. Mathematical models
6.6.3 Description in the Frequency Domain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
of the processes to be controlled are needed, and effec-
6.7 Resulting Transfer Functions of Closed Loop Control tive control methods should exist to ensure the required
Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
performance of the controlled processes. In industrial
6.8 Stability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135 environment besides continuous processes and continuous
6.9 Static and Dynamic Response . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136 control systems, sampled data digital control systems gain
6.10 Controller Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137 more and more importance. In this chapter some basic
6.10.1 Continuous PID Controller Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137 knowledge on linear control systems with deterministic
6.10.2 Discrete Time PID Controller Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139 signals and some advanced control algorithms both for
6.11 Responses of MIMO Systems and “Abilities” . . . . . . . 141 continuous and discrete-time systems are presented.
6.11.1 Transfer Function Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141 In the second part of this chapter mainly continuous-
6.11.2 State-Space Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141 time linear systems with multiple inputs and multiple
6.11.3 Matrix Fraction Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
outputs (MIMO systems) are considered. Specifically, sta-
6.12 Feedback System – Stability Issue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143 bility, performance, and robustness issues, as well as op-
6.13 Performances for MIMO LTI Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147 timal control strategies are discussed in details for MIMO
6.13.1 Control Performances . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148 linear systems using algebraic and numerical methods. As
6.13.2 H2 Optimal Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149 an important class for practical applications, predictive
6.13.3 H∞ Optimal Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
controllers are also discussed.

Keywords

Control theory · Linear control systems · Negative

I. Vajk () · J. Hetthéssy () · R. Bars () feedback · Closed loop control · Continuous control
Department of Automation and Applied Informatics, Faculty of
systems · Discrete control systems · MIMO systems ·
Electrical Engineering and Informatics, Budapest University of
Technology and Economics, Budapest, Hungary Stability · Optimal control · Robustness · Predictive
e-mail: vajk@aut.bme.hu; jhetthessy@aut.bme.hu; bars@aut.bme.hu control · LMI in Control Engineering

© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 121

S. Y. Nof (ed.), Springer Handbook of Automation, Springer Handbooks,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-96729-1_6
122 I. Vajk et al.

6.1 Systems and Control

u(t) y(t)
Systems are around us. In nature they are technological, P=?
biological, economical, etc. systems. Systems are connected
to their environment. Input quantities coming from the en-
vironment act on the systems, while the systems react with u(t) y(t) = ?
output quantities to the environment. Input and output quan- P
tities containing information about the physical, chemical,
etc. variables are called signals. The behavior of various
u(t) = ? y(t) = yref
systems should match prescribed technical expectations. To P
achieve this, systems should be controlled, i.e., appropriate
inputs should be generated to ensure the required output
performance.
Fig. 6.1 Problems of identification, analysis, and design
As an example consider a technological system (process)
generating electrical energy. The produced electrical energy
should be available with constant voltage and frequency in
spite of the changing daily consumption. In an oil refinery ydi ydo
the crude oil is refined in a distillation column, and the
r y
concentration of the end product should meet the required C P
value. The temperature of a room should be comfortable in
spite of the changing output environment. In transportation
systems besides keeping the prescribed speed there are a Fig. 6.2 Open loop control
number of other requirements (e.g., to avoid collisions, to
protect the environment, etc.) which should be fulfilled by
control. Further examples for control systems are given in
the system and its input signal, determine the output signal.
many chapters of this Handbook, e.g., in Chs.  15,  25,
Synthesis: Given the model of the system, and the required
 43, and  44.
output. Determine the input signal resulting in the required
In order to control a system first, its operation should be
system response.
analyzed. System analysis would result in a model of the
In more involved system structures several boxes can show
system. In system modeling for control, the signal transfer
up and the basic control tasks are tracking a reference signal
properties of the system are of interest, i.e., the way a system
and rejecting the effects of the disturbances.
transfers the input signals into output signals.
System modeling which investigates the relationship be-
tween the input and output signals can be approached in two
ways: one way is to analyze the physical behavior of the sys- 6.2 Open Loop Control, Closed Loop
tem and describe its operation by mathematical relationships Control
(equations, characteristic curves). Another way is to measure
the input and the output data and fit a mathematical model To achieve the required system output, prescribed by a refer-
to these data. In the latter case a model structure is supposed ence signal (denoted by r), open or closed loop control sys-
first, then the parameters of this model are determined. The tems can be built. In open loop control a control unit (whose
procedure itself is called identification. Generally these two signal transfer is denoted by C) is connected serially to the
methods are used together to establish an adequate process system (whose signal transfer is denoted by P) (Fig. 6.2). A
model. disturbance may act at the input (ydi ) or at the output (ydo ) of
The model of the system is symbolized by a rectangular the system. Addition of signals is symbolized on the scheme
block, its inputs are indicated by arrows, acting on the box, by a small circle, arrows coming into the circle indicate the
and the outputs are indicated by arrows leaving the box. signals to be added, while the arrow coming out of the circle
The mathematical relation characterizing the model is written represents their sum. This control structure is able to track the
inside the box. reference signal, but it is ineffective regarding disturbance
Concerning a single box with an input and an output, three rejection. A good choice of the control transfer C can be
problems can be formulated (Fig. 6.1). Identification: Given the inverse of the system transfer P. Then tracking of the
the measured input and output signal, determine a model of reference signal would be ideal. To realize a good open loop
the system (the mathematical relationship between the input control quite accurate knowledge on both the system and the
and the output, denoted by P). Analysis: Given the model of disturbances would be required.
6 Linear Control Theory for Automation
Reference
signal
Reference r
e Amplifier,
forming Decision,
error computation
Reference signal
calculator
Controller
Fig. 6.3 Structural diagram of closed loop control
ydi
r r1 e u
F C P e.g., during the start and stop phase of the process, when
–
Fig. 6.4 Block diagram of closed loop control
In closed loop control a negative feedback loop is built
around the system. The output signal of the system (process)
is measured by a sensor and is compared to the reference
signal. The deviation of the reference signal and the output
signal forms the error signal. The error signal provides the
input to the controller unit, which both amplifies it and
modifies its shape. The output of the controller gives the input
for the actuator which modifies the input signal of the system.
Figure 6.3 gives the structural diagram, while Fig. 6.4 shows
the block diagram of the closed loop control. (F denotes
a possible reference signal filter and yn represents a noise
component introduced by the sensor.)
Closed loop control is able both to track the reference
signal and to reject the effect of the disturbances. Whatever
causes the deviation between the reference signal and the
output signal, the error acts to eliminate this deviation. Be-
cause of the dynamics of the system this settling process
takes time. The control system should be stable, i.e., after
changes in the input signals (reference and disturbances) the
transients should smooth down along the loop and a new
steady state should be reached. Appropriate design of the
controller is responsible to ensure the required properties
of the control system. Controller design is based on the
model of the process and aims to meet the prescribed quality
specifications set for the control system. In the sequel closed
loop control systems will be considered.
123
Manipulated
variable,
6
process Controlled
input variable
u y
signal Acting Process
forming
Actuator
Sensing
Sensor
In large control systems (e.g., oil refineries, power plants),
ydo in addition to closed loop controls dominating in long-term
y
operation, open loop controls play also an important role,
yn complex sequential operations have to be performed. Open
loop and closed loop controls should operate together in a
harmonized manner.
If besides the output signal the disturbance or some inner
signals are also measured, and available for control, then the
performance of the control system can further be improved.
If the disturbance is measured, the closed loop control can
be supplemented by a feedforward path. This forward path
contributes to compensating the effect of the disturbance at
the output (See in Ch.  25).
If the process can be separated into serially connected
parts, and besides the output signal some intermediate signals
can also be measured, then embedded control loops could
be built, improving the performance of the control system
(cascade control) (see in Ch.  25). These solutions are
frequently used in process industries.
Today, industrial control systems are increasingly imple-
mented by computer control, where the main control tasks
are executed by computers in real time. The process and
the computer are connected via analog/digital (A/D) and
digital/analog (D/A) converters. The output of the process is
sampled and digitalized, thus the information on the output
signal is available in digital form only at the sampling in-
stants. The computer calculates the actual value of the control
signal according to a digital control algorithm and forwards
it via a D/A converter as the process input. As the process
is continuous, the control signal should act also between the
sampling points. This is realized by using a holding unit.
The structure of the sampled data control system is shown
in Fig. 6.5.
124 I. Vajk et al.

Discrete-time signals Continuous-time signals

Real-time clock

u[k]
D/A Process input
u(t)

Controller Real-time
Continuous-time
algorithm environment
process
(scheduling)
y[k]
Process output
A/D y(t)

r[k]

Man/
Network
machine
interface
interface

Reference signal, sampling

interval, controller
parameters

Fig. 6.5 The structure of sampled data control system realized by computer control

t t t
r[k] e[k] u[k] u(t) y(t)
C(z) ZOH P(s)
_ Discrete Zero order Continuous
controller hold process

y[k] Ts
F(s)
Sampler Low pass filter

Fig. 6.6 Block diagram of the closed loop sampled data control system

The block diagram of the closed loop sampled data control
system is given in Fig. 6.6, where the behavior of the signals
in the time domain at several points of the control loop is also
indicated.
Selecting the sampling time is an important issue. Ac-
cording to the Shannon sampling theorem, the sampling
frequency should be more than twice of the analog signal
frequency. Then the continuous signal could be reconstructed
based on its samples.
In computer control of industrial processes, more sophisti-
cated control problems can also be solved, distributed control
systems can be implemented, where spatially distributed
control systems can operate in an optimized aligned manner
communicating with each other.
6 Linear Control Theory for Automation
6.3 Quality Specifications
In a feedback control system the main requirements are:
• Stability
• Good reference signal tracking (servo property)
• Good disturbance rejection
• Good measurement noise attenuation
Good performance can be specified, e.g., by the prescribed
shape of the unit step response characterized by the allowed
overshoot and the required settling time. For stability, all
the signals in the control loop should remain bounded. In
addition, to keep operational costs low, small process input
values are preferred. Controller design is based on the model
of the process. As models always imply uncertainties, design
procedures aiming at stability and desirable performance
should be extended to tolerate modeling uncertainties as well,
i.e., control systems should be robust with respect to the
incomplete knowledge available on the process.
Thus the specifications, which provide controller design
objectives, are completed by the following requirements:
• Achieve reduced input signals
• Achieve robust stability
• Achieve robust performance
Some of the above design objectives could be conflicting;
however, a compromise among them could still provide ac-
ceptable control performance.
In the sequel, the basic principles of control, methods
of analysis, and design are discussed briefly. (For detailed
discussion [1–5] and [9–12] are referred.)
6.4 Types of Signals and Models
of Systems
The signal is a physical quantity which carries information.
The signals can be external input signals, output signals
leaving the system, or inner signals of the system. Signals
can be classified in different ways. A signal is continuous if
it is continuously maintained over a given time range. The
signal is discrete-time or sampled if it provides information
only at determined time points. The signal is analog, if its
value directly represents the measured variable (e.g., current,
velocity, etc.). The signal is digital, if the information is
represented by coded values of the physical variable in digits.
The signal is deterministic if its course can be described by
a function of time. The signal is stochastic if its evolution is
probabilistic according to given statistics.
The model of a system provides a relationship between the
inputs and the outputs of the system. The model is static, if
125
its output depends only on the actual value of its input. The
model is dynamic, if the output depends on previous values 6
of the input and output signals as well. A model can be linear
or nonlinear. Static characteristics plots the steady values of
the output signal versus the steady values of the input signal.
If this curve is a straight line, the system is linear, otherwise
it is nonlinear. Generally, systems are nonlinear, but in most
cases their linear model can be obtained as a result of a
linearization around a working point. There are general meth-
ods for analyzing linear systems, while analyzing nonlinear
models need more sophisticated methods. Different analysis
methods are needed whether a system is excited by deter-
ministic or stochastic signals. A model may have lumped or
distributed parameters. The parameters of a lumped system
are considered constant. In distributed parameter systems,
the parameters depend both on time and space. A model can
be continuous time or discrete time. Discrete time models,
which describe the relationship between the sampled output
and the sampled input signals of a system, are applied in
the analysis and design of computer control system. Besides
input/output models state space models are also widely used.
Beyond I/O relations, these models describe the behavior of
the inner system states, as well. Considering the number of
the input and output signals the model can be Single Input
Single Output (SISO), Multi Input Multi Output (MIMO),
Single Input Multi Output (SIMO), and Multi Input Single
Output (SIMO).
In the sequel dynamic, linear or linearized, deterministic,
lumped parameter, continuous and discrete time, SISO and
MIMO input/output, and state space models will be dealt
with.
6.5 Description of SISO Continuous-Time
Linear Systems
Systems can be described in the time, frequency, and operator
domain. Those descriptions in different domains can equiv-
alently be transformed into each other. System analysis or
design may be more favorable in one or in another form.
6.5.1 Description in the Time Domain
A continuous time (CT) linear SISO system can be described
in the time domain by a differential equation of order n or
by a system constructed by a set of n first order differential
equations (also called state equations), or it can be charac-
terized by typical time responses in return to typical input
signals (e.g., impulse response, step response, response for
sinusoidal signals) [1, 2, 6].
The differential equation gives the relationship between
the output signal y(t) and its derivatives and the input signal
u(t) and its derivatives. It is given in the following form:
126 I. Vajk et al.

n
an d dty(t)
n−1
y(t)
+ an−1 d dtn−1 + · · · + a1 dy(t) + a0 y(t) = For multiple roots (e.g., supposing a triple root, λ1 = λ2 = λ3 ),
n dt
m m−1 the solution is given as follows:
bm dtm + bm−1 dtm−1 + · · · + b1 dt + b0 u(t)
d u(t) d u(t) du(t)

 
The condition of physical realizability is m ≤ n. a0 , a1 , . . . , yh (t) = k1 + k2 t + k3 t2 eλ1 t + k4 eλ4 t + · · · + kn eλn t
an , b0 , b1 , . . . , bm are constant coefficients.
Often the differential equation is written in the so-called
time constant form: The transients are decreasing in time if the roots of the
characteristic equation are located on the left side of the
n n−1
Tnnd dty(t)
n + Tn−1
n−1 d y(t)
+ · · · + T1 dy(t) + y(t) =  complex plane, i.e., Reλi < 0.
dtn−1 dt
m m−1 Let f (u) denote the particular solution of the inhomoge-
A τm dtm + τm−1 dtm−1 + · · · + τ1 dt + u(t)
m d u(t) m−1 d u(t) du(t)
neous equation which depends on the input signal u. f (u)
can be found by some mathematical procedure – e.g., by
where parameter A = b0 /a0 is the gain of the systemhaving
√ method of variations of parameters or by some simple con-
a physical dimension, and Ti = i ai /a0 and τj = j bj /b0 .
siderations. The general solution of the differential equation
Parameters T1 , . . . , Tn , τ 1 , . . . , τ m are time constants, their
becomes
dimension is sec. (The above definition of the gain is valid if
a0 = 0 and b0 = 0.) The time constant form is advantageous
as for lower order cases the shape of the time response y(t) = yh (t) + f (u) = k1 eλ1 t + k2 eλ2 t + · · · + kn eλn t + f (u)
for typical inputs (e.g., for unit step) can approximately be
visualized even without solving the differential equation.
The constants are determined in the knowledge of the initial
The system is called proportional if a0 = 0 and b0 = 0.
conditions.
In this case for step input in steady state the output signal
If the input signal is an impulse (Dirac delta, an impulse of
is constant and it will be proportional to the input signal.
zero duration with infinite amplitude and unity area) or a unit
The system exhibits a “derivative” action if b0 = 0 and an
step, the solution of the differential equation is simpler. The
“integral” action if a0 = 0.
output signals corresponding to such inputs are the impulse
In many practical processes the output responds with a
response or weighting function (denoted by w(t)) and the step
delay (also called dead time) to changes in the input signal.
response (denoted by v(t)), which are characteristic for the
In this case the time arguments on the right side of the differ-
system. In their knowledge, the output of the system can be
ential equation become (t − Td ) instead of (t), where Td > 0
calculated also for arbitrary input signals.
denotes the delay. Accordingly, a process formed by a pure
In a system of order n besides the input and the output
delay and a gain is simply represented by y(t) = Au(t − Td ).
signals n inner variables, the so-called state variables can be
The solution of the differential equation describes the
defined. State variables cannot change their values abruptly
behavior of the system, i.e., the time course of the output
when the input signal changes abruptly, it takes time to reach
signal as a response to a given input. The solution has to
their new values determined by the input signal. Their initial
fulfil n initial conditions prescribed for the output signal
values (the initial conditions) represent information on the
and its derivatives. The solution consists of two components,
past history of the effects of the input changes in the system.
namely, the general solution of the homogenous equation and
The state variables are denoted by xi , i = 1, 2, . . . , n ,
one particular solution of the inhomogeneous equation:
which are the components of the state vector x. Using the
state variables the system can be described by a state space
y(t) = yh (t) + yi (t)
model, in which, instead of a single differential equation
of order n a set of n differential equations of first order is
The solution of the homogenous equation is determined by
considered. Such models can be often derived from physical
the roots of the characteristic equation:
considerations. If an input-output model of the system is
known characterized by a single differential equation of order
an λn + an−1 λn−1 + · · · + a1 λ + a0 = 0
n, the state variables could be defined in different ways.
Generally they are combinations of higher-order derivatives
The general solution of the homogenous equation (the
of outputs and inputs.
transient response) in case of single roots has the following
The state equation in vector-matrix form is given as:
form:


n
yh (t) = k1 eλ1 t + k2 eλ2 t + · · · + kn eλn t = ki eλi t ẋ(t) = Ax(t) + bu(t)
i=0 y(t) = cx(t) + du(t)
6 Linear Control Theory for Automation 127

where A, b, c are the parameter matrices of dimensions may remain hidden when solving the differential equation
(nxn), (nx1), (1xn), respectively and d is scalar parameter. describing the input/output relationship (e.g., controllability, 6
For MIMO systems similar formalism is obtained for the observability, [2, 8]).
state equation with appropriate dimensions of the parameter
matrices.
As an example let us suppose that the right side of the 6.5.2 Description in the Frequency Domain
differential equation is g(t) = b0 u(t), then the output signal
and its higher-order derivatives (up to n-1) can be chosen as If y(t) is a periodic signal, it can be expanded into its Fourier
state variables and the state equation can be obtained in the series, i.e., it can be decomposed as a sum of sinusoidal
following form: components [6]. Let us denote the time period of the signal
by T. Then the basic frequency is ω0 = 2π /T. The complex
ẋ1 = x2 form of the Fourier series is
ẋ2 = x3
∞

..
. y(t) = cn ejnω0 t
an−1
ẋn = − aa0n x1 − a1
x
an 2
− ··· − an n
x + b0
an
u n=−∞

y = x1
where n is integer and coefficients cn can be calculated by the
In this case, the parameter matrices are: relationship

⎡ ⎤  T/2
··· 1
0 1 0 0 cn = y(t)e−j n ω0 t dt
⎢ 0 0 1 ··· 0 ⎥ T −T/2
⎢ ⎥
⎢ .. ⎥
A=⎢ . ⎥;
⎢ ⎥ cn is a complex number and cn = ĉ−n , where ĉ denotes
⎣ ⎦
complex-conjugate. The cn amplitudes assigned to the dis-
− a0 /an −a1 /an −a2 /an · · · −an−1 /an crete frequencies ω = nω0 compose the discrete amplitude
⎡ ⎤ spectrum of the periodic signal y(t). Generally, higher fre-
0
⎢ 0 ⎥ quency components appear with lower amplitude.
⎢ ⎥
⎢ ⎥ In practice the input of a system generally is not periodic.
b = ⎢ ... ⎥ ;
⎢ ⎥ If an aperiodic signal is absolute integrable, i.e.,
⎣ ⎦
 ∞
b0 /an
|y(t)| dt = finite,
c = [1 0 0 · · · 0 ] ; d = 0. −∞

the continuous complex spectrum Y(jω) of the signal y(t), the

The above state equation is one possible representation,
so-called Fourier transform of signal y(t) can be introduced,
as any linear combination of the state variables provides
which is given by the following relationship:
new state variables, while the relation between the output
and the input remains unchanged. A set of state equations  ∞
with identical I/O properties can be obtained by the so-called Y(jω) = y(t)e−jωt dt = F {y(t)}
−∞
similarity transformations [1, 2, 8].
The solution of the state equation is obtained in the fol- and its inverse transform can be given as
lowing form:
 ∞
 1
t y(t) = Y(jω) ejωt dω
x(t) = e x(0) +
At A(t−τ )
e b u (τ ) dτ 2π −∞
0
which can be considered as extension of the Fourier series. It
The solution contains two parts, the free response, which is also called the Fourier integral.
is the effect of the initial conditions x(0), and the forced The first derivative of y(t) is
response, which is the effect of the input signal.
 ∞
Solving a set of first-order differential equations is gen- dy(t) 1
erally simpler than solving the differential equation of order ẏ(t) = = jωY(jω) ejωt dω
dt 2π −∞
n. It gives information not only on the output signal, but also
on the inner variables. The state space form of a dynamical so the Fourier transform of the first derivative of the signal is
system also shows properties of the system which otherwise jωY(jω). Applying the Fourier transformation to a differential
128
u(t) = Au sin(wt + ju)
P (s)
Fig. 6.7 The frequency function
equation, an algebraic equation is obtained, whose solution is
much simpler than the solution of the differential equation.
If a linear system is excited by an input signal whose
Fourier spectrum is known, the superposition theorem can be
applied to calculate the complete system response. The out-
put signal of the system can be approximated by the sum of
the responses to the individual sinusoidal components of the
input signal. The more frequency components are considered,
the more accurate the approximation of the time function of
the output signal will be. In case of periodic input signal
discrete frequencies should be taken into account, in case of
aperiodic signal the frequency spectrum is continuous, so the
system response to all frequencies should be considered.
The basic property of stable linear systems is that for
sinusoidal input signals they respond with sinusoidal output
signals of the same frequency as that of the input signal
after decaying of the transients (i.e., in steady-state). Both the
amplitude and the phase angle of the output signal depend on
the frequency (Fig. 6.7).
The input signal is
u(t) = Au sin (ωt + ϕu ) = Im Au ej(ωt+ϕu ) ; t≥0
The output signal consists of a steady state and a transient
part. In stable case the transient part deceases when time
tends to infinity.
y(t) = ysteady (t) + ytransient (t)
The steady state response is obtained as
 
ysteady (t) = Ay (ω) sin ωt + ϕy (ω)
= Im Ay (ω) ej(ωt+ϕy (ω))
The frequency function P(jω) is a complex function rep-
resenting how the amplitude ratio of the output and the input
signal and the phase difference between them change with
the frequency. The frequency response function can be given
as
Ay (ω) j(ϕy(ω)−ϕu )
P(jω) = e = a (ω) ejϕ(ω)
Au
I. Vajk et al.
y(t) = Ay sin(wt + jy) + ytransient
Im
–f<w <0
w =f w =0
j1
Re
a1
w1
0<w <f
Fig. 6.8 Nyquist diagram
The above form of the frequency response function can be
plotted in the complex plane by a Nyquist diagram consisting
of points according to magnitude a(ω) = Ay (ω)/Au and phase
angle ϕ(ω) = ϕy (ω) −ϕu (for −∞ < ω < ∞ for the entire
diagram or 0 < ω < ∞ for the simplified case). (The simplified
Nyquist diagram plots the frequency function on the complex
plane only for positive ω values. As a(−ω) = a(ω) and
ϕ(−ω) = −ϕ(ω), for negative ω values the points of the
curve are the reflected images of those corresponding to the
positive values relating to the real axis.) Another way to
show the frequency response function is to simultaneously
plot the absolute value a(ω) and the phase value ϕ(ω) versus
the frequency in a given frequency range (Bode diagram).
For the Bode diagram, the frequency scale is logarithmic
in order to cover a wide frequency range and the absolute
value is given in decibels (Figs. 6.8 and 6.9). The Nyquist
diagrams show quality properties of the system. The Bode
amplitude diagrams can easily be drawn approximately with
the asymptotes and some important quantitative data (e.g.,
gain, time constants) can immediately be read from the
approximate diagram.
6 Linear Control Theory for Automation 129

|P(jw)| Absolute
Phase 6
dB value
value

60 1000

|P( jw)| = a(w)

40 100

20 10
1 decade
0 1 w
0.001 0.01 0.1 1 10 100

–20 0.1 –90°

j (w)
–40 0.01 –180°

Fig. 6.9 Bode diagram

6.5.3 Description in the Laplace Operator Tables of Laplace transforms of different signals are available
Domain in the literature [6, 7].
The Laplace transform of the derivative signals is
Laplace Transformation
Condition of absolute integrability means a severe limit to L {ẏ(t)} = sY(s) − y (−0)
the application of Fourier transformation. This condition is L {ÿ(t)} = s2 Y(s) − sy (−0) − ẏ (−0)
not fulfilled for a number of practically applied signals (e.g.,
unit step). The range of application of Fourier transformation If the initial conditions are zeros, the derivation means mul-
can be extended significantly if function y(t) gets modified to tiplication by the appropriate powers of variable s. Accord-
y(t)e−σ t , σ > 0. This modification ensures absolute integra- ingly, applying the Laplace transformation for a differential
bility for the modified function for a wide range of functions. equation, an algebraic equation is obtained.
The Laplace transform of one-sided functions starting at t = 0 The Laplace transform of integral of a signal is
 ∞  ∞
 t 
1
L {y(t)} = y(t) e−σ t −jωt
e dt = −st
y(t)e dt = Y(s) L y (τ ) dτ = Y(s)
−∞ 0 0 s

where s = σ + jω is a complex variable. The inverse Laplace Initial and final value theorem:
transform is
y (t = +0) = lim sY(s); y (t → ∞) = limsY(s)
 σ +j∞
s→∞ s→0
1
y(t) = L−1 {Y(s)} = Y(s)e dsst
2π j σ −j∞ Considering more rules of Laplace transformation [6, 7] are
referred.
For example, the Laplace transform of Dirac delta impulse,
of unit step, of ramp signal, of exponential signal, and of a The Transfer Function
signal shifted by delay are Let us apply the Laplace transformation to the differential
equation supposing zero initial conditions.
1 1
L {δ(t)} = 1; L {1(t)} = ; L {t1(t)} = 2 ;
s s an sn Y(s) + an−1
 s m Y(s) + · · · + m−1
n−1
a1 sY(s) + a0 Y(s) =
  1 = bm s U(s) + bm−1 s U(s) + . . .
L e−αt = ; L {y (t − Td )} = Y(s)e−sT d + b1 sU(s) + b0 U(s)) e−sT d
s+α
130 I. Vajk et al.

or The impulse response or weighting function and the step

response can be obtained as
bm sm + bm−1 sm−1 + b1 s + b0 −sT d
Y(s) = e U(s)  
an sn + an−1 sn−1 + · · · + a1 s + a0 P(s)
w(t) = L−1 {P(s)} ; v(t) = L−1
= P(s)U(s) s

The delay is considered by the term e−sT d . It can be shown that the analytical expression of the
The transfer function of a system is the ratio of the Laplace frequency function can be obtained from the transfer function
transforms by substituting s = jω. So

Y(s) P(jω) = P(s)|s=jω

P(s) =
U(s)
The main characteristics of some important elements are
The transfer function can be given in different forms. shown in Table 6.1.
One form is the above polynomial/polynomial form. Cal-
culating the roots of the numerator (called zeros) and the
roots of the denominator (called poles) we get the zero-pole- 6.6 Description of SISO Discrete-Time
gain form of the transfer function. Note that the zeros and the Linear Systems
poles can be of real or complex-conjugate values. This form
is expressed as Sampled data, discrete time (DT) systems can also be an-
alyzed in the time, frequency, and operator domain. An
(s − z1 ) (s − z2 ) . . . (s − zm ) −sT d important question is, how their behavior is related to the be-
P(s) = k e
(s − p1 ) (s − p2 ) . . . (s − pn ) havior of the continuous time system, and how the knowledge
learned from CT systems can be used in digital controller
Sometimes the partial fractional representation is also useful.
design.
For control applications in most cases the time constant form
is used. The terms with complex-conjugate poles can be de-
2
scribed as second order terms, e.g., (s−pA/T = 1+2ξ Ts+T
A
2 s2 ,
6.6.1 Description in the Time Domain
 1 )(s−p2 )

where p1,2 = − T ± j T 1 − ξ 2 , and ξ < 1. Here A is the gain

ξ 1

factor, T is the time constant and ξ is the damping factor. In the time domain instead of a differential equation a
Similar formulation can be given for complex-conjugate difference equation gives the relationship how the actual
zeros. output signal value depends on the actual and past input and
output samples.
c 
 d 
 
1 + sτj 1 + 2ζj τ0j s + s2 τ0j2 As an example, a first order differential equation is dis-
A 1 1 −sT d cretized substituting the first derivative by the approximating
P(s) = f  e
e 
si   difference
1 + sT j 1 + 2ξj T0j s + s2 T0j2
1 1
dy(t) y [(k + 1) Ts ] − y [kT s ]
A ≈ ; k = 0, 1, . . .
= i Pt (s) dt Ts
s
Ts denotes the sampling time.
Complex-conjugate poles mean oscillations in the transient
response.
y [(k + 1) Ts ] − y [kT s ]
If i = 0, the system is proportional, if i > 0, the system a1 + a0 y [kT s ] = b0 u [kT s ]
Ts
contains integration effect, if i < 0, the system contains
differentiating effect. Pt (s) determines the transient response, hence
it does not influence the steady state.
 
b 0 Ts a 0 Ts
Pt (s)|s=0 = 1 y [(k + 1) Ts ] = u [kT s ] + 1 − y [kT s ]
a1 a1

The transfer function can also be obtained from the In this way a difference equation is obtained. The difference
Laplace transform of the state equation. equation provides a recursive formula to calculate the sub-
sequent output sample. The procedure shown above is one
P(s) = c(sI − A)−1 b + d possible way to discretize a CT system.
 6
Table 6.1 Step responses and frequency characteristics of some important elements
Name, P(s) Step response v(t) Nyquist diagram Bode diagram
y(s) 1
Integrator =
u(s) sTI |P ( jw)|
Im
1 10
1 20dB 10 TI TI w
w=∞
0.1 _ 20dB
Re
T I _ 20dB / dec
t
TI w=0
j (w ) w
j = _ 90°
Linear Control Theory for Automation

y(s)
Delay element = Ae−sT d Im
u(s) |P( jw)|

A 20lgA
w=0
t
Td Re w
A
j (w) w
1
w = p / 2Td Td
_ 57. 3°

y(s) A
First order lag = Im
u(s) 1 + sT 1 v(t) |P( jw)|
A
Second, third order lags Re
(1 + sT 1 ) (1 + sT 2 ) . . . 1 2 1 1
3 1
T2 T3
1 _20dB / dec w
t T1 _ 40
_60

A
Second order oscillating element ξ<1 Im
1 + 2ξ sT + s2 T 2 v(t)
x =0 |P( jw)|
x =0
x=2
x = 0.7 ζ
x

t w
x = 0.2
131

6
132 I. Vajk et al.

6.6.2 Description in the z – Operator Domain Some properties of z-transformation:

 
Linearity Z c1 f1 [k] + c2 f2 [k] = c1 F1 (z) + c2 F2 (z)
z-transforms of sampled signals
Shift theorem Z f [k − n] = z−n F(z)
A sampled signal is shown in Fig. 6.10. In physical sampling,
Initial and final value theorems
each sample has small time duration. In mathematical sam-
  
pling, these samples are substituted by Dirac delta impulses f [0] = lim F(z); lim f [k] = lim 1 − z−1 F(z)
with values proportional to the amplitudes of the samples. z→∞ k→∞ z→1

The sampled signal can be given in the following form:

z-transforms of some basic signals:
yd (t) = y(0)δ(t) + y(Ts ) δ(t − Ts ) + y(2Ts ) δ(t − 2Ts ) Unit pulse:
+ y (3Ts ) δ(t − 3Ts ) + . . .

∞ ∞
 ∞

 
= y(kT s ) δ(t − kT s ) Z yd [k] = Y(z) = z−k yd [k] = 1 + z−k· 0 = 1
k=0
k=0 k=1

The sampled values of the signal in sampling points kTs are Unit step:
also denoted as yd [k].
∞

The Laplace transform of the time series above is   1 z
Z yd [k] = Y(z) = z−k · 1 = =
k=0
1 − z−1 z−1
Yd (s) = y(0) + y(Ts ) e−sT s + y(2Ts ) e−2sT s
Exponential function y(t) = e−a t :
+y(3Ts ) e−3sT s + . . .
∞

 
Introducing the notation Z yd [k] = Y(z) = z−k yd [k] = 1 + e−aT s z−1
k=0
z = esTs 1 z
+ e−2aT s z−2 + · · · = =
1− e−aT s z−1 z − e−aT s
the z-transform of a sampled signal yd (t) is defined as
z-transforms of several signals are given in tables [6, 9, 11,
∞

  12].
Z yd [k] = Y(z) = z−k yd [k]
The inverse z-transform can be calculated with the follow-
k=0
ing formula:
= yd [0] + z−1 yd [1] + z−2 yd [2] + . . . 
−1 1
yd [k] = Z {Y(z)} = Y(z)zk−1 dz
where z−1 plays the role of a one-step shift operator. 2π j
C
In addition, expression z = esTs realizes a conform map-
ping between the complex plane s and the complex plane z. Besides, to find yd [k] from Y(z) practical methods, like de-
Particularly, the imaginary axis of the s plane is mapped into composition via partial fraction expansion or polynomial
the unit circle in the z plane and the left side of the s plane is division exist. If Y(z) is given and it is expressed with partial
mapped into the inside of the z plane. fractions whose inverse is known, then the values of the
signal in the sampling points can be calculated by adding
the sampled values of the individual partial terms. The other
method is polynomial division. Dividing the numerator of
yd Y(z) by its denominator, the z-transform is obtained in terms
of the shift operator z−1 , providing the values of the signal in
the sampling points.

The Pulse Transfer Function

0 Ts
Fig. 6.10 Sampled signal
In practice CT processes are to be controlled by DT con-
trollers. DT controllers deliver DT control signals and those
signals need to be converted to CT before driving the CT
process. Let us consider a system excited by the samples of
2Ts 3Ts t
a DT input signal, and apply a zero order holding (ZOH) to
feed the CT process. Finally, the output of the CT process is
sampled (Fig. 6.11).
6 Linear Control Theory for Automation 133

u[k] D /A u(t) y(t) y[k] U(z) Y(z) Y(z) 6

P(s) { G(z) =
U(z) ZOH U(s) Y(s) Y(z) U(z)

Fig. 6.11 The pulse transfer function

In the literature [9, 12] tables of the pulse transfer func-

d (t) 1 tions of the most important elements are given. Observe that
Zero order
hold
the Td > 0 delay considered for CT systems is a real number,
t t
Ts
while the delay considered for DT systems is an integer
variable, d = 0, 1, 2, . . . according to d = entier(Td /Ts ).
Another system description in the time domain is the
Fig. 6.12 Zero order hold discrete-time state equation, which can be derived from the
solution of the CT state equation, supposing that the initial
point of the integration is kTs and the final point is (k + 1)Ts
The pulse (also called impulse) transfer function is defined
(denoted simply as points k and k + 1). The input signal
as the ratio of the z-transforms of the output and the input
between these points is supposed to be constant. Note that
signal, respectively.
this is the way here to realize the ZOH. The DT state equation
  is given as
Z y [k ] y(z)
G(z) =  =
Z u [k] u(z) x [k + 1] = Fx [k] + gu [k]

If the step response v(t) of the continuous system is known,

the pulse transfer function can be calculated by the following y [k] = cx [k] + du [k]
relationship:
T
  where F = eATs and g = 0 s eAλ dλb.
Z v [k ]    
G(z) = z = 1 − z−1 Z v [k] If matrix A is invertible then g can be evaluated as
z−1  
g = A−1 eATs − I b
The response of the zero order holding element to a Dirac
delta impulse is shown in Fig. 6.12. .
The transfer function of the zero order hold is 6.6.3 Description in the Frequency Domain
 
s2 Ts2
1−e −sT s 1 − 1 − sT s + 2
− · · · The frequency response associated to discrete time signals
Wzoh (s) = ≈
s s is obtained by substituting z = ejωTs in the pulse transfer
  function G(z). So
sTs
≈ Ts 1 − + · · · ≈ Ts e−sT s /2
2
G∗ (jω) = G(z)|z=ejωTs
This means that sampling and zero order holding inserts
As discussed earlier, sampling and holding add an extra
approximately a CT delay of Ts /2 into the loop.
CT delay to the loop. Observe this notion considering the
If the pulse transfer function of a system and the
frequency function of a sampled integrator.
z-transform of its input signal are both given, the z-transform

of the output signal is calculated as ∗ Ts  Ts
G (jω) = = jωT
z − 1 z=ejωTs e s −1
y(z) = G(z)u(z)
Ts
=
(jωTs )2 (jωTs )3
and by inverse z-transformation the output signal can be cal- 1 + jωTs + 2
+ 3!
+ ··· − 1
culated in the sampling points. Also, using the shift operator
the relationship can be transformed into a difference equation In the low frequency range, for ω < 1/Ts , the higher degree
providing a recursive equation to calculate the output signal. terms in the denominator can be neglected, and their effect
Transfer functions and pulse transfer functions of some can be considered with the extra CT delay. So in the low
systems are given in Table 6.2. frequency domain
134 I. Vajk et al.

Table 6.2 Transfer functions and the corresponding pulse transfer functions
Name of the element Transfer function P(s) Pulse transfer function G(z)
1 Ts
Integrator
s z−1
A 1 − e−Ts /T1
First order lag element A
1 + sT 1 z − e−Ts /T1
A z+σ
Second order lag element k  ; k, σ < 1 constants
(1 + sT 1 ) (1 + sT 2 ) z − e−Ts /T1 z − e−Ts /T2
A (z + σ1 ) (z + σ2 )
Third order lag element k   ; σ1 <
(1 + sT 1 ) (1 + sT 2 ) (1 + sT 3 ) z − e−Ts /T1 z − e−Ts /T2 z − e−Ts /T3
1, σ2 > 1
Delay e−sT d z−d , where d = entier(Td /Ts ) is DT delay (0, 1, 2, . . . )

1 −jωTs /2
G∗ (jω) ≈ e
jω U(s) E(s) Y(s) U(s) H1 Y(s)
H1(s) {
+ r 1rH1H2
This approximation can be taken into account for other
elements as well. So in the low frequency domain the contin- H2(s)
uous and discrete frequency functions differ only in the effect
of the extra delay. The amplitudes for given frequencies are
the same, while the phase angle of the discrete function dif- Fig. 6.13 Feedback connection
fers from the continuous one by −ωTs /2 radians, at ω = 1/Ts
by 0.5 radian. The inputs are the reference signal, the input and output
disturbances, and the sensor noise. System responses are
the output of the plant, the error signal, and the control
6.7 Resulting Transfer Functions (manipulated) signal. For linear systems the relationships
of Closed Loop Control Systems between the outputs and the inputs can be calculated using
the superposition theorem, considering the sum of the effects
In a complex system several elements (blocks) are connected. of the individual inputs to the outputs.
In series connection the output of the first element serves
F(s)L(s) 1
as the input of the second one. The resulting transfer func- y(s) = r(s) + ydo (s)
tion is obtained by multiplying the transfer functions of the 1 + L(s) 1 + L(s)
individual blocks. In parallel connection the inputs of the P(s) L(s)
+ ydi (s) − yn (s)
subsystems are identical, and the output signals are added. 1 + L(s) 1 + L(s)
The resulting transfer function is the sum of the transfer
functions of the individual blocks. The block diagram of
a CT feedback system is shown in Fig. 6.13. The transfer F(s) 1
e(s) = r(s) − ydo (s)
functions of the individual elements are denoted by H(s). The 1 + L(s) 1 + L(s)
relationship between the Laplace transforms of the signals in P(s) 1
case of negative feedback is − ydi (s) − yn (s)
1 + L(s) 1 + L(s)
Y(s) = H1 (s)E(s) = H1 (s) (U(s) − H2 (s)Y(s))
F(s)C(s) C(s)
and the resulting transfer function is u(s) = r(s) − ydo (s)
1 + L(s) 1 + L(s)
Y(s) H1 (s) L(s) C(s)
T(s) = = − ydi (s) − yn (s)
U(s) 1 + H1 (s)H2 (s) 1 + L(s) 1 + L(s)

If the inputs are known deterministic signals, the Laplace

Let us calculate the resulting (also called overall) transfer
functions in a control system given by the block diagram in
Fig. 6.4. (The process P and the controller C can be built of
serial or parallel blocks as well.) The loop transfer function
is defined as L(s) = C(s)P(s).
transforms of the output signals can be calculated and the
inverse Laplace transforms give the time response of the
output signals. Then it can be evaluated whether the output
signals meet the quality specifications. Nevertheless, for
stable systems a quick evaluation can be done by calculating
6 Linear Control Theory for Automation
only the final, steady state values of the signals using the final
value theorem of Laplace transformation, and estimating the
main properties of the transient response (overshoot, settling
time) using mainly frequency domain considerations. If the
control system does not fulfil the requirements, the controller
has to be redesigned.
Similar relationships hold for discrete systems as well
using the z – transforms of the signals and the pulse transfer
functions of the systems, assuming sample and hold elements
completing the functional blocks.
6.8 Stability
Once a system is moved out of an equilibrium state and
after left uninfluenced it returns to the equilibrium state, the
system is stable. In case of linear systems stability depends
only on the system structure and parameters, but does not
depend on the input signals.
Stability can be formulated in different ways. The system
is said asymptotically stable if for any initial values close to
the equilibrium point the solution converges to the equilib-
rium point. This means that for a system described by state
equation ẋ = f (x) the equilibrium point xe is asymptotically
stable if lim (x(t)−xe ) = 0 for any x(0) initial conditions.
t→∞
Bounded-Input-Bounded-Output (BIBO) stability means that
the system responds to any bounded input signal with a
bounded output signal, starting from any initial condition. A
closed loop control system fulfills the requirement of internal
stability if all of its output signals (y, e, and u) respond in
a stable way to any input signal (r, ydo , ydi , yn ). Lyapunov
stability investigation suggests to define a scalar function of
Im s
t t
t t
Fig. 6.14 Roots of the characteristic equation determine the transient response
135
energy property for the system. If this function is positive and
its derivative is negative, the system is asymptotically stable. 6
This method provides sufficient condition for stability (also
for nonlinear systems).
For linear systems stability can be determined analyzing
the roots of the characteristic equation.
The denominator of all the resulting transfer functions is
1 + L(s). The characteristic equation is obtained as
1 + L(s) = 0
Let us consider first a control system where the system to be
controlled does not contain delay. In this case stability can be
checked based on the roots of the characteristic equation.
The transients are decreasing, i.e., the system is asymptot-
ically stable, if the roots of the characteristic equation lie on
the left hand side of the complex plane. The transient solution
n
is obtained by relationship yh (t) = ki eλi t , where λi are
i=0
the roots of the characteristic equation. Having negative real
roots, the transients are aperiodic. If the roots are complex-
conjugate with negative real parts, oscillations with decreas-
ing amplitudes characterize the transient response. If there
is a root in the origin, the output for a step input is linearly
increasing (integrating effect). Roots on the imaginary axis
mean undamped, steady oscillations. Roots with positive real
part cause unstable behavior (Fig. 6.14).
For discrete systems, the characteristic equation is given
in the z operator domain as
1 + L(z) = 0
and the control system is stable if the roots lie inside the unit
circle.
t
Re s
136 I. Vajk et al.

If the system does not contain delay, the characteristic

equation is an algebraic equation. The roots can be calcu- Im
lated analytically only till 4th degree (Galois theorem). For
higher degrees, numerical methods can be applied. Several
procedures have been elaborated to determine stability with-
out solving the characteristic equation. These methods are
referred to as stability criteria. If there is no delay, based on
the relationships between the roots and the coefficients of the w f K1 K2
1 w f w 0 Re
algebraic equation stability can be checked using, e.g., the
Routh scheme or the Hurwitz determinant [2]. These methods
give algorithms to determine whether all the roots lie on the
left side of the complex plane. Stable
The root locus method maps the location of the roots as
a parameter (generally the loop gain) changes between zero
Unstable
and infinity [2, 4]. The method can be applied if there is
no delay in the process. Thus not only the limit of stability
(the critical value of the parameter, where the root locus Fig. 6.15 Nyquist stability criterion
crosses the imaginary axis), but also a picture of the nature
of transient responses for different gains can be obtained.
The Nyquist stability criterion evaluates stability from Im
frequency domain considerations. It can be used also for
systems with delay. A key point here is that the stability of
the closed loop is evaluated from the Nyquist diagram of the w c2 1
j t2 < 0
open loop. The simple Nyquist stability criterion can be used K1 K2
if the open loop is stable. Let us draw the complete Nyquist Re
diagram of the open loop L(jω) (− ∞ < ω < ∞). If the j t1 > 0 w c1
Nyquist diagram does not encircle point −1 + j0, the closed
loop is stable. If it crosses point −1 + j0, the closed loop is at
the stability limit. If the Nyquist diagram encircles the point
−1 + j0, the closed loop system is unstable (Fig. 6.15).
A practical measure of the distance from instability is the
phase margin (Fig. 6.16). Consider the Nyquist diagram plot-
ted for positive frequencies. The frequency at its intersection
point with the unit circle is the cut-off frequency (denoted by Fig. 6.16 Phase margin
ωc ). The angle formed by the line by connecting the origin
with this point and the negative real axis is called phase
margin (denoted by ϕt ). the open loop. If there is a delay in the loop, the ωc < 1/Td
condition should also be met. Note that with ωc < 1/2Td the
ϕt = ϕ (ωc ) + 180◦ phase margin will be approximately 60◦ [2].
Nyquist stability criterion can be extended for unstable
open loop systems (generalized Nyquist stability criterion,
If ϕt > 0, the (closed loop) system is stable, if ϕt = 0, see [1, 2]).
the system is at the boundary of stability, if ϕt < 0, the
system is unstable. Another measure is the gain margin,
which relates to the absolute value at the intersection point of 6.9 Static and Dynamic Response
the Nyquist diagram with the negative real axis. For stability,
this value should be less than 1. These measures can also A control system should follow the reference signal and
be read from the Bode diagrams. Generally these stability should reject the effect of the disturbances. Because of the
measures can be used in cases when one intersection point dynamics of the system (time constants, delay) the required
exists. (In case of multiple intersection points they can be behavior does not happen immediately after the appearance
used with due care.) If no delay is involved, the control of the input excitation. The signals in the control system
system is stable, if ωc is located on the straight line asymptote (the output signal, the control signal, the error signal) reach
of slope −20 dB/decade of the Bode amplitude diagram of their steady state, static values through a transient (dynamic)
6 Linear Control Theory for Automation 137

Table 6.3 Steady state error 6.10 Controller Design

Type number i=0 i=1 i=2 6
r(t): unit step 1/(1 + k) 0 0 The behavior of a control system should meet quality speci-
r(t): unit ramp ∞ 1/k 0 fications, formulated in the time or in the frequency domain.
r(t): quadratic signal ∞ ∞ 1/k With appropriate controller design the required behavior can
be reached or can well be approximated. Figure 6.17 shows
the required loop shape of the approximate Bode amplitude
response. Both the static and the transient response should diagram of the open loop [2].
meet prescribed requirements. The slope of the diagram in the low frequencies indi-
The static accuracy, i.e., the steady state error in case of cates the number of integrators (0 slope: no integrators,
a given reference signal or disturbance can be calculated −20 dB/decade: one integrator, −40 dB/decade: two inte-
based on the resulting transfer functions, using the final grators) which determine the static accuracy. The cut-off
value theorem. Namely, the steady state error depends on the frequency is related to the settling time. For stability, ωc has
number of integrators in the open loop. The number of the to be located at a straight line of slope −20 dB/decade. Phase
integrators is called also type number. The transfer function margin around 60◦ generally would ensure calm transient
of the open loop is settling process without significant overshoot. Delay in the
loop restricts the value of the cut-off frequency. Besides
k
L(s) = Lt (s) locating it at a straight line of slope −20 dB/decade, for
si reaching the required phase margin, ωc < 1/2Td should be
where k is the gain, i means the number of integrators (i = 0, ensured. Therefore control of systems involving delay will be
1 or 2) in the loop, and Lt (s)|s = 0 = 1 contains the time delays slow. A controller can be designed in the frequency domain
which influence the transient response. From the overall in achieving appropriate “loop-shaping.”
transfer function related to the error signal, supposing F = 1 In DT systems, the frequency function is similar to the
(see Fig. 6.4) continuous one in the low frequency domain, when ω < 1/Ts .

1 si
lim e(t) = lim s r(s) = lim s r(s)
t→∞ s→0 1 + ski Lt (s) s→0 si + k Lt (s) 6.10.1 Continuous PID Controller Design

Table 6.3 gives the steady error for type number i = 0,1,
2 and unit step, ramp, and parabolic reference signal. With
more integrators and with higher loop gain k the static accu-
racy gets better. But static accuracy and stability are conflict-
ing demands. With i > 2 generally stability cannot be ensured.
The properties of the dynamic (transient) response can be
characterized, e.g., by the overshoot of the step response and
the settling time. The overshoot is defined as
vmax − vsteady
σ = 100%,
vsteady
The most widely used controllers in the industry are PID
controllers, which contain parallel connected proportional,
integrating, and differentiating effects [13–16].
The transfer function of the controller is
 
1
C(s) = kc 1 + + sT D
sTI
However, the ideal differentiating effect cannot be real-
ized. Differentiation should appear together with a time lag.
The practical algorithm is given as

where v denotes the step response. The settling time ts is  

defined as the time when the step response reaches its steady
value within 3–5% accuracy. In the frequency domain, the
settling time is related to the cut-off frequency (determined
from the frequency function of the open loop), it can be
approximated as [2]
3 10
< ts <
ωc ωc
With higher value of the cut-off frequency, the control system
becomes faster on the price of larger control signal values.
The overshoot relates to the phase margin. A practical guide-
line is: if ϕt ≈ 60◦ , the overshoot is less than 10%.
1 sTD 1 + sT I 1 + sT D
C(s) = kc 1+ + ≈ kc
sTI 1 + sT sTI 1 + sT
where the approximation can be accepted if TI  TD  T.
Along a practical interpretation of the PID controller, the
proportional part reflects to the actual value of the error, the
integrating part reflects to the past course of the error, while
the differentiating part shows some prediction of the error.
With these effects for a given model of the system generally
the quality specifications can be reached. P controller uses
only the proportional part of the controller algorithm. PI
controller applies the P and I effects. PD controller uses the
P and D parts only.
138 I. Vajk et al.

By introducing an integrator in the control circuit, the
static accuracy is improved. Using a differentiating effect
will accelerate the response of the system to the input signal
on the price of higher values in the control signal. Param-
eter kc and the ratio of the time constants TD /T determine
the overexcitation (the ratio of the initial and final val-
ues of the step response of the controller). The maximum
value of the control signal is restricted due to the technical
realization.
To realize CT PID controllers, analog operational ampli-
fiers are used. Table 6.4 shows the step responses and the
approximate Bode diagrams of various controllers discussed
above.
If the Bode diagram of the open loop system supposing
a unity controller (C(s) = 1) does not fulfil the quality
specifications shown in Fig. 6.17, a more involved controller
should be designed. First its structure (P, PI, PD or PID) have
to be chosen, then its parameters have to be determined to
shape appropriately the Bode diagram of the control loop.
A number of techniques exist to design controllers. A very
useful method is the pole cancellation, which means that the
unfavorable pole of the system is cancelled by a zero of the
controller and a favorable pole is introduced instead. With
PI controller, for instance, the largest time constant of the
system is cancelled and an integrating effect is introduced
instead, ensuring good reference signal tracking properties.
The gain of the controller is to be chosen to ensure the
appropriate phase margin (about 60◦ ). It has to be emphasized
that it is never allowed to cancel unstable system poles. The
maximum value of the control signal remains to be checked
in order to comply with the technical limits. Typically, the
design turns out to be an iterative process.

Table 6.4 Step responses and Bode diagrams of PID controllers

Controller transfer function and its effect Step response and Bode diagram
 
1
PI controller CPI (s) = kc 1 +
sTI |C( jw )| kc = 1
_ 20dB / decade
Increases static accuracy
1
v(t) TI

kc j
t
TI
_90°

 
sTD
PD controller CPD (s) = kc 1 + |C( jw)|
/d
ek
1 + sT B
v(t) 0d
Accelerates the control behavior. Overexcitation in the +2
kc τ
control signal TI
1 1 w
τ TI
j
+90°
TI kc
t
w

PID controller 
1 sTD 1 + sT I 1 + sT D
CPID (s) = kc 1 + + ≈ kc
sTI 1 + sT sTI 1 + sT |C( jw )| kc = 1
Increases static accuracy and accelerates the control
2

v(t)
k
0d

T ⎭
de
B/

behavior. Overexcitation
B/

kc ⎧1 D
de

0d

⎧
k

+2

⎭ TI 1 1 1 w
TI τ TI
kc j
t +90°
TI
w
−90°
6 Linear Control Theory for Automation 139

| L( jw) | 6

| C( jw)P( jw) |

Should be high to
w1 wc speed up the w noise w
control
Bode diagram should –20dB/decade
be over the constraint
providing good
tracking, disturbance
jt > 60°
rejection and low
A good choice for
parameter sensitivity
stability and nice
transient response

Bode diagram
should be below
the constraint to
decrease the noise

Fig. 6.17 Required shape of the asymptotic Bode amplitude diagram of the open loop

As an example, consider controller design in case of a An important practical problem shows up by the possible
system containing two lags and delay. The transfer function saturation of the controller, when the output of the integrating
of the process is part of the controller could “run away” too far so it should be
restricted to comply with the technical limits. This problem
1 has to be handled (anti-reset windup, [1, 14]).
P(s) = e−5s .
(1 + 5s) (1 + 10s)

A PID controller is designed ensuring pole cancellation and
approximately 60◦ for the phase margin.
(1 + 10s) (1 + 5s)
C(s) = .
10s (1 + s)
Figure 6.18 shows the step response of the output and the
control signal of the control system and the Bode diagram of
the open loop.
In case of significant delay the control system with PID-
like controller will be slow, as for stability and appropriate
dynamic performance the cut-off frequency (ωc ) is restricted,
its value has to be less than 1/2Td , namely, the delay itself
reduces the phase margin by −ωc Td .
In practice, several experimental controller tuning
methods are used based on the model of the system (in
most cases the model is considered as a lag element with
delay established by measurements). We refer here to
the Ziegler-Nichols rules, Chien-Hrones-Reswick method,
Strejc method, Åström relay method, Åström-Hägglund
method [14, 15].
6.10.2 Discrete Time PID Controller Design
In sampled data (discrete time) DT control systems the re-
quirements set for a control system are the same as in the
case of continuous systems. The main differences are that in
case of sampled data systems the information on the output
signal is available only at the sampling points, and the input
signal is held constant for a sampling period, as a continuous
control signal is required at the input of the system. It was
seen that sampling and holding introduces an extra delay of
value about the half of the sampling time. The discrete and the
continuous loop frequency functions approximate each other
till ω = 1/Ts . In the frequency domain this low frequency
range is of interest, as the cut-off frequency in the discrete
system cannot go beyond the value of
1
ωc =  Ts 
2 2
+ Td
in order to ensure the appropriate phase margin. The con-
troller is realized by a real time recursive algorithm, which
140 I. Vajk et al.

Bode diagram
Gm = 8.68 dB (at 0.263 rad/s),
Pm = 55.8 deg (at 0.0995 rad/s)
1.5 20

Magnitude (dB)
1 10
y
0
0.5
–10
0 –20
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
–30
6 0

4 –180

Phase (deg)
u
2 –360

0 –540
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
10–2 10–1 100
t (sec) Frequency (rad/s)

Fig. 6.18 PID controller design for a system with two lags and delay

Table 6.5 Discrete PID controllers

Pulse transfer function of the controller Difference equation
CP (z) = kc
z − e−Ts /T1
CPI (z) = kc u[k] = kc e[k] − kc exp (−Ts /T1 )e[k − 1] + u[k − 1]
z−1
z − e−Ts /T2 u [k] = kc e [k] − kc exp (−Ts /T2 ) e [k − 1]
CPD (z) = kc
z − e−Ts /(T2 /n) + exp (−Ts / (T2 /n)) u [k − 1]
z − e−Ts /T2
CPDid (z) = kc u[k] = kc e[k] − kc exp (−Ts /T2 )e[k − 1]
z
−Ts /T1 z−e−Ts /T2 u [k] = kc e [k] − kc (exp (−Ts /T1 ) + exp (−Ts /T2 )) e [k − 1] +
CPID (z) = kc z−ez−1 z
kc (exp (−Ts /T1 ) exp (−Ts /T2 )) e [k − 2] + u [k − 1]

runs in every sampling period and forwards the actual calcu-
lated control value toward the process. Different approaches
exist for discrete controller design [9, 11, 12].
One DT design method is to start with designing a con-
tinuous controller considering the extra delay, and then cal-
culating its discretized form. A second method is the design
of discrete controller considering the pulse transfer function
of the process, ensuring a prescribed resulting pulse transfer
function of the closed loop control system.
A third method is the design of a discrete PID con-
troller based on frequency domain considerations of the
sampled system. This method is discussed here. According
to Table 6.2 determine the pulse transfer function of the
process. Pole cancellation technique can be applied in the
z-domain. In case of lag elements with PI controller the
pole corresponding to the largest time constant is cancelled
and integrating effect is introduced instead. With PD effect
(which in discrete case can be ideal, as it is realizable)
instead of a large time constant a smaller one can be realized.
With PID controller both effects are utilized. The gain of
the controller is determined to ensure the required phase
margin. This would ensure approximately the decreased cut-
off frequency given above. The pulse transfer functions of the
PID controllers and their corresponding difference equations
providing a real time algorithm are given in Table 6.5.
As an example, design discrete time PID control for the
process with two time lags and a delay, considered also in
the continuous control case. The sampling time is chosen
as Ts = 2.5sec. The pulse transfer function of the process is
0.048929 (z + 0.7788) −2
G(z) = z .
(z − 0.7788) (z − 0.6065)
The pulse transfer function of the PID controller using pole
cancellation technique is
(z − 0.7788) (z − 0.6065)
C(z) = kc .
(z − 1) z
6 Linear Control Theory for Automation 141

output vector. Then the transfer function matrix contains all

1.5 possible transfer functions between any of the inputs and any 6
of the outputs
1
y ⎡ ⎤
0.5 y1 (s)
⎢ .. ⎥
⎢ . ⎥
0 y(s) = ⎢ ⎥ = G(s)u(s)
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 ⎣ yny −1 (s) ⎦
yny (s)
2.5
⎡ ⎤⎡ ⎤
2 G1,1 (s) G1,2 (s) . . . G1,nu (s) u1 (s)
⎢ .. .. .. .. ⎥⎢ .. ⎥
u 1.5 ⎢ . . . . ⎥⎢ . ⎥
=⎢ ⎥⎢ ⎥,
1 ⎣ Gny −1,1 (s) Gny −1,2 (s) . . . Gny −1,nu (s) ⎦ ⎣ unu −1 (s) ⎦
0.5
Gny ,1 (s) Gny ,2 (s) . . . Gny ,nu (s) unu (s)
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
t (sec) where s is the Laplace operator and Gk, (s) denotes the
transfer function from the th component of the input u to the
kth component of the output y. The transfer function approach
Fig. 6.19 Control and output signals in a sampled data control system
has always been an emphasized modeling tool for control
practice. One of the reasons is that the Gk, (s) transfer func-
The gain of the controller is chosen to ensure a phase margin
tions deliver the magnitude and phase frequency functions
of about 60◦ , kc ≈ 2.2. The simulation result in Fig. 6.19
via a formal substitution of Gk, (s)s=jω = Ak, (ω) ejϕk, (ω) .
shows the step responses of the output and the control signal.
Analysis and design of control systems and simulation
of the results is supported by software systems. MAT-
LAB/SIMULINK program can be effectively used in
analysis and design of control systems.
Besides PID controllers, advanced control methods are
gaining more and more interest and practical acceptance. Es-
pecially in discrete control several other methods can be used
and realized by computer programs. For example, predictive
control, Youla parameterization, Smith predictor, internal
model control provide methods ensuring faster behavior in
case of systems containing big delay, better disturbance re-
jection and robust performance. Control methods based on
state space models provide optimal control by state feedback.
In this case not only the output signal, but also all the state
variables (or if not measurable, their estimated values) are fed
back ensuring the required control performance.
6.11 Responses of MIMO Systems
and “Abilities”
In this Section, continuous-time linear systems with multiple
inputs and multiple outputs (MIMO systems) will be con-
sidered. As far as the mathematical models are concerned,
transfer functions, state-space models and matrix fraction
descriptions will be used [17].
6.11.1 Transfer Function Models
Consider a linear process with nu control inputs arranged to
a u ∈ Rnu input vector and ny outputs arranged to a y ∈ Rny
Note that for real physical processes lim Ak, (ω) = 0. The
ω→∞
transfer function matrix G(s) is stable if each of its elements
is a stable transfer function. Also, the transfer function matrix
G(s) will be called proper if each of its elements is a proper
transfer function.
6.11.2 State-Space Models
Introducing nx state variables arranged to an x ∈ Rnx state
vector, the state-space model of a MIMO system is given by
the following equations:
ẋ(t) = Ax(t) + Bu(t)
y(t) = Cx(t) + Du(t),
where A ∈ Rnx ×nx , B ∈ Rnx ×nu , C ∈ Rny ×nx and D ∈ Rny ×nu
are the system parameters [18, 19].
The various “abilities” such as controllability, observ-
ability, reachability, constructability, stabilizability, and de-
tectability are important features of the system [10, 20].
Roughly speaking, controllability is the system ability to
reach any state whatever we want with appropriate system
input in finite time, assuming arbitrary initial state. Observ-
ability is the ability to determine the internal system behavior
using observations, i.e., the ability to determine internal
system states from external input and the output observations.
Let see these terms more precisely. A system is controllable
if there exists input that moves the state from an arbitrary
x(t0 ) to the origin in finite time. A system is reachable if
142 I. Vajk et al.

 
there exists input that moves the state from the origin to an x̂˙ = Ax̂ + Bu + L y − ŷ
arbitrary state x(tf ) in finite time. A system is observable if
the initial state x(t0 ) of the system can be determined from the
inputs and outputs observed in the time interval t0 ≤ t ≤ tf . ŷ = Cx̂ + Du
A system is constructable if the present state of the system
x(tf ) can be determined from the present and past inputs and {A, C} is detectable if there exists L such that A–LC has all
outputs observed in the interval t0 ≤ t ≤ tf . eigenvalues with negative real part. In this case the error x− x̂
Using the above-defined abilities a linear time-invariant goes to zero.
system can be decomposed into observable and reachable State feedback and state observer exhibit dual proper-
subsystems. A system may have reachable and observable ties and share some common structural features. Comparing
(xro ), reachable and unobservable (xro ), unreachable and ob- Fig. 6.20a, b it is seen that the structure of the state feedback
servable (xro ), and unreachable and unobservable (xro ) states. control and that of the full order observer resemble each
Applying this state separation, the state space description other in a large extent. The output signal, as well as the L
can be transformed into the so-called Kalman decomposition and C matrices in the observer play identical role as the
form as follows: control signal, as well as the B and K matrices do in the
⎡ ⎤ ⎡ ⎤⎡ ⎤ ⎡ ⎤
ẋro Aro Aro,ro Aro,ro Aro,ro xro Bro state feedback control. The parameters in matrix L and the
⎢ ẋro ⎥ ⎢ 0 Aro 0 Aro,ro ⎥ ⎢ ⎥ ⎢ ⎥ parameters in matrix K are to be freely adjusted for the
⎢ ⎥=⎢ ⎥ ⎢ xro ⎥ + ⎢ Bro ⎥ u
⎣ ẋro ⎦ ⎣ 0 0 Aco Aro,ro ⎦ ⎣ xro ⎦ ⎣ 0 ⎦ observer and for the state feedback control, respectively. In
ẋro 0 0 0 Aro xro 0 a sense, calculating the controller and observer feedback
gain matrices represent dual problems. In this case duality
means that any of the structures shown in Fig. 6.20a, b
⎡ ⎤
xro can be turned to its dual form by reversing the direction of
  ⎢ xro ⎥ the signal propagation, interchanging the input and output
y = 0 Cro 0 Cro ⎢ ⎥
⎣ xro ⎦ + Du signals (u ↔ y) and transforming the summation points to
xro signal nodes and vice versa.
Finally, let us see the relation between the transfer function
If all components of the state variable are measured, the and the state-space descriptions. Using the Laplace trans-
eigenvalues of A, i.e., the poles of the system can be changed forms in the state-space model equations the relation between
by state feedback. Using linear feedback the state-space model and the transfer function matrix can
easily be derived as
u = −Kx + Ur
G(s) = C(sI − A)−1 B + D.
the closed loop system is given by

ẋ = (A − BK) x + Br As far as the above relation is concerned the condition of

{A, B} is stabilizable if there exists K such that the A– BK
has all eigenvalues with negative real part. If not all states are
measured the states can be estimated by an observer:
lim Ak, (ω) = 0 raised for real physical processes leads
ω→∞
to D = 0. Note that the G(s) transfer function contains only
the controllable and observable subsystem represented by the
state-space model {A, B, C, D}.

y u
a) b)
C B

ur u x y x̂ ŷ
B ³ dt K L ³ dt C
 

A A

Fig. 6.20 (a, b) Duality of state control and state estimation

6 Linear Control Theory for Automation 143

6.11.3 Matrix Fraction Description YR (s) = K(sI − A + BK)−1 L

6
Transfer functions can be factorized in several ways. As
matrices, in general, do not commute, the MFD (Matrix XR (s) = I + C(sI − A + BK)−1 L
Fraction Description) form exits as a result of right and left
factorization, respectively [10, 21, 22]:
YL (s) = K(sI − A + LC)−1 L
G(s) = BR (s)A−1 −1
R (s) = AL (s)BL (s),

where AR (s), BR (s), AL (s) and BL (s) are all stable transfer
function matrices. In [10] it is shown that the right and left
MFDs can be related to stabilizable and detectable state-
space models, respectively. To outline the procedure con-
sider first the Right Matrix Fraction Description (RMFD)
G(s) = BR (s)A−1R (s). For the sake of simplicity, the practical
case by D = 0 will be considered. Assuming that {A, B} is
stabilizable, apply a state feedback to stabilize the closed-
loop system using a gain matrix K ∈ Rnu ×nx :
u(t) = −Kx(t),
XL (s) = I + K(sI − A + LC)−1 B.
Note that the Bezout identity plays an important role in
control design. A good review on that can be found in [17].
Also note that an MFD factorization can be accomplished by
using the Smith-McMillan form of G(s) [17]. As a result of
this procedure, however, AR (s), BR (s), AL (s), and BL (s) will
be polynomial matrices. Moreover, both AR (s) and AL (s) will
be diagonal matrices. MFD description will be used in Sect.
6.12 for stability analysis and controller synthesis.

then the RMFD components can be derived in a straightfor- 6.12 Feedback System – Stability Issue
ward way as
In general, a feedback control system follows the structure
−1
BR (s) = C(sI − A + BK) B shown in Fig. 6.21, where the control configuration consists
of two subsystems. In this general set-up any of the sub-
systems S1 (s) or S2 (s) may play the role of the process or
AR (s) = I − K(sI − A + BK)−1 B. the controller [4]. Here {u1 , u2 } and {y1 , y2 } are multivariable
external input and output signals in general sense, respec-
tively. Further on S1 (s) and S2 (s) represent transfer function
It can be shown that G(s) = BR (s)A−1 R (s) will not be a matrices according to
function of the stabilizing gain matrix K, however, the proof
is rather involved [10]. Also, following the above procedure
y1 (s) = S1 (s) [u1 (s) + y2 (s)] y2 (s) = S2 (s) [u2 (s) + y1 (s)] .
both BR (s) and AR (s) will be stable transfer function matrices.
In a similar way, assuming that {A, C} is detectable apply
a state observer to detect the closed-loop system using a gain
Being restricted to linear systems, the closed-loop system
matrix L. Then the LMFD components can be obtained as
is internally stable if and only if all the four entries of the
transfer function matrix
BL (s) = C(sI − A + LC)−1 B
AL (s) = I − C(sI − A + LC)−1 L  
H11 (s) H12 (s)
H21 (s) H22 (s)
being stable transfer function matrices. Again, G(s) =
A−1
L (s)BL (s) will be independent of L.
Concerning the coprime factorization, an important rela-
tion, the Bezout identity will be used, which holds for the u1 e1 y1
components of the RMFD and LMFD coprime factorization: S1 (s)

   
XL (s) YL (s) AR (s) −YR (s)
=
− BL (s) AL (s) BR (s) XR (s) y2 e2 u2
    S2 (s)
AR (s) −YR (s) XL (s) YL (s)
= I,
BR (s) XR (s) − BL (s) AL (s)

where Fig. 6.21 A general feedback configuration

144 I. Vajk et al.

are asymptotically stable, where Adopting the condition earlier developed for internal stability
       with S1 (s) = G(s) and S2 (s) = − K(s) it is seen that now
e1 (s) u1 (s) + y2 (s) H11 (s) H12 (s) u1 (s) we need asymptotic stability for the following four transfer
= =
e2 (s) u2 (s) + y1 (s) H21 (s) H22 (s) u2 (s) functions:
 −1 −1 
[I − S2 (s)S1 (s)] [I − S2 (s)S1 (s)] S2 (s)  
= −1 −1 [I + K(s)G(s)]−1 [I + K(s)G(s)]−1 K(s)
[I − S1 (s)S
  2 (s)] S1 (s) [I − S1 (s)S2 (s)]
u1 (s) − [I + G(s)K(s)] G(s) [I + G(s)K(s)]−1
−1

u2 (s)
Using the following notations: y = y1 , u = y2 , r = u2 ,
Also, from u1 = 0 the error signal can be expressed:

e1 (s) = u1 (s) + y2 (s) = u1 (s) + S2 (s)e2 (s) e(s) = r(s) − y(s) = r(s) − G(s)K(s)e(s)

e2 (s) = u2 (s) + y1 (s) = u2 (s) + S1 (s)e1 (s) => e(s) = [I + G(s)K(s)]−1 r(s)

we have which leads to

    
e1 (s)
=
H11 (s) H12 (s) u1 (s) u(s) = K(s)e(s) = K(s)[I + G(s)K(s)]−1 r(s) = Q(s)r(s),
e2 (s) H21 (s) H22 (s) u2 (s)
 −1   where
I −S2 (s) u1 (s)
= ,
−S1 (s) I u2 (s)
Q(s) = K(s)[I + G(s)K(s)]−1 .
so for internal stability we need the transfer function matrix
  It can easily be shown that in case of a stable G(s)
[I − S2 (s)S1 (s)]−1 [I − S2 (s)S1 (s)]−1 S2 (s)
plant any stable Q(s) transfer function, in other words ‘Q
[I − S1 (s)S2 (s)]−1 S1 (s) [I − S1 (s)S2 (s)]−1
parameter’ results in internal stability. Rearranging the above
 −1 equation K(s) parameterized by Q(s) exhibits the all stabiliz-
I −S2 (s)
= ing controllers:
− S1 (s) I

to be asymptotically stable [21]. The feedback interconnec- K(s) = [I − Q(s)G(s)]−1 Q(s).

tion is well-defined if and only if the matrix [I − S1 (s)S2 (s)]
is not identically singular.
In the control system literature, a more practical but still
general closed-loop control scheme is shown in Fig. 6.22
with a generalized plant P(s) and controller K(s) [18, 21,
22]. In this configuration u and y represent the process input
and output, respectively, w denotes external inputs (command
signal, disturbance or noise), z is a set of signals representing
the closed-loop performance in general sense. The controller
K(s) is to be adjusted to ensure a stable closed-loop system
with appropriate performance.
This result is known as the Youla parameterization [21, 23,
52]. Recalling u(s) = Q(s)r(s) and y(s) = G(s)u(s)=G(s)Q(s)
r(s) allows one to draw the block diagram of the closed-loop
system explicitly using Q(s). The control scheme shown in
Fig. 6.23 satisfies u(s) = Q(s)r(s) and y(s) = G(s)Q(s)r(s),
moreover the process modeling uncertainties (G(s) of the
physical process and G(s) of the model, as part of the con-
troller are different) are also taken into account. This is the
well-known Internal Model Control (IMC) scheme [24, 25].

Plant
w z
r u y
P(s) Q(s) G(s)
u y −
Controller

G(s) −
K(s)
Model

Fig. 6.22 General control system configuration

Fig. 6.23 Internal model controller
6 Linear Control Theory for Automation 145

A quick evaluation for the Youla parameterization should
point out a fundamental difference between designing an
overall transfer function T(s) from the r(s) reference signal to
the y(s) output signal is based on a nonlinear parameterization
by K(s)
y(s) = T(s)r(s) = G(s)K(s)[I + G(s)K(s)]−1 r(s)
versus a design by
y(s) = T(s)r(s) = G(s)Q(s)r(s)
processes with time delay. The idea, however, to let the time
delay appear in the overall transfer function and restrict the 6
design procedure for a process with no time delay is more
than 50 years old and comes from Otto Smith [26].
The fundamental concept of the design procedure called
Smith predictor is to set up a closed-loop system to control
the output signal predicted ahead by the time delay. Then
to meet the causality requirement the predicted output is de-
layed to derive the real system output. All these conceptional
steps can be summarized in a control scheme, just redraw
Fig. 6.24 to Fig. 6.25 with

linear in Q(s). Q(s) = K(s)[I + Gp (s)K(s)]−1 .

Further analysis of the relation by y(s) = T(s)r(s) = G(s)Q
(s)r(s) indicates that Q(s) = G−1 (s) is a reasonable choice
to achieve an ideal servo controller to ensure y(s) = r(s).
The fact that the output of the internal loop can be considered
However, to intend to set Q(s) = G−1 (s) is not a practical
as the predicted value of the process output explains the name
way for several reasons [10]:
of the controller (see the model output in the Figure). Note
• Nonminimum-phase processes would exhibit unstable that the Smith predictor is applicable for unstable processes,
Q(s) controllers and closed-loop systems. as well.
• Problems concerning the realization of G−1 (s) are im- In case of unstable plants stabilization of the closed-loop
mediately seen regarding processes with positive relative system needs a more involved discussion. In order to separate
degree or time delay. the unstable (in more general sense the undesired) poles both
• The ideal servo property would destroy the disturbance the plant and the controller transfer function matrices will
rejection capability of the closed-loop system. be factorized to (right or left) coprime transfer functions as
• Q(s) = G−1 (s) would lead to large control effort. follows:
• Effects of errors in modeling the real process by G(s) need
further analysis.
Plant
Replacing the exact inverse G−1 (s) by an approximated in- r u B (s) y
verse may well be in harmony with practical demands. Q (s) esTd
A (s)
To discuss the concept of handling processes with time −
Controller
delay consider SISO systems and assume that
B (s)
esTd
A (s) −
−sT d
G(s) = Gp (s)e ,
Model

where Gp (s) = B(s)

A(s)
is a proper transfer function with no time
delay and Td > 0 is the time delay. Recognizing that the time
delay characteristics is not invertible, Fig. 6.24 IMC control of a plant with time delay

y(s) = Tp (s)e−sT d r(s) = Gp (s)Q(s)e−sT d r(s)

Plant
r u B(s) y
can be assigned as the overall transfer function to be K (s) e–sTd
A(s)
achieved. Updating Fig. 6.23 for G(s) = B(s)
A(s)
e−sT d Fig. 6.24 – –
Controller
illustrates the resulting control scheme. A key point is here,
B(s)
however, that the parameterization by Q(s) should consider e–sTd –
A(s)
only Gp (s) to achieve Gp (s)Q(s) specified by the designer.
Model
Note that in the model by Fig. 6.24, uncertainties in Gp (s)
and in the time delay should both be taken into account when
studying the closed-loop system.
The control scheme in Fig. 6.24 has immediately been
derived by applying the Youla parameterization concept for Fig. 6.25 Controller using Smith predictor
146 I. Vajk et al.

G(s) = BR (s)A−1 −1
R (s) = AL (s)BL (s) XR (s) = XoR (s) − BR (s)Q(s), YR (s) = YoR (s) + AR (s)Q(s)
XL (s) = XoL (s) − Q(s)BL (s), YL (s) = YoL (s) + Q(s)AL (s)
K(s) = YR (s)X−1 −1
R (s) = XL (s)YL (s)

delivers all stabilizing controllers parameterized by any sta-

where BR (s), AR (s), BL (s), AL (s), YR (s), XR (s), YL (s), and
XL (s) are all stable coprime transfer functions. The stability
implies that BR (s) should contain all the RHP-zeros of G(s),
and AR (s) should contain as RHP-zeros all the RHP-poles of
G(s). Similar statements are valid for the left coprime pairs.
As far as the internal stability analysis is concerned, assuming
that G(s) is strictly proper and K(s) is proper, the coprime
factorization offers the stability analysis via checking the
stability of
 −1  
AR (s) −YR (s) XL (s) YL (s)
and
BR (s) XR (s) − BL (s) AL (s)
respectively. According to the Bezout identity [21, 22, 27]
there exist XL (s) and YL (s) as stable transfer function matri-
ces satisfying
XL (s)AR (s) + YL (s)BR (s) = I.
In a similar way, a left coprime pair of transfer function
matrices XR (s) and YR (s) can be found by
BL (s)YR (s) + AL (s)XR (s) = I.
ble proper Q(s) transfer function matrix with appropriate
size.
Though the algebra of the controller design procedure may
seem rather involved, in terms of block diagrams it can be
interpreted in several transparent ways. Herewith below in
Fig. 6.26 two possible realizations are shown to support the
reader to compare the results obtained for unstable processes
with those shown earlier in Fig. 6.23 to control stable pro-
cesses.
Another obvious interpretation of the general design pro-
−1
cedure can also be read out from the realizations of Fig. 6.26.
,
Namely, the immediate loops around G(s) along YoL (s) and
XoL −1 (s) or along XoR −1 (s) and YoR (s), respectively, stabilize
the unstable plant, then Q(s) serves the parameterization in a
similar way as originally introduced for stable processes.
Having the general control structure developed using
LMFD or RMFD components (Fig. 6.26 gives the complete
review), respectively, we are in the position to show how the
control of the state-space model introduced earlier in Sect.
6.11.2 can be parameterized with Q(s). To visualize this
capability recall K(s) = XL −1 (s)YL (s) and
BL (s) = C(sI − A + LC)−1 B
AL (s) = I − C(sI − A + LC)−1 L

The stabilizing K(s) = YR (s)XR −1 (s) = XL −1 (s)YL (s) and apply these relations in the control scheme of Fig. 6.26
controllers can be parameterized as follows. Assume that using LMFD components.
the Bezout identity results in a given stabilizing controller Similarly, recall K(s) = YR (s)XR −1 (s)
K = YoR (s)XoR −1 (s) = XoL −1 (s)YoL (s), then

r r
Plant Plant

u y u y
G(s) G(s)
– –

–1
0 0 0 0 –1
X L (s) Y L (s) Y R (s) X R (s)
– –

Q(s) Q(s)

BL(s) AL(s) AR(s) BR(s)

Fig. 6.26 Two different realizations of all stabilizing controllers for unstable processes
6 Linear Control Theory for Automation 147

r
u
Plant
y u
Plant
y –
r 6
G(s) – G(s)

K(sI – A+ LC)–1L L
–1 – –
K (sI –A+ LC) B
Q(s) B ...dt C
C (sI – A + LC)–1L
– A
C(sI – A+ LC)–1B
–
K
–
Fig. 6.27 State-space realization of all stabilizing controllers derived
from LMFD components Q(s)

Plant r
Fig. 6.29 State-space realization of all stabilizing controllers
u y
G(s) –

w z
K(sI–A+BK)–1L
– P(s)
C(sI–A+BK)–1L u y

Q(s)
–1
J(s)
K(sI–A+BK) B
–
C(sI–A+BK)–1B
Q(s)

Fig. 6.28 State-space realization of all stabilizing controllers derived

from RMFD components
Fig. 6.30 General control system using Youla parameterization

BR (s) = C(sI − A + BK)−1 B

−1
AR (s) = I − K(sI − A + BK) B
and apply these relations in the control scheme of Fig. 6.26
using RMFD components.
To complete the discussion on the various interpretations
of the all stabilizing controllers, observe that the control
schemes in Figs. 6.27 and 6.28 both use 4 × n state variables
to realize the controller dynamics beyond Q(s). As Fig. 6.29
illustrates, equivalent reduction of the block diagrams of
Figs. 6.27 and 6.28, respectively, both lead to the realization
of the all stabilizing controllers. Observe that the application
of the LMFD and RMFD components leads to identical
control schemes.
In addition, any of the realizations shown in Figs. 6.26,
6.27, 6.28, and 6.29 can directly be redrawn to form the
general control system scheme most frequently used in the
literature to summarize the structure of the Youla parameter-
ization. This general control scheme is shown in Fig. 6.30.
In fact, the state-space realization by Fig. 6.29 follows the
general control scheme shown in Fig. 6.30, assuming z = 0
and w = r. The transfer function J(s) itself is realized by the
state estimator and state feedback using the gain matrices L
and K, as shown in Fig. 6.29. Note that Fig. 6.30 can also
be derived from Fig. 6.22 by interpreting J(s) as a controller
stabilizing P(s), thus allowing one to apply an additional all
stabilizing Q(s) controller.
6.13 Performances for MIMO LTI Systems
So far we have derived various closed-loop structures and
parameterizations attached to them only to ensure internal
stability. Stability, however, is not the only issue for the
control system designer. To achieve goals in terms of the
closed-loop performance needs further considerations [10,
21, 24]. Just to see an example: in control design it is a
widely posed requirement to ensure zero steady-state error
while compensating step-like changes in the command or
disturbance signals. The practical solution suggests one to
insert an integrator into the loop. The same goal can be
achieved while using the Youla parameterization, as well. To
illustrate this action, SISO systems will be considered. Apply
stable Q1 (s) and Q2 (s) transfer functions to form
Q(s) = sQ1 (s) + Q2 (s).
148 I. Vajk et al.

  ∧
Then Fig. 6.23 suggests the transfer function between r and z(t)2 =  z(s)|s=jω 2 = z(jω)2 =
r − y to be   ∞ 1/2
1
|z(jω)| dω
2
.
1 − Q(s)G(s). 2π −∞

To ensure Another important selection for v takes ν → ∞, which results

in
1 − [Q(s)G(s)]s=0 = 0
z(t)∞ = sup |z(t)|
t
we need
and it is interpreted as the largest or worst-case error.
−1
Q2 (0) = [G(0)] .
System Norms
Alternatively, using state models the selection according to Frequency functions are extremely useful tools to analyze
and design SISO closed-loop control systems. MIMO
 
Q(0) = 1/ C(−A + BK + LC)−1 B systems, however, exhibit an input-dependent, variable gain
at a given frequency. Consider a MIMO system given by
will insert an integrator to the loop. a transfer function matrix G(s) and driven by an input
signal w and delivering an output signal z. The norm
z(jω)=G(jω)w(jω) of the system output z depends both
on the magnitude and the direction of the input vector w(jω),
6.13.1 Control Performances
where  . . .  denotes Euclidean norm. Bounds for G(jω)
are given by
Several criteria exist to describe the required performances
for the closed-loop performance. To be able to design closed-
G(jω) w(jω)
loop systems with various performance specifications, appro- σ (G(jω)) ≤ ≤ σ (G(jω)) ,
w(jω)
priate norms for the signals and systems involved should be
introduced [21, 24].
where σ (G(jω)) and σ (G (jω)) denote the infimum and
supremum values of the singular values of G(jω), respec-
Signal Norm tively. The most frequently used system norms are the H2 and
One possibility to characterize the closed-loop performance H∞ norms defined as follows:
is to integrate various functions derived from the error signal.
Assume that a generalized error signal z(t) has been con-   ∞ 1/2
1  
structed. Then G2 = trace GT (−jω) G(jω) dω
2π −∞
 ∞ 1/ν
z(t)ν = |z|ν dt and
0

G∞ = supσ (G(jω)) .

defines the Lν norm of z(t) with v as a positive integer. ω
The relatively easy calculations required for the evalua-
tions made the L2 norm the most widely used criterion in It is clear that the system norms – as induced norms –
control. A further advantage of the quadratic function is that can be expressed by using signal norms. Introducing g(t) as
energy represented by a given signal can also be taken into the unit impulse response of G(s) the Parseval’s theorem
account in this way in many cases. Moreover, applying the suggests expressing the H2 system norm by the L2 signal
Parseval’s theorem the L2 norm can be evaluated using the norm:
signal described in the frequency domain. Namely, having  ∞  
z(s) as the Laplace transform of z(t) G22 = trace gT (t)g(t) dt.
 ∞
0
−st
z(s) = z(t)e dt Further on, the H∞ norm can also be expressed as
0
 
the Parseval’s theorem offers the following closed form to G(jω) w
G∞ = supω supw where w=0 and w∈Cnw ,
calculate the L2 norm: w
6 Linear Control Theory for Automation 149

where w denotes a complex valued vector. For a dynamic 6.13.2 H2 Optimal Control
system the above expression leads to 6
  To start the discussion consider the general control system
z(t)2 configuration shown in Fig. 6.22. Describe the plant by the
G∞ = sup where w(t)2 = 0
w w(t)2 transfer function
     
if G(s) is stable and proper. The above expression means that z G11 G12 w
=
the H∞ norm can be expressed by L2 signal norm. y G21 G22 u
Assume a linear system given by a state model {A, B, C},
and calculate its H2 and H∞ norms. Transforming the state or equivalently, by a state model
model to a transfer function matrix
⎡ ⎤ ⎡ ⎤⎡ ⎤
ẋ A B1 B2 x
−1
G(s) = C(sI − A) B ⎣ z ⎦ = ⎣ C1 0 D12 ⎦ ⎣ w ⎦ .
y C2 D21 0 u
the H2 norm is obtained by
    Assume that (A, B1 ) is controllable, (A, B2 ) is stabilizable,
G22 = trace CPo CT = trace BT Pc B ,
(C1 , A) is observable, and (C2 , A) is detectable. For the sake
of simplicity, non-singular DT12 D12 and D21 DT21 matrices, as
where Pc and Po are delivered by the solution of the following
well as DT12 C1 = 0 and D21 BT1 = 0 will be considered.
Lyapunov equations:
Using a feedback via K(s)
APo + Po AT + BBT = 0
u = −K(s)y

Pc A + AT Pc + CT C = 0. the closed-loop system becomes

The calculation of the H∞ norm can be performed via an z = F(G(s), K(s)) w,

iterative procedure, where in each step an H2 norm is to be
minimized. Assuming a stable system construct the following where
Hamiltonian matrix
  F(G(s), K(s)) =
A 1
BBT
H= γ2 . G11 (s) − G12 (s)(I + K(s)G22 (s))−1 K(s)G21 (s).
− CT C −AT

For large γ the matrix H has nx eigenvalues with negative real
part and nx eigenvalues with positive real part. As γ decreases
these eigenvalues eventually hit the imaginary axis. Thus
G∞ =
inf {γ ∈ R : H has no eigenvalues with zero real part} .
γ >0
Aiming at designing optimal control in H2 sense the J2 =
  2
 
F G(jω) , K(jω)  norm is to be minimized by a realiz-
2
able K(s). Note that this control policy can be interpreted as
a special case of the linear quadratic (LQ) control problem
formulation. To show this relation assume a weighting matrix
Qx assigned for the state variables and a weighting matrix Ru
assigned for the input variables. Choosing

Note that each step within the γ -iteration procedure is actu-    

Q1/2 0
ally equivalent to solve an underlying Riccati equation. The C1 = x
and D12 =
0 R1/2
u
solution of the Riccati equation will be detailed later on in
Sect. 6.13.2.
and
So far stability issues have been discussed and signal and
system norms, as performance measures have been intro-
z = C1 x + D12 u
duced to evaluate the overall operation of the closed-loop
system. In the sequel the focus will be turned on design proce-
dures resulting in both stable operation and expected perfor- as an auxiliary variable the well-known LQ cost function can
mance. Controller design techniques to achieve appropriate be reproduced with
performance measures via optimization procedures related to  T 1/2  T 1/2
the H2 and H∞ norms will be discussed, respectively [28]. Qx = Q1/2
x Qx and Ru = R1/2
u Ru .
150 I. Vajk et al.

Up to this point the feedback loop has been set up and the
design problem has been formulated to find K(s) minimizing
  2
J2 = F G (jω) , K (jω)  . Note that the optimal con-
2
troller will be derived as a solution of the state-feedback
problem. The optimization procedure is discussed below.
State-Feedback Problem
If all the state variables are available then the state variable
feedback
u(t) = −K2 x(t)
Pc = GF−1 .
At the same time, it should be noted that there exist further,
numerically advanced procedures to find Pc .
State-Estimation Problem
The optimal state estimation (state reconstruction) is the dual
of the optimal control task [17, 29]. The estimated states are
derived as the solution of the following differential equation:
 
˙ = Ax̂(t) + B2 u(t) + L2 y(t) − C2 x̂(t) ,
x̂(t)

is used with the gain by where

 −1  −1
K2 = DT12 D12 BT2 Pc , L2 = Po CT2 D21 DT21

where Pc represents the positive definite or positive semi- and the Po matrix is the positive definite or positive semi-
definite solution of the definite solution of the Riccati equation by

 −1  −1
AT Pc + Pc A − Pc B2 DT12 D12 BT2 Pc + CT1 C1 = 0 Po AT + APo − Po CT2 D21 DT21 C2 Po + B1 BT1 = 0.

Riccati equation. According to this control law the Note that the
 −1
A − B2 K2 A − Po CT2 D21 DT21 C2

matrix will determine the closed-loop stability. matrix characterizing the closed-loop system is stable, i.e.,
As far as the solution of the Riccati equation is con- all its eigenvalues are on the left-hand half plane.
cerned, an augmented problem set-up can turn this task to
an equivalent eigenvalue-eigenvector decomposition (EVD). Remark 1 Putting the problem just discussed so far into
In details, the EVD decomposition of the Hamiltonian matrix a stochastic environment the above state estimation is also
called Kalman filter.
  −1
A −B2 DT12 D12 BT2 Remark 2 The gains of L2 ∈ Rnx ×ny and K2 ∈ Rnu ×nx have
H=
− CT1 C1 −AT been introduced and applied in earlier stages in this Chapter
to create the LMFD and RMFD descriptions, respectively.
will separate the eigenvectors belonging to stable and un- Here their optimal values have been derived in H2 sense.
stable eigenvalues, then the positive definite Pc matrix can
be calculated from the eigenvectors belonging to the stable Output-Feedback Problem
eigenvalues. Denote  the diagonal matrix containing the If the state variables are not available for feedback, the
stable eigenvalues and collect the associated eigenvectors to optimal control law utilizes the reconstructed states. In case
a block matrix of designing optimal control in H2 sense, the control law
  u(t) = − K2 x(t) is replaced by u(t) = −K2 x̂(t). It is
F important to prove that the joint state estimation and control
,
G leads to stable closed-loop control. The proof is based on
observing that the complete system satisfies the following
i.e., state equations:
        
F F ẋ A − B2 K2 B2 K2
H = . =
x
G G ẋ − x̂˙ 0 A − L2 C2 x − x̂
 
Then it can be shown that the solution of the Riccati equation B1
+ w.
is obtained by B1 − L2 D21
6 Linear Control Theory for Automation 151

The above form clearly shows that the poles introduced  −1
K∞ = DT12 D12 BT2 Pc .
by the controller and those introduced by the observer are 6
separated from each other. The concept therefore is called State-Estimation Problem
separation principle. The importance of this observation The optimal state estimation in H∞ sense requires to mini-
lies in the fact that in the course of the design procedure mize
the controller poles and the observer poles can be assigned
!  "
independently from each other. Note that the control law by z − ẑ
o ∧
u(t) = −K2 x̂(t) still exhibits an optimal controller in the J∞ = sup 2
: w2 = 0
w2
sense that F(G(jω), K(jω))2 is minimized.
as a function of L. Again, minimization can be performed
by γ -iteration. Specifically, γ min is looked for to satisfy
6.13.3 H∞ Optimal Control J∞o < γ with γ > 0 for all w. To find the optimal L∞ gain,
the symmetrical positive definite or positive semi-definite
Herewith below the optimal control in H∞ sense will be solution of the following Riccati equation is required:
discussed. The H∞ optimal control minimizes the H∞ norm
of the overall transfer function of the closed-loop system by  −1
Po AT + APo − Po CT2 D21 DT21 C2 Po
  
  +γ −2 Po CT1 C1 Po + B1 BT1 = 0
J∞ = F G (jω), K (jω) 
∞

using a state variable feedback with a constant gain where providing that
F(G(s), K(s)) denotes the overall transfer function matrix of  −1
the closed-loop system [10, 21, 22]. To minimize J∞ needs A − Po CT2 D21 DT21 C2 + γ −2 Po CT1 C1
to follow rather involved procedures. As one option the γ -
iteration has already been discussed earlier. In short, as earlier represents a stable system, i.e., it has all its eigenvalues on
discussions on the norms pointed out, the H∞ norm can be the left-hand half plane. Finding the solution Po belonging
calculated using L2 norms by to the minimal γ value, the optimal feedback gain matrix is
obtained by
 
∧ z2  −1
J∞ = sup : w2 = 0
w2 L∞ = Po CT2 D21 DT21 .

State-Feedback Problem Then

If all the state variables are available then the state variable  
feedback ˙ = Ax̂(t) + B2 u(t) + L∞ y(t) − C2 x̂(t)
x̂(t)

u(t) = −K∞ x(t)
is used with the gain K∞ minimizing J∞ . Similarly to the
H2 optimal control discussed earlier, in each step of the
γ -iteration K∞ can be obtained via Pc as the symmetrical
positive definite or positive semi-definite solution of the
 −1
AT Pc + Pc A − Pc B2 DT12 D12 BT2 Pc
+γ −2 Pc B1 BT1 Pc + CT1 C1 = 0
Riccati equation, provided that the matrix by
 −1
A − B2 DT12 D12 BT2 Pc + γ −2 B1 BT1 Pc
is in complete harmony with the filtering procedure obtained
earlier for the state reconstruction in H2 sense.
Output-Feedback Problem
If the state variables are not available for feedback then a K(s)
controller satisfying J∞ < γ is looked for. This controller,
similarly to the procedure followed by the H2 optimal control
design, can be determined in two phases: first the unavailable
states are to be estimated, then state feedback driven by the
estimated states is to be realized. As far as the state feedback
is concerned, similarly to the H2 optimal control law, the H∞
optimal control is accomplished by
u(t) = −K∞ x̂(t).

represents a stable system (all the eigenvalues are on the left- However, the H∞ optimal state estimation is more involved
hand half plane). Once Pc belonging to the minimal γ value than the H2 optimal state estimation. Namely, the H∞ optimal
has been found, the state variable feedback is realized by state estimation includes the worst-case estimation of the
using the feedback gain matrix of exogenous w input, and the feedback matrix L∞ needs to be
152 I. Vajk et al.

modified, too. The L∗∞ modified feedback matrix takes the while γ min is looked for all the three conditions above should
following form: be satisfied. The optimal control in H∞ sense is accomplished
by K(s) belonging to γ min .
 −1
L∗∞ = I − γ −2 Po Pc L∞ The H∞ control can efficiently be solved by using LMI
 −1  −1 technique. Its details can be found, e.g., in [23].
= I − γ −2 Po Pc Po CT2 D21 DT21 Remark: Now as we are ready to design optimal con-
trollers in H2 or H∞ sense, respectively, it is worth devoting
then the state estimation applies the above gain according to a minute to analyze what can be expected from these pro-
  cedures. To compare the nature of the H2 vs. H∞ norms a
˙ = A + B1 γ −2 BT Pc x̂(t)+
x̂(t) relation for G2 should be found, where the G2 norm is
1
  expressed by the singular values. It can be shown that
B2 u(t) + L∗∞ y(t) − C2 x̂(t) .
#  $1/2
Reformulating the above results into a transfer function form 1 ∞ 
G2 = σi2 (G (jω)) dω .
gives 2π −∞ i

K(s) = Comparing now the above expression with

 −1
K∞ sI − A − B1 γ −2 BT1 Pc + B2 K∞ + L∗∞ C2 L∗∞ .
The above K(s) controller satisfies the norm inequality
F(G(jω), K(jω))∞ < γ and it results in a stable control
strategy if the following three conditions are satisfied [22]:
• Pc is a symmetrical positive semi-definite solution of the
algebraic Riccati equation
 −1
A Pc + Pc A −
T
Pc B2 DT12 D12 BT2 Pc
+γ −2 Pc B1 BT1 Pc + CT1 C1 = 0,
provided that
 −1
A − B2 DT12 D12 BT2 Pc + γ −2 B1 BT1 Pc
is stable.
• Po is a symmetrical positive semi-definite solution of the
algebraic Riccati equation
 −1
Po AT + APo − Po CT2 D21 DT21 C2 Po
+γ −2 Po CT1 C1 Po + B1 BT1 = 0,
provided that
 −1
A − Po CT2 D21 DT21 C2 + γ −2 Po CT1 C1
is stable.
• The largest eigenvalue of Pc Po is smaller than γ 2 :
ρ(Pc Po ) < γ 2 .
The H∞ optimal output feedback control design procedure
minimizes the F(G(jω), K(jω))∞ norm via γ iteration and
G∞ = sup σ (G(jω))
ω
it is seen that G∞ represents the largest possible singular
value, while G2 represents square root of the sum of the
squares of all the singular values over all frequencies [22].
6.14 Robust Stability and Performance
When designing control systems, the design procedure needs
a model of the process to be controlled. So far it has been
assumed that the design procedure is based on a perfect
model of the process. Stability analysis based on the nominal
process model can be qualified as nominal stability analysis
(NS). Similarly, closed-loop performance analysis based on
the nominal process model can be qualified as nominal
performance analysis (NP). It is evident, however, that some
uncertainty is always present in the model. Moreover, an
important purpose of using feedback is even to reduce the
effects of uncertainty involved in the model. The classical
approach introduced the notions of the phase margin and
gain margin as measures to handle uncertainty. However,
these measures are rather crude and contradictory [21, 30].
Though they work fine in a number of practical applications,
they are not capable to support the design for processes
exhibiting unusual frequency behavior (e.g., slightly damped
poles). The post-modern era of the control theory put spe-
cial emphasis on modeling uncertainties. Specifically, wide
classes of structured, as well as additively or multiplicatively
unstructured uncertainties have been introduced and taken
into account in the design procedure. Modeling, analysis,
and synthesis methods have been developed under the name
robust control [24, 31, 32]. Note that the LQR design method
inherits some measures of robustness; however, in general
the pure structure of the LQR regulators does not guar-
6 Linear Control Theory for Automation
antee stability margins [17, 22]. The uncertainties of the
description are often modelled by unstructured and structured
perturbations. If unstructured uncertainties are assumed then
the elements of the perturbation matrix are free. Applying
structured uncertainties the perturbation matrix may have a
predefined structure.
As far as the unstructured uncertainties are concerned,
let G0 (s) denote the nominal transfer function matrix of the
process. Then the true plant behavior can be expressed by
G(s) = G0 (s) + a (s),
G(s) = G0 (s) (I + i (s)) ,
G(s) = (I + 0 (s)) G0 (s),
where a (s) represents an additive perturbation, i (s) an
input multiplicative perturbation, and o (s) an output mul-
tiplicative perturbation.
All the above three perturbation models can be trans-
formed to a common form:
G(s) = G0 (s) + W1 (s)(s)W2 (s),
where (s)∞ ≤ 1. Uncertainties extend the general con-
trol system configuration outlined earlier in Fig. 6.22. The
nominal plant now is extended by a block representing the
uncertainties and the feedback is still applied in parallel as
Fig. 6.31 shows. This standard model “removes” (s), as
well as the K(s) controller from the closed-loop system and
lets P(s) to represent the rest of the components. It may
involve additional output signals (z) and a set of external
signals (w) including the set point.
Using a priori knowledge on the plant, the concept of
the uncertainty modeling can further be improved. Sepa-
rating identical and independent technological components
into groups the perturbations can be expressed as structured
uncertainties
Δ(s)
uΔ yΔ
w P(s) z
u y
K(s)
Fig. 6.31 Standard model of control system extended by uncertainties
153
(s) = diag (1 (s), 2 (s), . . . , r (s))
where i (s) ≤ 1 i = 1, ..., r
6
Structured uncertainties clearly lead to less conservative
design as the unstructured uncertainties may even want to
take care of perturbations never occurring in practice.
Consider the following control system (see Fig. 6.32)
as one possible realization of the standard model shown in
Fig. 6.31. As a matter of fact here the common form of
the perturbations is used. Derivation is also straightforward
from the standard form of Fig. 6.31 with z = 0 and w = r.
Handling the nominal plant and the feedback as one single
unit described by R(s) = (I + K(s)G0 (s))−1 K(s), condition
for the robust stability can easily be derived by applying the
small gain theorem (see Fig. 6.33). The small gain theorem is
the most fundamental result in robust stabilization under un-
structured perturbations. According to the small gain theorem
any closed-loop system consisting of two stable subsystems
G1 (s) and G2 (s) results in stable closed-loop system provided
that
G1 (jω)∞ G2 (jω)∞ < 1.
Applying the small gain theorem to the stability analysis
of the system shown in Fig. 6.33, the condition by
W2 (jω) R(jω) W1 (jω) (jω)∞ < 1
guarantees closed-loop stability. As
W2 (jω) R(jω) W1 (jω) (jω)∞
≤ W2 (jω) R(jω) W1 (jω)∞ ∞ and (jω)∞ ≤ 1,
W1(s) Δ (s)W2 (s)
r u y
K(s) G0 (s)
–
Fig. 6.32 Control system with uncertainties
W1(s) D(s) W2(s)
–
R(s)
Fig. 6.33 Control system with uncertainties
154
thus the stability condition reduces to
W2 (jω) R(jω) W1 (jω)∞ < 1.
To support the closed-loop design procedure for robust
stability introduce the γ norm by W2 (jω)R(jω)W1 (jω)
(jω)∞ = γ < 1. Finding a K(s) such that the γ norm is kept
at its minimum the maximally stable robust controller can be
constructed.
The performance of a closed-loop system can be rather
conservative in case of having unstructural information on the
uncertainties. To avoid this drawback in the design procedure,
the so-called structural singular value is used instead of the
H∞ norm (being equal to the maximum of the singular value).
The structured singular value of a matrix M is defined as
follows:
∧ the performance of the transfer function from the exogenous
μ (M) =1/ min {k| det (I − kM) = 0 for structured ,
σ () ≤ 1}
where  has a block-diagonal form of  = diag ( . . . i
. . . ) and σ () ≤ 1. This definition suggests the following
interpretation: a large value of μΔ (M) indicates that even a
small perturbation can make the I − M matrix singular. On
the other hand, a small value of μΔ (M) represents favorable
conditions in this sense. The structured singular value can
be considered as the generalization of the maximal singular
value [21, 22].
Using the notion of the structured singular value, the
condition for robust stability (RS) can be formulated as
follows. Robust stability of the closed-loop system is guar-
anteed if the maximum of the structured singular value of
W2 (jω)R(jω)W1 (jω) lies within the unity uncertainty radius:
sup μ (W2 (jω) R(jω) W1 (jω)) < 1.
ω F (G(jω), K (jω), (jω))∞ < 1,
Designing robust control systems is a far more involved
task than testing robust stability. The design procedure min-
imizing the supremum of the structured singular value is
called structured singular value synthesis or μ synthesis.
At this moment there is no direct method to synthesize
a μ optimal controller. Related algorithms to perform the
minimization are discussed in the literature under the term
DK-iteration [22]. In [22], not only a detailed discussion is
presented but also a MATLAB program is shown to provide
better understanding of the iterations to improve the robust
performance conditions.
So far the robust stability issue has been discussed in
this Section. It has been shown that the closed-loop system
remains stable, i.e., it is robustly stable, if stability is guar-
anteed for all possible uncertainties. In a similar way, the
notion of the robust performance (RP) is to be worked out.
I. Vajk et al.
The closed-loop system exhibits robust performance if the
performance measures are kept within a prescribed limit even
for all possible uncertainties, including the worst case, as
well. Design considerations for the robust performance have
been illustrated in Fig. 6.31.
As the system performance is represented by the signal
z, robust performance analysis is based on investigating the
relation between the external input signal w and the perfor-
mance output z:
z = F(G(s), K(s), (s)) w.
Defining a performance measure on the transfer function
matrix F(G(s), K(s), (s)) by
J(F (G, K, ))
inputs w and to outputs z can be calculated. The maximum of
the performance – even in the worst case possibly delivered
by the uncertainties – can be evaluated by
sup {J(F(G, K, )) : ∞ < 1} .

Based on this value, the robust performance of the system
can be judged. If the robust performance analysis is to be
performed in H∞ sense, the measure to be applied is
J∞ = F(G (jω), K(jω) , (jω))∞ .
In this case, the prespecified performance can be normalized
and the limit can be selected to unity. So equivalently, the
robust performance requirement can be formulated as the
following inequality:
∀(jω)∞ ≤ 1.
Robust performance analysis can formally be traced back
to robust stability analysis. In this case a fictitious p uncer-
tainty block representing the nominal performance require-
ments should be inserted across w and z (see Fig. 6.34). Then
introducing the
p 0
0 
matrix of the uncertainties gives a pleasant way to trace
back the robust performance problem to the robust stability
problem.
If robust performance synthesis is used, the performance
measure must be minimized. In this case μ optimal design
problem can be solved as an extended robust stability design
problem.
6 Linear Control Theory for Automation
D p(s)
D(s)
uΔ yΔ
w P(s) z
u y
K(s)
Fig. 6.34 Design for robust performance traced back to robust stability
6.15 LMI in Control Engineering
There exist several control problems with no analytical so-
lution. Consequently, only numerical solutions will be avail-
able to solve this kind of problems. In the last few decades,
a number of extremely effective tools have been elaborated
to solve convex optimum problems [33, 34]. These tools
can directly be applied to solve various control problems
[35–37]. As far as the usability of these tools is concerned,
the primary dilemma is not the linearity-nonlinearity, but
rather the convexity-nonconvexity issue. The application of
the interior point methods provides solutions for a number of
convex (quasi convex) optimization problems in polynomial
time. Just to mention a few of these problems:
• LMI feasible problem: Here x is looked for such that
A(x) ∗ 0
holds, where A is a symmetrical matrix affine in x, and

∗ stands for a relation (>, ≥, ≤ or <). The constraint
above is called Linear matrix inequality (LMI). It is seen
that the relation given by an LMI problem set up maps a
convex region bounded by special polynomials.
• LMI optimization problem: the task here is to find the
convex optimum of
min { b(x) : A(x) ∗ 0}
where b(x) is an affine scalar function of x. In short,
LMI optimization is to minimize b(x) considering those
x satisfying A(x)*0.
• Generalized eigenvalue minimization under LMI
constraints: The constraints introduced so far can further
be extended by linear-fractional constraints described by
LMIs B(x) < λ C(x). The problem to be solved can be
formulated by
155
min {λ : B(x) < λ C(x), C(x) > 0, A(x) < 0 }
6
where A, B, and C are affine symmetrical matrices of
x. Such an extension in the constraints results in special
bilinear constraints; however, the resulting quasi convex
problem still remains solvable in polynomial time.
The common name of the above tasks is LMI Problem
(LMIP) [34].
As stated earlier, several control problems can be refor-
mulated and solved as an LMI problem. In the sequel a few
classical control problems will be handled using the LMI
approach. The presented examples use the state-space model
with system matrices {A, B, C, D}.
Stability and decay rate. As an example consider the
Lyapunov stability criterion. According to the Lyapunov
stability criterion, an ẋ = f (x) differential equation has an
asymptotically stable equilibrium point in x = 0 provided
a V(x) continuously differentiable positive definite function
exists, whose derivative is negative definite, i.e.,
V (x) > 0 for all x = 0
and
∂V
V̇ (x) = f (x) < 0 for all x = 0
∂xT
This is a sufficient condition for stability.
For linear systems ẋ = Ax, allowing us to choose
V(x) = xT Px/2 as a Lyapunov function, where P is a positive
definite symmetrical matrix (P>0). The stability
 condition
can be formulated as V̇(x) = xT AT P + PA x ≤ 0, i.e.,
AT P + PA < 0. If a P matrix satisfying PT = P > 0 and
AT P + PA < 0 can be found, stability holds. However,
finding an appropriate P is an LMI feasible problem as
the constraints for the elements of the P matrix are linear.
Express it in another way: if all the eigenvalues of matrix A
exhibit negative real part, P satisfying
PA + AT P < 0 and P = PT > 0
can be found.
The problem to allocate the eigenvalues can be general-
ized to detect the location of regional poles. All the eigen-
values of A are found in a region determined by the matrix
inequality
 
D := s ∈ C : M + sN + s∗ NT < 0
where M is a real symmetrical matrix, while N is a real
matrix, if P can be found to satisfy the following matrix
inequality:
156 I. Vajk et al.

    T 
M ⊗ P + N ⊗ (PA) + NT ⊗ AT P < 0 A P + PA + CT C PB + CT D
H∞ =min γ :
and P = PT > 0 γ ,P BT P + DT C DT D − γ 2 I

% ≤ 0, P = PT > 0
Here denotes the Kronecker product.
The decay rate is defined to be the largest α such that: H2 performance. The H2 norm – frequently used in
control studies – can also be calculated using the LMIP
lim eαt x(t) = 0 technique:
t→∞
  
To determine the decay rate the following equivalent problem H22 = min tr BT PB : PA + AT P + CT C < 0,
P
is to be solved: 
P = PT > 0
 
sup α : AT P + PA + 2αP < 0, P = PT > 0
P,α Controller Synthesis. The classical control synthesis
looks for a controller achieving certain quality measures
Though the above problem is bilinear both in P and α, it still and/or ensuring operation below/above certain limits. If all
can be solved as an LMIP (GEVP) problem. the state variables available for control, static state feedback
Dissipativity and passivity. A system is dissipative if can be used by

 ∞  ∞  u = −Kx
u(t) y(t)dt ≥ η
T
u(t)T u(t) dt
0 0
To proceed, relations developed earlier need to be modified
holds along all the trajectories developing from zero initial by substituting A– BK for A and C–DK for C. Consequently,
conditions. In the above equation η > 0 denotes the dissipa- the related LMI items elaborated for P and K will also change
tivity value. Using the LMI technique the above conditions to bilinear matrix inequalities (BMI). However, using a con-
can be expressed by the following LMIP forms: gruent transformation and substituting appropriate variables
the BMIs can be reformulated as LMIs.
  T 
A P + PA PB− CT  Having the case of state variables not available for control
dissip = sup η :
η,P BT P − C 2ηI − DT + D the problem set up leads to the following relation:

≤ 0, P = PT > 0 P (A − BKC) + (A − BKC)T P < 0

The system is passive if this value is nonnegative.
Expansivity and Hinf performance. System expansivity
can be defined by the following inequality:
 
∞ ∞ 
y(t)T y(t)dt ≤ γ 2 u(t)T u(t) dt
0 0
for all inputs. In a more compact form:
which is not jointly convex by P and K. The problem itself
is nonconvex in this case, however, several heuristic iterative
solutions have been worked out to solve this problem.
Robustness. The classical control problems operate by
nominal models, known uncertainties are not taken into ac-
count in a direct way. Generalization of the classical dynamic
system description is called differential inclusions. For exam-
ple, a classical dynamic system description according to

y2 ≤ γ u2 ẋ = f (x(t), t), x(0) = xo

For γ < 1 the system is nonexpansive. To satisfy the above can be generalized as follows:
inequality, for a given system the smallest upper bound for γ
can be found. This value is called RMS gain. ẋ ∈ F(x(t), t), x(0) = xo

y2 where F is a set-valued function. The above system offers so-

L2 (H) = sup γ = sup u2 = 0
u u u2 lutions along a number of trajectories. The aim here is not to
derive individual trajectories, but rather to check whether all
Considering LTI systems finding the RMS gain is equivalent the trajectories possess certain properties, e.g., whether they
to solve the following LMIP problem: all tend to zero. The above description is called differential
6 Linear Control Theory for Automation
inclusion (DI). It is a typical assumption that the set mapped
by F is convex both by x and t.
As far as linear differential inclusions (LDI) are con-
cerned, DI restricts itself as
ẋ ∈ x, x(0) = xo  ⊂ Rnxn
Namely, the LDI is interpreted as a linear system family with
time variable parameters:
ẋ = A(t)x, x(0) = xo A∈
So here the key point is the interpretation of LDI as a time
varying linear uncertainty, where  is the uncertain region
of A.
As an example, study the stability issue assuming a poly-
topic LDI problem. The system to study is
ẋ ∈ x, x(0) = x0 ,
where  can be given by the vertices of the polytope:
 = Co{A1 . . . An }. In that case the condition of the quadratic
stability is:
PT = P > 0, PA + AT P < 0 for all A ∈ 
The above set of conditions can be studied as the following
LMI condition set:
PAi + ATi P < 0 i = 1 . . . n and P = PT > 0
In recent years, convex optimization has become a re-
liable and efficient computational tool of wide interest in
engineering, thanks to its ability to solve very large, practical
engineering problems. Examples in this Section demonstrate
the challenge to reformulate control problems as LMI prob-
lems set up. Once the reformulation is completed the solution
for the original problem is immediately obtained, namely,
powerful programming tools are at hand to proceed (e.g.,
Yalmip) [38]. As far as a number of control problems are
concerned, note that linear programming (LP) and second
order cone programming (SOCP) problems, being special
semidefinite programming (SDP) problems, can be far more
efficiently applied to progress than SDP algorithms.
6.16 Model-Based Predictive Control
As we have seen so far most of the control system design
methods assume a mathematical model of the process to be
controlled. Given a process model and knowledge on the
external system inputs the process output can be predicted
to some extent. To characterize the behavior of the closed-
157
loop system a combined loss function can be constructed
from the values of the predicted process outputs and that of 6
the associated control inputs. Control strategies minimizing
this loss function are called model-based predictive control
(MPC). Related algorithms using special loss functions can
be interpreted as an LQ (Linear Quadratic) problem with
finite horizon. The performance of well-tuned predictive
control algorithms is outstanding for processes with delay.
Specific model-based predictive control algorithms are also
known as Dynamic Matrix Control (DMC), Generalized Pre-
dictive Control (GPC), and Receding Horizon Control (RHC)
[39–45, 53]. Due to the nature of the model-based control
algorithms the discrete time (sampled data) version of the
control algorithms will be discussed in the sequel. Also, most
of the detailed discussion is reduced for SISO systems in this
Section.
The fundamental idea of predictive control can be demon-
strated through the DMC algorithm [46], where the process
output sample y(k + 1) is predicted by using all the avail-
able process input samples up to the discrete time instant k
(k = 0, 1, 2 . . . ) via a linear function func:
ŷ (k + 1) = func(u(k), u(k − 1) , u(k − 2) , u(k − 3) , . . . ) .
Repeating the above one-step-ahead prediction for further
time instants by
ŷ (k + 2) = func(u (k + 1), u(k), u (k − 1), u(k − 2), . . . )
ŷ (k + 3) = func(u (k + 2), u(k + 1) , u(k), u(k − 1), . . . )
..
.
requires the knowledge of future control actions u(k + 1),
u(k + 2), u(k + 3) . . . , as well. Introduce the free response
involving the future values of the process input obtained
provided no change occurs in the control input at time k:
y∗ (k + 1) = func(u(k) = u (k − 1), u(k − 1),
u (k − 2), u (k − 3), . . . )
y∗ (k + 2) = func(u (k + 1) = u(k − 1), u(k) = u(k − 1),
u(k − 1), u (k − 2), . . . )
y∗ (k + 3) = func(u (k + 2) = u (k − 1), u(k + 1)
= u(k − 1), u(k) = u(k − 1) , u(k − 1), . . . )
..
.
Using the free response just introduced above, the predicted
process outputs can be expressed by
ŷ (k + 1) = s1 u(k) + y∗ (k + 1)
ŷ (k + 2) = s1 u (k + 1) + s2 u(k) + y∗ (k + 2)
ŷ (k + 3) = s1 u (k + 2) + s2 u(k + 1)
+s3 u(k) + y∗ (k + 3)
..
.
158 I. Vajk et al.

 
where Uopt = S−1 Y ref − Y ∗ ,

u(k + i) = u(k + i) − u(k + i − 1) where Yref has been constructed from the samples of the
future set points.
and si denotes the ith sample of the discrete time step response The Receding Horizon Control (RHC)concept utilizes
of the process. Now a more compact form of only the very first element of the  Uopt vector according to

Predicted value = Forced response + Free response u(k) = l Uopt ,

is looked for in vector/matrix form:  

where l = 1 0 0 . . . . Observe that RHC needs to recal-
⎡ ⎤ ⎡ ⎤⎡ ⎤ culate Y∗ and to update Uopt in each step. The application
ŷ (k + 1) s1 0 0 ... u(k)
⎢ ŷ (k + 2) ⎥ ⎢ s2 of the RHC algorithm results in zero steady-state error; how-
⎢ ⎥ ⎢ s1 0 ...⎥ ⎢ ⎥
⎥ ⎢ u (k + 1) ⎥
⎢ ŷ (k + 3) ⎥ = ⎢ s3 ever, it requires considerable control effort while minimizing
⎣ ⎦ ⎣ s2 s1 . . . ⎦ ⎣ u (k + 2) ⎥
⎥ ⎢
⎦ the related loss function.
.. .. .. .. .. ..
. . . . . . Smoothing in the control input can be achieved
⎡ ⎤
y∗ (k + 1) • by extending the loss function with another component
⎢ y∗ (k + 2) ⎥
⎢ ⎥ penalizing the control signal or its change
+ ⎢ y∗ (k + 3) ⎥ .
⎣ ⎦ • by reducing the control horizon as follows:
..
.
U =
Apply here the following notations:
[u(k) u(k+1) u(k+2) . . . u(k+Nu−1) 0 0 . . . 0]T .
⎡ ⎤
s1 0 0 ...
⎢ s2 s1 0 ...⎥ Accordingly, define the loss function by
⎢ ⎥
S = ⎢ s3 s2 s1 ...⎥
⎣ ⎦
.. .. .. .. 
Ny
 2
. . . . yref (k + i) − ŷ(k + i) +
i=1

 T 
Nu

Ŷ = ŷ(k + 1) ŷ(k + 2) ŷ(k + 3) . . . λ (u(k + i) − u(k + i − 1))2 ,

i=1

 T then the control signal becomes

U = u(k) u (k + 1) u(k + 2) . . .
 −1  
u(k) = l ST S + λI ST Y ref − Y ∗ ,
 T
Y ∗ = y∗ (k + 1) y∗ (k + 2) y∗ (k + 3) . . . . where
⎡ ⎤
Utilizing these notations s1 0 ... 0 0
⎢ s2 s1 . . . 0 0 ⎥
⎢ ⎥
Ŷ = S U + Y ∗ ⎢ s3 s2 . . . 0 0 ⎥
⎢ ⎥
S=⎢ .. .. .. .. .. ⎥.
⎢ . . . . . ⎥
holds. Assuming that the reference signal (set point) yref (k) is ⎢ ⎥
⎣ sN −1 sNy −2 . . . sNy −Nu +1 sNy −Nu ⎦
y
available for the future time instants, define the loss function
sNy sNy −1 . . . sNy −Nu +2 sNy −Nu +1
to be minimized by
All the above relations can easily be modified to cover the

Ny
 2 control of processes with known time delay. Simply replace
yref (k + i) − ŷ(k + i) .
i=1
y(k + 1) by y(k + d + 1) to consider y(k + d + 1) as the
earliest sample of the process output effected by the control
If no restriction for the control signal is taken into account action taken at time k, where d > 0 represents the discrete
the minimization leads to time delay.
6 Linear Control Theory for Automation
As the idea of the model-based predictive control is quite
flexible, a number of variants of the above discussed al-
gorithms exist. The tuning parameters of the algorithm are
the prediction horizon Ny , the control horizon Nu , and the λ
penalizing factor. Predictions related to disturbances can also
be included. Just as an example a loss function by
 T  
Ŷ − Y ref Wy Ŷ − Y ref + UTc Wu Uc
can be assigned to incorporate weighting matrices Wu and
Wy , respectively, and a reduced version of the control signals
can be applied according to
U = Tc Uc ,
where Tc is an a priori defined matrix typically containing
zeros and ones. Then minimization of the loss function results
in
 −1  
u(k) = l Tc TTc ST Wy STc + Wu TTc ST Wy Y ref − Y ∗ .
Constraints existing for the control input open a new
class for the control algorithms. In this case a quadratic pro-
gramming problem (conditional minimization of a quadratic
loss function to satisfy control constraints represented by
inequalities) should be solved in each step. In details, the loss
function
 T  
Ŷ − Y ref Wy Ŷ − Y ref + UTc Wu Uc
is to be minimized again by Uc , where
Ŷ = STc Uc + Y ∗
under the constraint of
umin ≤ u(j) ≤ umax or umin ≤ u(j) ≤ umax .
The classical DMC approach is based on the samples
of the step response of the process. Obviously, the process
model can also be represented by a unit impulse response,
a state-space model, or a transfer function. Consequently,
beyond the control input the process output prediction can
utilize the process output, the state variables, or the esti-
mated state-variables, as well. Note that the original DMC
is an open-loop design method in nature, which should be
extended by a closed-loop aspect or it should be combined
with an IMC compatible concept to utilize the advantages
offered by the feedback concept.
A further remark relates to stochastic process models. As
an example, the Generalized Predictive Control concept [47,
48] applies the following model:
159
 
    C q−1
A q−1 y(k) = B q−1 u (k − d) + ζk . 6

where A(q−1 ), B(q−1 ), and C(q−1 ) are polynomials of the
backward shift operator q−1 , and  = 1 − q−1 . Further on ζ k
is a discrete-time white noise sequence. Then the conditional
expected value of the loss function
 
T  
E Ŷ − Y ref Wy Ŷ − Y ref + UTc Wu Uc |k
is to be minimized by Uc . Note that model-based predictive
control algorithms can be extended for MIMO and nonlinear
systems.
While LQ design supposing infinite horizon provides sta-
ble performance, predictive control with finite horizon using
receding horizon strategy lacks stability guarantees. Intro-
duction of terminal penalty in the cost function including the
quadratic deviations of the states from their final values is one
way to ensure stable performance. Other methods leading to
stable performance with detailed stability analysis, as well
as proper handling of constraints are discussed in [41, 42,
49], where mainly sufficient conditions have been derived for
stability.
For real time applications fast solutions are required.
Effective numerical methods to solve optimization problems
with reduced computational demand and suboptimal solu-
tions have been developed [39].
MPC with linear constraints and uncertainties can be for-
mulated as a multiparametric programming problem, which
is a technique to obtain the solution of an optimization
problem as a function of the uncertain parameters (generally
the states). For the different ranges of the states, the calcu-
lation can be executed off-line [39, 50]. Different predictive
control approaches for robust constrained predictive control
of nonlinear systems are also in the front of interest [39, 51].
6.17 Summary
In this Chapter the classical and advanced control system
design methods have been discussed. Controller design is
based on the system model. PID is the most applied classical
controller. Some aspects of continuous and discrete PID
controller design are dealt with. Advanced methods reflect
the current state of the art of the related applied research
activity in the field and a number of advanced methods are
available today for demanding control applications. One of
the driving forces behind browsing among various advanced
techniques has been the applicability of the control algo-
rithms for practical applications. Starting with the stability
issues, then covering performance and robustness issues,
LMI control strategies and predictive control algorithms have
160
been discussed. The shown concepts of feedback can be
extended for certain nonlinear systems. It has to be mentioned
that several MATLAB toolboxes support the analysis and
design of conventional and advanced control systems.
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6
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Jenő Hetthéssy received his PhD degree in 1975 from the Technical
53. Haber, R., Bars, R., Schmitz, U.: Predictive Control in Process
University of Budapest, Faculty of Electrical Engineering. He received
Engineering. From the Basics to the Applications. Wiley-VCH,
his CSc degree in 1978 from the Hungarian Academy of Sciences
Weinheim, Germany (2011)
with a thesis on the theory and industrial application of self-tuning
controllers. He spent several years as a visiting professor at the Electrical
Engineering Department of the University of Minnesota, USA. He has
published more than 90 papers.

István Vajk graduated as electrical engineer and obtained his PhD

degree in 1977 from the Budapest University of Technology and Eco-
nomics (BME), Hungary. From 1994 to 2016 he was the head of
Department of Automation and Applied Informatics at BME. Currently
he is full professor at the same department. His main interest covers the
theory and application of control systems, especially adaptive systems
and system identification, as well as applied informatics.
Ruth Bars graduated at the Electrical Engineering Faculty of the
Technical University of Budapest. She received her CSc degree in 1992
from the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and the PhD degree based
on research in predictive control. Currently she is honorary professor
at the Department of Automation and Applied Informatics, Budapest
University of Technology and Economics. Her research interests are
predictive control, advanced control algorithms and development of new
ways in control education.
 Nonlinear Control Theory for Automation
7
Alberto Isidori

Contents of the chapter begins by reviewing the notion of dynamical

7.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163 system and continues with a discussion of the concepts of
stability and asymptotic stability of an equilibrium, with
7.2 Autonomous Dynamical Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
emphasis on the method of Lyapunov. Then, it continues
7.3 Stability and Related Concepts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166 by reviewing the notion of input-to-state stability and
7.3.1 Stability of Equilibria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
discussing its role in the analysis of interconnections of
7.3.2 Lyapunov Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
systems. Then, the first part is concluded by the analysis
7.4 Asymptotic Behavior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169 of the asymptotic behavior in the presence of persistent
7.4.1 Limit Sets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
7.4.2 Steady-State Behavior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170 inputs. The second part of the chapter is devoted to the
presentation of systematic methods for stabilization of
7.5 Dynamical Systems with Inputs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
7.5.1 Input-to-State Stability (ISS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
relevant classes of nonlinear systems, namely, those pos-
7.5.2 Cascade Connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173 sessing a globally defined normal form. Methods for the
7.5.3 Feedback Connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174 design of full-state feedback and, also, observer-based
7.5.4 The Steady-State Response . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174 dynamic output feedback are presented. A nonlinear sepa-
7.6 Stabilization of Nonlinear Systems via ration principle, based on the use of a high-gain observer,
State Feedback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175 is discussed. A special role, in this context, is played by
7.6.1 Relative Degree, Normal Forms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175 the methods based on feedback linearization, of which a
7.6.2 Feedback Linearization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178
7.6.3 Global Stabilization via Partial robust version, based on the use of extended high-gain
Feedback Linearization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178 observer, is also presented.
7.6.4 Global Stabilization via Backstepping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
7.6.5 Semiglobal Practical Stabilization via High-Gain Keywords
Partial-State Feedback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
7.7 Observers and Stabilization via Output Feedback . . . 183 Dynamical systems · Stability · Method of Lyapunov ·
7.7.1 Canonical Forms of Observable Nonlinear Systems . . . . . 183 Input-to-state stability · Steady-state behavior · Normal
7.7.2 High-Gain Observers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184 forms · Feedback linearization · Backstepping ·
7.7.3 The Nonlinear Separation Principle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185 High-gain observers · Separation principle · Extended
7.7.4 Robust Feedback Linearization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
observers
7.8 Recent Progresses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187

7.1 Introduction
Abstract
Modern engineering systems are very complex and com-
The purpose of this chapter is to review some notions
prise a high number of interconnected subcomponents which,
of fundamental importance on the analysis and design of
thanks to the remarkable development of communications
feedback laws for nonlinear control systems. The first part
and electronics, can be spread over broad areas and linked
A. Isidori () through data networks. Each component of this wide in-
Department of Computer, Control and Management Engineering, terconnected system is a complex system on its own, and
University of Rome “La Sapienza”, Rome, Italy the good functioning of the overall system relies upon the
e-mail: albisidori@dis.uniroma1.it
possibility to efficiently control, estimate, or monitor each

© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 163

S. Y. Nof (ed.), Springer Handbook of Automation, Springer Handbooks,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-96729-1_7
164
one of these components. Each component is usually high-
dimensional, highly nonlinear, and hybrid in nature and com-
prises electrical, mechanical, or chemical components, which
interact with computers, decision logics, etc. The behavior
of each subsystem is affected by the behavior of part or all
of the other components of the system. The control of those
complex systems can only be achieved in a decentralized
mode, by appropriately designing local controllers for each
individual component or small group of components. In
this setup, the interactions between components are mostly
treated as commands, dictated from one particular unit to
another one, or as disturbances, generated by the operation
of other interconnected units. The tasks of the various local
controllers are then coordinated by some supervisory unit.
Control and computational capabilities being distributed over
the system, a steady exchange of data among the components
is required, in order for the system to behave properly.
In this setup, each individual component (or small set of
components) is viewed as a system whose behavior, in time,
is determined or influenced by the behavior of other subsys-
tems. Typically, the physical variables by means of which
this influence is exerted can be classified in two disjoint
sets: one set consisting of all commands and/or disturbances
generated by other components (which in this context are
usually referred to as exogenous inputs) and another set
consisting of all variables by means of which the accom-
plishment of the required tasks is actually imposed (which
in this context are usually referred to as control inputs). The
tasks in question typically comprise the case in which certain
variables, called regulated outputs, are required to track the
behavior of a set exogenous commands. This leads to the
definition, for the variables in question, of a tracking error,
which should be kept as small as possible, in spite of the
possible variation –in time– of the commands and in spite
of all exogenous disturbances. The control input, in turn,
is provided by a separate subsystem, the controller, which
processes the information provided by a set of appropriate
measurements (the measured outputs). The whole control
configuration assumes –in this case– the form of a feedback
loop, as shown in Fig. 7.1.
Exogenous Regulated
input output
Control Controlled plant Measured
input output
Controller
Feedback
Fig. 7.1 Basic feedback loop
A. Isidori
In any realistic scenario, the control goal has to be
achieved in spite of a good number of phenomena, which
would cause the system to behave differently than expected.
As a matter of fact, in addition to the exogenous phenomena
already included in the scheme of Fig. 7.1, that is, the
exogenous commands and disturbances, a system may fail to
behave as expected also because of endogenous causes,
which include the case in which the controlled system
responds differently as a consequence of poor knowledge
about its behavior due to modeling errors, damages, wear,
etc. The ability to successfully handle large uncertainties is
one of the main, if not the single most important, reasons for
choosing the feedback configuration of Fig. 7.1.
To evaluate the overall performances of the system, a
number of conventional criteria are chosen. First of all, it
must be made sure that the behavior of the variables of
the entire system is bounded. In fact, the feedback strategy,
which is introduced to the purpose of offsetting exogenous
inputs and to attenuate the effect of modeling error, may
cause to unbounded behaviors, which have to be avoided.
Boundedness and convergence to the desired behavior are
usually analyzed in conventional terms via the concepts of
asymptotic stability and of steady state behavior, discussed
hereafter in Sects. 7.2 thorough 7.4. Since the systems under
considerations are systems with inputs (control inputs and ex-
ogenous inputs), the influence of such inputs on the behavior
of a system has also to be assessed, as discussed in Sect. 7.5.
The analytical tools developed in this way are then taken
as a basis for the design of a controller, in which –usually–
control structure and free parameters are chosen in such a
way as to guarantee that the overall configuration exhibits the
desired properties in response to exogenous commands and
disturbances and is sufficiently tolerant of any major source
of uncertainty. This is discussed in Sects. 7.6 thorough 7.8.
7.2 Autonomous Dynamical Systems
In loose terms, a dynamical system is a way to describe how
certain physical entities of interest, associated with a natural
of artificial process, evolve in time and how their behavior is,
or can be, influenced by the evolution of other variables. The
most usual point of departure in the analysis of the behavior
of a natural or artificial process is the construction a math-
ematical model, consisting of a set of equations expressing
basic physical laws and/or constraints. In the most frequent
case, when the study of evolution in time is the issue, the
equations in question take the form of an ordinary differential
equation, defined on a finite-dimensional Euclidean space.
In this chapter, we shall review some fundamental facts
underlying the analysis of the solutions of certain ordinary
7 Nonlinear Control Theory for Automation
differential equations arising in the study of physical pro-
cesses.
In this analysis, a convenient point of departure is the case
of a mathematical model expressed in state-space form, i.e.,
by means of a first-order differential equation
ẋ = f (x) (7.1)
in which x ∈ Rn is a vector of variables associated with the
physical entities of interest, usually referred to as the state of
the system. A solution of the differential equation (7.1) is a
differentiable function x̄ : J → Rn defined on some interval
J ⊂ R such that, for all t ∈ J,
dx̄(t)
= f (x̄(t)).
dt
If the map f : Rn → Rn is locally Lipschitz, i.e., if for every
x ∈ Rn there exists a neighborhood U of x and a number
L > 0 such that, for all x1 , x2 in U,
|f (x1 ) − f (x2 )| ≤ L|x1 − x2 |,
then, for each x0 ∈ Rn there exist two times t − < 0
and t + > 0 and a solution x̄ of (7.1), defined on the
interval (t − , t + ) ⊂ R, that satisfies x̄(0) = x0 . Moreover, if
x̃ : (t − , t + ) → Rn is any other solution of (7.1) satisfying
x̃(0) = x0 , then necessarily x̃(t) = x̄(t) for all t ∈ (t − , t + ),
that is, the solution x̄ is unique. In general, the times t − < 0
and t + > 0 may depend on the point x0 . For each x0 , there
is a maximal open interval (tm− (x0 ), tm+ (x0 )) containing 0, on
which a solution x̄ with x̄(0) = x0 is defined: this is the
union of all open intervals on which there is a solution with
x̄(0) = x0 (possibly, but not always, tm− (x0 ) = −∞ and/or
tm+ (x0 ) = +∞).
Given a differential equation of a form (7.1), associated
with a locally Lipschitz map f , define a subset S of R × Rn
as follows
S = {(t, x) : t ∈ (tm− (x), tm+ (x), x ∈ Rn }.
Then, define on S a map φ : W→ Rn as follows: φ(0, x)=x
and, for each x ∈ Rn , the function
ϕx : (tm− (x), tm+ (x)) → Rn
t → φ(t, x)
is a solution of (7.1). This map is called the flow of (7.1).
In other words, for each fixed x, the restriction of φ(t, x)
to the subset of S consisting of all pairs (t, x), for which
t ∈ (tm− (x), tm+ (x)), is the unique (and maximally extended
in time) solution of (7.1) passing through x at time t = 0.
Sometimes, a slightly different notation is used for the
flow. This is motivated by the need of expressing, within the
165
same context, the flow of a system like (7.1) and the flow
of another system, say ẏ = g(y). In this case, the symbol
φ, which represents “the map,” must be replaced by two
different symbols, one denoting the flow of (7.1) and the
other denoting the flow of the other system. The easiest way 7
to achieve this is to use the symbol x to represent “the map”
that characterizes the flow of (7.1) and to use the symbol y to
represent “the map” that characterizes the flow of the other
system. In this way, the map characterizing the flow of (7.1) is
written as x(t, x). This notation at first may seem confusing,
because the same symbol x is used to represent “the map”
and to represent the “second argument” of the map itself (the
argument representing the initial condition of (7.1)), but it is
somewhat inevitable. Once the notation has been understood,
though, no further confusion should arise.
Sometimes, for convenience, the notation x(t, x) is used
instead. A dynamical system is said to be complete, if the set
S coincides with the whole of R × Rn .
In the special case of a linear differential equation
ẋ = Ax (7.2)
in which A is a n×n matrix of real numbers, the flow is given
by
φ(t, x) = eAt x
where the matrix exponential eAt is defined as the sum of the
series
∞ i
t i
eAt = A.
i!
i=0
Let S be a subset of Rn . The set S is said to be invariant
for (7.1) if, for all x ∈ S, φ(t, x) is defined for all t ∈
(−∞, +∞) and
φ(t, x) ∈ S for all t ∈ R.
A set S is positively (resp. negatively) invariant if for all x ∈
S, φ(t, x) is defined for all t ≥ 0 (resp. for all t ≤ 0) and
φ(t, x) ∈ S for all such t.
Equation (7.1) defines a dynamical system. To reflect the
fact that the map f does not depend on other independent
entities (such as the time t or physical entities originated from
“external” processes), the system in question is referred to an
autonomous system. Complex autonomous systems arising
in analysis and design of physical processes are usually
obtained as a composition of simpler subsystems, each one
modeled by equations of the form
ẋi = fi (xi , ui )
i = 1, . . . , N
yi = hi (xi , ui )
in which xi ∈ Rni . Here, ui ∈ Rmi and, respectively, yi ∈ Rpi
are vectors of variables associated with physical entities by
166 A. Isidori

means of which the interconnection of various component |f̃ (x)|

parts is achieved. lim = 0.
x→0 |x|
The linear system ẋ = Ax, with the matrix A defined as
indicated, is called the linear approximation of the original
7.3 Stability and Related Concepts nonlinear system (7.1) at the equilibrium x = 0.

7.3.1 Stability of Equilibria Theorem 7.1 Let x = 0 be an equilibrium of (7.1). Suppose

Consider an autonomous system as (7.1) and suppose f is
locally Lipschitz. A point xe ∈ Rn is called an equilibrium
point if f (xe ) = 0. Clearly, the constant function x(t) = xe is a
solution of (7.1). Since solutions are unique, no other solution
of (7.1) exists passing through xe . The study of equilibria
plays a fundamental role in analysis and design of dynamical
systems. The most important concept in this respect is that of
stability, in the sense of Lyapunov, specified in the following
definition. For x ∈ Rn , let |x| denote the usual Euclidean
norm, that is,
n
1/2
|x| = xi2 . zero real part. Thus, it is seen from the previous theorem that
i=1
Definition 1 An equilibrium xe of (7.1) is stable if, for every
ε > 0, there exists δ > 0, such that
|x(0) − xe | ≤ δ ⇒ |x(t) − xe | ≤ ε for all t ≥ 0.
An equilibrium xe of (7.1) is asymptotically stable, if it is
stable and, moreover, there exists a number d > 0, such that
|x(0) − xe | ≤ d ⇒ lim |x(t) − xe | = 0.
t→∞
An equilibrium xe of (7.1) is globally asymptotically stable,
if it is asymptotically stable and, moreover,
every eigenvalue of A has real part less than −c, with c > 0.
Then, there are numbers d > 0 and M > 0 such that
|x(0)| ≤ d ⇒ |x(t)| ≤ Me−c t |x(0)| for all t ≥ 0. (7.4)
In particular, x = 0 is asymptotically stable. If at least one
eigenvalue of A has positive real part, the equilibrium x = 0
is not stable.
This property is usually referred to as the principle of
stability in the first approximation. The equilibrium x = 0 is
said to be hyperbolic, if the matrix A has no eigenvalue with
a hyperbolic equilibrium is either unstable or asymptotically
stable.
The inequality on the right-hand side of (7.4) provides a
useful bound on the norm of x(t), expressed as a function
of the norm of x(0) and of the time t. This bound, though,
is very special and restricted to the case of an hyperbolic
equilibrium. In general, bounds of this kind can be obtained
by means of the so-called comparison functions, which are
defined as follows (see [5, p.95]).
Definition 2 A continuous function α : [0, a) → [0, ∞)
is said to belong to class K if it is strictly increasing and
α(0) = 0. If a = ∞ and limr→∞ α(r) = ∞, the function
is said to belong to class K∞ . A continuous function β :
[0, a) × [0, ∞) → [0, ∞) is said to belong to class KL if,
for each fixed s, the function

lim |x(t) − xe | = 0 , for every x(0) ∈ Rn .

α : [0, a) → [0, ∞)
t→∞
r → β(r, s)
The most elementary, but rather useful in practice, result
in stability analysis is described as follows. Assume f (x) belongs to class K and, for each fixed r, the function
is continuously differentiable and suppose, without loss of
generality, that xe = 0 (if not, change x into x̄ := x − xe and ϕ : [0, ∞) → [0, ∞)
observe that x̄ satisfies the differential equation x̄˙ = f (x̄ + xe ) s → β(r, s)
in which now x̄ = 0 is an equilibrium). Expand f (x) as
is decreasing and lims→∞ ϕ(s) = 0.

follows
f (x) = Ax + f̃ (x) (7.3)
The composition of two class K (respectively, class K∞ )
in which functions α1 (·) and α2 (·), denoted α1 (α2 (·)) or α1 ◦ α2 (·), is a
∂f class K (respectively, class K∞ ) function. If α(·) is a class K
A= (0)
∂x function, defined on [0, a) and b = limr→a α(r), there exists
is the Jacobian matrix of f (x), evaluated at x = 0, and by a unique inverse function, α −1 : [0, b) → [0, a), namely, a
construction function satisfying
7 Nonlinear Control Theory for Automation 167

α −1 (α(r)) = r, for all r ∈ [0, a) a|x|2 ≤ xT Px ≤ a|x|2 (7.5)

and
α(α −1 (r)) = r, for all r ∈ [0, b). for all x ∈ Rn . The property, of a matrix P, to be positive
definite is usually expressed with the shortened notation
Moreover, α −1 (·) is a class K function. If α(·) is a class
K∞ function, so is also α −1 (·).
The properties of stability, asymptotic stability, and global
asymptotic stability can be easily expressed in terms of
inequalities involving comparison functions. In fact, it turns
out that the equilibrium x = 0 is stable if and only if there
exist a class K function α(·) and a number d > 0 such that
|x(t)| ≤ α(|x(0)|)
for all x(0) such that
|x(0)| ≤ d and all t ≥ 0 ,
the equilibrium x = 0 is asymptotically stable if and only if
there exist a class KL function β(·, ·) and a number d > 0
such that
|x(t)| ≤ β(|x(0)|, t)
for all x(0) such that
|x(0)| ≤ d and all t ≥ 0 ,
P > 0 (which actually means xT Px > 0 for all x = 0).
7
In the case of linear systems, the criterion of Lyapunov is
expressed as follows.
Theorem 7.2 The linear system ẋ = Ax is asymptotically
stable (or, what is the same, the eigenvalues of A have
negative real part) if there exists a positive definite matrix
P, such that the matrix
Q := PA + AT P
is negative definite. Conversely, if the eigenvalues of A have
negative real part, then, for any choice of a negative definite
matrix Q, the linear equation
PA + AT P = Q
has a unique solution P, which is positive definite.

and the equilibrium x = 0 is globally asymptotically stable Note that, if V(x) = xT Px,
if and only if there exist a class KL function β(·, ·) such that
∂V
|x(t)| ≤ β(|x(0)|, t) for all x(0)and all t ≥ 0. = 2xT P
∂x

and hence
∂V
7.3.2 Lyapunov Functions Ax = xT (PA + AT P)x.
∂x
The most important criterion for the analysis of the stability Thus, to say that the matrix PA + AT P is negative definite is
properties of an equilibrium is the criterion of Lyapunov. We equivalent to say that the form
introduce first the special form that this criterion takes in the
case of a linear system ∂V
Ax
∂x
ẋ = Ax
is negative definite.
The general, nonlinear, version of the criterion of Lya-
in which x ∈ Rn . Any symmetric n × n matrix P defines a punov appeals to the existence of a positive definite, but not
quadratic form necessarily quadratic, function of x. The quadratic lower and
V(x) = xT Px. upper bounds of (7.5) are therefore replaced by bounds of the
The matrix P is said to be positive definite (respectively form
positive semidefinite) if so is the associated quadratic form α(|x|) ≤ V(x) ≤ α(|x|). (7.6)
V(x), i.e., if, for all x = 0, in which α(·), α(·) are simply class K functions. The criterion
in question is summarized as follows.
V(x) > 0 respectively V(x) ≥ 0.
Theorem 7.3 Let V : Rn → R be a continuously differ-
The matrix is said to be negative definite (respectively neg- entiable function satisfying (7.6) for some pair of class K
ative semidefinite) if −P is positive definite (respectively functions α(·), α(·). If, for some d > 0,
positive semidefinite). It is easy to show that a matrix P is
positive definite if (and only if) there exist positive numbers ∂V
a and a satisfying f (x) ≤ 0 for all |x| < d, (7.7)
∂x
168 A. Isidori

the equilibrium x = 0 of (7.1) is stable. If, for some class K and this contradicts the previous inequality, which shows that
function α(·) and some d > 0, the derivative of V(x(t)) is strictly negative at t = t1 .
To show that (7.8) guarantees asymptotic decay of x(t) to
∂V 0, define γ (r) = α(α −1 (r)), which is a class K function, and
f (x) ≤ −α(|x|) for all |x| < d, (7.8)
∂x observe that α(|x|) ≥ γ (V(x)). Hence,

the equilibrium x = 0 of (7.1) is locally asymptotically stable. ∂V

f (x) ≤ −γ (V(x)).
If α(·), α(·) are class K∞ functions and the inequality in (7.8) ∂x
holds for all x, the equilibrium x = 0 of (7.1) is globally
asymptotically stable. Observe now that V(x(t), a nonincreasing and nonnegative-
valued continuous function of t, has a limit for t → ∞. Let
A function V(x) satisfying (7.6) and either of the subse- this limit be denoted by V∞ . Suppose V∞ is strictly positive.
quent inequalities is called a Lyapunov function. The inequal- Then,
ity on the left-hand side of (7.6) is instrumental, together
d
with (7.7), in establishing existence and boundedness of x(t). V(x(t)) ≤ −γ (V(x(t)) ≤ −γ (V∞ ) < 0.
A simple explanation of the arguments behind the criterion of dt
Lyapunov can be obtained in this way. Suppose (7.7) holds. Integration with respect to time yields
Then, if x(0) is small, the differentiable function of time
V(x(t)) is defined for all t ≥ 0 and nonincreasing along the V(x(t)) ≤ V(x(0)) − γ (V∞ )t
trajectory x(t). Using the inequalities in (7.6), one obtains
for all t. This cannot be the case, because for large t the right-
α(|x(t)|) ≤ V(x(t)) ≤ V(x(0) ≤ α(|x(0)|) hand side is negative, while the left-hand side is nonnegative.
From this, it follows that V∞ = 0, and therefore, using the
fact that V(x) vanishes only at x = 0, it is concluded that
and hence |x(t)| ≤ α −1 ◦ α(|x(0)|), which establishes the
limt→∞ x(t) = 0.
stability of the equilibrium of x = 0.
Similar arguments are very useful in order to establish the
Example 1 In many cases, stability of a nonlinear system can
invariance, in positive time, of certain bounded subsets of
be checked by means of a quadratic Lyapunov function. For
Rn . Specifically, suppose the various inequalities considered
instance, in the case of the system
in Theorem 7.3 hold for d = ∞, and let c denote the set of
all x ∈ Rn for which V(x) ≤ c, namely,
ẋ1 = −x1 + x1 x2
ẋ2 = −x2 − x12 ,
c = {x ∈ Rn : V(x) ≤ c}.
picking the quadratic function V(x1 , x2 ) = x12 + x22 , it is found
A set of this kind is called a sublevel set of the function V(x). that
Note that if α(·) is a class K∞ function, then c is a compact ∂V
f (x) = −2x12 − 2x22
set for all c > 0. Now, if ∂x
and hence, according to Theorem 7.3, it is concluded that the
∂V(x) equilibrium x = 0 is globally asymptotically stable. But in
f (x) < 0
∂x the case of the system

at each point x of the boundary of c , it can be concluded ẋ1 = −x1 + x1 x2

that, for any initial condition in the interior of c , the solution ẋ2 = −x2 − x14 ,
x(t) of (7.1) is defined for all t ≥ 0 and x(t) ∈ c
for all t ≥ 0, that is, the set c is invariant in positive it is more convenient to pick V(x1 , x2 ) = x14 + 2x22 , yielding
time. Indeed, existence and uniqueness are guaranteed by
the local Lipschitz property, so long as x(t) ∈ c , because ∂V
c is a compact set. The fact that x(t) remains in c for all f (x) = −4x14 − 4x22 .
∂x
t≥0 is proved by contradiction. For, suppose that, for some
trajectory x(t), there is a time t1 such that x(t) is in the interior The case of the system (see [11, p.124])
of c at all t < t1 and x(t1 ) is on the boundary of c . Then,
ẋ1 = x2
V(x(t)) < c for all t < t1 and V(x(t1 )) = c ẋ2 = −h(x1 ) − x2 ,
7 Nonlinear Control Theory for Automation 169

in which h(·) is a locally Lypschitz function satisfying asymptotically and locally exponentially stable if and only
h(0) = 0 and h(y)y > 0 for all y = 0, can be handled
by means of a Lyapunov function consisting of two terms,
one of which is a quadratic function and the other of which
is an integral term
   x1
1 T kk
V(x) = x x+ h(y)dy.
2 k1
0
A function having such structure is known as a Lurie-type
Lyapunov function. If the quadratic term is positive definite,
which is the case if and only if 0 < k < 1, the function
in question is positive definite and, in fact, bounded from
below as α(|x|) < V(x), in which α(·) is a class K∞ function.
A simple calculation shows that
∂V
f (x) = −kh1 (x1 )x1 − (1 − k)x22
∂x
in which the right-hand side is negative for all nonzero x.
The criterion for asymptotic stability provided by the
previous theorem has a converse, namely, the existence of a
function V(x) having the properties indicated in Theorem 7.3
is implied by the property of asymptotic stability of the
equilibrium x = 0 of (7.1). In particular, the following result
holds (see e.g. [22]).
Theorem 7.4 Suppose the equilibrium x = 0 of (7.1) is
locally asymptotically stable. Then, there exist d > 0, a
continuously differentiable function V : Rn → R, and class
K functions α(·), α(·), α(·), such that (7.6) and (7.8) hold.
If the equilibrium x = 0 of (7.1) is globally asymptotically
stable, there exist a continuously differentiable function V :
Rn → R and class K∞ functions α(·), α(·), α(·), such
that (7.6) and (7.8) hold with d = ∞.
To conclude, observe that, if x = 0 is an hyperbolic
equilibrium and all eigenvalues of A have negative real part,
|x(t)| is bounded, for small |x(0)|, by a class KL function
β(·, ·) of the form
β(r, t) = Me−λ t r.
If the equilibrium x = 0 of system (7.1) is globally asymp-
totically stable and, moreover, there exist numbers d > 0,
M > 0, and λ > 0 such that
|x(t)| ≤ Me−λt |x(0)| for all |x(0)| ≤ d and all t ≥ 0
it is said that this equilibrium is globally asymptotically
and locally exponentially stable. It can be shown that the
equilibrium x = 0 of the nonlinear system (7.1) is globally
if there exist a continuously differentiable function V(x) :
Rn → R and class K∞ functions α(·), α(·), α(·), and real
numbers δ > 0, a > 0, a > 0, a > 0, such that
7
α(|x|) ≤ V(x) ≤ α(|x|)
for all x ∈ Rn
∂V
f (x) ≤ −α(|x|)
∂x
and
α(s) = as2 , α(s) = as2 , α(s) = as2 for all s ∈ [0, δ].
7.4 Asymptotic Behavior
7.4.1 Limit Sets
In the analysis of dynamical systems, it is often important
to determine whether or not, as time increases, the variables
characterizing the motion asymptotically converge to special
motions exhibiting some form of recurrence. This is the
case, for instance, when a system possesses an asymptotically
stable equilibrium: all motions issued from initial conditions
in a neighborhood of this point converge to a special motion,
in which all variables remain constant. A constant motion, or
more in a general periodic motions, is a motion characterized
by a property of recurrence, which is usually referred to as a
steady-state motion or behavior.
The steady-state behavior of a dynamical system can be
viewed as a kind of limit behavior, approached either as the
actual time t tends to +∞ or, alternatively, as the initial
time t0 tends to −∞. Relevant, in this regard, are certain
concepts introduced by G.D.Birkhoff in [2]. In particular, a
fundamental role is played by the concept of ω-limit set of
a given point, defined as follows. Consider an autonomous
dynamical system such as (7.1) and let x(t, x0 ) denote its flow.
Assume, in particular, that x(t, x0 ) is defined for all t ≥ 0. A
point x is said to be an ω-limit point of the motion x(t, x0 ) if
there exists a sequence of times {tk }, with limk→∞ tk = ∞,
such that
lim x(tk , x0 ) = x.
k→∞
The ω-limit set of a point x0 , denoted ω(x0 ), is the union of
all ω-limit points of the motion x(t, x0 ) (see Fig. 7.2).
If xe is an asymptotically stable equilibrium, then xe =
ω(x0 ) for all x0 in a neighborhood of xe . However, in general,
an ω-limit point is not necessarily a limit of x(t, x0 ) as t → ∞,
because the function in question may not admit any limit
as t → ∞. It happens though, that if the motion x(t, x0 )
170
x (t3, x0)
x (t2, x0)
x (t1, x0)
x
x0
w (x0)
Fig. 7.2 The ω-limit set of a point x0
is bounded, then x(t, x0 ) asymptotically approaches the set
ω(x0 ).
Lemma 7.1 Suppose there is a number M such that
|x(t, x0 )| ≤ M for all t ≥ 0. Then, ω(x0 ) is a nonempty
compact connected set, invariant under (7.1). Moreover, the
distance of x(t, x0 ) from ω(x0 ) tends to 0 as t → ∞.
It is seen from this that the set ω(x0 ) is filled by motions
of (7.1) which are defined, and bounded, for all backward and
forward times. The other remarkable feature is that x(t, x0 )
approaches ω(x0 ) as t → ∞, in the sense that the distance of
the point x(t, x0 ) (the value at time t of the solution of (7.1)
starting in x0 at time t = 0) to the set ω(x0 ) tends to 0 as
t → ∞. A consequence of this property is that, in a system of
the form (7.1), if all motions issued from a set B are bounded,
all such motions asymptotically approach the set
 the interior of B. Then, ω(B) is asymptotically stable, with a
= ω(x0 ).
x0 ∈B
However, the convergence of x(t, x0 ) to is not guaranteed
to be uniform in x0 , even if the set B is compact. There is a
larger set, though, which does have this property of uniform
convergence. This larger set, known as the ω limit set of the
set B, is precisely defined as follows.
Consider again system (7.1), let B be a subset of Rn , and
suppose x(t, x0 ) is defined for all t ≥ 0 and all x0 ∈ B. The
ω-limit set of B, denoted ω(B), is the set of all points x for
which there exists a sequence of pairs {xk , tk }, with xk ∈ B
and limk→∞ tk = ∞ such that
lim x(tk , xk ) = x .
k→∞
A. Isidori
It follows from the definition that if B consists of only one
single point x0 , all xk ’s in the definition above are necessarily
equal to x0 and the definition in question reduces to the
definition of ω-limit set of a point, given earlier. It also
follows that, if for some x0 ∈ B the set ω(x0 ) is nonempty, all
points of ω(x0 ) are points of ω(B). Thus, in particular, if all
motions with x0 ∈ B are bounded in positive time,

ω(x0 ) ⊂ ω(B).
x0 ∈B
However, the converse inclusion is not true in general.
The relevant properties of the ω-limit set of a set, which
extend those presented earlier in Lemma 7.1, can be summa-
rized as follows [6].
Lemma 7.2 Let B be a nonempty bounded subset of Rn , and
suppose there is a number M such that |x(t, x0 )| ≤ M for all
t ≥ 0 and all x0 ∈ B. Then, ω(B) is a nonempty compact
set, invariant under (7.1). Moreover, the distance of x(t, x0 )
from ω(B) tends to 0 as t → ∞, uniformly in x0 ∈ B. If B is
connected, so is ω(B).
Thus, as it is the case for the ω-limit set of a point, the ω-
limit set of a bounded set B, being compact and invariant, is
filled with motions, which exist for all t ∈ (−∞, +∞) and
are bounded backward and forward in time. But, above all,
the set in question is uniformly approached by motions with
initial state x0 ∈ B. An important corollary of the property
of uniform convergence is that if ω(B) is contained in the
interior of B, then ω(B) is also asymptotically stable.
Lemma 7.3 Let B be a nonempty bounded subset of Rn , and
suppose there is a number M such that |x(t, x0 )| ≤ M for all
t ≥ 0 and all x0 ∈ B. Then, ω(B) is a nonempty compact set,
invariant under (7.1). Suppose also that ω(B) is contained in
domain of attraction that contains B.
7.4.2 Steady-State Behavior
Consider now again system (7.1), with initial conditions in
a closed subset X ⊂ Rn . Suppose the set X is positively
invariant, which means that for any initial condition x0 ∈ X,
the solution x(t, x0 ) exists for all t ≥ 0 and x(t, x0 ) ∈ X for all
t ≥ 0. The motions of this system are said to be ultimately
bounded if there is a bounded subset B with the property that,
for every compact subset X0 of X, there is a time T > 0, such
that x(t, x0 ) ∈ B for all t ≥ T and all x0 ∈ X0 . In other words,
if the motions of the system are ultimately bounded, every
motion eventually enters and remains in the bounded set B.
7 Nonlinear Control Theory for Automation 171

Suppose the motions of (7.1) are ultimately bounded and with state x ∈ Rn and input u ∈ Rm , in which f (0, 0) = 0 and
let B = B be any other bounded subset with the property that, f (x, u) is locally Lipschitz on Rn × Rm . The input function
for every compact subset X0 of X, there is a time T > 0 such u : [0, ∞) → Rm of (7.10) can be any piecewise continuous
that x(t, x0 ) ∈ B for all t ≥ T and all x0 ∈ X0 . Then, it is easy bounded function. The set of all such functions, endowed
to check that ω(B ) = ω(B). Thus, in view of the properties with the supremum norm 7
described in Lemma 7.2 above, the following definition can
be adopted (see [9]). u(·)∞ = sup |u(t)|,
t≥0
Definition 3 Suppose the motions of system (7.1), with
m
initial conditions in a closed and positively invariant set X, is denoted by L∞ .
are ultimately bounded. A steady-state motion is any motion
with initial condition x(0) ∈ ω(B). The set ω(B) is the Definition 4 System (7.10) is said to be input-to-state stable
steady-state locus of (7.1), and the restriction of (7.1) to ω(B) if there exist a class KL function β(·, ·) and a class K function
is the steady-state behavior of (7.1).
γ (·), called a gain function, such that, for any input u(·) ∈ L∞
m

and any x0 ∈ R , the response x(t) of (7.10) in the initial state

n

x(0) = x0 satisfies
7.5 Dynamical Systems with Inputs
|x(t)| ≤ β(|x0 |, t) + γ (u(·)∞ ) for all t ≥ 0. (7.11)
7.5.1 Input-to-State Stability (ISS)
It is common practice to replace the wording “input-to-
In this section, we show how to determine the stability state stable” with the acronym “ISS.” In this way, a system
properties of an interconnected system, on the basis of the possessing the property expressed by (7.11) is said to be an
properties of each individual component. The easiest inter- ISS—system. Since, for any pair β > 0, γ > 0, max{β, γ } ≤
connection to be analyzed is a cascade connection of two β +γ ≤ max{2β, 2γ }, an alternative way to say that a system
subsystems, namely, a system of the form is input-to-state stable is to say that there exists a class KL
function β(·, ·) and a class K function γ (·), such that, for any
ẋ = f (x, z) input u(·) ∈ L∞ m
and any x0 ∈ Rn , the response x(t) of (7.10)
(7.9)
ż = g(z), in the initial state x(0) = x0 satisfies

with x ∈ Rn , z ∈ Rm , in which we assume f (0, 0) = 0 and |x(t)| ≤ max{β(|x0 |, t), γ (u(·)∞ )} for all t ≥ 0. (7.12)
g(0) = 0.
If the equilibrium x = 0 of ẋ = f (x, 0) is locally asymptot-
ically stable and the equilibrium z = 0 of the lower subsystem The property, for a given system, of being input-to-state
is locally asymptotically stable, then the equilibrium (x, z) = stable, can be given a characterization, which extends the
(0, 0) of the cascade is locally asymptotically stable. How- criterion of Lyapunov for asymptotic stability. The key tool
ever, in general, global asymptotic stability of the equilibrium for this analysis is the notion of ISS–Lyapunov function,
x = 0 of ẋ = f (x, 0) and global asymptotic stability of the defined as follows.
equilibrium z = 0 of the lower subsystem do not imply global
asymptotic stability of the equilibrium (x, z) = (0, 0) of the Definition 5 A C1 function V : Rn → R is an ISS–
cascade. To infer global asymptotic stability of the cascade, Lyapunov function for system (7.10) if there exist class K∞
a stronger condition is needed, which expresses a property functions α(·), α(·), and α(·) and a class K function χ(·),
describing how –in the upper subsystem– the response x(·) is such that
influenced by its input z(·).
The property in question requires that when z(t) is α(|x|) ≤ V(x) ≤ α(|x|) for all x ∈ Rn (7.13)
bounded, over the semi-infinite time interval [0, +∞),
then also x(t) be bounded, and, in particular that, if z(t) and
asymptotically decays to 0, then also x(t) decays to 0. These
requirements altogether lead to the notion of input-to-state ∂V
|x| ≥ χ(|u|) ⇒ f (x, u) ≤ −α(|x|)
stability, introduced and studied in [15, 16]. The notion in ∂x
(7.14)
question is defined as follows (see also [8, Chapter 10] for
additional details). Consider a nonlinear system for all x ∈ R and u ∈ R .
n m

ẋ = f (x, u) (7.10) An alternative, equivalent, definition is the following one.

172 A. Isidori

Definition 6 A C1 function V : Rn → R is an ISS- unique solution of the Lyapunov equation PA + AT P = −I

Lyapunov function for system (7.10) if there exist class K∞ and observe that the function V(x) = xT Px satisfies
functions α(·), α(·), α(·), and a class K function σ (·) such
that (7.13) holds and a|x|2 ≤ V(x) ≤ a|x|2

∂V for suitable a > 0 and a > 0 and that

f (x, u) ≤ −α(|x|) + σ (|u|)
∂x
(7.15)
∂V
for all x ∈ Rn and all u ∈ Rm . (Ax + Bu) ≤ −|x|2 + 2|x||P||B||u|.
∂x

The importance of the notion of ISS–Lyapunov function Pick any 0 < ε < 1 and set
resides in the following criterion, which extends the criterion
of Lyapunov for global asymptotic stability to systems with 2
c= |P||B| , χ(r) = cr.
inputs. 1−ε

Then,
Theorem 7.5 System (7.10) is input-to-state stable if and
only if there exists an ISS–Lyapunov function. ∂V
|x| ≥ χ(|u|) ⇒ (Ax + Bu) ≤ −ε|x|2 .
∂x
The comparison functions appearing in the esti-
Thus, the system is input-to-state stable, with a gain function
mates (7.13) and (7.14) are useful to obtain an estimate of
the gain function γ (·), which characterizes the bound (7.12).
γ (r) = (c a/a) r
In fact, it can be shown that if system (7.10) possesses an
ISS–Lyapunov function V(x), the sublevel set
which is a linear function.
Consider now the simple nonlinear one-dimensional sys-
u(·)∞ = {x ∈ Rn : V(x) ≤ α(χ(u(·)∞ ))}
tem
ẋ = −axk + xp u ,
is invariant in positive time for (7.10). Thus, in view of the
estimates (7.13), if the initial state of the system is initially in which k ∈ N is odd, p ∈ N satisfies p < k, and a > 0.
inside this sublevel set, the following estimate holds Choose a candidate ISS–Lyapunov function as V(x) = 12 x2 ,
which yields
|x(t)| ≤ α −1 (α(χ(u(·)∞ ))) for all t ≥ 0 ,
∂V
f (x, u) = −axk+1 + xp+1 u ≤ −a|x|k+1 + |x|p+1 |u|.
and one can obtain an estimate of γ (·) as ∂x

Set ν = k − p to obtain
γ (r) = α −1 ◦ α ◦ χ(r).
∂V

In other words, establishing the existence of an ISS– f (x, u) ≤ |x|p+1 −a|x|ν + |u| .
∂x
Lyapunov function V(x) is useful not only to check whether
or not the system in question is input-to-state stable but also Thus, using the class K∞ function α(r) = εrk+1 , with ε > 0,
to determine an estimate of the gain function γ (·). Knowing it is deduced that
such estimate is important, as it will be shown later, in
using the concept of input-to-state stability to determine the ∂V
f (x, u) ≤ −α(|x|)
stability of interconnected systems. ∂x
The following simple examples may help understanding
the concept of input-to-state stability and the associated provided that
Lyapunov-like theorem. (a − ε)|x|ν ≥ |u|.

Taking, without loss of generality, ε < a, it is concluded that

Example 2 Consider a linear system
condition (7.14) holds for the class K function
ẋ = Ax + Bu r
ν1
χ(r) = .
a−ε
with x ∈ Rn and u ∈ Rm , and suppose that all the eigenvalues
of the matrix A have negative real part. Let P > 0 denote the Thus, the system is input-to-state stable.
7 Nonlinear Control Theory for Automation
An important feature of the previous example, which
made it possible to prove the system is input-to-state stable,
is the inequality p < k. In fact, if this inequality does not
hold, the system may fail to be input-to-state stable. This can
be seen, for instance, in the simple example
ẋ = −x + xu.
To this end, suppose u(t) = 2 for all t ≥ 0. The state response
of the system, to this input, from the initial state x(0) = x0
coincides with that of the autonomous system ẋ = x , i.e.,
x(t) = et x0 , which shows that the bound (7.11) cannot hold.
ẋ = f (x, z) , viewed as a system with input z, and state x is
We conclude with an alternative characterization of the
property of input-to-state stability, which is useful in many
instances (see [17]).
Theorem 7.6 System (7.10) is input-to-state stable if and
only if there exists class K functions γ0 (·) and γ (·) such that,
for any input u(·) ∈ L∞ m
and any x0 ∈ Rn , the response x(t)
in the initial state x(0) = x0 satisfies
|x(·)|∞ ≤ max{γ0 (|x0 |), γ (u(·)∞ )}
lim sup |x(t)| ≤ γ (lim sup |u(t)|).
t→∞ t→∞
7.5.2 Cascade Connections
The property of input-to-state stability is of paramount im-
portance in the analysis of interconnected systems. The first
application consists in the analysis of the cascade connection.
As a matter of fact, the cascade connection of two input-to-
state stable systems turns out to be input-to-state stable. More
precisely, consider a system of the form (see Fig. 7.3)
ẋ = f (x, z)
(7.16)
ż = g(z, u),
in which x ∈ Rn , z ∈ Rm , f (0, 0) = 0, g(0, 0) = 0, and
f (x, z), g(z, u) are locally Lipschitz.
Theorem 7.7 Suppose that system
ẋ = f (x, z), (7.17)
u z
ż = g(z, u) ẋ = f(x, z)
Fig. 7.3 Cascade connection
173
viewed as a system with input z, and state x is input-to-state
stable and that system
ż = g(z, u), (7.18)
7
viewed as a system with input u, and state z is input-to-state
stable as well. Then, system (7.16) is input-to-state stable.
As an immediate corollary of this theorem, it is possible to
answer the question of when the cascade connection (7.9) is
globally asymptotically stable. In fact, if the upper subsystem
input-to-state stable and the equilibrium z = 0 of the lower
subsystem is globally asymptotically stable, the equilibrium
(x, z) = (0, 0) of system (7.9) is globally asymptotically
stable.
Example 3 We have observed before that, in the composite
system (7.9), global asymptotic stability of the equilibrium
x = 0 of ẋ = f (x, 0) and global asymptotic stability of the
equilibrium z = 0 of the lower subsystem do not imply,
in general, global asymptotic stability of the equilibrium
(x, z) = (0, 0). To see that this is the case, consider the system
ẋ = −x + x2 z
ż = −z.
In the upper subsystem, the equilibrium x = 0 for z = 0 is
globally asymptotically stable, but the system is not input-to-
state stable; the equilibrium z = 0 of the lower subsystem
is globally asymptotically stable. It can be shown that the
equilibrium (x, z) = (0, 0) is not globally asymptotically
stable and, even, that there are initial conditions from which
trajectories escape to infinity in finite time. To show that this
is the case, consider the differential equation
x̃˙ = −x̃ + x̃2 (7.19)
with initial condition x̃(0) = x0 . Its solution is
−x0
x̃(t) = exp(−t).
x0 − 1 − x0 exp(−t)
Suppose x0 > 1. Then, the x̃(t) escapes to infinity in finite
time. In particular, the maximal (positive) time interval on
which x̃(t) is defined is the interval [0, tmax (x0 )) with
 
x0
tmax (z0 ) = ln .
x0 − 1
Now, return to system (7.9), with initial condition (x0 , z0 ),
and let z0 be such that
z(t) = exp(−t)z0 ≥ 1 for all t ∈ [0, tmax (x0 )).
174 A. Isidori

Clearly, on the time interval [0, tmax (x0 )), we have of class KL, and the second of class K, such that the response
x1 (·) to any input x2 (·) ∈ L∞
n2
satisfies
ẋ = −x + x2 z ≥ −x + x2 .
|x1 (t)| ≤ max{β1 (|x1 (0)|, t), γ1 (x2 (·)∞ )}
By comparison with (7.19), it follows that (7.21)
for all t ≥ 0.

x(t) ≥ x̃(t). Likewise, the hypothesis of input-to-state stability of the

second subsystem is equivalent to the existence of three class
Hence, x(t) escapes to infinity, at a time t∗ ≤ tmax (x0 ). functions β2 (·), γ2 (·), and γu (·), such that the response x2 (·)
On the contrary, in the cascade connection to any input x1 (·) ∈ L∞ n1
, u(·) ∈ L∞
m
satisfies

ẋ = −x3 + x2 z
ż = −z
the equilibrium (x, z) = (0, 0) is globally asymptotically
stable because the upper subsystem, viewed as a system with
input z, is input-to-state stable.
the interconnected system (7.20), is that if the composite
7.5.3 Feedback Connections
In this section, we investigate the stability property of
feedback-connected nonlinear systems, and we will see
that the property of input-to-state stability lends itself
to a simple characterization of an important sufficient
condition under which the feedback interconnection of two
globally asymptotically stable systems remains globally
asymptotically stable.
Consider the following interconnected system (Fig. 7.4)
ẋ1 = f1 (x1 , x2 )
(7.20)
ẋ2 = f2 (x1 , x2 , u),
|x2 (t)| ≤ max{β2 (|x2 (0)|, t), γ2 (x1 (·)∞ ), γu (u(·)∞ )}
for all t ≥ 0.
(7.22)
The important result, for the analysis of the stability of
function γ1 ◦ γ2 (·) is a simple contraction, i.e., if
γ1 (γ2 (r)) < r for all r > 0, (7.23)
the system in question is input-to-state stable. This result is
usually referred to as the small-gain theorem.
Theorem 7.8 If the condition (7.23) holds, system (7.20),
viewed as a system with state x = (x1 , x2 ) and input u, is
input-to-state stable.
The condition (7.23), i.e., the condition that the composed
function γ1 ◦ γ2 (·) is a contraction, is usually referred to as
the small gain condition.

in which x1 ∈ Rn1 , x2 ∈ Rn2 , u ∈ Rm , and f1 (0, 0) = 0, 7.5.4 The Steady-State Response

f2 (0, 0, 0) = 0. Suppose that the first subsystem, viewed as
a system with internal state x1 and input x2 , is input-to-state
stable. Likewise, suppose that the second subsystem, viewed
as a system with internal state x2 and inputs x1 and u, is input-
to-state stable. In view of the results presented earlier, the
hypothesis of input-to-state stability of the first subsystem is
equivalent to the existence of functions β1 (·, ·), γ1 (·), the first
In this subsection, we show how the concept of steady state,
introduced earlier, and the property of input-to-state stability
are useful in the analysis of the steady-state response of a sys-
tem to inputs generated by a separate autonomous dynamical
system (see [10]).
Example 4 Consider an n-dimensional, single-input, asymp-
totically stable linear system

ẋ1 = f1(x1, x2) ż = Fz + Gu (7.24)

x2 x1 forced by the harmonic input u(t) = u0 sin(ωt + φ0 ). A

simple method to analyze the asymptotic behavior of (7.24)
consists in viewing the forcing input u(t) as provided by an
ẋ2 = f2(x1, x2, u) u autonomous “signal generator” of the form
 
0 ω  
ẇ = w := Sw u = 1 0 w := Qw
Fig. 7.4 Feedback connection −ω 0
7 Nonlinear Control Theory for Automation
and in analyzing the state-state behavior of the associated
“augmented” system
ẇ = Sw
(7.25)
ż = Fz + GQw.
Since the spectra of F and S are disjoint, the Sylvester
equation S = F + GQ has a solution  and the graph
of the linear map z = w is an invariant subspace for
the system (7.25). Since all trajectories of (7.25) approach
this subspace as t → ∞, the limit behavior of (7.25) is
determined by the restriction of its motion to this invariant
subspace.
Revisiting this analysis from the viewpoint of the more
general notion of steady-state introduced earlier, let W ⊂ R2
be a set of the form
W = {w ∈ R2 : |w| ≤ c} (7.26)
in which c is a fixed number, and suppose the set of initial
conditions for (7.25) is W × Rn . This is in fact the case when
the problem of evaluating the periodic response of (7.24) to
harmonic inputs whose amplitude does not exceed a fixed
number c is addressed. The set W is compact and invariant
for the upper subsystem of (7.25), and, as it is easy to check,
the ω-limit set of W under the motion of the upper subsystem
of (7.25) is the subset W itself.
The set W × Rn is closed and positively invariant for the
full system (7.25), and, moreover, since the lower subsys-
tem of (7.25) is input-to-state stable, the motions of system
of (7.25), for initial conditions taken in W ×Rn , are ultimately
bounded. Then, it is easy to check that the steady state locus
of (7.25) is the set
ω(B) = {(w, z) ∈ R2 × Rn : w ∈ W, z = w} ,
i.e., the graph of the restriction of the map z = w to the
set W. The restriction of (7.25) to the invariant set ω(B)
characterizes the steady-state behavior of (7.24) under the
family of all harmonic inputs of fixed angular frequency ω
and amplitude not exceeding c.
of the form
Example 5 A similar conclusion, namely, the fact that the
steady state locus is the graph of a map, can be reached if the
“signal generator” is any nonlinear system, with initial con-
ditions chosen in a compact invariant set W. More precisely,
consider an augmented system of the form
ẇ = s(w)
(7.27)
ż = Fz + Gq(w) ,
175
in which w ∈ W ⊂ Rr and x ∈ Rn , and assume that (i)
all eigenvalues of F have negative real part and (ii) the set
W is a compact set, invariant for the the upper subsystem
of (7.27).
As in the previous example, since the lower subsystem 7
of (7.27) is input-to-state stable, the motions of system (7.27),
for initial conditions taken in W×Rn , are ultimately bounded.
It is easy to check that the steady-state locus of (7.27) is the
graph of the map π : W → Rn defined by
 0
π(w) = lim e−Fτ Gq(w(τ , w))dτ. (7.28)
T→∞ −T
There are various ways in which the result discussed in
these examples can be generalized. For instance, it can be
extended to analyze, in the neighborhood of a locally expo-
nentially stable equilibrium point, the steady-state response
of a nonlinear system
ż = f (z, u) (7.29)
to an input u produced by a signal generator of the form
ẇ = s(w)
(7.30)
u = q(w)
with initial conditions in a compact invariant set W. In this
case, too, it is possible to show that, if W is small enough,
the steady-state locus of (7.29)–(7.30) is the graph of a map
π : W → Rn .
7.6 Stabilization of Nonlinear Systems via
State Feedback
7.6.1 Relative Degree, Normal Forms
In this section, we consider the class of single-input single-
output nonlinear systems that can be modeled by equations
ẋ = f (x) + g(x)u
(7.31)
y = h(x)
in which x ∈ Rn and in which f : Rn → Rn and g : Rn → Rn
are vector fields and h : Rn → R is a smooth function. Such
systems are usually referred to as input-affine systems.
Stabilization of nonlinear systems is a very difficult task,
and general methods are not available. Only if the equations
of the system exhibit a special structure do there exist sys-
tematic methods for the design of pure state feedback (or,
if necessary, dynamic, output feedback) laws yielding global
asymptotic stability of an equilibrium. Special structures of
176
the equations, which facilitate the design of feedback laws,
are revealed by changes of coordinates in the state space.
While, in the case of a linear system, a change of co-
ordinates consists in replacing the original state vector x
with a new vector x̃ related to x by means of the linear
transformation x̃ = Tx in which T is a nonsingular matrix,
in the case of a nonlinear system, a change of coordinates is
a transformation x̃ = (x) in which (·) is a map Rn → Rn
having the following properties:
(i) (·) is invertible, i.e., there exists a map −1 : Rn →
A. Isidori
The concept thus introduced is a local concept, namely,
r may depend on the specific point x◦ about which the
functions Lg Lfk h(x) are evaluated. The value of r may be
different at different points of Rn , and there may be points
where a relative degree cannot be defined. However, since
f (x), g(x), and h(x) are smooth, the set of points, where a
relative degree can be defined, is an open and dense subset
of Rn . Note that a single-input single-output linear system
is a special case of a system of the form (7.31), obtained by
setting f (x) = Ax, and g(x) = B, h(x) = Cx. In this case,
Lfk h(x) = CAk x and therefore Lg Lfk h(x) = CAk B. Thus, the
Rn , such that −1 ((x)) = x for all x ∈ Rn and integer r is the smallest value of r for which CAr−1 B = 0.
(−1 (x̃)) = x̃ for all x̃ ∈ Rn In order to check that the integer in question characterizes
(ii) (·) and −1 (·) are both smooth mappings, i.e., have the number of derivatives of y(t) needed to have u(t) explic-
continuous partial derivatives of any order. itly appearing, assume that the system at time t = 0 is in the
state x(0) = x◦ , and calculate the value of the output y(t) and
A transformation of this type is called a global diffeomor- of its derivatives with respect to time y(k) (t), for k = 1, 2, . . .
phism. Sometimes, a transformation possessing properties (i) for values of t near t = 0. By definition
and (ii) and defined for all x is difficult to find. Thus, in some
cases, one rather looks at transformations defined only in a y(t) = h(x(t))
neighborhood of a given point. A transformation of this type
is called a local diffeomorphism. and
To the purpose of deriving a special form of the equa-
tions describing the system, it is appropriate to associate ∂h dx ∂h
y(1) (t) = = [f (x(t)) + g(x(t))u(t)]
with (7.31) an integer, known as relative degree, that –in a ∂x dt ∂x
nutshell– “counts” the number of times the output y(t) of
the system has to be differentiated (with respect to time) = Lf h(x(t)) + Lg h(x(t))u(t).
so as to have the input u(t) explicitly appearing. Since tak-
At time t = 0,
ing successive derivatives of the output of (7.31) implies
taking successive derivatives of h(x(t)) in which x(t) obeys
y(1) (0) = Lf h(x◦ ) + Lg h(x◦ )u(0).
ẋ(t) = f (x(t)) + g(x(t))u(t), it is convenient to introduce a
notation by means of which such successive derivatives can
Thus, if r = 1, the value y(1) (0) is an affine function of u(0).
be expressed in compact form. Let λ be real-valued smooth
If r > 1 and |t| is small (in which case x(t) remains in a
function and f a smooth vector field, both defined on a subset
neighborhood of x◦ ), one has Lg h(x(t)) = 0 for all such t and
U of Rn . The function Lf λ is the real-valued smooth function
consequently
defined as
y(1) (t) = Lf h(x(t)) ,
which in turn yields
n
∂λ ∂λ
Lf λ(x) = fi (x) := f (x).
∂xi ∂x ∂Lf h dx ∂Lf h
i=1 y(2) (t) = = [f (x(t)) + g(x(t))u(t)]
∂x dt ∂x

This function is sometimes called the derivative of λ along = Lf2 h(x(t)) + Lg Lf h(x(t))u(t).
f. If g is another vector field, the notation Lg Lf λ(x) stands for
the derivative of the real-valued function Lf λ along g, and the At time t = 0,
notation Lfk λ(x) stands for the derivative of the real-valued
function Lfk−1 λ along f . y(2) (0) = Lf2 h(x◦ ) + Lg Lf h(x◦ )u(0).
The nonlinear system (7.31) is said to have relative degree
r at a point x◦ if there exists a neighborhood U of x◦ such Thus, if r = 2, the value y(2) (0) is an affine function of u(0).
that: If r > 2, and |t| is small, one has Lg Lf h(x(t)) = 0 and
consequently
(i) Lg Lfk h(x) = 0 for all x ∈ U and all k < r − 1 y(2) (t) = Lf2 h(x(t)).
(ii) Lg Lfr−1 h(x◦ ) = 0 all x ∈ U. Continuing in the same way, one arrives at
7 Nonlinear Control Theory for Automation 177

y(k) (t) = Lfk h(x(t)) for all k < r and all t near t = 0 On the right-hand side of this equation, x must be replaced
y(r) (0) = Lfr h(x◦ ) + Lg Lfr−1 h(x◦ )u(0). by its expression as a function of x̃, which will be written as
x = −1 (z, ξ ). Thus, setting
The calculations above suggest that the functions h(x), 7
q(z, ξ ) = Lfr h(−1 (z, ξ ))
Lf h(x), . . . , Lfr−1 h(x) must have a special importance. As a
matter of fact, such functions can be used in order to define, b(z, ξ ) = Lg Lfr−1 h(−1 (z, ξ ))
at least partially, a local coordinate transformation around x◦ .
If r = n, these functions define a full change of coordinates. the equation in question can be rewritten as
Otherwise, if r < n, the change of coordinates can be
dξr
completed by picking n − r additional functions, yielding a = q(z(t), ξ(t)) + b(z(t), ξ(t))u(t).
full change of coordinates. dt

Note that, by definition of relative degree, at the point

Proposition 7.1 Suppose the system has relative degree r at x̃◦ =col(z◦ , ξ ◦ )=(x◦ ), we have b(z◦ , ξ ◦ )=Lg Lfr−1 h(x◦ )=0.
x◦ . Then, r ≤ n. If r is strictly less than n, it is always possible Thus, the coefficient b(z, ξ ) is nonzero for all (z, ξ ) in a
to find n − r more functions ψ1 (x), . . . , ψn−r (x), such that the neighborhood of (z◦ , ξ ◦ ).
mapping
⎛ ⎞ As far as the other new coordinates are concerned, one
ψ1 (x) cannot expect any special structure for the corresponding
⎜ ... ⎟
⎜ ⎟ equations, if nothing else has been specified. However, if
⎜ ψn−r (x) ⎟
⎜ ⎟ ψ1 (x), . . . , ψn−r (x) have been chosen in such a way that
(x) = ⎜ ⎜ h(x) ⎟
⎟
Lg ψi (x) = 0, then
⎜ Lf h(x) ⎟
⎜ ⎟
⎝ ... ⎠
Lfr−1 h(x) dzi ∂ψi
= [f (x(t)) + g(x(t))u(t)]
qualifies as a local coordinates transformation in a neighbor- dt ∂x
hood of x◦ . The value at x◦ of these additional functions can = Lf ψi (x(t)) + Lg ψi (x(t))u(t) = Lf ψi (x(t)).
be fixed arbitrarily. Moreover, it is always possible to choose
ψ1 (x), . . . , ψn−r (x), in such a way that Setting ⎛ ⎞
Lf ψ1 (−1 (z, ξ ))
Lg ψi (x) = 0 for all 1 ≤ i ≤ n − r and all x around x◦ . f0 (z, ξ ) = ⎝ ··· ⎠
−1
Lf ψn−r ( (z, ξ ))
The description of the system in the new coordinates is the latter can be rewritten as
found very easily. Set
dz
⎛ ⎞ ⎛ ⎞ ⎛ ⎞ ⎛ ⎞ = f0 (z(t), ξ(t)).
z1 ψ1 (x) ξ1 h(x) dt
⎜ z2 ⎟ ⎜ ψ2 (x) ⎟ ⎜ ξ2 ⎟ ⎜ Lf h(x) ⎟
z=⎜ ⎟ ⎜
⎝ ··· ⎠ = ⎝ ··· ⎠,
⎟ ξ =⎜ ⎟ ⎜
⎝· · ·⎠ = ⎝ · · · ⎠
⎟ Thus, in summary, in the new (local) coordinates, the
system is described by equations of the form
zn−r ψn−r (x) ξr Lfr−1 h(x)
ż = f0 (z, ξ )
and
ξ̇1 = ξ2
x̃ = col(z1 , . . . , zn−r , ξ1 , . . . , ξr ) := (x).
ξ̇2 = ξ3
Bearing in mind the previous calculations, it is seen that (7.32)
···
dξ1 ∂h dx ξ̇r−1 = ξr
= = Lf h(x(t)) = ξ2 (t)
dt ∂x d t ξ̇r = q(z, ξ ) + b(z, ξ )u.
···
dξr−1 ∂(Lfr−2 h) dx In addition to these equations, one has to specify how the
= = Lfr−1 h(x(t)) = ξr (t). output of the system is related to the new state variables.
dt ∂x dt
Being y = h(x), it is readily seen that y = ξ1 .
while, for ξr , The equations thus found are said to be in strict normal
form. They can be given a compact expression if one uses the
dξr three matrices  ∈ Rr × Rr , B̂ ∈ Rr × R, and Ĉ ∈ R × Rr ,
= Lfr h(x(t)) + Lg Lfr−1 h(x(t))u(t).
dt defined as
178 A. Isidori

⎛ ⎞ ⎛ ⎞
0 1 0 ··· 0 0 ξ̇ = (Â + B̂K̂)ξ + B̂v
⎜0 0 1 · · · 0 ⎟ ⎜0⎟
⎜ ⎟ ⎜ ⎟   y = Ĉξ.
 = ⎜ ⎟
⎜· · · · · · ·⎟ , B̂ = ⎜ ⎟
⎜· · ·⎟ , Ĉ = 1 0 0 · · · 0 .
⎝0 0 0 · · · 1 ⎠ ⎝0⎠
It is seen, in this way, that if a system has relative degree
0 0 0 ··· 0 1
n and a globally defined normal form exists, there exist a
(7.33)
change of coordinates and a feedback law
With the aid of such matrices, the equations above can be
rewritten in the form ⎛ ⎞
h(x)
⎜ Lf h(x) ⎟ 1
ż = f0 (z, ξ ) ξ =⎜ ⎟ u= [−Lfn h(x) + v]
⎝ ··· ⎠ Lg Lfn−1 h(x)
ξ̇ = Âξ + B̂[q(z, ξ ) + b(z, ξ )u] (7.34) Lfn−1 h(x)
y = Ĉξ.
that transform the system into a fully linear system. This
Note that, if f (0) = 0, that is, if x = 0 is an equilibrium design method is know as feedback linearization. Note also
of the autonomous system ẋ = f (x), and if h(0) = 0, the that, since the pair (Â, B̂) is controllable, the eigenvalues of
functions Lfk h(x) are zero at x = 0. Since the values of the (Â + B̂K̂) can be freely assigned.
complementary functions ψj (x) at x = 0 are arbitrary, one
can pick them in such a way that ψj (0) = 0. As a result,
(0) = 0. Accordingly, in system (7.34), we have 7.6.3 Global Stabilization via Partial
Feedback Linearization
f0 (0, 0) = 0 q(0, 0) = 0.
If r < n, the system (7.36) is only partly linear. As a matter
It can be shown that, if the system has relative degree of fact, the system is linear from the input-output viewpoint,
r at each x◦ ∈ Rn and some additional technical condi- but there are internal dynamics, namely, those of
tions (involving the vector fields f (x), g(x), see [8, Chapter
11]) hold, the coordinates transformation (x) considered in ż = f0 (z, ξ ) , (7.37)
Proposition 7.1 and, consequently, the normal form (7.34) are
globally defined. In what follows, we assume that this is the that are possibly nonlinear. Thus, if a feedback law of the
case. form (7.35) is to be used, the role of such internal dynamics
should be carefully weighted. In this respect, the following
notions play an important role.
7.6.2 Feedback Linearization
Definition 7 A system is globally minimum-phase if the
As anticipated, once the system has been expressed in normal equilibrium z = 0 of ż = f0 (z, 0) is globally asymp-
form as in (7.34), the design of feedback laws is easied. In totically stable. The system is strongly minimum-phase if
fact, since by definition the coefficient b(z, ξ ) is nowhere system (7.37), viewed as a system with input ξ and state z,
zero, it is admissible to consider a feedback law of the form is input-to-state stable.

1 Remark 1 The terminology “minimum-phase” is borrowed

u= (−q(z, ξ ) + K̂ξ + v) , (7.35)
b(z, ξ ) from a terminology in use for linear systems. In fact, in a
linear system, the dynamics (7.37) are linear dynamics that
in which K̂ ∈ R × Rr is a vector of design parameters. Under can be modeled as ż = F0 z + G0 ξ . It can be shown that, if the
this feedback law, the system becomes system is controllable and observable, the eigenvalues of F0
coincide with the zeros of the transfer function of the system.
ż = f0 (z, ξ ) Since, according to a terminology that dates back to the work
of H.W. Bode, systems whose transfer function have all zeros
ξ̇ = (Â + B̂K̂)ξ + B̂v (7.36) with negative real part are said to be “minimum-phase,” it
y = Ĉξ. turns out that a linear system is minimum-phase if (and only
if) all the eigenvalues of F0 have negative real part, that is, if
In the special case in which r = n, the subset z of new the system ż = F0 z is (globally) asymptotically stable. In the
coordinates is missing, and the equations above reduce those case of a nonlinear system, global stability of the equilibrium
of a fully linear system z = 0 of ż = f0 (z, 0) is only implied by the property of
7 Nonlinear Control Theory for Automation 179

input-to-state stability of (7.37), and this motivates the use of This feedback strategy, although very intuitive and el-
the attribute “strongly” to denote the latter, stronger, property. ementary, is not useful in a practical context, because it

relies upon exact cancelation of certain nonlinear functions

and, as such, possibly non-robust. Uncertainties in f (x) and
If a system is strongly minimum-phase, global asymptotic g(x) would make this strategy unapplicable. Moreover, the 7
stability of the equilibrium (z, ξ ) = (0, 0) can be achieved by implementation of such control law requires the availability,
means of the partially linearizing control for feedback purposes, of the full state x of the system, a
condition that might be hard to ensure. It will be seen in what
1 follows how such drawbacks can be overcome.
u= (−q(z, ξ ) + K̂ξ + v). (7.38)
b(z, ξ )

In fact, since the pair (Â, B̂) is reachable, it is possible to pick 7.6.4 Global Stabilization via Backstepping
K̂ so that the matrix (Â + B̂K̂) is a Hurwitz matrix. In this
case, the resulting system We describe now a method for global asymptotic stabilization
of a system of the following form
ż = f0 (z, ξ )
ż = f0 (z, ξ1 )
ξ̇ = (Â + B̂K̂)ξ + B̂v (7.40)
ξ̇ = Âξ + B̂(q(z, ξ ) + b(z, ξ )u).
appears as a cascade connection in which an input-to-state
Unlike the case addressed in the previous section, here the
stable system (the lower subsystem) drives an input-to-state
dynamics of z are affected only by the first component ξ1
stable system (the upper subsystem). According to Theo-
of ξ . The dynamics in question, though, is not required to
rem 7.7, such cascade connection is input-to-state stable
be input-to-state stable, as in the previous section, but it is
stable (and, hence, its equilibrium (z, ξ ) = (0, 0) is globally
simply assumed that the equilibrium z = 0 of ż = f0 (z, ξ1 ) is
asymptotically stable).
stabilizable by means of some control law ξ1 = v (z).
The feedback law (7.38) is expressed in the (z, ξ ) coordi-
The method for stabilization is a recursive method, based
nates that characterize the normal form (7.34). To express it
on a simple “modular” property.
in the original coordinates that characterize the model (7.31),
it suffices to bear in mind that
Lemma 7.4 Consider a system described by equations of
the form
b(z, ξ ) = Lg Lfr−1 h(x) , q(z, ξ ) = Lfr h(x) ż = f0 (z, ξ )
(7.41)
ξ̇ = q(z, ξ ) + b(z, ξ )u
and to observe that since ξi = Lfi−1 h(x) for i = 1, . . . , r, then
in which (z, ξ ) ∈ Rn × R and the functions f0 (z, ξ ), q(z, ξ ),
and b(z, ξ ) are continuously differentiable functions. Suppose

r
that b(z, ξ ) = 0 for all (z, ξ ) and that f0 (0, 0) = 0 and
K̂ξ = k̂i Lfi−1 h(x)
i=1
q(0, 0) = 0. If z = 0 is a globally asymptotically stable equi-
librium of ż = f0 (z, 0), there exists a differentiable function
u = u(z, ξ ) with u(0, 0) = 0, such that the equilibrium at
in which k̂1 , . . . , k̂r are the entries of the row vector K̂. Thus,
(z, ξ ) = (0, 0)
the following conclusion holds.
ż = f0 (z, ξ )
Proposition 7.2 Consider a system of the form (7.31), with
f (0) = 0 and h(0) = 0. Suppose the system has relative ξ̇ = q(z, ξ ) + b(z, ξ )u(z, ξ )
degree r and possesses a globally defined normal form.
Suppose the system is strongly minimum-phase. If K̂ ∈ R×Rr is globally asymptotically stable.
is any vector such that σ (Â + B̂K̂) ∈ C − , the state feedback
law The construction of the stabilizing feedback u(z, ξ ) is
achieved as follows. First of all observe that, using the
1 
r
assumption b(z, ξ ) = 0, the imposition of the preliminary
u(x) = −Lfr h(x) + k̂i Lfi−1 h(x) , (7.39) feedback law (7.35), with K̂ = 0, yields the simpler system
Lg Lfr−1 h(x) i=1
ż = f0 (z, ξ )
globally asymptotically stabilizes the equilibrium x = 0. ξ̇ = v.
180 A. Isidori

Then, express f0 (z, ξ ) in the from with v (0) = 0, which globally asymptotically stabilizes the
equilibrium z = 0 of ż = f0 (z, v (z)). Then, there exists a
f0 (z, ξ ) = f0 (z, 0) + p(z, ξ )ξ differentiable function u = u(z, ξ ) with u(0, 0) = 0, such
that the equilibrium at (z, ξ ) = (0, 0)
in which p(z, ξ ) = [f0 (z, ξ )−f0 (z, 0)]/ξ is at least continuous.
Since by assumption z = 0 is a globally asymptotically ż = f0 (z, ξ )
stable equilibrium of ż = f0 (z, 0), by the converse Lyapunov ξ̇ = q(z, ξ ) + b(z, ξ )u(z, ξ )
theorem there exists a smooth real-valued function V(z),
which is positive definite and proper, satisfying
is globally asymptotically stable.
∂V
f0 (z, 0) < 0 To prove the result and to construct the stabilizing feed-
∂z back, it suffices to consider the (globally defined) change of
variables
for all nonzero z. Consider, for the full system, the “candi-
y = ξ − v (z),
date” Lyapunov function
which transforms (7.41) into a system
1
W(z, ξ ) = V(z) + ξ 2 ,
2 ż = f0 (z, v (z) + y)
∂v
and observe that ẏ = − f0 (z, v (z) + y) + q(v (z) + y, ξ ) + b(v (z) + y, ξ )u,
∂z
(7.43)
∂W ∂W ∂V ∂V
ż + ξ̇ = f0 (z, 0) + p(z, ξ )ξ + ξ v. which meets the assumptions of Lemma 7.4, and then fol-
∂z ∂ξ ∂z ∂z low the construction of a stabilizing feedback as described.
Using repeatedly the property indicated in Lemma 7.5, it
Choosing
∂V is straightforward to derive the expression of a globally
v = −ξ − p(z, ξ ) (7.42) stabilizing feedback for a system in the form (7.40). It must
∂z
be observed, though, that also such feedback strategy, like
yields the one discussed in the previous section, relies upon exact
cancelation of certain nonlinear functions and, as such, is
∂W ∂W ∂V
ż + ξ̇ = f0 (z, 0) − ξ 2 < 0 possibly non-robust.
∂z ∂ξ ∂z
Example 6 Consider the system
for all nonzero (z, ξ ), and this, by the direct Lyapunov crite-
rion, shows that the feedback law
ż = z − z3 + ξ1
  ξ̇1 = ξ2
1 ∂V
u(z, ξ ) = −q(z, ξ ) − ξ − p(z, ξ ) ξ̇2 = z + ξ12 + u.
b(z, ξ ) ∂z

globally asymptotically stabilizes the equilibrium (z, ξ ) = The dynamics of z can be stabilized by means of the virtual
(0, 0) of the associated closed-loop system. control ξ1∗ (z) = −2z. This yields a system
In the next Lemma (which contains the previous one as a
particular case), this result is extended, by showing that, to ż = −z − z3
the purpose of stabilizing the equilibrium (z, ξ ) = (0, 0) of
system (7.41), it suffices to assume that the equilibrium z = 0
with Lyapunov function W1 (z) = 12 z2 .
of
Change ξ1 into ζ1 = ξ1 − ξ1∗ (z) = ξ1 + 2z, to obtain
ż = f0 (z, ξ )
is stabilizable by means of a virtual control law ξ = v (z). ż = −z − z3 + ζ1
ζ̇1 = ξ2 − 2z − 2z3 + 2ζ1
Lemma 7.5 Consider again the system described by equa- ξ̇2 = z + (ζ1 − 2z)2 + u.
tions of the form (7.41). Suppose there exists a continuously
differentiable function
The subsystem consisting of the two upper equations,
viewed as a system with state (z, ζ1 ) and control ξ2 , can be
ξ = v (z),
stabilized by means of a virtual control
7 Nonlinear Control Theory for Automation 181

∂W1 equilibrium point all trajectories, which have origin in a a

ξ2∗ (z, ζ1 ) = −(−2z−2z3 +2ζ1 )−ζ1 − = −3ζ1 +z+2z3 .
∂z priori fixed (and hence possibly large) bounded set.
Consider again a system satisfying the assumptions of
This yields a system Lemma 7.4. Observe that b(z, ξ ), being continuous and
nowhere zero, has a well-defined sign. Choose a simple 7
ż = −z − z + ζ13
control law of the form
ζ̇1 = −z − ζ1
u = −k sign(b) ξ (7.44)
with Lyapunov function
to obtain the system
1
W2 (z, ζ1 ) = (z2 + ζ12 ).
2 ż = f0 (z, ξ )
(7.45)
Change now ξ2 into ξ̇ = q(z, ξ ) − k|b(z, ξ )|ξ.

ζ2 = ξ2 − ξ2∗ (z, ζ1 ) = ξ2 + 3ζ1 − z − 2z3 Assume that the equilibrium z = 0 of ż = f0 (z, 0) is

globally asymptotically but also locally exponentially stable.
If this is the case, then the linear approximation of the first
to obtain a system of the form
equation of (7.45) at the point (z, ξ ) = (0, 0) is a system of
the form
ż = −z − z3 + ζ1
ż = F0 z + G0 ξ (7.46)
ζ̇1 = −z − ζ1 + ζ2
ζ̇2 = a(z, ζ1 , ζ2 ) + u in which F0 is a Hurwitz matrix. Moreover, the linear ap-
proximation of the second equation of (7.45) at the point
in which (z, ξ ) = (0, 0) is a system of the form

a(z, ζ1 , ζ2 ) = (ζ1 − 2z)2 − z − 4ζ1 − 3ζ2 + 3z3 + 2z5 − 2z2 ζ1 . ξ̇ = Qz + Rξ − kb0 ξ

This system is stabilized by means of the control
∂W2
u(z, ζ1 , ζ2 ) = −a(z, ζ1 , ζ2 )−ζ2 − = −a(z, ζ1 , ζ2 )−ζ2 −ζ1 ,
∂ζ1
and the corresponding closed-loop system has Lyapunov
function
1 Standard arguments show that, if the number k is large
W3 (z, ζ1 , ζ2 ) = (z2 + ζ12 + ζ22 ).
2 enough, the matrix in question has all eigenvalues with
Reversing all changes of coordinates used in the above con-
struction, one may find the expression u = ψ(z, ξ1 , ξ2 ) of the
stabilizing law in original coordinates (z, ξ1 , ξ2 ).
real eigenvalue that tends to −∞). It is therefore concluded,
7.6.5 Semiglobal Practical Stabilization via
High-Gain Partial-State Feedback
The global stabilization results presented in the previous sec-
tions are indeed conceptually appealing, but the actual imple-
mentation of the feedback law requires accurate knowledge
of the functions that characterize the model of the system
to be stabilized and access to all components of its state. In
this section, we show how these drawbacks can, in part, be
overcome, if a less ambitious design goal is pursued, namely,
if instead of seeking global stabilization one is interested
in a feedback law capable of asymptotically steering to the
in which b0 = |b(0, 0)|. It follows that the linear approxima-
tion of system (7.45) at the equilibrium (z, ξ ) = (0, 0) is a
linear system ẋ = Ax in which
 
F0 G0
A= .
Q (R − kb0 )
negative real part (in particular, as k increases, n eigenvalues
approach the n eigenvalues of F0 and the remaining one is a
from the principle of stability in the first approximation, that
if k is sufficiently large, the equilibrium (z, ξ ) = (0, 0) of the
closed loop system (7.45) is locally asymptotically (actually
locally exponentially) stable.
However, a stronger result holds. In fact, it can be proven
that, for any arbitrary compact subset K of Rn × R, there
exists a number k∗ , such that, for all k ≥ k∗ , the equilibrium
is (z, ξ ) = (0, 0) of the closed-loop system (7.45) is locally
asymptotically and all initial conditions in K produce a
trajectory that asymptotically converges to this equilibrium.
In other words, the basin of attraction of the equilibrium
(z, ξ ) = (0, 0) of the closed loop system contains the set K.
Note that the number k∗ depends on the choice of the set K
and, in principle, it increases as the size of K increases. The
182 A. Isidori

property in question can be summarized as follows (see [7, One can make the right-hand side negative definite by choos-
Chapter 9] for further details). A system ing a suitably large k. For instance, it can easily be seen that
if k ≥ k∗ = 12 (1 + (R + R2 )2 ), then
ẋ = f (x, u)
  
  −1 1
(R + R2 ) |z|
is said to be semiglobally stabilizable (an equivalent, but a |z| |ξ | 2
bit longer, terminology is asymptotically stabilizable with
1
2
(R + R )
2
−k |ξ |
guaranteed basin of attraction) at a given equilibrium point   
x̄ if, for each compact subset K ⊂ Rn , there exists a feedback   −1 0 |z|
≤ |z| |ξ | 2 .
law u = u(x), which in general depends on K, such that in 0 − 12 |ξ |
the corresponding closed-loop system
Consider now the sublevel set 0.5R2 of V(x), which is the
ẋ = f (x, u(x)) set of all x’s satisfying |x| ≤ R. On such set, the estimates
above are valid, and, hence, it is seen that there is a number
the point x̄ is a locally asymptotically stable equilibrium and k∗ , depending on the choice of R, such that if k ≥ k∗ and
x(t) ∈ 0.5R2 , then
x(0) ∈ K ⇒ lim x(t) = x̄
t→∞
∂V 1
f (x) ≤ − |x|2 .
(i.e., the compact subset K is contained in the basin of ∂x 2
attraction of the equilibrium x̄). The result sketched above
claims that system (7.41), under the said assumptions, is This proves that the set 0.5R2 is invariant in positive time
semiglobally stabilizable at (z, ξ ) = (0, 0), by means of a for the controlled system. For any initial condition satisfying
feedback law of the form (7.44). |x(0)| ≤ R, the previous inequality holds, and it can be
concluded that x(t) exponentially decays to 0.

Example 7 Consider a system, with x = (z, ξ ) ∈ R2 ,

modeled by The design methods shown above can be easily extended
ż = −z + zξ to deal with a system of the form (7.32), having r > 1. Let, in
(7.47)
ξ̇ = z2 ξ + u this case, the variable ξr be replaced by a new state variable
defined as
In the upper subsystem, the point z = 0 is a globally
asymptotically stable equilibrium for ξ = 0. However, the
system –viewed as a system with input ξ = 0– is not input- θ = ξr + a0 ξ1 + a1 ξ2 + · · · + ar−2 ξr−1
to-state stable, and hence one cannot use the method of partial
feedback linearization to achieve global asymptotic stability. in which a0 , a1 , . . . , ar−2 are design parameters.
One can prove, though, that asymptotic stabilization with a After this change of coordinates, a system is obtained that
guaranteed region of attraction is possible if a control u = has a structure, which is identical to that of system (7.41). In
−kξ is used, with k > 0 sufficiently large. fact, having set
To this end, let R be an (arbitrarily large) fixed number,
and suppose initial conditions of (7.47) satisfy |x(0)| ≤ ζ = col(z, ξ1 , . . . , ξr−1 ) ∈ Rn−1
R. Consider, for (7.47), the candidate Lyapunov function
V(x) = 12 (z2 + ξ 2 ) and observe that, with u = −kξ , one and defined f̄0 (ζ , θ), q̄(ζ , θ), b̄(ζ , θ), ȳ as
has
∂V ⎛  ⎞
f (x) = −z2 + z2 ξ + z2 ξ 2 − kξ 2 f0 (z, ξ1 , . . . , ξr−1 , − r−1
∂x i=1 ai−1 ξi + θ)
⎜ ξ2 ⎟
So long as |x(t)| ≤ R, the previous expression can be ⎜ ⎟
⎜
f̄0 (ζ , θ) = ⎜ ··· ⎟
estimated as ⎟
⎝ ξr−1 ⎠
r−1
− i=1 ai−1 ξi + θ
∂V r−1
f (x) ≤ −z2 + (R + R2 )|z||ξ | − kξ 2 q̄(ζ , θ) = a0 ξ2 + a1 ξ3 + · · · + ar−2 (− ai−1 ξi + θ)
∂x i=1
r−1
   + q(z, ξ1 , . . . , ξr−1 , − i=1 ai−1 ξi + θ)
  −1 1
(R + R2 ) |z| 
= |z| |ξ | 2 . b̄(ζ , θ) = b(z, ξ1 , . . . , ξr−1 , − r−1
i=1 ai−1 ξi + θ) ,
1
2
(R + R 2
) −k |ξ |
the system can be rewritten in the form
7 Nonlinear Control Theory for Automation 183

ζ̇ = f̄0 (ζ , θ) 
r

(7.48) u= −k sign(Lg Lfr−1 h(x)) ai Lfi−1 h(x) , (7.51)

θ̇ = q̄(ζ , θ) + b̄(ζ , θ)u , i=1

identical to that of (7.41). Thus, identical stability results can

be obtained, if f̄0 (ζ , θ), q̄(ζ , θ), and b̄(ζ , θ) satisfy condi-
with the ai ’s, such that the polynomial (7.50) is Hurwitz and 7
ar−1 = 1. Then, for every choice of a compact set K, there
tions corresponding to those assumed on f0 (z, ξ ), q(z, ξ ), and is a number k∗ and a finite time T, such that, if k ≥ k∗ ,
b(z, ξ ). the equilibrium x = 0 of the resulting closed-loop system
From this viewpoint, it is trivial to check that f̄0 (0, 0) = is asymptotically (and locally exponentially) stable, with a
0, q̄(0, 0) = 0, and |b̄(ζ , θ)| > 0 for all (ζ , θ). In order to be domain of attraction A that contains the set K.
able to use the stabilization results indicated above, it remains
to check whether the equilibrium ζ = 0 of In the (z, ξ ) coordinates, the feedback law presented above
depends only on the components ξ1 , . . . , ξr of the state and
ζ̇ = f̄0 (ζ , 0) not on the component z. For this reason, it is usually referred
to as a partial-state feedback law.
is globally asymptotically and also locally exponentially
stable. This system has the structure of a cascade intercon-
nection
7.7 Observers and Stabilization via
r−1 Output Feedback
ż = f0 (z, ξ1 , . . . , ξr−1 , − i=1 ai−1 ξi )
⎛ ⎞ ⎛ ⎞⎛ ⎞
ξ̇1 0 1 0 ··· 0 ξ1 7.7.1 Canonical Forms of Observable
⎜ ξ̇2 ⎟ ⎜ 0 0 1 · · · 0 ⎟ ⎜ ξ2 ⎟ Nonlinear Systems
⎜ ⎟ ⎜ ⎟⎜ ⎟ (7.49)
⎜ ··· ⎟ = ⎜ · · · ··· · ⎟ ⎜ ⎟
⎜ ⎟ ⎜ ⎟⎜ ··· ⎟.
⎝ξ̇r−2 ⎠ ⎝ 0 0 0 · · · 1 ⎠ ⎝ξr−2 ⎠ In this and in the following two sections, we consider nonlin-
ξ̇r−1 −a0 −a1 −a2 · · · −ar−2 ξr−1 ear systems modeled by equations of the form

If the ai ’s are such that the polynomial ẋ = f (x, u)

d(λ) = λr−1 + ar−2 λr−2 + · · · + a1 λ + a0 (7.50)
is Hurwitz, the lower subsystem of the cascade is (globally)
asymptotically stable. If system (7.32) is strongly minimum-
phase, the upper subsystem of the cascade, viewed as a
system with input (ξ1 , . . . , ξr−1 ) and state z, is input-to-
state stable. Thus, system (7.49) is globally asymptotically
stable. If, in addition, the linear approxmation of (7.32) is
locally exponentially stable, then system (7.49) is also locally
exponentially stable.
Under such hypotheses, observing that –in the present
context– the stabilizing feedback (7.44) becomes
u = −kθ = −k(a0 ξ1 + a1 ξ2 + · · · + ar−2 ξr−1 + ξr )
and bearing in mind the fact that ξi = Lfi−1 h(x) for i =
1, . . . , r, one can conclude the following stabilization result.
(7.52)
y = h(x, u)
with state x ∈ Rn , input u ∈ Rm , and output y ∈ R.
The design of observers for such systems usually requires
the preliminary transformation of the equations, describing
the system in a form that corresponds to the observability
canonical form usually considered for linear systems. A key
requirement for the existence of observers is the existence
of a global change of coordinates x̃ = (x) carrying sys-
tem (7.52) into a system of the form
x̃˙ 1 = f̃1 (x̃1 , x̃2 , u)
x̃˙ 2 = f̃2 (x̃1 , x̃2 , x̃3 , u)
···
(7.53)
x̃˙ n−1 = f̃n−1 (x̃1 , x̃2 , . . . , x̃n , u)
x̃˙ n = f̃n (x̃1 , x̃2 , . . . , x̃n , u)
y = h̃(x̃1 , u)

Proposition 7.3 Consider system (7.31), with f (0) = 0 in which h̃(x̃1 , u) and the f̃i (x̃1 , x̃2 , . . . , x̃i+1 , u)’s satisfy
and h(0) = 0. Suppose the system has relative degree r
∂ h̃ ∂ f̃i
and possesses a globally defined normal form. Suppose the = 0 , and = 0 , for all i = 1, . . . , n − 1
system is strongly minimum-phase. Suppose also that the ∂ x̃1 ∂ x̃i+1
(7.54)
matrix F0 that charactrizes the linear approximation (7.46)
of f0 (z, ξ ) at (z, ξ ) = (0, 0) is Hurwitz. Let the control be for all x̃ ∈ Rn and all u ∈ Rm . This form is usually referred
provided by a feedback of the form to as the uniform observability canonical form.
184 A. Isidori

⎛ ⎞
The existence of canonical forms of this kind can be h(x)
checked as follows (see [4, Chapter 2]). Define –recursively– ⎜ Lf h(x) ⎟
a sequence of real-valued functions ϕi (x, u) as (x) = ⎜
⎝ ··· ⎠.
⎟

Lfn−1 (x)
∂ϕi−1
ϕ1 (x, u) := h(x, u) , ··· ϕi (x, u) := f (x, u) ,
∂x If the system is linear, Lfi h(x) = CAi x, and hence x̃ = (x)
is the change of coordinates that brings the system in the
for i = 1, . . . , n. Using these functions, define a sequence of observability canonical form.
Ri -valued functions i (x, u) as follows
7.7.2 High-Gain Observers
⎛ ⎞
ϕ1 (x, u)
⎜ ⎟
i (x, u) = ⎝ ... ⎠ Once a system has been changed into its uniform observabil-
ity canonical form, an asymptotic observer can be built as
ϕi (x, u)
follows. Take a copy of the dynamics of (7.53), corrected by
an innovation term proportional to the difference between the
for i = 1, . . . , n. Finally, for each of the i (x, u)’s, compute output of (7.53) and the output of the copy. More precisely,
the subspace consider a system of the form

 ∂ 
i x̂˙ 1 = f̃1 (x̂1 , x̂2 , u) + κcn−1 (y − h̃(x̂1 , u))
Ki (x, u) = ker , x̂˙ 2 = f̃2 (x̂1 , x̂2 , x̂3 , u) + κ 2 cn−2 (y − h̃(x̂1 , u))
∂x (x,u)
··· (7.55)
˙x̂n−1 = f̃n−1 (x̂, u) + κ n−1 c1 (y − h̃(x̂1 , u))
in which ker[M], the null space of the matrix M, denotes
subspace consisting of all vectors v such that Mv = 0. Note x̂˙ n = f̃n (x̂, u) + κ n c0 (y − h̃(x̂1 , u)) ,
that, since the entries of the matrix
in which κ and cn−1 , cn−2 , . . . , c0 are design parameters.
The state of the system thus defined is capable to asymp-
∂i
totically track the state of system (7.53), no matter what the
∂x
initial conditions x(0), x̃(0) and the input u(t) are, provided
that the two following technical hypotheses hold:
are in general dependent on (x, u), so is its null space Ki (x, u).
The role played by the objects thus defined in the construc- (i) Each of the maps f̃i (x̃1 , . . . , x̃i , x̃i+1 , u), for i = 1, . . . , n, is
tion of the change of coordinates, yielding an observability globally Lipschitz with respect to (x̃1 , . . . , x̃i ), uniformly
canonical form, is explained in this result. in x̃i+1 and u.
(ii) There exist two real numbers α and β, with 0 < α < β,
Lemma 7.6 Consider system (7.52) and the map x̃ = (x) such that
defined by
⎛ ⎞
ϕ1 (x, 0)  ∂ h̃   ∂ f̃ 
⎜ ϕ2 (x, 0) ⎟    i 
α≤ ≤β, and α ≤  ≤β,
(x) = ⎜⎝ ··· ⎠.
⎟ ∂ x̃1 ∂ x̃i+1
ϕn (x, 0) for all i = 1, . . . , n − 1 (7.56)

Suppose that (x) has a globally defined and continuously for all x̃ ∈ Rn , and all u ∈ Rm .
differentiable inverse. Suppose also that, for all i = 1, . . . , n,
Let a “scaled observation error” e = col(e1 , . . . , en ) be
dim[Ki (x, u)] = n − i for all u ∈ Rm and for all x ∈ Rn defined as
Ki (x, u) = independent of u.
ei = κ n−i (x̂i − x̃i ), i = 1, 2, . . . , n.
Then, system (7.52) is globally transformed, via (x), to a
Then, the following result holds (see [4, Chapter 6]).
system in uniform observability canonical form.
Theorem 7.9 Suppose assumptions (i) and (ii) hold. Then,
Note that, in the case of an input-affine system
there is a choice of the coefficients c0 , c1 , . . . , cn−1 (that
(see (7.31)), ϕi (x, 0) = Lfi−1 h(x). Hence, in this case
depend only on the parameters αandβ in (7.56)) and a
7 Nonlinear Control Theory for Automation
number κ ∗ such that, if κ ≥ κ ∗ , the observation error
e(t) exponentially decays to zero as times tends to infinity,
regardless of what the initial states x̃(0), x̂(0) and the input
u(t) are.
The convergence property indicated in this result requires
a sufficiently large value of the “gain” paremeter κ. For this
reason the observer in question is called a high-gain observer
(see [4, Chapter 6] for further details).
7.7.3 The Nonlinear Separation Principle
The observer described in the previous section makes it
possible to design a dynamic, output feedback, stabilizing
control law, thus extending to the case of nonlinear systems
the well-known separation principle for stabilization of linear
systems. Let the system be expressed in uniform observabil-
ity canonical form (7.53), rewritten as
x̃˙ = f̃ (x̃, u)
(7.57)
y = h̃(x̃, u).
Suppose a feedback law is known u = u∗ (x̃) that globally
asymptotically stabilizes the equilibrium point x̃ = 0 of the
closed-loop system
x̃˙ = f̃ (x̃, u∗ (x̃)). (7.58)
 (s) ≤ 1.
Since x̃ is not directly available, one might intuitively think
of replacing x̃ by its estimate x̂, provided by the observer, in
the map u∗ (x̃), that is, of controlling the system via u = u∗ (x̂).
Such simple intuition, in fact, is idea behind the separation
principle for linear systems.
In the context of nonlinear systems, though, an extra
precaution is needed, motivated by the following reason.
Observe that, if the plant is controlled by u = u∗ (x̂), the
dynamics of x̃ are those of
x̃˙ = f̃ (x̃, u∗ (x̃ − Tκ e)
in which Tκ is the diagonal matrix Tκ =diag{κ −n+1 , . . . ,κ −1 ,1}
of the
that can be seen as a system with internal state x̃ driven by
the input e. The system in question, by assumption, has a closed-loop system with initial conditions x̃(0), x̂(0) ∈ K
globally asymptotically stable equilibrium at x̃ = 0 if e = 0, are bounded and limt→∞ (x̃(t), x̂(t)) = (0, 0).
but there is no guarantee that this system be input-to-state
stable. Thus, the effect of a nonzero e(t) has to be taken
into account in the analysis of the asymptotic behavior. It
has been shown above that asymptotic convergence of the 7.7.4 Robust Feedback Linearization
observation error e(t) to zero is achieved by increasing the
gain parameter κ of the nonlinear observer (7.55). Since In the previous sections, we have shown that, if a system
|e(0)| grows unbounded with increasing κ, even if the initial is strongly minimum-phase, the control law (7.35) makes
185
xˆ u ẋ = f˜(x,
˜ u) y
ˆ
u*(x) gl(·)
˜ ˜ u)
y = h(x,
7
x̂˙ = f (x,
ˆ u)
ˆ u))
+ G(y −h (x,
Fig. 7.5 Observer-based control for a nonlinear system
conditions x̂(0) and x̃(0) are taken in a compact set, one
should expect that, if κ is large, there is an initial interval of
time on which |e(t)| is large (this phenomenon is sometimes
referred to as “peaking”). As a consequence, also the term
Tκ e(t) in the dynamics above is large and, since the system
is nonlinear, this may result in a finite escape time for x̃(t).
To avoid such inconvenience, it is appropriate to “saturate”
the control, by choosing instead a law of the form
u = g (u∗ (x̂)) (7.59)
in which g : R → R is a smooth saturation function that is
a function characterized by the following properties:
(i) g (s) = s if |s| ≤ .
(ii) g (s) is odd and monotonically increasing, with 0 <
g
(iii) lims→∞ g (s) = (1 + c) with 0 < c  1.
The consequence of choosing the control u as in (7.59)
is that global asymptotic stability is no longer assured. How-
ever, semiglobal stabilizability is still possible (see [4,13,18],
and [12] for further details) (Fig. 7.5).
Theorem 7.10 Consider system (7.57), assumed to be ex-
pressed in uniform observability canonical form, and sup-
pose Assumptions (i) and (ii) hold. Suppose that a state
feedback law u = u∗ (x̃) globally asymptotically stabilizes
the equilibrium x̃ = 0 of (7.58). Let the system be controlled
by (7.59), in which x̂ is provided by the observer (7.55). Then,
for every choice of a compact set K, there exist a number 
and a number κ ∗ such that, if κ > κ ∗ , all trajectories
186
the system linear from the input-output viewpoint and also
resulting closed-loop system
internally stable (if K̂ is properly chosen). We have also
observed that this control law is not robust as it relies upon
accurate knowledge of b(z, ξ ) and q(z, ξ ) and availability of
the full state (z, ξ ). In this section, we show how such law
can be made robust and input-output feedback linearization
(with internal stability) can be achieved up to any arbitrary
degree of accuracy (see [3] for more details). The intuition
that motivates the construction summarized below is that the
components ξ1 , . . . , ξr of ξ and the term q(z, ξ ) + b(z, ξ )u,
quantities that determine the expression of the control (7.35),
coincide – respectively – with the output y of the system and
of its higher derivatives with respect to time, up to that of
order r. As such, these quantities could be approximately
estimated by means of a bank of “rough” differentiators.
In what follows, it is assumed that, for some fixed pair 0 <
bmin < bmax , the coefficient b(z, ξ ) satisfies bmin ≤ b(z, ξ ) ≤
bmax for all (z, ξ ), in which case there exist a number b0 such
that
|b(z, ξ ) − b0 | ≤ δ0 |b0 | for all (z, ξ ) (7.60)
for some δ0 < 1.
The control law imposed to the system is a law of the form
(compare with (7.35))
1
u(ξ̂ , σ ) = g [−σ + K̂ ξ̂ + v] (7.61)
b0
in which g is a saturation function (as defined in the previous
section), b0 is a number satisfying (7.60), K̂ ∈ R1×r is the
same as in (7.35), and ξ̂ ∈ Rr , andσ ∈ R are states of the
(r + 1)-dimensional dynamical system
ξ̂˙1 = ξ̂2 + κcr (y − ξ̂1 )
ξ̂˙2 = ξ̂3 + κ 2 cr−1 (y − ξ̂1 )
···
(7.62)
ξ̂˙r−1 = ξ̂r + κ r−1 c2 (y − ξ̂1 )
ξ̂˙r = σ + b0 u(ξ̂ , σ ) + κ r c1 (y − ξ̂1 )
σ̇ = κ r+1 c0 (y − ξ̂1 ).
in which the coefficients κ and c0 , c1 , . . . , cr are design
parameters.
The dynamical system thus defined is usually referred
to as an “extended high-gain observer” and the following
relevant result holds (see [3] for more details).
Theorem 7.11 Let system (7.34) be controlled by (7.61),
in which (ξ̂ , σ ) are states of the extended observer (7.62).
Suppose system (7.34) is strongly minimum-phase, and let K̂
be such that  + B̂K̂ is Hurwitz. Let K ∈ Rn−r × Rr × Rr × R
be a fixed (but otherwise arbitrary) compact set, and suppose
A. Isidori
the initial
conditions of the
satisfy z(0), ξ(0), ξ̂ (0), σ (0) ∈ K. Let V > 0 be a fixed
(but otherwise arbitrary) number and suppose v(t) in (7.61)
satisfies |v(t)| ≤ V for all t ≥ 0. Then, given any number ε,
there exist a choice of the design parameters , c0 , . . . , cr and
a number κ ∗ such that, if κ > κ ∗ , the state z(t), ξ(t), ξ̂ (t), σ (t)
of the close-loop system remains bounded for t ≥ 0 and its
component ξ(t) satisfies
|ξ(t) − ξL (t)| ≤ ε ∀t ∈ [0, ∞), (7.63)
in which ξL (t) denotes the trajectory of
ξ̇L = (Â + B̂K̂)ξL + B̂v , ξL (0) = ξ(0).
Since the output y of (7.34) is given by y = Ĉξ , it is
seen from all of the above that, with the indicated control
law, a system is obtained whose input-output behavior can
be made arbitrarily close to the behavior that would have
been obtained by the feedback-linearizing law (7.35), had
all the nonlinearities been known and all internal states been
available.
Remark 2 It should be stressed that the observers described
in the present section guarantee asymptotic decay of the
state estimation error if the gain parameter κ is sufficiently
large. Since parameter in question is raised up to power n in
the equations that characterize the observer, it goes without
saying that if the dimension n of the system is large, the
presence of such large parameter might boost the effect of
noises affecting the measured output y, letting alone possible
numerical instabilities. This adverse effect can be mitigated
if a different, slight more elaborate, structure of observer is
used, having dimension 2n−2, but in which the highest power
of the gain parameter is only 2, regardless of the actual value
of n. Details on this, more recent, approach to the design of
high-gain observers can be found in [1].
7.8 Recent Progresses
In recent years, the design methods described in Sects. 7.6
and 7.7 have been extended to multi-input multi-output
(MIMO) systems, modeled by equations of the form

m
ẋ = f (x) + gi (x)ui
i=1
y1 = h1 (x)
···
ym = hm (x)
7 Nonlinear Control Theory for Automation
in which f (x), g1 (x), . . . , gm (x) are smooth vector fields and
h1 (x), . . . , hm (x) smooth functions, defined on Rn . The ex-
tensions of the methods in question are relatively straight-
forward if controlled plant has a well-defined vector relative
degree (see [7, Sec 5.1] for a definition of vector relative
degree). It is well-known, though, that MIMO systems having
a vector relative degree form only a special class of MIMO
systems (regardless of whether a system is linear or nonlinear,
in fact). In the case of linear systems, the assumption of
the existence of a vector relative degree is seldom used, and
more general cases of systems are usually handled. In the
(meaningful) case of systems having the same number of
input and output components, attention is usually given to
the case in which the input-output map is invertible (that is,
the transfer function is nonsingular). Indeed, having a non-
singular transfer function is a much weaker assumption than
having a vector relative degree. Feedback design for MIMO
nonlinear systems that are invertible but do not necessarily
possess a vector relative degree was studied in [14] and,
more recently, in [19, 20] and [21]. In particular, in the latter
paper, a robust design method has been proposed, based on
interlaced use of dynamic extensions and extended observers,
by means of which it is possible to recover, up to any
desired degree of accuracy, the performances achievable by
means of the classical, but not robust, technique for feedback
linearization based on dynamic extension and state feedback.
As such, this result provides an extension, to a broad class of
MIMO systems, of the design method sketched in Sect. 7.7.4.
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SIAM Series: Advances in Design and Control, Philadelphia (2017)
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Control AC-38, 1412–1415 (1993)
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stability property. Syst. Contr. Lett. 24, 351–359 (1995)
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41, 1256–1270 (1996)
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(1995)
19. Wang, L., Isidori, A., Su, H.: Global stabilization of a class of
invertible MIMO nonlinear systems. IEEE Trans. Autom. Control
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put feedback of multivariable invertible nonlinear systems. IEEE
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the Galileo Galilei Award from the Rotary Clubs of Italy (in 2009),
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IFAC. President of IFAC in the triennium 2008–2011. Since 2012,
corresponding member of the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei.
 Control of Uncertain Systems
Vaneet Aggarwal and Mridul Agarwal
Contents
8.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
8.1.1 Motivation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
8.1.2 Historical Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
8.2 General Scheme and Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
8.2.1 Stochastic Optimal Control Problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
8.2.2 Key Approaches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192
8.3 Challenges and Solutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
8.3.1 Model Predictive Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
8.3.2 Learning System Model Using Gaussian Process . . . . . . .
8.3.3 Constrained Markov Decision Processes . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
8.3.4 Model-Free Reinforcement Learning for
Decision-Making . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
8.3.5 Constrained Reinforcement Learning with Discounted
Rewards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
8.3.6 Case Study for a Constrained RL Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
8.4 Application Areas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
8.5 Conclusions, Challenges, and Trends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202
Abstract
Dynamical systems typically have uncertainties due to
modeling errors, measurement inaccuracy, mutations in
the evolutionary processes, etc. The stochastic deviations
can compound overtime and can lead to catastrophic re-
sults. In this chapter, we will present different approaches
for decision-making in systems with uncertainties. We
first consider model predictive control, which models
and learns the system and uses the learned model to
optimize the system. In many cases, a prior model of
the system is not known. For such cases, we will also
explain Gaussian process regression, which is one of the
efficient modeling techniques. Further, we present con-
V. Aggarwal () · M. Agarwal
Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA
e-mail: Vaneet@purdue.edu; agarw180@purdue.edu
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023
S. Y. Nof (ed.), Springer Handbook of Automation, Springer Handbooks,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-96729-1_8
8
strained Markov decision process (CMDP) as an approach
for decision-making with uncertainties, where the system
is modeled as a MDP with constraints. The formalism of
CMDP is extended to a model-free approach based on re-
inforcement learning to make decisions in the presence of
constraints.
Keywords
192
193 Uncertain systems · Dynamical systems · Model
193
194 predictive control · Reinforcement learning · Process
constraints · Markov decision processes (MDPs) ·
195 Constrained MDPs
198
199
8.1 Introduction
8.1.1 Motivation
In many applications of dynamical systems, uncertainties
happen frequently. For example, modeling errors such as
modeling a nonlinear system with a simple linear model may
result imprecise prediction results. Also, one can think of a
sensor where the noise results in measurement inaccuracies.
Further, consider mutations in the evolutionary processes
such as change in the demand at a restaurant based on the
time of the day. The dynamics of uncertain systems has long
been and will continue to be one of the dominant themes in
mathematics and engineering applications due to its deep the-
oretical and immense practical significance. During the last
couple of decades, analysis of uncertain dynamical systems
and related models has attracted the attention of a wide audi-
ence of professionals, such as mathematicians, researchers,
and practitioners. In spite of the amount of published results
recently focused on such systems, there remain many chal-
lenging open questions and novel design requirements. In
this chapter, we will review some approaches for handling
uncertainties in the design of control systems.
189
190
An example domain for such control problem is
communication networks, which are designed to enable
the simultaneous transmission of heterogeneous types of
information: file transfers, interactive messages, computer
outputs, facsimile, voice and video, etc. [1]. This information
flows over a shared network. In such systems, we wish to
maximize throughput and decrease latency, with different
forms of decision variables, including the routing and
scheduling decisions. The system has various uncertainties,
for instance, the service times of the processing nodes,
the arrival times of the different requests, the background
processes and the buffer capacity of the nodes, etc.
In this chapter, we first introduce the problem of stochastic
optimal control. Then, we discuss two approaches for the
problem. The first is a model-based approach based on model
predictive control (MPC). When the system model is not
available for the MPC approach, the model needs to be
learned as well. We describe Gaussian process regression
to learn a nonparametric model of the system. The second
is an approach based on constrained Markov decision pro-
cess (CMDP). Further, a model-free approach is provided
for CMDP, which is based on reinforcement learning. The
MPC approach models the system parameters, which are
then used to optimize the system. On the other hand, model-
free approaches do not explicitly learn the state transition
probabilities and directly optimize the controller that gets the
best out of the system.
8.1.2 Historical Background
Over the past six decades, there has been significant interest
and developments by industry and academia in advanced pro-
cess control. During the 1960s, advanced control was taken
in general as any algorithm that deviated from the classical
three-term proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controller.
For quality product, safety, and economic process, PID con-
troller accounts for more than 80% of the installed automatic
feedback control devices in the process industries [2, 3]. The
interest in MPCs can be traced back to a set of papers in
the late 1970s [4–7]. MPC has attracted many researchers
due to better performance and control of processes including
non-minimum phase, long time delay or open-loop unstable
characteristics over minimum variance (MV), generalized
minimum variance (GMV), and pole placement (PP) tech-
niques [3,8,9]. The main advantages of MPC over structured
PID controllers are its ability to handle constraints, non-
minimum phase processes, and changes in system parameters
(robust control) and its straightforward applicability to large,
multivariate processes [3].
The MPC concept has a long history. The connections
between the closely related minimum time optimal control
problem and linear programming were recognized first by
V. Aggarwal and M. Agarwal
Zadeh and Whalen [10]. The authors of [11] proposed the
moving horizon approach, which is at the core of all MPC al-
gorithms. It became known as “open-loop optimal feedback.”
The extensive work on this problem during the 1970s was
reviewed by Gutman in his PhD thesis [12]. The connection
between this work and MPC was discovered later in [13]. For
details, the reader is referred to [7].
MPC uses the system model to find controllers that can
ensure robust system performance and/or avoid dangerous
control actions. The MPC approach relies on a sufficiently
descriptive model of the system to optimize performance
and ensure constraint satisfaction. This critically requires a
good model to ensure the success of the control system.
In practice, however, model descriptions can be subject to
considerable uncertainty that may originate from insufficient
data, restrictive model classes, or even the presence of ex-
ternal disturbances. The fields of robust [14] and stochas-
tic [15] MPC provide a systematic treatment of numerous
sources of uncertainty affecting the MPC controller, ensuring
constraint satisfaction with regard to certain disturbance or
uncertainty classes. One of the approaches for model learning
in MPC is Gaussian process regression [16–19]. The appeal
of using Gaussian process regression for model learning
stems from the fact that it requires little prior process knowl-
edge and it directly provides a measure of residual model
uncertainty.
MPC is a model-based control philosophy in which the
current control action is obtained by online optimization
of objective function. It uses the philosophy of receding
horizon and predicts the future outcome of actions in order
to determine what action the agent should take in the next
step. If the future horizon to consider is sufficiently short and
the dynamics is deterministic, the prediction can often be ap-
proximated well by linear dynamics, which can be evaluated
instantly. However, because MPC must finish its assessment
of the future before taking every action, its performance is
limited by the speed of the predictions. MPC requires this
computation for each time step even if the current state is
similar to the ones experienced in the past. Meanwhile, if
the prediction is done for only a short horizon, MPC may
suggest a move to a state leading to a catastrophe. In order to
deal with these issues, the approach of constrained Markov
decision process (CMDP) is used.
The approach of CMDP has had a lot of applications
starting from the 1970s. In 1970, a problem of hospital
admission scheduling was considered using CMDP [20].
Golabi et al. have used CMDPs to develop a pavement man-
agement system for the state of Arizona to produce optimal
maintenance policies for a 7400-mile network of highways
[21]. A saving of 14 million dollars was reported in the
first year of implementation of the system, and a savings of
101 million dollars was forecast for the following 4 years.
Winden and Dekker developed a CMDP model for deter-
8 Control of Uncertain Systems 191

mining strategic building and maintenance policies for the Table 8.1 Multiple tasks associated with optimizing systems under
Dutch Government Agency (Rijksgebouwendienst), which uncertainty. On choosing a model-based learning, additional model
identification is also required
maintains 3000 state-owned buildings with a replacement
value of about 20 billion guilders and an annual budget of Task Toolkit References
some 125 million guilders [22]. Several methods to solve Learning-based Adaptive Gain scheduling, [40]
control control self-tuning
CMDP have been proposed, including the ones based on a
Reinforcement SARSA, Q-learning, [44–47]
linear program (LP), Lagrangian approach, and mixture of
stationary policies; for more details on these approaches, the
learning policy gradients 8
Parametric Least squares [40, 42]
reader is referred to [1]. Identification
estimation, Kalman
The approach of CMDP assumes the knowledge of the filtering
Markov models. In order to alleviate that, the concept of Nonparametric Gaussian process [43]
reinforcement learning has been used to make decisions. Re- regression
Stochastic Model-based Model predictive [48]
inforcement learning has made great advances in several ap-
control control control, linear
plications, ranging from online learning and recommendation quadratic control
engines [23], natural language understanding and generation Model-free Constrained Markov [1]
[24], transportation systems [25–27], networking [28, 29] to control decision processes
mastering games, such as Go [30] and chess [31]. The idea
is to learn from extensive experience how to take actions
that maximize some notion of reward by interacting with the Broadly, the topic of control of uncertain systems includes
surrounding environment. The interaction teaches the agent the concepts of learning-based control and stochastic control.
how to maximize its reward without knowing the underlying For model-based learning, system identification approaches
dynamics of the process. A classical example is swinging are typically used. Some of these approaches are summarized
up a pendulum in an upright position. By making several in Table 8.1.
attempts to swing up a pendulum and balancing it, one might
be able to learn the necessary forces that need to be applied in
order to balance the pendulum without knowing the physical
model behind it [32]. Reinforcement learning models the 8.2 General Scheme and Components
problem as a constrained Markov decision process (MDP)
and aims to find efficient approaches for the problem. Re- In this section, we first describe the problem of stochastic op-
inforcement learning-based model-free solutions have been timal control, which models the control of uncertain systems.
widely considered [33–38]. Recently, the authors of [39] Then, key approaches for the problem will be described.
proposed a novel model-free approach for reinforcement
learning with constraints, which will be elaborated in this
chapter. This approach formulates the problem as zero-sum 8.2.1 Stochastic Optimal Control Problem
game, where one player (the agent) solves a Markov deci-
sion problem and its opponent solves a bandit optimization The system dynamics in discrete time can be formulated as
problem. The standard Q-learning algorithm is extended to
solve the problem, whose convergence guarantees have been
shown in [39]. x(k + 1) = ft (x(k), u(k), k, θt , w(k)), (8.1)
Another effort of identifying system along with control-
ling is known as adaptive control [40]. Unlike reinforcement where xk ∈ X is the system state and u(k) ∈ U is the
learning this method learns the model of the system and then applied input at time k. We use the subscript “t” to emphasize
optimizes it. Initially, there may or may not be a prior on the that these quantities represent the true system dynamics or
system model. In the case of the existence of a prior on the true optimal control problem. The dynamics are subject to
model, Bayesian model estimation techniques can be used various sources of uncertainty, which we distinguish by using
[41]. For linear systems, a method for Bayesian approach is two categories: First is the parametric uncertainty that arises
using Kalman filtering to refine the model parameters [42]. because of the mismatch between the true system model and
In many cases, linear model may not be sufficient to model the assumed system model. The parametric uncertainty of
the system dynamics. For such cases, Gaussian processes the system is described using a random variable θt , which
can be used [43]. Apart from allowing nonlinear system is therefore constant over time. The second source of uncer-
models, another advantage of Gaussian process is that they tainty is the disturbances or process noise in the system such
are nonparametric models and hence model a larger class of as noise in the sensor or an imperfect actuator that may not
system dynamics. always perform the intended control task. w(k) describes a
192
sequence of random variables corresponding to disturbances
or process noise in the system, which are often assumed to
be independent and identically distributed (i.i.d.).
The aim of the control problem is to design an input
sequence {u(k)} such that the expected reward is maximized,
where the expected reward is given as
 T 
 The key approaches that have been studied for the problem
Jt (T) = E rt (x(k), u(k), k) , (8.2)
k=1
over a certain horizon T, where the expected value is
taken with respect to all random variables, i.e., w(k) and
θt . rt (x(k), u(k), k) is the reward that the system gives the
controller on taking action u(k) in state x(k) at time step
k. Some system may result in a loss or cost lt (·) instead
of reward, which can be trivially converted to reward as
rt (·) = −lt (·). In systems which may be deployed for
eternity, T approaches infinity, and, to keep the summation in
(8.2), a discount factor γ < 1 is introduced, and we redefine
the average reward as
∞  predicts the future outcome of actions in order to deter-

Jt (γ ) = E γ k−1 rt (x(k), u(k), k) , (8.3)
k=1
Often, the system comes with some constraints. For ex-
ample, consider the example of an autonomous car trying
to change lane. Then, along with the objective to reduce
the time to merge, the controller must ensure the safety. We
now describe the formulation of the constraints. Let x =
[x(1), · · · , x(T)]T and u = [u(1), · · · , u(T)]T . The control
problem also has some probabilistic constraints on the state
space and applied inputs, which are given as follows:
Pr(x ∈ Xj ) ≥ pj for all j = 1, · · · Cx (8.4)
Pr(u ∈ Uj ) ≥ qj for all j = 1, · · · Cu (8.5)
Here, Xj and Uj are sets which constrain the values x and u
can take, respectively. Also, Pr(·) denotes probability, and pj
and qj are real numbers that are the values of the constraints.
For pj = 1 and qj = 1, the constraints are strict constraints
and must be satisfied almost surely. Here, Cx and Cu are
the number of constraints on x and u, respectively. Further,
any sets Xj and Uj can be defined for the above definition.
The constraints that the inputs or the state at each time must
satisfy certain properties can be easily defined as a special
case with appropriate representation of the above sets.
The control action u(k) is a function of the states observed
up to time k, is represented as a policy πk : X k → U , and is
given as
u(k) = πk (x(1), · · · , x(k)) (8.6)
V. Aggarwal and M. Agarwal
Thus, the overall aim of stochastic control problem is to
find πk (·) such that the objective in (8.2) is maximized and
the constraints in (8.4)–(8.5) are satisfied.
8.2.2 Key Approaches
include:
1. Linear quadratic stochastic control: The control of
a linear stochastic differential equation with an additive
control, an additive Brownian motion, and a quadratic cost
in the state and the control is probably the most well-
known control problem and has a simple, explicit solution
[49–52]. The problem can be approximated to this setup
to have efficient solutions.
2. Model predictive control (MPC): MPC is a model-
based control philosophy in which the current control
action is obtained by online optimization of objective
function. It uses the philosophy of receding horizon and
mine what action the agent should take in the next step
[4–7].
3. Constrained Markov decision process (CMDP): This
problem models the situation of optimizing one dynamic
objective subject to certain dynamic constraints, where
the system evolution is modeled as a Markov decision
process [1].
4. Constrained stochastic dynamic programming: We
note that dynamic programming is one approach to
take decisions based on MDP. Such an approach has
been extended for CMDP to account for the constraints
[53–55].
5. Reinforcement learning (RL) with constraints: In
this problem, efficient approaches for CMDP are
provided, when the state evolution is not known a priori
[33–39, 56–61].
In the remainder of this chapter, we will detail the ap-
proaches of MPC, CMDP, and RL with constraints.
8.3 Challenges and Solutions
The problem of decision-making with uncertainty is chal-
lenging because:
1. The policy function π(·) is general, and optimization over
general function is not as straightforward.
2. The reward function or the constraint sets are not neces-
sarily convex, leading to the resulting problem being non-
convex.
8 Control of Uncertain Systems
3. There is uncertainty in the model parameters, represented
as θ and w(k), where the optimal robust control policy
must take into account the information on such uncer-
tainty available only through the state update and the
observation of the rewards.
In this section, we will discuss three approaches for the
problem: The first is model predictive control (MPC). The
second formulates the problem as a constrained Markov
decision process (CMDP) and provides approaches to solve
the problem. The third uses the concepts of model-free rein-
forcement learning to solve the CMDP.
8.3.1 Model Predictive Control
The term model predictive control (MPC) does not designate
a specific control strategy but rather an ample range of control
methods, which make explicit use of a model of the process to
obtain the control signal by optimizing an objective function.
MPC is particularly attractive to staff with only a limited
knowledge of control because the concepts are very intuitive
and, at the same time, the tuning is relatively easy. Further,
MPC can be used to control a great variety of processes, from
those with relatively simple dynamics to more complex ones,
including systems with long delay times or non-minimum
phase or unstable ones. The basic structure of MPC is shown
in Fig. 8.1. A model is used to predict the future plant outputs,
based on past and current values and on the proposed optimal
future control actions. These actions are calculated by the
optimizer taking into account the cost function (where the
future tracking error is considered) as well as the constraints.
Consider the objective in Eq. (8.2) or in Eq. (8.3). We want
to find a control sequence, u(1), u(2), · · · , that maximize the
objective under the constraints defined in Eqs. (8.4) and (8.5).
Now, this optimization problem is not always solvable. To
Reference
Past inputs
Predicted trajectory
and outputs
outputs + approach based on Gaussian processes to model the system.
Model
−
Future
inputs
Optimizer
Future errors
Cost Constraints
function
Fig. 8.1 Basic structure of MPC
193
make this problem tractable, at time k, we estimate the states
and inputs for the future over a shorter time horizon N < T.
The prediction of state at time k + i is given as xi,k , which
predicts the state i time steps ahead when at current time k.
Similarly, ui,k represents the prediction of the control action
i time steps ahead when at current time k. In addition, the
system evolution model, given in (8.1), is approximated as
8
xi+1,k = f (xi,k , ui,k , i + k) for all i > 0 (8.7)
This prediction step using Eq. (8.7) is also known as forward
prediction.
Further, the reward function is approximated; thus, rt will
be changed to r, to indicate this is a model-based approxima-
tion of the true reward. At each time k, using the approximate
system evolution and reward function, the inputs over the
time horizon are found as a solution to the optimization
problem given below:

N
JMPC,k = maxu0,k ,···uN,k r(xi,k , ui,k , k + i)
i=0
subject to xi+1,k = f (xi,k , ui,k , i + k), x0,k = x(k)
[u0,k , · · · uN,k ] ∈ Uj , j = 1, · · · Cu
[x0,k , · · · xN,k ] ∈ Xj , j = 1, · · · Cx (8.8)
Note that at every time step k, the solution u0,k , · · · , uN,k
is solution for an open-loop control problem for the time
horizon N. However, at time step k, after applying the control
action u(k) = u0,k , the planning is done after observing state
update x(k + 1), and MPC becomes closed-loop control.
In order to efficiently solve the problem, the reward func-
tion and the model evolution are approximated to make the
problem convex. The above optimization problem is solved at
time k, and the input u0,k is used. This is, then, used to repeat
at time k+1 after the state at time k+1 has been observed. The
notion of stability of such systems has been widely studied
based on Lyapunov-type analysis [62, 63]. One of the key
aspects of MPC is the model prediction. Since MPC depends
on the system modeling, in the following, we will consider an
8.3.2 Learning System Model Using Gaussian
Process
Gaussian process (GP) regression has been widely used in
supervised machine learning for its flexibility and inherent
ability to describe uncertainty in the prediction. In the con-
text of control, it is seeing increasing use for modeling of
nonlinear dynamical systems from data, as it allows for direct
assessment of the residual model uncertainty.
194
To use Gaussian processes, we assume that the system
state space is X = Rn and the control action space is
U = Rm . This allows us to make use of the nice properties
provided by complete metric spaces. An example of Gaussian
regression is presented in Fig. 8.2. Note that the prediction is
extremely close to the true values in the center; however, the
extreme ends are not properly fitted.
GP regression models the system as
x(k + 1) = f (x(k), u(k)) + w(k),
where the dynamics have i.i.d. zero-mean additive noise
w(k) ∼ N (0, σw2 ). Note that f is an approximation of the true
system model ft , and the subsequent state sk+1 depends only
on the last state sk and control action u(k), and hence, the
system model in Eq. (8.9) is also a Markovian model.
Using recorded states and input sequences of length D,
X̃ = [x̃(1), · · · , x̃(D)] where x̃(k) = (x(k), u(k)), and
considering for each state and applied input the resulting
state measurement X + = [x(2), · · · , x(D + 1)], the joint
distribution of data points and function values at a test point
x̃ = (x, u) is
  
 
X + KX̃,X̃ + Iσw2 KX̃,x̃
∼ N 0, T ,
f (x̃) KX̃,x̃ Kx̃,x̃
where KX̃,X̃ is the Gram matrix of recorded data X̃ under the
kernel κ and KX̃,x̃ represents the corresponding entries for test
point x̃. The kernel function κ is essential for shaping the re-
sulting prediction and must be chosen such that any resulting
Gram matrix KX̃,X̃ is positive definite. Several functions that
satisfy this condition are available, the most popular of which
is the squared exponential kernel, given as
20
f(x, u)
Observations
15 Prediction
95% confidence interval
10
f(x, u)
5 We focus on discrete time models: we observe the system
0 be either finite or infinite. A controller has an influence on
–5
–10
0 2 4 6
x, u
Fig. 8.2 Fitting Gaussian regression and prediction
V. Aggarwal and M. Agarwal
1
κ(x̃, x̃ ) = σf2 exp − (x̃ − x̃ )T L−1 (x̃ − x̃ ) , (8.11)
2
where σf2 is the signal variance and L is a positive diagonal
matrix, constituting (together with the noise variance σw ) the
hyperparameters of the GP regression.
A challenge in an MPC formulation based on a GP dynam-
ics model is the propagation of the resulting stochastic state
distributions over the prediction horizon. This is typically
(8.9) achieved by assuming that subsequent function evaluations
of f (x, u)|X + are independent. Approximate Gaussian distri-
butions of the predicted states xi,k over the prediction horizon
are then derived using techniques related to extended Kalman
filtering, e.g., by linearization, sigma-point transform, or
exact moment matching.
After fitting a Gaussian process for the model prediction,
the MPC problem can be reformulated as
N
JMPC−GP,k = maxu0,k ,···uN,k i=0 r(xi,k , ui,k , k + i)
subject to x0,k = x(k)
    
X+ KX̃,X̃ + Iσw2 KX̃,x̃i,k
∼ N 0,
(8.10) f (xi,k , ui,k ) T
KX̃,x̃ Kx̃i,k ,x̃i,k
i,k
[x0,k , · · · xN,k ] ∈ Xj , j = 1, · · · Cx (8.12)
[u0,k , · · · uN,k ] ∈ Uj , j = 1, · · · Cu
Various solvers have been proposed for efficiently solving
Eq. (8.12). The PILCO (probabilistic inference for learning
control) algorithm [64] uses analytic gradients for policy im-
provement. Additionally particle swarm optimization-based
techniques [65] and sampling-based methods [66] can also
be used.
8.3.3 Constrained Markov Decision Processes
Markov decision processes (MDPs), also known as con-
trolled Markov chains, constitute a basic framework for dy-
namically controlling systems that evolve in a stochastic way.
at times t = 1, 2, · · · , T. T is called the horizon and may
both the costs and the evolution of the system, by choosing
at each time unit some parameters, called actions. As is often
the case in control theory, we assume that the behavior of the
system at each time is determined by what is called the “state”
8 10
of the system, as well as the control action. The system
moves sequentially between different states in a random
way; the current state and control action fully determine the
probability to move to any given state in the next time unit.
8 Control of Uncertain Systems
We typically assume that the MDP is unichain, which implies
that all trajectories generated by any policy end up with a
Markov chain having a single (aperiodic) ergodic class.
CMDP is one of the approaches to model the stochastic
optimal control problem. In the following, we consider the
case where the controller minimizes the objective subject
to constraints. We shall call this class of MDPs constrained
MDPs, or simply CMDPs. To make the above precise, we
define a tuple {X , U , P , c, d} where
• X is the state space, with finite cardinality.
• U is the action set, with finite cardinality. Let K =
(x, u) : x ∈ X , u ∈ U be the set of state-action pairs.
• P are the transition probabilities; thus, Px,a,y is the proba-
bility of moving from state x(k) to x(k + 1) if action u(k)
is chosen.
• c : K → R is the instantaneous cost function, which is the
objective of the CMDP.
• d : K → RI are the I values of the constraint cost function,
thus providing the cost of the I constraints.
For any policy π and initial distribution β, the objective
for a finite horizon T is given as
1
T
C(β, π ) = lim E[c(x(k), u(k)], (8.13)
T→∞ T
k=1
where x(k) is the state at time k, u(k) is the action selected at
time k, and the expectation is over the transition probability
Px(k),u(k),x(k+1) for all k ∈ {1, · · · , T} and the initial state
distribution x(1) ∼ β. The overall CMDP problem can be
written as
1
T
min C(β, π ) subject to lim E[di (x(k), u(k))] ≤ Vi ,
π T→∞ T
t=1
(8.14)
where di (x(k), u(k)) is the ith element of the vector
d(x(k), u(k)) for i ∈ {1, · · · , I}. For simplicity of notation,
we will use y to denote x(k + 1) and drop the time step
arguments.
The optimal solution of CMDP can be shown to be in-
dependent of β, and thus β can be omitted in the above.
We note that the problem of CMDP can be converted to a
linear programming problem, as shown in [1]. The corre-
sponding linear problem is obtained by considering finding
ρ ∈ [0, 1]|K| that satisfies
inf < ρ, c > s.t. < ρ, di > ≤ Vi ∀ i = 1, · · · , I,
ρ
 lowing the policy π and the transition probabilities P. Along
ρ(y, u)(δx (y) − Py,u,x ) = 0∀x ∈ X
y,u
195

ρ(y, u) = 1,
y,u
ρ(y, u) ≥ 0 ∀ y, u. (8.15)
Let ρ ∗ be the optimal value of ρ for the above LP. Then, the
optimal stationary policy is given as
8
ρ ∗ (y, u)
π ∗ (y) = a with probability  (8.16)
∗ 
u ∈U ρ (y, u )
It can be shown that the constrained MDP and the above
linear problem are equivalent. The solution for the LP exists
if and only if one exists for the CMDP. Further, if a solution
exists, the policy π ∗ (y) is optimal for CMDP. Thus, we
note that when the model parameters (MDP parameters,
objective function, and the constraint functions) are known,
the problem reduces to a linear problem.
8.3.4 Model-Free Reinforcement Learning for
Decision-Making
MPC is a model-based control philosophy in which the
current control action is obtained by online optimization of
objective function. Model-free reinforcement learning for-
mulates predictive control problem with a control horizon of
only length one but takes a decision based on infinite horizon
information.
Reinforcement learning has made great advances in sev-
eral applications [23–31, 67]. Even though reinforcement
learning has been widely studied, the application to con-
trol requires solving the problem of decision-making with
constraints. The previous section considered the aspects of
CMDP where the model was known. In this section, we will
expand the discussion to provide model-free approaches.
Unconstrained Reinforcement Learning
Before jumping into the domain of constrained RL, we first
discuss few common algorithms for optimizing policies in
unconstrained RL setup. In reinforcement learning, we define
the total expected reward obtained by starting in a state x and
following a stationary policy π as value of the state. Formally,
we have
∞ 

V π (x) = Eπ γ k r(x(k), π(x(k)))|x(k) = x , (8.17)
k=0
where the expectation is over the states observed from fol-
with the value of the state, state-action value function of a
policy π is defined as the total expected value obtained on
196 V. Aggarwal and M. Agarwal

taking action u in state x and following policy π thereafter. state. Q-learning also requires us to have a discrete action
This gives space, which may not always be true. Both of the issues
  can be resolved by learning an optimal stochastic policy π ∗
∗
∞
 directly instead of learning the Qπ (x, u). A stochastic policy
Q (x, u) = Eπ r(x, u) +
π k
γ r(x(k), π(x(k))) (8.18) π : X × U → [0, 1] is a distribution over action given
k=1
the state. For MDPs, the optimal action is deterministic, and
= r(x, u) + γ E [V(x(k + 1))] (8.19) hence, the probability of taking the optimal action becomes
1 with the probability of all the other action becoming 0.
Note that when u = π(x), Qπ (x, u) = V π (x). Further, this To learn the stochastic policy, we can perform a gradient
conveniently allows us to define an optimal policy π ∗ (x) as descent on the policy π using the expected total rewards J as
∗
π ∗ (x) = maxa Qπ (x, a). Now, it remains to learn the state- the function of π .
action value function.
 T 
Let αk be a such that 
∇π J = ∇π E k
γ r(x(k), u(k)) (8.23)
∞
 k=1
0 ≤ αk < 1, αk = ∞. (8.20)  T 

k=0
=E γ ∇π log(π(u(k)|x(k)))r(x(k), u(k))
k

k=1
It has been shown [46] that updating Q-values for state-action (8.24)
pair x(k), u(k) at time step k as
Equation (8.24) can be approximated by rolling out multiple
Q(x(k), u(k)) = αk (rk + max Q(x(k + 1), u ))
 u trajectories {{xk,n , uk,n }Tk=1 }Nn=1 and averaging over them as
+ (1 − αk )Q(x(k), u(k)) (8.21)

N 
T
leads to the convergence of Q-values to the optimal Q-values
if each state-action pair is visited infinitely often.
To ensure that the state-action pairs are indeed visited in-
finitely often, we use an -greedy Q-learning algorithm [47]
described in Algorithm 1. This algorithm performs random
exploration with probability  and selects the optimal action
with the according to current Q-values with probability 1−.
We also note that the Q-value update can be directly extended
to large state space using the neural networks, akin to deep
Q-learning [68–71]. This is because the multiple Q-function
for the constraints can be learned using deep neural networks.
However, the fundamental idea still follows Eq. (8.21).
The Q-learning method described now requires the con-
troller to estimate the expected rewards of taking an action in
a state. However, at times, we may be interested in designing
a controller that directly learns which actions are good in a
Algorithm 1 -greedy Q-learning algorithm
1: Initialize Q(x, u) ← 0 for all (x, u) ∈ K. Select αk according to
Eq. (8.20).
2: for time steps k = 0, · · · do
3: Observe state x(k) and select action u(k) = maxa Q(x(k), u(k)).
4: Perform random action with  probability and u(k) with 1 −  6:
probability.
5: Obtain reward rk and the next state x(k + 1).
6: Update the Q-value table as

∇ πJ = γ k ∇π log(π(uk,n |xk,n ))r(xk,n , uk,n ) (8.25)
n=1 k=1
where xk,n is the state x(k) and uk,n is the applied action at the
time step k in the nth trajectory.
The gradient estimation in Eq. (8.25) was first proposed as
REINFORCE algorithm [44]. A reference pseudocode is also
provided in Algorithm 2. Since then, there have been a lot of
work on policy gradient to implement them using function
approximators [45], and better gradient updates have been
proposed [72] to ensure the updated policies converge to
the optimal policy. Recently, after the fame of deep neural
networks, various other optimization frameworks are used for
policy gradients. Trust Region Policy Optimization algorithm
[73] and Proximal Policy Optimization algorithm [74] are
Algorithm 2 Policy gradient algorithm
1: Initialize π ← 0 for all (s, a) ∈ K. . Learning rate η.
2: for episodes n = 0, · · · do
3: for time steps k = 1, · · · , T do
4: Observe state xk and select action ak ∼ π(·|xk ).
5: Play action ak , obtain reward rk and the next state xk+1 .
end for
7: Estimate gradient

T

∇πJ = γ k ∇π log(π(u(k)|x(k)))r(x(k), u(k)) (8.26)
Q(x(k), u(k)) = αk (rk + maxu Q(x(k + 1), u )) k=1

+ (1−αk )Q(x(k), u(k)) (8.22) 8: 

Update policy π ← π + η∇πJ
7: end for 9: end for
8 Control of Uncertain Systems
two of the algorithms that use optimization techniques to
ensure a faster convergence of policy gradients.
Constrained Reinforcement Learning with
Average Reward
Constrained MDP problems are convex, and hence, one can
convert the constrained MDP problem to an unconstrained
zero-sum game, where the objective is the Lagrangian of
the optimization problem [1]. However, when the dynamics
and rewards are not known, it doesn’t become apparent how
to do it as the Lagrangian will itself become unknown to
the optimizing agent. Previous work regarding constrained
MDPs, when the dynamics of the stochastic process are not
known, considers scalarization through weighted sums of
the rewards; see [56] and the references therein. Another
approach is to consider Pareto optimality when multiple
objectives are present [75]. However, none of the aforemen-
tioned approaches guarantee to satisfy lower bounds for a
given set of reward functions simultaneously. Further, we
note that deterministic policies are not optimal [1].
We note that the objective in the problem can be con-
verted to the constraint as max E[X] is equivalent to finding
the largest δ such that E[X] ≥ δ. Thus, using bisection
search on δ, objective can be maximized. In the following,
we formulate a multi-objective problem, which amounts to
finding a policy that satisfies multiple constraints. Let the
different objectives be ro ; o = 1, · · · , I. The multi-objective
reinforcement learning problem is that for the optimizing
agent to find a stationary policy π(x(k)) that satisfies the
average expected reward
find π ∈
 
1 o
T−1
s. t. lim E r (x(k), π(x(k))) ≥ 0 (8.27)
T→∞ T k=0
for o = 1, · · · , I.
The multi-objective reinforcement learning problem of
Markov decision processes is that of finding a policy that
satisfies a number of constraints of the form (8.27).
Reinforcement learning-based model-free solutions for
constrained MDP have been widely proposed without guar-
antees [33–38]. Recently, [76] proposed a policy gradient
algorithm with Lagrange multiplier in multi-time scale for
discounted constrained reinforcement learning algorithm and
proved that the policy converges to a feasible policy. [77]
found a feasible policy by using Lagrange multiplier and
zero-sum game for reinforcement learning algorithm with
convex constraints and discounted reward. [57] showed that
constrained reinforcement learning has zero duality gap,
which provides a theoretical guarantee to policy gradient
algorithms in the dual domain. [78] proposed the C-UCRL
197
Algorithm 3 Zero-sum Markov bandit algorithm for CMDP
with average reward
1: Initialize Q(s, a, o) ← 0 and N(s, a, o) ← 0 ∀(s, a, o) ∈ S × A ×
O. Observe s0 and initialize a0 randomly
2: for Iteration k = 0, . . . , K do
3: Take action ak and observe next state sk+1
4: πk+1 , ok = arg max min
πk+1 o∈O
 
8
R(sk , ak , ok ) + Q(sk+1 , πk+1 (sk+1 ), ok )
5: t = N(sk , ak , ok ) ← N(sk , ak , ok ) + 1; αt = t+1
1
6: f = |S||A|O| s,a,o Q(s, a, o)
1
7: y = R(sk , ak , ok ) + E[Q(sk+1 , πk+1 (sk+1 ), ok ] − f
8: Q(sk , ak , ok ) ← (1 − αt )Q(sk , ak , ok ) + αk ∗ y
9: Sample ak+1 from the distribution πk+1 (·|sk+1 )
10: end for
3√
algorithm which achieve sublinear O(T 4 log(T/δ)) with
probability 1 − δ while satisfying the constraints. However,
this algorithm needs the knowledge of the model dynamics,
and hence, it is not model free. [77] proposed four algorithms
for the constrained reinforcement learning problem in pri-
mal, dual, or primal-dual domains and showed a sublinear
bound for regret and constraint violations. [60] proposed an
optimism-based
√ algorithm, which achieves a regret bound of
Õ(DS AT) with O(1) constraint violations where Õ hides
the logarithmic factors. However, all these algorithms are
model based. In the following, we will describe a model-
free algorithm to deal with constraints, which has provable
guarantees. The algorithm is based on the results in [39].
Let R(s, a, o) = ro (s, a) for o ∈ {1, · · · , I}. The model-
free algorithm is summarized in Algorithm 3. The algorithm
uses the concept of zero-sum Markov bandits to have max-
min in line 4, which gives a randomized policy.
Suppose that there exists a state x∗ ∈ X which is recurrent
for every stationary policy π played by the agent. Further,
suppose that the absolute values of the reward functions r and
{ro }Io=1 are bounded by some constant c known to the agent.
Let there exists a deterministic number d > 0 such that for
every x ∈ X , u ∈ U , and o ∈ {1, · · · , I}, with probability 1,
we have
N(k, x, u, o)
lim inf ≥ d,
k→∞ k
where

k
N(k, x, u, o) = 1(x,u,o) (x(k ), u(k ), o(k))
k =1
is the visitation count to state-action pair (x, u) and the
maximized objective o.
Based on the above assumptions, the authors of [39]
showed that the recursion
198 V. Aggarwal and M. Agarwal

Qk+1 (x, u, o) = Qk (x, u, o) + 1(x,u,o) (x(k), u(k), o(k))
× βN(k,x,u,o) max min (R(x, u, o(k))
π ∈
o(k)∈O
+ E [Qk (x(k + 1), π(x(k + 1)), o(k))
− f (Qk ) − Qk (x, u, o)] (8.28)
converges. Further, let the converged value of the recursion
be Q∗ . Then, the policy
8.3.5 Constrained Reinforcement Learning
with Discounted Rewards
Given a stochastic process with state sk at time step k, reward
function r, constraint function rj , and a discount factor 0 <
γ < 1, the multi-objective reinforcement learning problem is
that for the optimizing agent to find a stationary policy π(sk )
that simultaneously satisfies in the discounted reward setting
∞


max E γ k r(sk , π(sk )) (8.30)
π  (s) = arg max min E [Q (x, π(x), o)] (8.29) π k=0
π ∈ o∈O ∞


s.t. E γ k rj (sk , π(sk )) ≥ 0 (8.31)
is a solution to (8.27) for all x ∈ X . k=0
An example for the above problem is a search engine
example [39], formulated as follows. In a search engine, there Note that maximizing Eq. (8.30) is equivalent to maximiz-
is a number of documents that are related to a certain query. ing δ subject to the constraint
There are two values that are related to every document, the
 ∞

first being a (advertisement) value ui of document i for the 
search engine and the second being a value vi for the user E γ k r(sk , π(sk )) ≥ δ
(could be a measure of how strongly related the document is k=0

to the user query). The task of the search engine is to display

the documents in a row some order, where each row has an Thus, one could always replace r with r−(1−γ )δ and obtain
attention value, Aj for row j. We assume that ui and vi are a constraint of the form (8.30). Thus, we can rewrite the
known to the search engine for all i, whereas the attention problem as an optimization problem of finding a stationary
values {Aj } are not known. The strategy π of the search policy π subject to the initial state s0 = s and the constraints
engine is to display document i in position j, π(i) = j, with (8.30), that is,
probability pij . Thus, the expected average reward for the
search engine is find π ∈
∞ 

s. t. E γ r (sk , π(sk )) ≥ 0
k j
(8.32)
1 
N
R = lim
e
E [ui Aπ(i) ] k=0
N→∞ N
i=1
for j = 1, . . . , J.

and for the user Let αk (s, a, o) = αk · 1(s,a,o) (sk , ak , ok ) satisfy

∞

1 
N
R = lim
u
E [vi Aπ(i) ] . 0 ≤ αk (s, a, o) < 1, αk (s, a, o) = ∞,
N→∞ N
i=1 k=0
(8.33)
∞

The search engine has multiple objectives here where it wants αk2 (s, a, o) < ∞, ∀(s, a, o) ∈ S × A × O.
to maximize the rewards for the user and itself. One solution k=0

is to define a measure for the quality of service for the user,

Ru ≥ Ru , and at the same time satisfy a certain lower bound The authors of [39] related this problem to zero-sum
Re of its own reward, that is, Markov bandit problem. This connection was used to provide
a reinforcement learning approach to solve this problem. The
algorithm is given in Algorithm 4. In line 1, we initialize the
find π Q-table, observe s0 , and select a0 randomly. In line 3, we take
the current action ak and observe the next state sk+1 so that we
1 
N
s. t. lim E(ui Aπ(i) ) ≥ Re can compute the max-min operator in line 4. Line 5 updates
N→∞ N
i=1 the Q-table. Line 6 samples the next action from the policy
gotten from line 4. Notice that the max-min can be converted
1 
N
lim E(vi Aπ(i) ) ≥ Ru to a maximization problem with linear inequalities and can be
N→∞ N
i=1 solved by linear programming efficiently due to the number
8 Control of Uncertain Systems
Algorithm 4 Zero-sum Markov bandit algorithm for CMDP
with discounted reward
1: Initialize Q(s, a, o) ← 0 for all (s, a, o) ∈ S × A × O. Observe s0
and initialize a0 randomly. Select αk according to Eq. (8.33)
2: for Iteration k = 0, . . . , K do
3: Take action ak and observe next state sk+1
4: πk+1 , ok = arg max min Q(sk+1 , πk+1 (sk+1 ), ok )
πk+1 o∈O
5: Q(sk , ak , ok ) ← (1 − αk )Q(sk , ak , ok ) + αk [r(sk , ak , ok ) +
γ E(Q(sk+1 , πk+1 (sk+1 ), ok )]
6: Sample ak+1 from the distribution πk+1 (·|sk+1 )
7: end for
of inequalities here is limited by the space of the opponent.
Even for large-scale problems, efficient algorithms exist for
max-min [79].
Based on the converged value of Q-table (say Q ), the
policy is given as
 where πha and πhb are the policies for the service and flow at
π  (s0 ) = arg max min E Q (s0 , π(s), o)
π ∈
o∈O time slot h, respectively. We note that the expectation in the
(8.34)
π (s) = arg max E(Q (s, π(s), o ))
 above is with respect to both the stochastic policies and the
π ∈
transition probability. In order to match the constraint satis-
8.3.6 Case Study for a Constrained RL Setup
In this section, we evaluate Algorithm 4 on a queuing system
with a single server in discrete time. In this model, we assume
there is a buffer of finite size L. A possible arrival is assumed
to occur at the beginning of the time slot. The state of the
system is the number of customers waiting in the queue at
the beginning of time slot such that |S| = L + 1. We assume
there are two kinds of actions: service action and flow action.
The service action space is a finite subset A of [amin , amax ]
and 0 < amin ≤ amax < 1. With a service action a, we
assume that a service of a customer is successfully completed
with probability a. If the service succeeds, the length of the
queue will reduce by one; otherwise, there is no change of the
queue. The flow is a finite subset B of [bmin , bmax ] and 0 ≤
bmin ≤ bmax < 1. Given a flow action b, a customer arrives
during the time slot with probability b. Let the state at time t
be xt . We assume that no customer arrives when state xt = L
and thus can model this by the state update not increasing
on customer arrival when xt = L. Finally, the overall action
space is the product of service action space and flow action
space, i.e., A × B. Given an action pair (a, b) and current state
xt , the transition of this system P(xt+1 |xt , at = a, bt = b) is
shown in Table 8.2.
Assuming that γ = 0.5, we want to optimize the total
discounted reward collected and satisfy two constraints with
respect to service and flow simultaneously. Thus, the overall
optimization problem is given as
199
Table 8.2 Transition probability of the queue system
Current state P(xt+1 = xt − 1) P(xt+1 = xt ) P(xt+1 = xt + 1)
1 ≤ xt ≤ L − 1 a(1 − b) ab + (1 − a) (1 − a)b
(1 − b)
xt = L a 1−a 0
xt = 0 0 1 − b(1 − a) b(1 − a)
8

∞ 
min E γ t c(st , π a (st ), π b (st ))
π a ,π b
t=1

∞ 
s.t. E γ c (st , π (st ), π (st )) ≤ 0
t 1 a b
(8.35)
t=1

∞ 
E γ c (st , π (st ), π (st )) ≤ 0
t 2 a b
t=1
faction problem modeled in this paper, we use the bisection
algorithm
 on δ and transform the objective to a constraint
∞ t
E a b
t=1 γ c(st , π (st ), π (st )) ≤ δ. In the setting of the
simulation, we choose the length of the queue L = 5. We let
the service action space be A = [0.3, 0.4, 0.5, 0.6, 0.7] and
the flow action space be B = [0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6] for all states
besides the state s = L. Moreover, the cost function is set to
be c(s, a, b) = s − 5, the constraint function for the service is
defined as c1 (s, a, b) = 10a − 5, and the constraint function
for the flow is c2 (s, a, b) = 5(1 − b)2 − 2.
For different values of δ, the numerical results are given
in Fig. 8.3. To show the performance of the algorithm, we
choose the values of δ close to the real optimum value, and
thus, the figure shows the performance with δ = 9.5, 9.55,
9.575, 9.6, 9.625, and 9.7. For each value of δ, we run the
algorithm for 105 iterations. Rather than evaluating the policy
in each iteration, we evaluate the policy every 100 iterations
while evaluate at every iteration for the last 100 iterations. In
order to get the expected value of the constraints, we collect
10,000 trajectories and calculate the average constraint func-
tion value among them. These constraint function values for
the three constraints are plotted in Fig. 8.3. For δ = 9.5, we
see that the algorithm converges after about 60,000 iterations
and all three constrains are larger than 0, which means that
we find a feasible policy for the setting δ = 9.5. Moreover,
it is reasonable that all three constraints converge to a same
value since the proposed Algorithm 4 optimize the minimal
value function among V(s, a, o) with respect to o. We see that
the three constraints for δ = 9.5 are close to each other and
nonnegative, thus demonstrating the constraints are satisfied
and δ = 9.5 is feasible.
200 V. Aggarwal and M. Agarwal

a) d) 1
1
Reward
Service
0.5 Flow
0.5
Constraint value

Constraint value
0 0

−0.5 Reward −0.5

Service
Flow
−1 −1
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
Iteration ·105 Iteration ·105

b) 1 e)

0.5
0.5
Constraint value

Constraint value
0
0

−0.5 −0.5
Reward Reward
Service Service
Flow Flow
−1 −1
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
Iteration ·105 Iteration ·105

c) f) 1
Reward
1 Service
0.5 Flow
Constraint value
Constraint value

0.5

0
0

−0.5 Reward −0.5

Service
Flow
−1 −1
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
Iteration ·105 Iteration ·105

Fig. 8.3 Value of constraints with iterations for the zero-sum Markov bandit algorithm applied to discrete time single-server queue. (a) δ = 9.5.
(b) δ = 9.55. (c) δ = 9.575. (d) δ = 9.6. (e) δ = 9.625. (f) δ = 9.7
8 Control of Uncertain Systems
On the other extreme, we see the case when δ = 9.7.
We note that all three constraints are below 0, which means
no feasible policy for this setting. Thus, seeing the cases for
δ = 9.5 and 9.7, we note that the optimal objective is between
the two values. Looking at the case where δ = 9.625, we
also note that the service constraint is clearly below zero
and the constraints are not satisfied. Similarly, for δ = 9.55,
the constraints are nonnegative – the closest to zero are
the service constraints, which are crossing zero every few
iterations and thus the gap is within the margin. This shows
that the optimal objective is within 9.55 and 9.625. However,
the judgment is not as evident between the two regimes, and
it cannot be clearly mentioned from δ = 9.575 and δ = 9.6 if
they are feasible or not since they are not consistently lower
than zero after 80,000 iterations like in the case of δ = 9.625
and δ = 9.7, are not mostly above zero as for δ = 9.5.
Thus, looking at the figures, we estimate the value of optimal
objective between 9.55 and 9.625.
In order to compare the result with the theoretical optimal
total reward, we can assume the dynamics of the MDP is
known in advance and use the linear programming algorithm
to solve the original problem. The result solved by the LP
is 9.62. We note that Q(s, a, o) has 6 × 5 × 4 × 3 = 360
elements, and it is possible that 105 iterations are not enough
to make all the elements in Q table to converge. Further,
sampling 104 trajectories can only achieve an accuracy of
0.1 with 99% confidence for the constraint function value,
and we are within that range. Thus, more iterations and more
samples (especially more samples) would help improve the
achievable estimate from 9.55 in the algorithm performance.
Overall, considering the limited iterations and sampling in
the simulations, we conclude that the result by the proposed
algorithm is close to the optimal result obtained by the linear
programming.
Note that the fundamental difference between the model-
based MPC methods and the model-free RL methods is that
the MPC method can predict the probable state in which the
system can transition. But, RL-based methods only predicts
the action to perform in a given state that can ensure the
constraints remain satisfied.
8.4 Application Areas
Finding optimal control in the presence of uncertainties
has seen significant success in recent decades, and the
approaches in this chapter have been used as the primary
control method for the systematic handling of system
constraints [80, 81], with wide adaptation in diverse fields,
such as process control [82], automotive systems [48],
robotics [83], video streaming [84–86], heating systems [87],
201
spacecrafts [88], agriculture [89], search engine [39],
scheduling [29, 38, 90], resource allocation [28, 91–93],
etc. In these systems, a variety of approaches including
MPC, CMDP, and RL with constraints have been applied.
Thus, the approaches studied in this chapter have widespread
applications.
8
8.5 Conclusions, Challenges, and Trends
In this chapter, we investigated the model and approaches
for controlling dynamical systems in the presence of un-
certainty. We first consider model predictive control, where
model parameters are learned, for instance, using Gaussian
process regression. We then abstracted the problem to a
constrained Markov decision process (CMDP). When the
model parameters are unknown, the concept of reinforcement
learning (RL) is used. We introduced Q-learning-based al-
gorithms and policy gradient methods for finding optimal
policies for the unconstrained RL setup. We then investi-
gated the constrained setup using zero-sum games and bandit
optimization.
We note that the approaches for machine learning, in
specific, reinforcement learning, have been increasing. This
is influencing an increased use of learning-based approaches
in the control systems [25, 26, 28, 67, 94–97]. Some of the
problems of key interest for further developments in the area
include:
Efficient Model-Free Approaches for CMDP with Peak
and Expected Costs In many problems, certain decisions
cannot be taken in certain states, and such constraints are
called peak constraints. Handling both peak and expected
constraints in the setup, and analyzing efficient algorithms
for regret bounds, is an open problem.
Scalable Solutions for Model-Free CMDP Most of the ap-
proaches pointed for reinforcement learning with constraints
are for tabular setup, where the set of actions and states
are discrete. However, the deep-learning-based approaches,
which are scalable and have provable guarantees, are impor-
tant for more widespread use of these approaches [98].
Beyond MDP Markov property requires that the states be
organized in such a way that history (previous states and
actions) is not relevant for predicting subsequent dynamics
and rewards. This is not always possible. One of the possi-
bility for such an issue is the use of partially observed MDP
(POMDP). Even though efficient algorithms of POMDP are
being studied, such approach in the presence of constraints is
in its infancy.
202
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 Artificial Intelligence and Automation
Sven Koenig, Shao-Hung Chan, Jiaoyang Li, and Yi Zheng
Contents
9.1 Artificial Intelligence (AI): The Study of Intelligent
Agents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205
9.2 AI Techniques . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
9.2.1 Optimization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
9.2.2 Knowledge Representation and Reasoning . . . . . . . . . . . .
9.2.3 Planning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
9.2.4 Machine Learning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
9.3 Combining AI Techniques . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223
9.4 Case Study: Automated Warehousing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223
9.5 AI History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225
9.6 AI Achievements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225
9.7 AI Ethics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227
Abstract
In this chapter, we discuss artificial intelligence (AI) and
its impact on automation. We explain what AI is, namely,
the study of intelligent agents, and explain a variety of
AI techniques related to acquiring knowledge from ob-
servations of the world (machine learning), storing it in
a structured way (knowledge representation), combining
it (reasoning), and using it to determine how to behave to
maximize task performance (planning), in both determin-
istic and probabilistic settings and for both single-agent
and multi-agent systems. We discuss how to apply some
of these techniques, using automated warehousing as case
study, and how to combine them. We also discuss the
achievements, current trends, and future of AI as well as
its ethical aspects.
S. Koenig () · S.-H. Chan · J. Li · Y. Zheng
Computer Science Department, University of Southern California,
Los Angeles, CA, USA
e-mail: skoenig@usc.edu; shaohung@usc.edu; jiaoyanl@usc.edu;
yzheng63@usc.edu
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023
S. Y. Nof (ed.), Springer Handbook of Automation, Springer Handbooks,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-96729-1_9
9
Keywords
Artificial intelligence · Automated warehousing ·
Ethics · Intelligent agents · Knowledge representation ·
206
Machine learning · Multi-agent systems · Optimization ·
206
209 Planning · Reasoning
212
216
9.1 Artificial Intelligence (AI): The Study
of Intelligent Agents
According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, intelligence
is (1) “the ability to learn or understand to deal with new
or trying situations” or (2) “the ability to apply knowledge
to manipulate one’s environment or to think abstractly as
measured by objective criteria (such as tests)” [1]. The field
of artificial intelligence (AI) studies how to endow machines
with these abilities.
Compatible with this definition, creating AI systems is
often equated with building (intelligent) agents, where an
agent is an input-output system that interacts with the envi-
ronment, similar to a feedback controller. It receives obser-
vations about the state of the environment from its sensors
and can execute actions to change it. How to obtain high-
level observations from low-level sensor signals (e.g., with
vision, gesture recognition, speech recognition, and natural
language processing) and how to translate high-level actions
into low-level effector signals are considered part of AI but
not of core AI and thus not discussed here. The program of an
agent is essentially a function that specifies a mapping from
possible sequences of past observations and actions to the
next action to execute. Cognitive agents use functions that
not only resemble those of humans but also calculate them
like humans. In other words, cognitive agents “think” like
humans. In general, however, agents can use any function,
and the function is evaluated according to a given objective
function that evaluates the resulting agent behavior. For be-
lievable agents, the objective function measures how close
205
206
the agent behavior is to that of humans. In other words,
believable agents behave like humans, which might include
modeling human emotions. Examples are intelligent voice
assistants and lifelike non-player characters in video games.
For rational agents, the objective function measures how well
the agent does with respect to given tasks. In other words,
rational agents maximize task performance. Examples are
chess programs and autonomous vacuum cleaners.
AI was originally motivated mostly by creating cognitive
agents since it seems reasonable to build agents by imitat-
ing how existing examples of intelligent systems in nature,
namely, humans, think. AI quickly turned to noncognitive
agents as well since the computing hardware of agents is
different from the brains of humans. After all, it is difficult to
engineer planes that fly by flapping their wings like existing
examples of flying systems in nature, namely, birds, due to
their different hardware. For a long time, AI then focused on
rational agents, mostly autonomous rational agents without
humans in the loop but also autonomous rational agents that
are able to obtain input from humans, which often increases
the task performance, and nonautonomous rational agents
(such as decision-support systems). More recently, AI has
also started to focus on believable agents as technological
advances in both AI and hardware put such systems within
reach.
Both rational and believable agents are important for
automation. Rational agents can be used to automate a variety
of tasks. Believable agents offer human-like interactions with
gestures and speech and understand and imitate emotions.
They can, for example, be used as teachers [42, 63] and
companions [22,134] as well as for elderly care [24,109,131]
and entertainment purposes [133]. In this article, we focus on
rational agents. A thermostat is a rational agent that tries to
keep the temperature close to the desired one by turning the
heating and air conditioning on and off, but AI focuses on
more complex rational agents, often those that use knowledge
to perform tasks that are difficult for humans.
9.2 AI Techniques
Knowledge is important since rational agents make use of
it. The initial emphasis of AI on cognitive agents explains
why the study of rational agents is often structured according
to the cognitive functions of humans. One typically distin-
guishes acquiring knowledge from observations of the world
(machine learning), storing it in a structured way (knowledge
representation), combining it (reasoning), and using it to
determine how to behave to maximize task performance
(planning). The interaction between agents is also important.
We will discuss all these AI techniques separately in the
context of stand-alone examples but also how to combine
them. Rational agents can be built based on a variety of
S. Koenig et al.
techniques, often related to optimization, since they maxi-
mize task performance. Since trivial techniques are typically
much too slow, AI develops techniques that exploit problem
structure to result in the same or similar agent behavior
but satisfy existing time constraints. Some of these tech-
niques originated in AI but others originated much earlier
in other disciplines that have also studied how to maximize
performance, including operations research, economics, and
engineering. AI has adopted many such techniques. The
techniques used in AI are therefore very heterogeneous.
9.2.1 Optimization
Optimization is the task of assigning values to variables, pos-
sibly under some constraints, so as to minimize the value of a
function of these variables. One often cannot systematically
enumerate all possible assignments of values to all variables
(solutions) and return one with the smallest function value
because their number is too large or even infinite. In this case,
one often starts with a random solution and then moves from
solution to solution to discover one with a small function
value (local search). Optimization techniques allow planning
to maximize task performance and machine learning to find
good models of the world.
Continuous Function Minimization
The continuous function minimization problem is to find
a global minimum of a function of several variables with
continuous domains. (A global maximum can be determined
by finding a global minimum of the negative function.) Since
this can be difficult to do analytically, one often uses local
search in form of gradient descent to find a small local
minimum instead. Gradient descent first randomly assigns a
value to each variable and then repeatedly tries to decrease
the resulting function value by adjusting the values of the
variables so that it takes a small step in the direction of
the steepest downward slope (against the gradient) of the
function at the point given by the current values of all
variables. In other words, it first chooses a random solution
and then repeatedly moves from the current solution to the
best neighboring solution. Once this is no longer possible,
it has reached a local minimum. It repeats the procedure
for many iterations to find local minima with even smaller
function values (random restart), a process which can easily
be parallelized, until a time bound is reached or the smallest
function value found is sufficiently small. Gradient descent
can use a momentum term to increase the step size when
the function value decreases substantially (to speed up the
process) and decrease it otherwise.
Function minimization under constraints has been studied
in AI in the context of constraint programming but has also
been studied in operations research. A continuous function
9 Artificial Intelligence and Automation
minimization problem under constraints can be formulated
as follows:
minimize f0 (x1 , . . . , xn )
x1 ,...,xn ∈R
subject to fi (x1 , . . . , xn )≤ 0, for all i ∈ {1, . . . , m}.
(9.1)
Here, x1 , . . . , xn ∈ R are real-valued variables, f0 is the
function to be minimized (objective function), and the re-
maining functions fi are involved in constraints (constrained
functions). (An equality constraint fi (x1 , . . . , xn ) = 0 can be
expressed as fi (x1 , . . . , xn ) ≤ 0 and −fi (x1 , . . . , xn ) ≤ 0.
Similarly, a range constraint xj ∈ [a, b] can be expressed as
−xj + a ≤ 0 and xj − b ≤ 0.) Lagrange multipliers can be
used for function minimization if all constraints are equality
constraints. Other special cases include linear programming
(LP), where the objective function and constrained func-
tions are linear in the variables, and quadratic programming,
where the objective function is quadratic and the constrained
functions are linear [12]. “Programming” is a synonym for
optimization in this context.
Discrete Function Minimization
The discrete function minimization problem is to find the
global minimum of a function of several variables with
discrete domains. The local search analog to gradient descent
for discrete functions is hill climbing. One has to decide what
the neighbors of a solution should be. Their number should
be small compared to the number of solutions. Like gradient
descent, hill climbing first chooses a random solution and
then repeatedly moves from the current solution to the best
neighboring solution. Unlike gradient descent, hill climb-
ing can determine the best neighboring solution simply by
enumerating all neighboring solutions and calculating their
function values.
For example, the constraint satisfaction problem (CSP)
consists of variables, their domains, and constraints among
the variables that rule out certain assignments of values from
their domains to them. The problem is to find a solution that
satisfies all constraints. (The constraint optimization problem
is a generalization where every constraint is associated with
a nonnegative cost and the problem is to find a solution that
minimizes the sum of the costs of the unsatisfied constraints.)
For example, the NP-hard map coloring problem can be
modeled as a CSP where the countries are the variables,
the set of available colors is the domain of each variable,
and the constraints specify that two countries that share a
border cannot be colored identically. A solution to a map
coloring problem is an assignment of a color to each country.
To solve a map coloring problem systematically, one can
perform a depth-first search by repeatedly first choosing a
country and then a color for it. Different strategies exist
207
for how to choose countries, how to choose their colors,
and how to determine when the procedure should undo the
last assignment of a color to a country. It should definitely
undo the last assignment when two countries that share a
border have been colored identically. However, the number
of possible map colorings is exponential in the number of
countries, which makes such a (systematic) search too slow
for a large map. To solve a map coloring problem with
hill climbing, one can define the neighbors of a solution to
be the solutions that differ in the assignment of a color to 9
exactly one country. The function to be minimized is the
number of errors of a solution (error or loss function), that
is, the number of pairs of countries that share a border but
are colored identically. Solving the map coloring problem
then corresponds to finding a global minimum of the error
function with zero errors, that is, a solution that obeys all
coloring constraints. Hill climbing with random restarts often
finds a map coloring much faster than search (although this
is not guaranteed) but cannot detect that no map coloring
exists. Many other NP-hard problems can be solved with hill
climbing as well, including the SATisfiability (SAT) problem,
which is the problem of finding an interpretation that makes
a propositional sentence true, or the traveling salesperson
problem (TSP), which is the problem of finding a shortest
route that visits each city of a given set of cities exactly once
and returns to the start city.
To avoid getting stuck in local minima, local search cannot
only make moves that decrease the function value (exploiting
moves) but also has to make moves that increase the function
value (exploring moves). Exploring moves help local search
to reach new solutions. We now discuss several versions of
local search that decide when to make an exploring move,
when to make an exploiting move, and which moves to
choose (exploration-exploitation problem).
Tabu Search
To encourage exploration by avoiding repeated visits of the
same solutions, local search can maintain a tabu list of
previous solutions that it will not move to for a number of
steps. Tabu search first chooses a random solution and then
repeatedly chooses the best neighboring solution that is not
in the tabu list and updates the tabu list.
Simulated Annealing
Simulated annealing models the process of heating a metal
and then slowly cooling it down to decrease its defects, which
minimizes the energy. It first chooses a random solution and
then repeatedly chooses a random neighboring solution. If
moving to this neighboring solution decreases the function
value, it makes the move (exploitation). Otherwise, it makes
the move with a probability that is the larger, the less the
function value increases and the less time has passed since
208
function optimization started (exploration). Thus, simulated
annealing makes fewer and fewer exploring moves over time.
Genetic Algorithms
To allow for the reuse of pieces of solutions in a new con-
text, local search can maintain a set (population) of solu-
tions (individuals or, synonymously, phenotypes) that are
represented with strings of a fixed length (chromosomes or,
synonymously, genotypes), rather than only one solution,
and then create new solutions from pieces of existing ones.
A genetic algorithm (GA), similar to evolution in biology,
first determines the function values of all n solutions in the
population and then creates a new population by synthesizing
two new solutions n/2 times, a process which can easily
be parallelized, see Fig. 9.1: (1) It chooses two solutions
from the population as parent solutions, each randomly with
a probability that is inversely proportional to its function
value, and generates two offspring solutions for them. Thus,
solutions with small function values (fitter solutions) are
more likely to reproduce. It splits both parent solutions into
two parts by cutting their strings at the same random location.
It then reassembles the parts into two new offspring solutions,
one of which is the concatenation of the left part of the first
parent solution and the right part of the second parent solution
and the other one of which is the concatenation of the left part
of the second parent solution and the right part of the first par-
ent solution (crossover). This recombination step ensures that
the offspring solutions are genetic mixtures of their parent so-
lutions and can thus be fitter than them (exploitation) or less
fit than them (exploration). (2) It changes random characters
in the strings of the two offspring solutions. This mutation
step introduces novelty into the offspring solutions and can
thus make them fitter or less fit. Mutation is necessary to
create diversity that avoids convergence to a local minimum.
For example, if all solutions of a population are identical,
then recombination creates only offspring solutions that are
identical to their parent solutions. Once all (new) offspring
solutions have been generated, they form the next population.
This procedure is repeated for many steps (generations) until
a time bound is reached, the smallest function value of a
solution in the new population is sufficiently small, or this
function value seems to have converged. Then, the solution
in the most recent population with the smallest function value
is returned. A good representation of a solution as string is
important to ensure that recombination and mutation likely
create strings that are solutions and have a chance to increase
the fitness. In general, strings are discarded and replaced
with new strings if they are not solutions. GAs can move the
best solutions from one population to the next one to avoid
losing them. To solve a map coloring problem for m countries
with a given number of colors, the function to be minimized
is the number of pairs of countries that share a border but
are colored identically. GAs can represent a solution with
S. Koenig et al.
a string of m characters, where the ith character represents
the assignment of a color to country i. The strings of the
initial population are created by assigning colors to countries
randomly. Recombination chooses a subset of countries and
creates two offspring solutions from two parent solutions,
one of which consists of the colors assigned by the first
parent solution to the countries in the subset and the colors
assigned by the second parent solution to the other countries
and the other one of which consists of the colors assigned
by the second parent solution to the countries in the subset
and the colors assigned by the first parent solution to the
other countries. Mutation iterates through the countries and
changes the color of each country to a random one with a
small probability. Thus, recombination and mutation create
strings that are solutions. Actual applications of GAs to map
coloring use more complex recombination strategies.
Genetic programming, a form of GAs, uses tree-like rep-
resentations instead of strings to evolve computer programs
that solve given tasks.
Other Discrete Function Minimization Techniques
A discrete function minimization problem under constraints
can be formulated like its continuous counterpart (9.1), ex-
cept that all or some of the variables have discrete do-
mains. Special cases are integer linear programming (ILP)
and mixed integer linear programming (MILP), where the
objective function and constrained functions are linear in the
variables, just like for LP, but all (for ILPs) or some (for
MILPs) variables have integer rather than real values. An
LP relaxation, where all integer-valued variables are replaced
with real-valued variables, the resulting LP is solved, and the
values of integer-valued variables in the resulting solution are
rounded, is often used to find reasonable solutions for ILPs
or MILPs quickly. However, since many discrete function
minimization problems under constraints can be expressed as
ILPs or MILPs, a lot of effort has been devoted to developing
more effective but still reasonably efficient solvers for them.
Example Applications
LPs have been used for controlling oil refinement processes
[57]. CSPs have been used for designing complex systems
like hybrid passenger ferries [127], mechanical systems like
clusters of gear wheels [152], and software services like plan
recognition [104]. TSPs have been used for overhauling gas
turbine engines, wiring computers, and plotting masks for
printed circuit boards [85]. Simulated annealing has been
used for global wiring [135] and optimizing designs of inte-
grated circuits [38]. GAs have been used for tuning operating
parameters of manufacturing processes [54,121,156]. MILPs
have been used for scheduling chemical processing systems
[34]. Other constraint programming techniques have been
used for optimizing the layouts of chemical plants [8].
9 Artificial Intelligence and Automation
Random location
1 2 2 3 4 3 1 2 4 1
Crossover
4 3 4 1 1 2 4 3 2 3
Parent solutions
Fig. 9.1 Illustration of crossover and mutation
9.2.2 Knowledge Representation and
Reasoning
Knowledge representation is the task of storing knowledge in
a structured way. An ontology describes the world in terms
of its objects and their properties and relationships. Agents
need to represent such knowledge about their environment
and themselves in a knowledge base with a knowledge-
representation language that is unambiguous and expressive.
They also need to reason with the knowledge. Reasoning
is the task of combining existing knowledge, that is, infer-
ring new facts from given ones. For example, knowledge
representation is about representing the rules of a coin flip
game “heads, I win; tails, you lose” as well as background
knowledge about the world (e.g., that “heads” and “tails”
always have opposite truth values and “I win” and “you
lose” always have identical truth values), while reasoning
is about inferring that “I win” is guaranteed to hold when
playing the game. Facts, like “heads; I win”, are expressed
with sentences. The syntax of a knowledge-representation
language defines which sentences are well-formed, while the
semantics of well-formed sentences define their meanings.
For example, arithmetic formulas are sentences. “x+2=5” is
a well-formed arithmetic formula, and so it makes sense to
ask for its meaning, that is, when it is true.
Propositional Logic
We first discuss propositional logic as a knowledge-
representation language.
Knowledge Representation with Propositional Logic
Sentences in propositional logic represent statements that
are either true or false (propositions). The syntax specifies
how sentences are formed with the truth values t(rue) and
f(alse), propositional symbols (here: in capital letters), and
operators, such as ¬, ∧, ∨, ⇒, and ⇔, that roughly represent
“not,” “and,” “or” (in the inclusive sense of “and/or”), “if
. . . then . . .,” and “if and only if” in English. For example,
“heads, I win” can be represented with “H ⇒ I,” where
the propositional symbol H represents “coin flip results in
209
1 2 1 3 4 1 1 2
Mutation
4 3 4 3 2 3 4 3
Offspring solutions
9
heads” and the propositional symbol I represents “I win.”
An interpretation assigns each propositional symbol a truth
value. The semantics specifies for which interpretations a
well-formed sentence is true.
Reasoning with Propositional Logic
We want to be able to infer that, whenever the rules of our
game are followed, I will win even though we might not
know the complete state of the world, such as the outcome
of the coin flip. More formally: Whenever an interpretation
makes the knowledge base “heads, I win; tails, you lose”
(plus the background knowledge) true, then it also makes the
sentence “I win” true. In this case, we say that the knowledge
base entails the sentence. Entailment can be checked by
enumerating all interpretations and checking that the defini-
tion of entailment holds for all of them. In our example, it
does. However, this procedure is very slow since it needs to
check 2100 interpretations for knowledge bases that contain
100 propositional symbols. Instead, AI systems use inference
procedures, like proof by contradiction using the inference
rule resolution, that check entailment by manipulating the
representations of the knowledge base and the sentence,
similar to how we add two numbers by manipulating their
representations as sequences of digits.
First-Order Logic
First-order logic (FOL) is often more adequate to represent
knowledge than propositional logic since propositional logic
is often not sufficiently expressive. Sentences in FOL still
represent propositions, but FOL is a superset of propositional
logic that uses names (here: in all caps) to refer to objects,
predicates (here: in mixed case) to specify properties of ob-
jects or relationships among them, functions to specify map-
pings from objects to an object, and quantification to express
both at least one object makes a given sentence true or that all
objects make a given sentence true. For example, the knowl-
edge base “Poodle(FIDO) ∧ ∀ x (Poodle(x) ⇒ Dog(x))”
expresses that Fido is a poodle and all poodles are dogs.
This knowledge base entails the sentence “Dog(FIDO).” An
interpretation now corresponds to functions that map names
210
to objects, predicates to properties or relationships, and func-
tions to mappings from objects to an object. A finite sentence
in FOL, different from one in propositional logic, can have an
infinite number of interpretations (because one can specify
infinitely many objects, such as the nonnegative integers,
e.g., by representing zero and a function that calculates the
successor of any given nonnegative integer), so we can no
longer check entailment by enumerating all interpretations.
In general, there is a fundamental limit for FOL since en-
tailment is only semi-decidable for FOL, that is, there are
inference procedures (such as proof by contradiction using
resolution) that can always confirm that a knowledge base
entails a sentence, but it is impossible to always confirm that
a knowledge base does not entail a sentence (e.g., because the
inference procedure can run forever in this case).
Other Knowledge Representation Languages
FOL requires sentences to be either true or false. However,
the truth of a sentence might need to be quantified, for exam-
ple, in terms of how true it is (as in “the machine is heavy”),
resulting in fuzzy logic, or in terms of the likelihood that it
is true (as in “the coin flip will result in heads”), resulting
in probabilistic reasoning. For example, fuzzy logic allows
one to represent vague (but certain) propositions, based on
fuzzy set theory where membership in a set (such as the set
of heavy machines) is indicated by a degree of membership
between zero (the element is not in the set) and one (the
element is in the set) rather than the Boolean values false and
true. Figure 9.2 shows membership functions of the fuzzy sets
for “light,” “medium,” and “heavy” machines. Fuzzy control
systems are control systems based on fuzzy logic.
In general, FOL has been extended or modified in many
directions, for example, to be able to express facts about time
(as in “a traffic light, once red, always becomes green even-
tually”) and to allow for the retraction of entailment conclu-
sions when more facts are added to a knowledge base (non-
monotonic reasoning). For example, if someone is told that
“someone saw a bird yesterday on the roof,” then they will
typically assume that the bird could fly (default reasoning).
1.0
Membership degree
0.5
0.0
0 10 20 30 40
Machine weight (kg)
Fig. 9.2 Membership functions of three fuzzy sets
S. Koenig et al.
However, when they are then also told that “the bird had
a broken wing,” then they know that it could not fly. Also,
proof by contradiction using resolution can be slow for FOL,
and its steps can be difficult to explain to users, resulting in
hard-to-understand explanations for why a knowledge base
entails a sentence. Knowledge-representation languages with
less powerful but faster and easier-to-understand reasoning
techniques are thus also used, such as rule-based expert
systems and semantic networks.
Rule-Based Expert Systems
Rule-based expert systems partition the knowledge base into
an “if-then” rule memory and a fact memory (or, synony-
mously,working memory) since reasoning leaves the rule
memory unchanged but adds facts to the fact memory. For ex-
ample, the rule memory contains “if Poodle(x) then Dog(x)”
for our earlier example, and the initial fact memory contains
“Poodle(FIDO).” The inference rule that utilizes that “P(A)
∧ ∀ x (P(x) ⇒ Q(x))” entails “Q(A)” (modus ponens) is used
for reasoning. In forward chaining, it is used to determine that
the knowledge base entails the query “Dog(FIDO),” which
is then added to the fact memory. Forward chaining can be
used for configuration planning in design and to find all
possible diagnoses. In backward chaining, one needs to be
given the sentence that one wants to show as being entailed by
the knowledge base (query), such as “Dog(FIDO).” The rule
“if Poodle(x) then Dog(x)” shows that the knowledge base
entails “Dog(FIDO)” if it entails “Poodle(FIDO),” which it
does since “Poodle(FIDO)” is in fact memory. Backward
chaining can be used to confirm a given hypothesis in di-
agnosis. Rule-based expert systems cannot always confirm
that a knowledge base entails a sentence. For example, they
cannot confirm that the knowledge base consisting of the rule
memory “Rule 1: if P then R; Rule 2: if ¬P then R” and an
empty fact memory entails “R,” even though it does. Rule-
based expert systems have the advantage of representing
knowledge in a modular way and isolating the decisions
which rules to apply from the knowledge, making modifi-
cations of the knowledge base easy. They have also been
extended to logic programming languages, such as Prolog,
by allowing commands in the “then” part of rules.
Heavy Semantic Networks
Medium Semantic networks, a concept from psychology, are directed
Light
graphs that represent concepts visually with nodes and their
properties or relationships with directed edges. For exam-
ple, Fig. 9.3 shows a semantic network that represents the
knowledge that Fido is a poodle, all poodles are dogs, and
all dogs can bark. Semantic networks can use specialized and
50
fast reasoning procedures of limited reasoning capability that
follow edges to reason about the properties and relationships
of concepts. This way, they can determine inherited proper-
ties. For example, to find out whether Fido can bark, one can
9 Artificial Intelligence and Automation
Able to
Dog Bark
Subset of
Poodle
Element of
Fido
Fig. 9.3 Semantic network
start at node “Fido” in the semantic network from Fig. 9.3
and see whether one can reach a node with an outgoing edge
that is labeled with “able to” and points to node “Bark”
by repeatedly following edges labeled with “element of”
and “subset of.” They can also disambiguate the meaning of
words in sentences. For example, to find out that the word
“bank” in the sentence “the bank keeps my money safe”
likely refers to the financial institution rather than the land
alongside of a body of water, one can determine that node
“Money” is fewer hops away in the semantic network that
expresses knowledge about the world from the node of the
first meaning of bank than the node of the second meaning
of bank. Semantic networks can be more expressive than FOL
by allowing for default reasoning, but the semantics of edges
and reasoning procedures need to be very carefully defined
and some operators (such as “not” and “or”) are not easy to
represent and reason with.
Bayesian Networks
Probabilistic reasoning is an especially important extension
of FOL because the world is often nondeterministic or the
knowledge bases of agents are incomplete, for example,
because the agents do not have complete knowledge of the
world or do not include known facts in their knowledge bases,
for example, to keep the sizes of their knowledge bases man-
ageable. For example, an “if-then” rule “if Jaundice(x) then
YellowEyes(x)” states that someone with jaundice always has
yellow eyes (in other words, that the conditional probability
P(YellowEyes(x)=t|Jaundice(x)=t), which is the probability
that YellowEyes(x) is true given that Jaundice(x) is true, is
1), which is not true in reality.
211
Knowledge Representation with Bayesian Networks
For a medical diagnosis system, each symptom or disease is
a random variable, and its presence or absence is indicated
by the truth value of that random variable. An interpreta-
tion assigns a truth value to each random variable. A joint
probability table maps each interpretation to the probability
of the corresponding scenario (joint probability). From the
joint probability table, one can calculate the conditional
probability that a sick person has a certain disease given
the presence or absence of some symptoms. However, there 9
are too many interpretations to be able to elicit all joint
probabilities from a doctor, and many of them are too close
to zero to result in good estimates. Instead, one can represent
the joint probability table with a directed acyclic graph that
represents random variables visually with nodes and their
conditional dependences with directed edges (Bayesian net-
work). Every node is assigned a conditional probability table
that maps each combination of values of the predecessor
nodes of the node to the conditional probability that the node
takes on a certain value if the predecessor nodes take on
the given values. Figure 9.4a shows an example Bayesian
network with three random variables that take on the values
true or false (Boolean random variables): C(old), H(igh
Temperature), and R(unning Nose). The joint probabilities
are calculated as products of conditional probabilities, one
from each conditional probability table. Here, P(C=c ∧ H=h
∧ R=r) = P(C=c) P(H=h|C=c) P(R=r|C=c), where the no-
tation means that the equation holds no matter whether C,
H, and R are true or false. Thus, the joint probability table
in Fig. 9.4b results. The joint probabilities are products of
several conditional probabilities. Thus, the joint probabilities
are often close to zero, but the conditional probabilities are
not necessarily close to zero. Furthermore, the conditional
probabilities directly correspond to medical knowledge (such
as the probability that a person with a cold has a high tem-
perature), which makes them often easier to estimate. There
are 8 possible interpretations, and one thus needs to specify
8-1 = 7 joint probabilities for the joint probability table.
The eighth joint probability does not need to be specified
since all joint probabilities sum to one. The reason why one
only needs to specify five conditional probabilities across
all conditional probability tables of the Bayesian network is
that the Bayesian network makes conditional independences
visible in its graph structure rather than only in its (con-
ditional) probabilities. Two random variables X and Y are
independent if and only if P(X=x ∧ Y=y) = P(X=x) P(Y=y).
Thus, one needs only two probabilities, namely P(X=t) and
P(Y=t), instead of three probabilities to specify the joint
probability table of two independent Boolean random vari-
ables. However, making independence assumptions is often
too strong. For example, if diseases and symptoms were
independent, then the probability that a sick person has a
certain disease would not depend on the presence or absence
212 S. Koenig et al.

a) b) H R C P(H=t ∧ R=t ∧ C=t) c)

t t t 1 ½ 1 ½ 1/4 = 1/4
t t f 2/3 ½ 1/3 ½ 3/4 = 1/6
C P(C=t)=1/4 t f t 1 ½ 0 ½ 1/4 = 0 HRC
t f f 2/3 ½ 2/3 ½ 3/4 = 1/3 t t t
f t t 0 ½ 1 ½ 1/4 = 0 t f f
f t f 1 / 3 ½ 1 / 3 ½ 3 / 4 = 1 / 12 t f f
P(H=t|C=t)=1 P(R=t|C=t)=1 f f t 0 ½ 0 ½ 1/4 = 0 f t f
H R
P(H=t|C=f)=2/3 P(R=t|C=f)=1/3 f f f 1/3 ½ 2/3 ½ 3/4 = 1/6

Fig. 9.4 Bayesian network, corresponding joint probability table, and training examples. (a) Bayesian network. (b) Joint probability table. (c)
Training examples

of symptoms. Diseases could thus be diagnosed without Example Applications

seeing the sick person. Making conditional independence
assumptions is often more realistic. Two random variables
X and Y are conditionally independent given a third random
variable Z if and only if P(X=x ∧ Y=y|Z=z) = P(X=x|Z=z)
P(Y=y|Z=z), in other words, X and Y are independent if one
knows the value of Z (no matter what that value is). The
graph structure of a Bayesian network implies conditional
independences that hold no matter what the values of the
conditional probabilities in its conditional probability tables
are. Here, P(H=h ∧ R=r|C=c) = P(H=h|C=c) P(R=r|C=c).
While a Bayesian network corresponds to exactly one joint
probability table (meaning that both of them specify the same
joint probabilities), a joint probability table can correspond to
many Bayesian networks (viz., one for each factorization of
the joint probabilities, such as P(C=c ∧ H=h ∧ R=r) = P(H=h
| R=r ∧ C=c) P(R=r | C=c) P(C=c) or P(C=c ∧ H=h ∧ R=r)
= P(C=c | H=h ∧ R=r) P(H=h | R=r) P(R=r)) – and these
Bayesian networks can differ in their number of conditional
probabilities after their simplification. A Bayesian network
with few conditional probabilities can typically be found
by making most of its edges go from causes to effects, for
example, from diseases to symptoms (as in our example).
Then, one typically needs to specify many fewer conditional
probabilities than joint probabilities and speeds up reasoning.
Reasoning with Bayesian Networks
Reasoning with Bayesian networks means calculating proba-
bilities, often conditional probabilities that one random vari-
able takes on a given value if the values of some other
random variables are known, for example, the probability
P(C=t|R=f) that a sick person with no running nose has a
cold or the probability P(C=t|H=f ∧ R=f) that a sick person
with normal temperature and no running nose has a cold. In
general, reasoning is NP-hard but can often be scaled to large
Bayesian networks by exploiting their graph structure in form
of their conditional independence assumptions.
FOL has been used for verifying software [115] and proving
theorems [33]. Fuzzy logic has been used for controlling ma-
chines, including maintaining a constant feed rate for weight
belt feeders [153], increasing the machining efficiency for
rough milling operations [44], and improving vehicle control
of anti-lock braking systems [87, 154]. Rule-based expert
systems have been used for tele-monitoring heart failures
[116], analyzing satellite images [120], and developing load-
shedding schemes for industrial electrical plants [23]. Se-
mantic networks have been used for understanding consumer
judgments [39, 43] and capturing knowledge of production
scheduling [112]. Bayesian networks have been used in man-
ufacturing for diagnosing and predicting faults [18, 139],
calculating failure rates for maintenance planning [56], and
predicting the energy consumption of manufacturing pro-
cesses [94].
9.2.3 Planning
Planning is the optimization task of using knowledge to
determine how to behave to maximize task performance. It
can use the generic optimization techniques discussed earlier
but often solves the specific optimization problem of finding
an (ideally) shortest or cost-minimal sequence of actions that
allows an agent to transition from a given start state to a given
goal state and thus uses specialized optimization techniques
to exploit the structure of this problem well and run fast. A
state characterizes the information that an agent needs to have
about the past and present to choose actions in the future that
maximize its task performance. For example, a soda machine
does not need to remember in which order a customer has
inserted which coins. It only needs to remember how much
money the customer has already inserted. An important part
of planning is scheduling, which is the assignment of re-
sources to plans (including when actions should be executed).
We first discuss planning for an agent in the absence of
9 Artificial Intelligence and Automation 213

other agents (single-agent systems) and then planning in the
presence of other agents (multi-agent systems).
Deterministic Planning in Single-Agent Systems
Deterministic planning problems assume that the execution
of the same action in the same state always results in the
same successor state, and the actions thus have deterministic
effects. The input of a deterministic planner is the start state
of an agent (which is typically its current state), the (desired)
goal state, and a set of actions that the agent can execute
to transition from one state to another one. Its output is a
plan, which is an (ideally) shortest or, if costs are associated
with the actions, cost-minimal sequence of actions that the
agent can execute to transition from the start state to the
goal state. Since many planning problems have more than
10100 states [108], one often trades off solution quality for
runtime and is satisfied with a short sequence of actions.
Consider, for example, the eight puzzle, which is a toy
with eight-numbered square tiles in a square frame. A state
specifies which tiles are in which locations (configuration
of the eight puzzle). The current state can be changed by
repeatedly moving a tile that is adjacent to the location with
the missing tile to that location. Figure 9.5 shows a start
state in the upper-left corner and a goal state in the lower-
left corner. A shortest plan is to move the 7 tile to the left
with MoveTile(T7,L8,L7) and then the 8 tile to the left
with MoveTile(T8,L9,L8).
Specifying Deterministic Planning Instances with
STRIPS
Deterministic planning is essentially the graph-search prob-
lem of finding a short path from the start state to the goal state
on the directed graph (state space) that represents states with
vertices and actions with edges. However, the state space of
the eight puzzle has 9!/2 = 181,440 states (since, to populate
the eight puzzle, the 1 tile can be placed in any of the 9
locations, the 2 tile can be placed in any of the remaining 8
locations, and so on, but only half of the states are reachable
from any given state), which makes the state space tedious to
specify explicitly by enumeration. Even larger state spaces,
such as those with more than 10100 states, cannot be specified
explicitly by enumeration since both the necessary time and
amount of memory are too large. Therefore, one specifies 9
state spaces implicitly with a formal specification language
for planning instances, such as STRIPS. STRIPS was first
used for the Stanford Research Institute Problem Solver, an
early planner, which explains its name. States are specified
with a simplified version of FOL as conjunctions (often
written as sets) of predicates whose arguments are names
(grounded predicates). Actions are specified as parameter-
ized action schemata that define when an action can be
executed in a state (viz., when one can replace each parameter
with a name so that all predicates in its precondition set are
part of the state) and how to calculate the resulting successor
state (viz., by deleting all predicates in its delete effect set
from the state and then adding all predicates in its add effect
set). Figure 9.5 shows the input of the planner for our exam-
ple. The Planning Domain Definition Language (PDDL) [37]
is a more expressive version of STRIPS that includes typing,
negative preconditions, conditional add and delete effects,
and quantification in preconditions, add effects, and delete
effects. Its more advanced version PDDL2.1 [35] further
supports optimization metrics, durative (rather than instanta-
neous) actions, and numeric preconditions, add effects, and
delete effects. PDDL3 [36] further supports constraints over
possible actions in the plan and the states reached by them

Action MoveTile (x,y,z) - "Move tile x from location y to location z"

Precondition set = {At (x,y), MissingTile (z), Adjacent (y,z)}
1 2 3 Add effect set = {At (x,z), MissingTile (y)}
Delete effect set = {At (x,y), MissingTile (z)}
4 5 6

7 8 Start state = {At (T1, L1), At (T2, L2), At (T3, L3), At (T4, L4), At (T5, L5),
At (T6, L6), At (T7, L8), At (T8, L9), MissingTile (L7),
Start state Adjacent (L1, L2), Adjacent (L2, L3), Adjacent (L4, L5),
Adjacent (L5, L6), Adjacent (L7, L8), Adjacent (L8, L9),
Adjacent (L1, L4), Adjacent (L4, L7), Adjacent (L2, L5),
Adjacent (L5, L8), Adjacent (L3, L6), Adjacent (L6, L9),
1 2 3 Adjacent (L2, L1), Adjacent (L3, L2), Adjacent (L5, L4),
Adjacent (L6, L5), Adjacent (L8, L7), Adjacent (L9, L8),
4 5 6
Adjacent (L4, L1), Adjacent (L7, L4), Adjacent (L5, L2),
7 8 Adjacent (L8, L5), Adjacent (L6, L3), Adjacent (L9, L6)}

Goal state Goal state = {At (T1, L1), At (T2, L2), At (T3, L3), At (T4, L4), At (T5, L5),
At (T6, L6), At (T7, L7), At (T8, L8), MissingTile (L9)}

Fig. 9.5 Eight puzzle instance

214
(trajectory constraints) as well as soft trajectory constraints,
which are desirable but do not necessarily have to be satisfied
(preferences).
Solving Deterministic Planning Instances
Deterministic planning instances can be solved by translating
them into different optimization instances, such as (M)ILP
instances [11, 101] or SAT instances [61, 106]. Deterministic
planning instances can also be solved with search techniques
that find short paths in the given state space. These search
techniques build a search tree that represents states with
nodes and actions (that the agent can execute to transition
from one state to another) with edges. Initially, the search
tree contains only the root node labeled with the start state.
In each iteration, the search technique selects an unexpanded
leaf node of the search tree for expansion. If no such leaf
node exists, then it terminates and returns that no path exists.
Otherwise, if the state of the selected node is the goal state,
then it terminates and returns the action sequence of the
unique path in the search tree from the root node to the
selected node. Otherwise, it expands the selected node as
follows: For each action that can be executed in the state of
the selected node, it creates an edge that connects the selected
node with a new node labeled with the successor state reached
when the agent executes the action in the state of the selected
node. Finally, it repeats the procedure.
Different search techniques differ in the information that
they use for selecting an unexpanded fringe node. All of the
following search techniques find a path from the start state
to the goal state or, if none exists, report this fact (they are
complete) when used on state spaces with a finite number of
states and actions. Figure 9.6 shows a path-finding instance,
and Fig. 9.7 shows the resulting search trees.
Uninformed (or, synonymously, blind) search techniques
use only information from the search tree for selecting an
unexpanded fringe node. The g-value of a node n is the sum
of the edge costs from the root node to node n. Depth-first
search always selects an unexpanded fringe node with the
largest g-value under the assumption that all edge costs are
one (no matter what the actual edge costs are), that is, that the
g-value of a node n is the number of edges from the root node
to node n. To be complete, it has to prune nodes if one of their
C knowledge). This way, when A* expands a node, the state of
5 5 Goal
D 10 E the node is either on a shortest path from the start state to the
Start state
state
A goal state (which is good) or not (which allows A* to discover
8
8 16
B expand all nodes on a shortest path (because their f-values are
Fig. 9.6 A path-finding instance
S. Koenig et al.
ancestors is labeled with the same state, which avoids paths
with cycles. It is not guaranteed to find shortest paths (even if
all actual edge costs are one) but can be implemented with a
stack, resulting in a memory consumption that is linear in the
search depth. Uniform-cost search always selects an unex-
panded fringe node with the smallest g-value (using the actual
edge costs). It is guaranteed to find shortest paths and can
be implemented with a priority queue. Breadth-first search
always selects an unexpanded fringe node with the smallest
g-value under the assumption that all edge costs are one (no
matter what the actual edge costs are). It is a special case of
uniform-cost search since uniform-cost search behaves like
breadth-first search if all edge costs are one. It is guaranteed
to find shortest paths only if all actual edge costs are one
and can be implemented with a first-in first-out queue. Both
uniform-cost search and breadth-first search can result in a
memory consumption that is exponential in the search depth.
Iterative deepening implements a breadth-first search with a
series of depth-first searches of increasing search depths. It
is guaranteed to find shortest paths in those situations when
breadth-first search finds them, can be implemented with a
stack, and results in a memory consumption that is linear in
the search depth. But it has a runtime overhead compared
to breadth-first search. More sophisticated linear-memory
search techniques also exist, including in case all edge costs
are not one.
Informed (or, synonymously, heuristic) search techniques
use additional problem-specific information for selecting an
unexpanded fringe node. The h-value of a node n is an
estimate of the goal distance of the state of node n, which
is the smallest sum of the edge costs from the state of
node n to the goal state. An h-value is admissible if and
only if it is not an overestimate of the corresponding goal
distance. The f-value of a node is the sum of its g- and h-
values. A* always selects an unexpanded fringe node with
the smallest f-value, that is, the smallest estimated sum of
the edge costs from the start state via the state of the node
to the goal state. Uniform-cost search is a special case of
A* since A* behaves like uniform-cost search if all h-values
of A* are zero. A* is guaranteed to find shortest paths (if
all h-values are admissible) and can be implemented with
a priority queue. There exist linear-memory search variants
of A*. The h-values being admissible guarantees that the f-
values of all nodes are not overestimates, a principle known
in AI as “optimism in the face of uncertainty” (or missing
the fact that the state is not on a shortest path). On the other
hand, if some h-values are not admissible, then A* might not
too large) and is thus not guaranteed to find shortest paths.
An admissible h-value of node n is typically found as the
9 Artificial Intelligence and Automation 215

a) b) c) d)
g=0
1 A h = 20
1 A
1 A 1 A g=0 f = 20

8 5
8 5
8 5 8 5
g=8 g=5
2 B C h = 16 h = 15
B 2 C
2 B 3 C 3 B g=8 2 C g=5 f = 24 f = 20

8 16
5 9
8 16 5 8 16 5
g = 10
3 D E h = 10
3 D
4 D 5 E D 5 D E 4 D g = 10 f = 20
10 g = 16 g = 24 10
10 10 10
g = 20
4 E h=0
4 E
E E g = 26 6 E g = 20 f = 20

Fig. 9.7 Search trees for depth-first search, breadth-first search, and the found paths are shown in bold. Not used here is the common
uniform-cost search, and A* search for the path-finding instance from optimization to prune nodes once a node labeled with the same state
Fig. 9.6. The admissible h-value of a node for the A* search is the goal has been expanded. (a) Depth-first search. (b) Breadth-first search. (c)
distance of its state. The numbers indicate the order of node expansions, Uniform-cost search. (d) A* search

smallest sum of the edge costs from the state of node n to
the goal state in a state space that contains additional actions
(relaxation of the original state space) because adding actions
cannot increase the goal distances. For example, for path
finding on a map of cities and their highway connections,
one could add actions that move off-road on a straight line
from any city to any other city. The resulting admissible
h-value of a node is the straight-line distance from the city
of the node to the goal city. For the eight puzzle, one could
add actions that move a tile on top of a neighboring tile. The
resulting admissible h-value of a node is the sum, over all
tiles, of the differences in the x- and y-coordinates of the
location of a tile in the configuration of the node and its
location in the goal configuration. For a planning problem
specified in STRIPS, one needs large admissible h-values
to keep the number of expanded nodes manageable due to
the large state space since the larger the admissible h-values,
the fewer nodes A* expands. One could delete some or all
of the elements of the precondition sets of action schemata
but often deletes all elements of their delete sets instead. In
both cases, additional actions can be executed in some states
because the actions need to satisfy fewer preconditions in the
first case and because previous actions did not delete some
of their preconditions in the second case.
So far, we have assumed a forward search from the start
state to the goal state. For this, one needs to determine all
possible successor states of a given state. One can also per-
form a backward search from the goal state to the start state,
provided that one is able to determine all possible predecessor
states of a given state. If both forward and backward searches
are possible, then one should choose the search direction that
results in the smaller average number of child nodes of nodes
in the search tree (average branching factor). Bidirectional
search searches simultaneously in both directions to search
faster and with less memory. If the state space is specified
with STRIPS, then it is easy to determine all possible suc-
cessor states of a given state and thus implement a forward
search, while it is more difficult to determine all possible
predecessor states of a given state.
Probabilistic Planning in Single-Agent Systems
Actions often do not have deterministic effects in practice.
For example, a sick person might not respond to their
medicine. The resulting probabilistic (or, synonymously,
decision-theoretic) planning problems are often specified
with (totally observable) Markov decision processes (MDPs)
or probabilistic PDDL (PPDDL) [147]. MDPs assume
that (1) the current state is always known (e.g., can be
observed after every action execution), and the probability
distributions over the cost and the successor state resulting
from an action execution (2) are known and (3) depend only
on the executed action and the state it is executed in (Markov
property). For deterministic planning problems, a plan is a
sequence of actions. However, for MDPs, a plan needs to
specify which action to execute in each state that can be
reached during its execution. It is a fundamental result that
a plan that minimizes the expected total (discounted) plan-
216
execution cost can be specified as a function that assigns each
state the action that should be executed in that state (policy).
(The discount factor weighs future costs less than the current
ones and is primarily used as a mathematical convenience
since it ensures that all infinite sums are finite.) Policies
that minimize the expected total (discounted) plan-execution
cost can be found with stochastic dynamic programming
techniques, such as value iteration and policy iteration.
Assumptions 1–3 from above do not always hold in prac-
tice. Partially observable MDPs (POMDPs) relax Assump-
tion 1 by assuming that the current state can be observed after
every action execution only with noisy observations, which
means that only a probability distribution over the current
state is known. For example, the disease of a sick person is
not directly observable, but the observed symptoms provide
noisy clues about it. A policy now assigns each probability
distribution over the current state the action that should be ex-
ecuted in this belief state, which results in more complicated
and slower stochastic dynamic programming techniques than
for MDPs since the number of states is typically finite, but the
number of belief states is infinite.
Planning in Multi-agent Systems
Multi-agent systems have become more important as parts of
companies have been connected with the Internet, computa-
tional devices have been increasingly networked as part of
the Internet of things, and teams of robots have been fielded
successfully. Several agents can be more robust than a single
agent since they can compensate for the failure of some
agents. Several agents can also act in parallel and reduce
the task-completion time. Centralized planning techniques
for multi-agent systems can be obtained from planning tech-
niques for single-agent systems and maximize the perfor-
mance of the team (social welfare) but might raise privacy
concerns for the involved agents. Decentralized (and dis-
tributed) planning techniques correspond to the many ways
of making decentralized collective decisions in multi-agent
systems, for example, with negotiating, voting, or bidding.
Competitive agents are self-interested, that is, maximize their
own performance, while cooperative agents maximize the
performance of the team, for example, because they are
bound by social norms or contracts (in case of humans)
or are programmed this way (in case of robots). In both
cases, one needs to understand how the agents can inter-
act (mechanism) and what solutions can result from these
interactions. One often wants to design the mechanism so
that the solutions have desirable properties. For this, AI can
utilize insights from other disciplines. Economics has mostly
studied competitive agents, for example, in the context of
non-cooperative game theory or auctions. An important part
of the design of an auction mechanism in this context is
to ensure that agents cannot game the system, for example,
with collusion or shilling. Operations research, on the other
S. Koenig et al.
hand, has mostly studied cooperative agents, for example,
in the context of vehicle routing. Concepts from economics
also apply to cooperative agents since they can, for example,
use cooperative auctions to assign tasks to themselves: Each
agent bids on all tasks and is then assigned the tasks that
it must execute, for example, the tasks for which it was
the highest bidder. An important part of the design of an
auction mechanism in this context is to design the auction so
that, if each agent maximizes its own performance, the team
maximizes social welfare. Different from many applications
in economics, it is often also important that task allocation is
fast.
Example Applications
PDDL has been used for managing greenhouses [47] and
composing and verifying web services [51, 98]. A* has been
used for planning the paths of automated guided vehicles
[138]. MDPs and POMDPs have been used for planning
robot motions [129], tuning the parameters of wireless sen-
sor networks [64, 92], and managing power plants [105].
Planning for multi-agent systems has been used for planning
multi-view drone cinematography [93], production planning
for auto engine plants [97], and assembling furniture with
robots [66].
9.2.4 Machine Learning
Machine learning is the task of acquiring knowledge from
observations of the world, often because knowledge is hard to
specify by hand. Machine learning typically involves specify-
ing a set of considered functions as possible models of some
aspect of the world and choosing a good function from this
set based on the observations. The set of considered functions
is often specified in form of a parameterized function and
using optimization techniques to determine its parameters.
The key challenge is to ensure that the resulting learned
function generalizes beyond the observations. For example,
it is difficult to program an agent to ride a bicycle without
falling down, and it thus makes sense to let it learn from
experience (that is, past observations) how to do it well,
which involves handling situations that the agent did not
experience during learning.
We discuss three classes of machine learning techniques.
Assume that one wants to learn which actions to execute
in different situations. Supervised learning is similar to a
teacher presenting examples for how to behave optimally in
many situations, unsupervised learning is similar to experi-
encing many situations and trying to make sense of them
without any further information, and reinforcement learning
is similar to experiencing many situations, experimenting
with how to behave in each of them, and receiving feedback
9 Artificial Intelligence and Automation
as to how good the behavior was (e.g., when falling down
while learning how to ride a bicycle).
Supervised Learning
In supervised learning, an agent is provided with observa-
tions in form of labeled examples, where the agent knows
the values of a fixed number of features and the value of the
label of each example. Its task is to predict the values of the
label of the encountered unlabeled examples in use, where
the agent knows only the values of the features. This task can
be framed as learning a function that maps examples to the
predicted values of the label. There is a possible infinite set
of considered functions (hypothesis space), and one wants
to find the best function from this set, which is ideally the
true function that actually generates the values of the label.
If the set of possible values of the label is discrete, then
this is a classification task; see Fig. 9.8a. Otherwise, it is
a regression task; see Fig. 9.8b. For example, recognizing
handwritten digits from the pixels in images or spam emails
from the number of times certain words occur in them is a
classification task, while predicting the life expectancy of a
person from their medical history is a regression task.
An objective function captures how well a function pre-
dicts the values of the label of examples encountered in
use (error function or, synonymously, loss function). The
task is to choose the function from the set of considered
functions that minimizes the error function. Examples of
error functions are mappings from the set of considered
functions to the resulting number of prediction errors for
classification tasks and the resulting average of the squared
differences between the true and predicted values of the label
(mean squared error) for regression tasks. One often char-
acterizes the number of prediction errors for classification
tasks using precision and recall. Assume, for example, that
100 emails are provided to a spam email detection system,
of which 20 are spam emails (actual positive examples). If
the system identifies 15 emails as spam emails (identified
positive examples) and 10 of them are indeed spam emails
(correctly identified positive examples), then the number of
correctly identified positive examples divided by the number
of identified positive examples (precision) is 10/15, and the
number of correctly identified positive examples divided by
the number of actual positive examples (recall) is 10/20.
Since there are too many examples that could be en-
countered in use, one cannot provide all of them as labeled
examples. Machine learning thus needs to generalize from
the labeled examples to the ones encountered in use. To
make this possible, one typically assumes that the labeled
examples are independently drawn from the same probability
distribution as the examples encountered in use, resulting in
them being independent and identically distributed (iid). The
labeled examples serve different purposes and are therefore
often partitioned randomly into three sets, namely, training
217
examples, validation examples, and (if needed) test exam-
ples:
• The training examples are used to learn the function with a
given machine learning technique and its parameters. For
example, one might want to find the polynomial function
of a given degree that has the smallest mean squared error
on the examples encountered in use. Since these examples
are not available during learning, one settles for finding
the polynomial function of the given degree that has the 9
smallest mean squared error on the training examples,
which can be found, for example, with gradient descent.
If the error is small, then one says that the function fits the
training examples well. Any machine learning technique
has to address underfitting and overfitting; see Fig. 9.9.
Underfitting means that the learned function is not similar
to the true function, typically because the true function is
not in the set of considered functions (resulting in high
bias). For example, if the set of considered functions
contains only linear functions for regression tasks (linear
regression tasks) but the true function is a polynomial
function of higher degree, then the best linear function is
likely not similar to the true function and thus fits neither
the training examples nor the examples encountered in
use well, as shown in Fig. 9.9a. Overfitting means that the
learned function fits the training examples well but has
adapted so much to the training examples that it is no
longer similar to the true function even if the true function
is in the set of considered functions, typically because
there is lots of sampling noise in the training examples
due to their small number or because the error function or
machine learning technique is too sensitive to the noise
in the feature or label values of the training examples
(resulting in high variance). For example, if the training
examples consist of a single photo that contains a cat, then
a function that predicts that every photo contains a cat
fits the training examples well but is likely not similar to
the true function and thus likely does not fit the examples
encountered in use well. Similarly, if there is noise in the
values of the features or the label for regression tasks,
then a polynomial function of higher degree than the true
function can fit the training examples better than the true
function but is likely not similar to the true function and
thus likely does not fit the examples encountered in use
well, as shown in Fig. 9.9.
The bias-variance dilemma states that there is a trade-
off between the bias and the variance. To balance them,
one can enlarge or reduce the set of considered functions,
for example, by increasing or decreasing the number of
parameters to be learned. Other techniques exist as well.
For example, Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection
Operator (LASSO) regression is a popular technique to
reduce overfitting for linear regression tasks. It minimizes
218 S. Koenig et al.

a) 8 b)
14
7

6 12

5 10

4
8
y

y
3
6
2
4
1

0 2

–1 0
–1 0 1 2 3 4 5 0.00 0.25 0.50 0.75 1.00 1.25 1.50 1.75 2.00
x x

Fig. 9.8 Illustration of classification and regression. (a) Classification
instance with training examples (shown as small blue and green dots)
with two real-valued features x and y and a label with the discrete values
blue or green. The predicted values of the label on one side of the red
line are blue, and the predicted values on the other side are green. Not all
predictions are accurate. (b) Regression instance with training examples
(shown as small blue dots) with one real-valued feature x and real-valued
label y. The red line shows the predicted values of the label for all
possible values of x. Not all predictions are accurate

a) b)
Learned function Learned function
True function True function
Training example Training example
y

x x

Fig. 9.9 Illustration of underfitting and overfitting. (a) The learned function underfits. (b) The learned function overfits
9 Artificial Intelligence and Automation
the mean squared error plus a weighted penalty term
(regularization term) that is the L1 norm of the weights
of the linear function to be learned.
• The validation examples are used to select parameters for
the machine learning technique (hyperparameters) that
allow it to learn a good function, which has to be done with
examples that are different from the training examples
(cross-validation). Hyperparameters are, for example, the
degree of the polynomial function to be learned for poly-
nomial regression tasks or the weight of the regulariza-
tion term for LASSO. They can be selected manually or
automatically with exhaustive search, random search, or
machine learning techniques.
• The test examples are used as proxy for the examples
encountered in use when assessing how well the learned
function will likely do in use.
The more training and validation examples available, the
better a function can be learned. A fixed split of the non-
test examples into training and validation examples does not
make good use of the non-test examples, which is a problem
if their number is small. One therefore often uses each non-
test example sometimes as training example and sometimes
as validation example. For example, k-fold cross-validation
partitions the non-test examples into k sets and then performs
k rounds of learning for given hyperparameters, each time
using the examples in one of the partitions as validation
examples and the remaining non-test examples as training
examples. After each round, it calculates how well the result-
ing function predicts the values of the label of the validation
examples. The hyperparameters are then evaluated according
to the average of these numbers over all k rounds.
Supervised machine learning techniques differ in how
they represent the set of considered functions. We discuss
several examples in the following because none of them is
universally better than the others (no free lunch theorem)
[142]. We do not discuss variants of supervised learning,
such as the one where one synthesizes examples and then
is provided with their values of the label at a cost (active
learning) or the one where one uses the knowledge gained
from solving one classification or regression task to solve a
similar task with fewer examples or less runtime (transfer
learning), which is important since machine learning tech-
niques are typically both training data and runtime intensive.
Meta-learning, which is learning from the output of other
machine learning techniques, can be used to improve the
learning ability of machine learning techniques by learning to
learn, for example, across related classification or regression
tasks for multi-task learning [72].
Decision Tree Learning
Decision tree learning represents the set of considered func-
tions with trees where each non-leaf node is labeled with a
219
R
t f
H f
t f
9
t f
Fig. 9.10 Decision tree for the example from Fig. 9.4c
feature, the branches of each non-leaf node are labeled with
a partition of the possible values of that feature, and each leaf
node is labeled with a value of the label (decision trees); see
Fig. 9.10. Decision trees can be used for both classification
and regression tasks (classification and regression trees). The
value of the label of an unlabeled example is determined by
starting at the root node and always following the branch that
is labeled with the value of that feature for the example that
labels the current node. The label of the leaf node eventually
reached is the predicted value of the label for the example.
For example, the decision tree in Fig. 9.10 predicts that a
sick person with normal temperature and no running nose
does not have a cold. Decision tree learning constructs a
small decision tree, typically from the root node down. It
chooses the most informative feature for the root node (often
using metrics from information theory) and then recursively
constructs each subtree below the root node. Overfitting can
be reduced by limiting the depth of a decision tree or, alterna-
tively, pruning it after its construction. It can also be reduced
by using ensemble learning to learn several decision trees
(random forest) and then letting them vote on the value of
the label by outputting the most common value among them
for classification tasks and the average of their values for
regression tasks. One can also use meta-learning to determine
how to combine the predictions of the decision trees.
Naïve Bayesian Learning
Naïve Bayesian learning represents the set of considered
functions with Bayesian networks of a specific graph struc-
ture. The graph structure of the Bayesian networks is the one
given in Fig. 9.4a, with an edge from the class to each feature.
Naïve Bayesian learning estimates the conditional probabil-
ities, typically using frequencies. Assume, for example, a
diagnosis task where the features are the symptoms H(igh
Temperature) and R(unning Nose) in Fig. 9.4c and the label
is the disease C(old). Three training examples have C=f, and
two of those have H=t, so P(H=t|C=f) = 2/3. Overall, the con-
220
ditional probabilities in Fig. 9.4a result for the given training
examples. Bayesian networks of the simple graph structure
shown in Fig. 9.4a are called naïve Bayesian networks be-
cause the conditional independences implied by their graph
structure might not be correct. In fact, the conditional inde-
pendence P(H=t ∧ R=t|C=f) = P(H=t|C=f) P(R=t|C=f) does
not hold for the training examples since P(H=t ∧ R=t|C=f) =
0 = 2/3 1/3 = P(H=t|C=f) P(R=t|C=f). Thus, naïve Bayesian
learning can underfit but is often expressive enough for
the learned function to be sufficiently similar to the true
function and then has the advantage that it reduces the set
of considered functions compared to Bayesian networks with
more complex graph structures and thus reduces overfitting.
When one needs to predict the value of the label of an
unlabeled example, for example, H=f and R=f, one calculates
P(C=t|H=f ∧ R=f) = P(C=t ∧ H=f ∧ R=f) / P(H=f ∧ R=f)
= P(C=t ∧ H=f ∧ R=f) / (P(C=t ∧ H=f ∧ R=f) + P(C=f
∧ H=f ∧ R=f)) = P(C=t) P(H=f|C=t) P(R=f|C=f) / (P(C=t)
P(H=f|C=t) P(R=f|C=f) + P(C=f) P(H=f|C=f) P(R=f|C=f)) =
0 to determine the probability that the value of the label is
true, that is, that a sick person with normal temperature and
no running nose has a cold. This calculation is essentially the
one of Bayes’ rule P(C=t|H=f) = P(C=t ∧ H=f) / P(H=f) =
P(C=t ∧ H=f) / (P(C=t ∧ H=f) + P(C=f ∧ H=f)) = P(C=t)
P(H=f|C=t) / (P(C=t) P(H=f|C=t) + P(C=f) P(H=f|C=f)) but
generalized to multiple observed symptoms with the condi-
tional independences implied by the graph structure of naïve
Bayesian networks.
Neural Network Learning
Neural network learning represents the set of considered
functions with artificial neural networks (NN). NNs are di-
rected acyclic graphs, inspired by the networks of neurons in
brains, that represent primitive processing units (perceptrons)
with nodes and the flow of information from one perceptron
to another with directed edges. A perceptron has a number
of real-valued inputs and produces one real-valued output. If
a single perceptron is used for learning, then the inputs of
the perceptron are the feature values, and its output is the
value of the label. A weight is associated with each input.
The perceptron calculates the weighted sum of its inputs and
then applies a nonlinear activation function to the weighted
sum to create its output. The activation function is typically
monotonically nondecreasing. An example is the sigmoid
function σ (x) = 1/(1 + e−x ), which is a differentiable
approximation of a threshold function to facilitate gradient
descent. Perceptron learning finds the weights (including the
amount of horizontal translation of the activation function,
which is often expressed as weight) that minimize the error
function. A single perceptron can essentially represent all
functions from n real-valued feature values (for any n) to
a label with two values where all examples that the func-
tion maps to one value of the label lie on one side of an
S. Koenig et al.
(n − 1)-dimensional separating plane and all examples that
the function maps to the other value lie on the opposite
side of the plane (the examples are linearly separable). This
might be expressive enough for the learned function to be
sufficiently similar to the true function and then has the
advantage that it reduces the set of considered functions
compared to a NN and thus reduces overfitting.
Often, however, a single perceptron is not expressive
enough (e.g., because it cannot even specify an exclusive or
function), which is why one connects perceptrons into a NN.
If a NN is used for learning, then the inputs of a perceptron
in the NN can be either feature values, which are the inputs
of the NN, or the outputs of other perceptrons. The output
of a perceptron in the NN can be an input to multiple other
perceptrons and/or the value of the label, which is the output
of the NN. The perceptrons are often organized in layers.
NNs can have multiple outputs (e.g., one for each value of
the label, such as the possible diseases of a sick person),
which are produced by the output layer. Sometimes, they
are postprocessed by a softmax layer to yield a probability
distribution over the possible values of the label. The remain-
ing layers are the hidden layers. A NN is deep if and only
if it has many hidden layers. There is typically a regularity
in the connections from layer to layer. For example, in fully
connected layers, the output of each perceptron in a layer is
the input of all perceptrons in the next layer. NN learning
often, but not always, takes the graph structure of the NN
as given and uses gradient descent to find the weights of all
perceptrons of the NN that minimize the error function. For
example, the backpropagation technique adjusts the weights
repeatedly with one forward pass through the layers (that
calculates the outputs of all perceptrons for a given training
example) and one backward pass (that calculates the gradient
of the error function with respect to each weight). Specialized
NNs exist for specific tasks:
• Convolutional NNs (CNNs) are NNs that are specialized
for processing matrix-like data, such as images. They use
several kinds of layers in addition to the layers already
described. For example, a convolutional layer (without
kernel flipping) is associated with a filter whose values
are learned. The filter is a matrix A (kernel) that moves
over the matrix B of the outputs of the previous layer with
a step size that is given by the stride. It calculates the dot
product of matrix A and the submatrix of matrix B that
corresponds to each location. The matrix of these dot prod-
ucts is the output of the convolutional layer; see Fig. 9.11.
Overall, a convolutional layer extracts local features. A
pooling layer is similar to a convolutional layer except
that, instead of calculating the dot product, it returns
the maximum value (max pooling) or the average value
(average pooling) of the elements of the submatrix of
matrix B that corresponds to each location; see Fig. 9.12.
9 Artificial Intelligence and Automation 221

Input matrix Kernel Output matrix

3 0 0 0 0
1 0 –1

0 1 3 0 1 9 2 0
0 1 1

1 0 2 1 0 –5 3 3
0 –1 1

0 5 1 0 0 5 2 0
9

0 0 0 2 0

Fig. 9.11 Illustration of convolution (without kernel flipping) with stride one

Max pooling with 2¥2

Input matrix kernel and stride 2 3 4

3 0 1 4 5 2

0 1 3 0

1 1 2 1

1 5 1 0 1 2

Average pooling with 2 1

2¥2 kernel and stride 2

Fig. 9.12 Illustration of max pooling and average pooling with stride two

Overall, a pooling layer compresses the information in a
lossy way.
• Recurrent NNs (RNNs) are NNs that are specialized for
classifying sequences (of examples) over time, including
handwriting and speech. They use internal state to remem-
ber the outputs of some perceptrons from the previous time
step and can use them as input of some perceptrons in
the current time step. Long short-term memory (LSTM)
networks are versions of RNNs that make it easier to
maintain the internal state by using three gates to the
memory, namely, one that decides what to store in memory
(input gate), one that decides what to delete from memory
(forget gate), and one that decides what to output from
memory (output gate).
k-Nearest Neighbor Learning
k-nearest neighbor learning represents the set of considered
functions with all training examples rather than parameters.
There is nothing to be learned, but more effort has to be
spent when determining the value of the label of an unlabeled
example, which involves finding the k training examples most
similar to it and then letting them vote on the value.
Support Vector Machine Learning
Linear support vector machine learning considers the same
functions as single perceptrons in NNs but represents them
differently, namely, with the subset of the training examples
that are closest to the separating plane (support vectors),
rather than parameters. Support vector machine (SVM) learn-
ing improves on k-nearest neighbor learning since it only uses
the necessary training examples rather than all of them to rep-
resent the learned function. It improves on single perceptrons
since its separating plane has the largest possible distances to
the training examples (maximum margin separator), which
makes it more robust to sampling noise. The set of considered
functions and thus the learned function can also be more
222
complex by embedding the training examples into higher-
dimensional spaces with the kernel trick.
Unsupervised Learning
In unsupervised learning, an agent is provided with unlabeled
examples, and its task is to identify structure in the examples,
for instance, to find simpler representations of the examples
while preserving as much information contained in them as
possible (dimensionality reduction, which compresses the
information in a lossy way and thus might decrease the
amount of computation required to process the examples and
reduce overfitting), to group similar examples such as pho-
tos that contain similar animals (clustering), or to generate
new examples that are similar to the given ones (generative
modeling). We describe one unsupervised machine learn-
ing technique for each of these purposes, namely, principal
component analysis for dimensionality reduction, k-means
clustering for clustering, and generative adversarial networks
for generative modeling. The unlabeled examples can again
be partitioned into training, validation, and test examples.
Principal Component Analysis
Principal component analysis (PCA) obtains a simpler repre-
sentation of the training examples by projecting them onto the
first principal components to reduce their number of features.
The principal components are new features that are con-
structed as linear combinations (or mixtures) of the features
such that the new features are uncorrelated and contain most
of the information in the training examples (that is, preserve
most of the variance). Dimensionality reduction of examples
can make them easier to visualize, process, and therefore also
, it updates
analyze, which addresses the curse of dimensionality.
, a
))
executable in s
k-Means Clustering
k-means clustering partitions the training examples into k
sets of similar examples. It randomly chooses k different
, a
) − q(s, a)).
executable in s
centroids, one for each set, and then repeats the following
two steps until the sets no longer change: First, it assigns each
example to the set with the least squared Euclidean distance
to its centroid. Second, it updates the centroids of the sets to
executable in s
q(s
, a
) estimates the smallest possible ex-
the means of all examples assigned to them.
. Thus, the formula calculates a weighted
Generative Adversarial Network Learning
Generative adversarial network learning generates new ex-
amples that are similar to the training examples. Generative
adversarial networks (GANs) consist of two NNs that are
, see (9.2). Equivalently, the formula
trained simultaneously: The generator attempts to generate
examples that are similar to the training examples, and the
discriminator attempts to distinguish the generated examples
from the training examples. Once the discriminator fails in
; see (9.3). The learning
its task, the generator has achieved its task and can be used
to generate new examples that are similar to the training
examples.
S. Koenig et al.
Reinforcement Learning
In reinforcement learning (RL), similar to operant condi-
tioning in behavioral psychology, an agent interacts with the
environment by executing actions and receiving feedback
(reinforcement) in the form of possibly delayed penalties and
rewards, which are represented with real-valued costs. Its
task is to identify a behavior (in form of a policy) that min-
imizes its expected total (discounted) plan-execution cost.
RL can be used to figure out which actions worked and
which did not when the agent failed to achieve its objective
after executing several actions in a row (credit-assignment
problem), for example, when falling down while learning
how to ride a bicycle. Genetic programming can be used for
RL, but most RL is based on MDPs and relaxes Assumption
2 from Sect. 9.2.3 by assuming that the probability distri-
butions over the cost and successor state resulting from an
action execution in a state are unknown before the action
execution but can be observed afterward. Model-based RL
uses frequencies to estimate these probability distributions
from the observed (state, action, cost, successor state) tuples
when the agent interacts with the environment by executing
actions. It then determines a policy for the resulting MDP.
Model-free RL directly estimates a policy. Q-learning, the
most popular model-free RL technique, is a stochastic dy-
namic programming technique that learns a q-value q(s, a)
for each (state, action) pair, that estimates the smallest possi-
ble expected total (discounted) plan-execution cost (until the
goal state is reached) if plan execution starts with executing
action a in state s. All q-values are initially zero. Whenever
the agent executes action a in state s and then observes cost
c and successor state s
q(s, a) ← (1 − α)q(s, a) + α(c + γ min q(s
a
(9.2)
= q(s, a) + α(c + γ min q(s
a
(9.3)
This formula can easily be understood by realizing that
mina
pected total (discounted) plan-execution cost if plan execu-
tion starts in state s
average of the old q-value q(s, a) and the smallest possi-
ble expected total (discounted) plan-execution cost after the
agent executes action a in state s and then observes cost c
and successor state s
changes q(s, a) by taking a small step in the direction of the
smallest possible expected total (discounted) plan-execution
cost after the agent executes action a in state s and then
observes cost c and successor state s
rate α > 0 is a hyperparameter, typically chosen close to
zero, for calculating the weighted average or, equivalently,
step size. The discount factor 0 < γ ≤ 1 is the hyperparam-
9 Artificial Intelligence and Automation
eter from Sect. 9.2.3, typically chosen close to one, that is
used as a mathematical convenience. Deep NNs can be used
to approximate the q-values and generalize the experience
of the agent to situations that it did not experience during
learning (deep RL). The policy, to be used after learning,
maps each state s to the action a with the smallest q-value
q(s, a). These exploiting actions utilize the knowledge of the
agent to achieve a small expected total (discounted) plan-
execution cost. During learning, the agent also needs to
execute exploring actions that allow it to gain new knowledge
(e.g., help it to visit states that it has visited only a small
number of times so far) and improve its policy, as was already
discussed in Sect. 9.2.1 in the context of local search. The
agent could tackle this exploration-exploitation problem, for
example, by choosing a random action that can be executed
in its current state with a small probability  > 0 and the
exploiting action otherwise (-greedy exploration).
Example Applications
Decision tree learning has been used for diagnosing faults
and monitoring the conditions of industrial machines [60]
and identifying good features for such tasks [125]. Random
forest learning has been used for diagnosing faults of indus-
trial machines [19, 146] and classifying remote sensing data
[7,77]. Naïve Bayesian learning has been used for diagnosing
faults of industrial machines [151] and diseases [30, 136].
CNN learning has been used for segmenting manufacturing
defects in images [143], detecting and classifying faults in
semiconductor manufacturing [69], and finding good grasp
configurations for novel objects [68]. The Dexterity Network
Dataset (Dex-Net) and Grasp Quality CNN (GQ-CNN) are
used for robust learning-based grasp planning [78–82]. RNN
learning has been used for classifying objects from their
motion trajectories to allow self-driving cars to decide which
obstacles to avoid [29] and forecasting time series [48], such
as taxi demand [145]. PCA has been used for monitoring
and diagnosing faults in industrial processes [21, 107]. SVM
learning has been used for classifying remote sensing data
[110]. k-nearest neighbor learning has been used for detecting
faults in semiconductor manufacturing [74, 155]. k-means
clustering has been used for understanding climate and me-
teorological data, including monitoring pollution, identify-
ing sources, and developing effective control and mitigation
strategies [40]. GANs have been used for diagnosing faults
[17, 46], detecting credit card fraud [32], and creating novel
designs from sketches for rapid prototyping [102]. RL has
been used for dispatching orders in the semiconductor indus-
try [124], manipulating objects with industrial robots [59],
and following lanes for autonomous driving [62]. Machine
vision systems, powered by PCA, SVMs, NNs, and decision
trees, have been used for the automated quality inspection
of fruit and vegetables [25] as well as machine components
[103].
223
9.3 Combining AI Techniques
AI research has traditionally focused on improving individual
AI techniques (sometimes assuming idealized conditions for
their use) and thus on the narrow tasks that they can handle. It
is often nontrivial to combine them to create agents that solve
broad jobs, for example, perform search-and-rescue opera-
tions. For example, it makes sense to combine AI techniques
that acquire knowledge (like vision or machine learning)
with AI techniques that use it (like planning). However, it 9
is difficult to figure out how different AI techniques should
pass information and control back and forth between them
in order to achieve synergistic interactions. For example, the
combination of low-level motion planning in continuous state
spaces and high-level task planning in discrete state spaces
has been studied for a long time in the context of using
robots to re-arrange objects [58], but no consensus has been
reached yet on good ways of combining the two planners.
Of course, many complete agents have been built. While
one sometimes attempts to determine a monolithic function
for such agents directly, one often provides the function as
a given composition of subfunctions, resulting in modular
agent architectures. Such agent architectures describe how
agents are composed of modules, what the modules do, and
how they interact. Many such agent architectures are ad hoc,
but proposals have been made for general agent architectures,
mostly in the context of cognitive agents and robots. For
example, the three-layer robot architecture consists of a slow
planner, a behavior sequencer that always chooses the current
behavior during plan execution based on the plan, and a
fast reactive feedback controller that implements the chosen
behavior. Other agent architectures include the blackboard ar-
chitecture and the subsumption architecture. Meta-reasoning
techniques can be used to decide which output quality a
module needs to provide or for how long it should run to
allow the agent to maximize its performance. For example,
an anytime algorithm is one that provides an output quickly
and then improves the quality of its output the longer it runs,
which can be described by a mapping from its input quality
and runtime to its output quality (performance profile). It
might simplify meta-reasoning if every module of an agent
architecture could be implemented as an anytime algorithm.
9.4 Case Study: Automated Warehousing
In Amazon fulfillment centers, millions of items are stored
on special shelves, see Fig. 9.13. When an order needs to be
fulfilled, autonomous robots pick up the shelves that store
the ordered items and bring them to picking stations at the
perimeter of the fulfillment center, where a human worker
takes the ordered items from the shelves so that they can be
boxed and shipped to the customer. The robots then return the
224
Fig. 9.13 Amazon fulfillment center. (Photos ©Amazon.com, lnc.)
shelves, either to their original locations or different locations
[144]. On the order of one thousand, robots can operate
in such automated warehouses and similar sorting centers
(where robots carry packages to chutes that each serve a
different loading dock) per floor [2]. Each robot moves one
shelf at a time and recharges when necessary. Amazon puts
stickers onto the floor that delineate a four-neighbor grid, on
which the robots move essentially without location uncer-
tainty. Human workers no longer need to move around in such
automated warehouses, collecting the right items under time
pressure – a physically demanding job whose automation
makes it possible to store 40% more inventory [3] and at
least doubles the picking productivity of the human workers
(e.g., compared to conveyorized systems) [144]. Many of
the manipulation tasks in warehouses cannot be automated
yet, but the number of human workers required to operate
automated warehouses will be small once they are.
Automated warehouses need to store as many items as
possible, resulting in the corridors needed to move the shelves
being narrow. Robots carrying shelves cannot pass each other
in these corridors, and their movements thus need to be
planned carefully, which can be done centrally. Shelves close
to the perimeter can be fetched faster than shelves in the
center. The following questions arise, among others: (1) How
should one move the robots to avoid them obstructing each
other and allow them to reach their goal locations as quickly
as possible to maximize throughput? (2) Where should one
place the corridors to maximize throughput? (3) Which pick-
ing station should one use for a given order? (4) Which one
of several possible shelves should one fetch to obtain an item
for a given order? (5) Which robots should one use to fetch
a given shelf for a given order? (6) On which shelves should
one put items when restocking items? (7) Where should one
place a given shelf to maximize throughput, so that shelves
that contain frequently ordered items can be fetched fast? (8)
S. Koenig et al.
When should one start to process a given order given that
different orders have different delivery deadlines? (9) How
should one estimate the time that it takes a robot to fetch a
shelf and a human worker to pick an item, especially since
the picking time varies over the course of a shift?
AI techniques, such as those for multi-agent systems, can
help make these decisions. For example, the layout optimiza-
tion problem of Question 2 can be solved with GAs, and
the scheduling problems of Questions 3–8 can be solved
optimally with MIP techniques or suboptimally with versions
of hill climbing. Possible techniques for Question 1 have
been studied in the context of the NP-hard multi-agent path
finding (MAPF) problem and are described in more detail
below.
Centralized MAPF planning techniques plan paths for
all robots. Efficient techniques exist but do not result in
movement plans with quality guarantees. Examples include
techniques based on either movement rules [26, 140] or
planning paths for one robot after the other, where each path
avoids collisions with the paths already planned (prioritized
search) [75]. Search can also be used to find movement
plans with quality guarantees, but its runtime can then scale
exponentially in the number of robots [76,150]. For example,
searching a graph that represents tuples of locations (one
for each robot) with vertices is prohibitively slow. Instead,
one often divides the overall MAPF problem into mostly
independent subproblems by planning a shortest path for
each robot under the assumption that the other robots do
not exist. If the resulting movement plan has no collisions,
then it is optimal. Otherwise, one needs to resolve the colli-
sions. One collision-resolution technique groups all colliding
robots into a team and plans for them jointly [122, 123],
thus avoiding collisions among them in the future. Another
collision-resolution technique chooses one of the collisions,
for example, one where two robots are in the same location
9 Artificial Intelligence and Automation
x at the same time t [117]. It then chooses one of two robots
and recursively considers two cases, namely, one where the
chosen robot is not allowed to be at location x at time t and
one where it must be at location x at time t, and the other
robots are not allowed to be at location x at time t (disjoint
splitting) [73], thus avoiding this collision in the future. The
runtime of the search depends on the choice of collision and
robot, but choosing them well is poorly understood and can
be slow. Machine learning can be used to make good choices
fast [52]. Finally, movement plans with and without quality
guarantees can also be found by translating MAPF instances
into different optimization instances, such as IPs [149] or
SAT instances [126].
Decentralized (and distributed) MAPF planning tech-
niques allow each robot to plan for itself, which avoids
the issue of centralized planning that a multi-agent system
fails if the central planner fails. One decentralized MAPF
planning technique uses deep RL to learn a policy that maps
the current state to the next movement of the robot, similar
to how Deepmind (which is now part of Google) learned
to play Atari video games [89]. The state is characterized
by information such as the goal location of the robot,
the locations of the other robots and their goal locations,
and the locations of the obstacles – all in a field of view
centered on the location of the robot. All robots use the
same policy. Learning takes time but needs to be done only
once. Afterward, it allows for the quick retrieval of the
next movement of the robot based on the current state. A
combination of deep RL and learning a policy that imitates
the movement plans found by a search technique (imitation
learning) works even better but is still incomplete [113].
9.5 AI History
The state of the art in AI, as described so far, has evolved
over a period of more than 60 years. In the 1940s and 1950s,
researchers worked on creating artificial brains. In 1950,
Alan Turing published his paper “Computing Machinery and
Intelligence” [132] that asked whether machines could think
and introduced the imitation game (Turing test) to determine
whether a computer is intelligent or, in our terminology, a
believable agent, namely, if a human judge who corresponds
via text messages with two conversation partners, a human
participant and a computer, cannot determine who is who. In
1956, the term AI was introduced at the Dartmouth confer-
ence to name the newly created research field. AI was driven
by the belief that “a physical symbol system has the necessary
and sufficient means for general intelligent action” [95], that
logic provides a good means for knowledge representation,
and that reasoning can be achieved with search. In 1958, the
AI programming language Lisp was introduced. In the 1960s,
AI thrived, but, in the 1970s, the first period of pessimism
225
characterized by reduced funding and interest in AI (AI
winter) hit due to lack of progress caused by the limited
scalability of AI systems and the limited expressiveness of
perceptrons. In the 1980s, AI thrived again, due to expert
systems and their applications utilizing hand-coded knowl-
edge to overcome the scalability issues, starting an era of
knowledge-intensive systems. In the 1980s, the backpropa-
gation technique was reinvented and broadly discovered. It
allowed one to train networks of perceptrons, overcoming the
limited expressiveness of single perceptrons, starting the re- 9
search field of connectionism, that provided an alternative to
the physical symbol system hypothesis. In the late 1980s and
early 1990s, the second AI winter hit due to a slowdown in
the deployment of expert systems (since it was challenging to
build expert systems for complex domains with uncertainty)
and the collapse of the Lisp machine market (since many
AI systems can easily be implemented with conventional
programming languages on conventional computers). In the
1990, AI started to thrive again, due to probabilistic reasoning
and planning replacing deterministic logic-based reasoning
and planning, and machine learning replacing knowledge ac-
quisition via the work-intensive and error-prone interviewing
of experts and hand-coding of their knowledge. Lots of data
became available due to the networking of computers via
the Internet and the pervasiveness of mobile devices, starting
an era of big data and compute-intensive machine learning
techniques to understand and exploit them, such as deep
learning with CNNs, resulting in many new AI applications.
In fact, it was argued that a substantial increase in the amount
of training data can result in much better predictions than
improved machine learning techniques [6, 45]. In 2017, the
One Hundred Year Study on AI, a long-term effort to study
and predict how AI will affect society, issued its first AI
Index Report. Its reports show that the number of annual AI
publications increased around ninefold from 1996 to 2017
[118], and the attendance at the machine learning conference
NeurIPS increased about eightfold from 2012 to 2019 [99].
The funding for AI startups increased more than 30-fold from
2010 to 2018 worldwide [99]. As a result, the percentage of
AI-related jobs among all jobs in the USA increased about
fivefold from 2010 to 2019 [99].
9.6 AI Achievements
The strength of game-playing AI is often used to evaluate
the progress of AI as a whole, probably because humans
can demonstrate their intellectual strength by winning games.
Many initial AI successes were for board games. In the
late 1950s, a Checkers program achieved strong amateur
level [111]. In the 1990s, the Othello program BILL [70]
defeated the highest-ranked US player, the Checkers program
Chinook [114] defeated the world champion, and the chess
226
program DeepBlue [16] defeated the world champion as
well [99]. There have been lots of AI successes for non-board
games as well. In the 2010s, the Jeopardy! program Watson
beat two champions of this question-answer game show [31].
The Poker programs Libratus [13] and DeepStack [91] beat
professional players of this card game [99]. A program
that played 49 Atari video games demonstrated human-level
performance at these early video games by learning directly
from video frames [89], the Go program AlphaGo beat, one
of the world’s best Go players of this board game [119],
and the Starcraft II program AlphaStar reached Grandmaster
level at this modern video game [137].
AI systems now affect all areas of everyday life, industry,
and beyond, with especially large visibility in the areas of
autonomous driving and intelligent voice assistants. In the
1990s, the Remote Agent controlled a NASA spacecraft
without human supervision [10]. Also in the 1990s, a car
drove from Pittsburgh to San Diego, with only 2% of the
2850 miles steered by hand [55]. In the 2000s, several cars
autonomously completed the 132-mile off-road course of the
second DARPA Grant Challenge and the subsequent DARPA
Urban challenge that required them to drive in realistic urban
traffic and perform complex maneuvers [14,90,130]. In 2018,
Waymo cars autonomously drove over 10 million miles on
public roads [67], and, in 2020, Waymo announced that it
would open its fully driverless service to the general public
[71]. Data from GPS devices and other sensors are now used
to estimate current and future traffic conditions [49, 50] and
improve public transportation systems [9].
The future is always difficult to predict. In a survey
of all authors of the machine learning conferences ICML
and NeurIPS in 2015, Asian respondents predicted that un-
aided machines would be able to accomplish every individ-
ual task better and more cheaply than human workers by
2046 with 50% probability, while North American authors
predicted that it would happen only by 2090 with 50%
probability [41].
9.7 AI Ethics
AI can result in cheaper, better performing, more adaptive,
more flexible, and more general automation solutions than
more traditional automation techniques. Its increasing com-
mercialization has raised a variety of ethical concerns, as the
following examples demonstrate in the context of driverless
cars: (1) Adding a small amount of noise to images that is not
noticeable by humans can change image recognition results
dramatically, which might result in driverless cars not recog-
nizing stop signs that have been slightly altered, for example,
unintentionally with dirt or intentionally with chewing gum
[96]. (2) Driverless trucks might replace millions of truck
S. Koenig et al.
drivers in the future [65]. AI also creates jobs, but they often
require different skill sets than the eliminated ones [141]. (3)
Driverless cars might have to make split-second decisions on
how to avoid accidents. If a child suddenly runs onto the road,
they might have to decide whether to hit the child or avoid
it and potentially injure their passengers (trolley problem
[5, 128]), which ideally requires explicit ethical judgment on
their part [28]. Of course, other applications have also raised
concerns: (1) Microsoft’s learning chatbot Tay made racist
remarks after less than a day on Twitter [86], and (2) a tinder
chatbot promoted the movie “Ex Machina” by pretending to
be a girl on an online dating site [27]. (3) Significantly fewer
women than men were shown online ads promoting well-
paying jobs [83], and (4) decision-support systems wrongly
labeled more African-American than Caucasian arrested peo-
ple as potential re-offenders [100], which affects their bail
bonds. Overall, AI systems can process large quantities of
data, detect regularities in them, draw inferences from them,
and determine effective courses of action – sometimes as
part of hardware that is able to perform many different,
versatile, and potentially dangerous actions. The behavior
of AI systems can also be difficult to validate, predict, or
explain since they are complex, reason in ways different from
humans, and can change their behavior with learning. Finally,
their behavior can also be difficult to monitor by humans in
case of fast decisions, such as buy and sell decisions on stock
markets. Therefore, one needs to worry about the reliability,
robustness, and safety of AI systems, provide oversight of
their operation, ensure that their behavior is consistent with
social norms and human values, determine who is liable for
their decisions, and ensure that they impact the standard
of living, distribution, and quality of work and other social
and economic aspects in a positive way. (The previous four
sentences were rephrased from [15].)
These issues have resulted in the AI community focus-
ing more on the explainability and fairness of decisions
made by AI systems and starting conferences such as the
AAAI/ACM AI, Ethics, and Society (AIES) conference,
policy makers trying to regulate AI and its applications,
and the IEEE Global Initiative on Ethics of Autonomous
and Intelligent Systems creating guidelines and standards
for “ethically aligned design” [20] to help designers and
developers with the creation of AI systems and safeguard
them from liability. In general, philosophy has studied ethics
for a long time, and the resulting theories apply in this context
as well, such as deontology (law-based ethics, as exemplified
by Asimov’s three laws of robotics [4]), consequentialism
(utilitarian ethics), and teleological ethics (virtue ethics)
[148].
See additional details on AI and automation in other
chapters of this Handbook, particularly in Chs.  8,  10,
 15,  17,  70, and  72; and on AI ethics in Chs.  3, and
 34.
9 Artificial Intelligence and Automation
Further Reading
See [108], the most popular and very comprehensive AI
textbook, for in-depth information on AI and its techniques.
We followed it in our emphasis of rational agents and the
description of the history of AI in Sect. 9.5. See [53, 84, 88]
for additional AI applications in automation.
Acknowledgments We thank Zhe Chen, Taoan Huang, Shariq Iqbal,
Nitin Kamra, Zhanhao Xiao, and Han Zhang for their helpful comments
on the draft of this chapter. We also thank Amazon Robotics for
providing us with photos of one of their fulfillment centers. Our research
was supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) under grant
numbers 1409987, 1724392, 1817189, 1837779, and 1935712 as well
as a gift from Amazon. The views and conclusions contained in this
document are those of the authors and should not be interpreted as
representing the official policies, either expressed or implied, of the
sponsoring organizations, agencies, or the US government.
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Yi Zheng is a Ph.D. student in computer science at the University

of Southern California. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in
computer science from the University of Southampton in 2019. His
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agent systems. He is also interested in applying machine learning to
Sven Koenig is a professor in computer science at the University of multi-agent planning problems.
Southern California. His research focuses on AI techniques for making
decisions that enable single situated agents (such as robots or decision-
support systems) and teams of agents to act intelligently in their environ-
ments and exhibit goal-directed behavior in real-time, even if they have
only incomplete knowledge of their environments, imperfect abilities to
manipulate them, limited or noisy perception, or insufficient reasoning
speed.

Shao-Hung Chan is a Ph.D. student in computer science at the Univer-

sity of Southern California. He received a Bachelor of Science degree
from National Cheng-Kung University in 2017 and a Master of Science
degree from National Taiwan University in 2019. His research focuses
on designing planning techniques for real-world applications, including
hierarchical planning techniques that allow teams of agents to navigate
without collisions.
 Cybernetics, Machine Learning, and Stochastic
Learning Automata 10
B. John Oommen, Anis Yazidi, and Sudip Misra

Contents Abstract
10.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233
10.1.1 A General Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234 This chapter presents the area of Cybernetics and how it
10.1.2 Automation, Automaton, and Learning Automata . . . . . . 235 is related to Machine Learning (ML), Learning Automata
10.2 A Learning Automaton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236
(LA), Re-inforcement Learning (RL) and Estimator Al-
gorithms – all considered topics of Artificial Intelligence.
10.3 Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237 In particular, Learning Automata are probabilistic finite
10.4 Classification of Learning Automata . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238 state machines which have been used to model how bi-
10.4.1 Deterministic Learning Automata . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238 ological systems can learn. The structure of such a ma-
10.4.2 Stochastic Learning Automata . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238
chine can be fixed, or it can be changing with time.
10.5 Estimator Algorithms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241 A Learning Automaton can also be implemented using
10.5.1 Rationale and Motivation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241
action (choosing) probability updating rules which may or
10.5.2 Continuous Estimator Algorithms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241
10.5.3 Discrete Estimator Algorithms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243 may not depend on estimates from the Environment being
10.5.4 The Use of Bayesian Estimates in PAs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244 investigated.
10.5.5 Stochastic Estimator Learning Algorithm (SELA) . . . . . . 244
10.6 Challenges in Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245
10.6.1 Previous Flawed Proofs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245
10.6.2 The Rectified Proofs of the PAs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246 Keywords
10.6.3 Proofs for Finite-Time Analyses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246
Artificial intelligence · Cybernetics · Estimator
10.7 Hierarchical Schemes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246
algorithms · Learning automation · Learning automata ·
10.8 Point Location Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247 Reinforcement learning · Stochastic learning
10.9 Emerging Trends and Open Challenges . . . . . . . . . . . . 247
10.10 Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248
10.1 Introduction

We aim to present a brief and comprehensive perspective of

B. John Oommen () the area of “Cybernetics” and to explain how it is related to
School of Computer Science, Carleton University, Ottawa, ON, Canada Machine Learning (ML); in particular to learning automata
Department of Information and Communication Technology, (LA), reinforcement learning (RL) and estimator algorithms.
University of Agder, Grimstad, Norway Each of these are fields of study in their own rights, with
e-mail: oommen@scs.carleton.ca its own nomenclature and subfields of research. They are
A. Yazidi also all knit together within the general concept of artificial
Computer Science Department, Oslo Metropolitan University, Oslo, intelligence (AI). The aim of this introductory section is
Norway to present a nonmathematical perspective of the different
e-mail: anisy@oslomet.no
fields. The formal concepts will be introduced when we
S. Misra
proceed to delve into the details of LA, RL, and estimator
Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Indian Institute of
Technology Kharagpur, Kharagpur, India algorithms, which will constitute the formal portion of the
e-mail: sudipm@iitkgp.ac.in. chapter.

© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 233

S. Y. Nof (ed.), Springer Handbook of Automation, Springer Handbooks,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-96729-1_10
234
10.1.1 A General Overview
Machine Learning
Machine Learning (ML) has made significant quantum leaps
recently, and it is difficult to imagine a field of science or an
industry that will not be affected by ML. This accelerated
development in ML is mainly due to the breakthroughs
in the field of Deep Learning (DL). Deep Learning (DL)
denotes the new development in the field of neural networks
(NNs) that developed exponentially due to the increase in the
computational power of computers in the last two decades.
This led to deeper NNs consisting of multiple layers, as
well as innovative architectures of NNs. Informally speaking,
ML constitutes of three areas: supervised learning, unsuper-
vised learning, and reinforcement learning (RL). Supervised
learning operates with training data, i.e., data for which
the ground truth is known and where the aim is to build
a data-driven predictor that can predict the label of a data
point whose ground truth is unknown. Unsupervised learning
operates without the corresponding labels of the given data
points and aspires to find patterns in the data. This, in
turn, usually reduces to tasks associated with clustering. RL,
under which the field of learning automata (LA) falls, is a
form of learning utilizing “trial and error.” RL operates with
feedback (typically received instantaneously) related to the
performance of the chosen action so that the learner learns
from previous experience and improves a predetermined,
long-term performance function. From a holistic perspective,
it appears as if the closest field to cybernetics within the
realm of ML is RL. Both cybernetics and RL share the same
paradigm, namely, that of controlling a system based on a
continuous feedback mechanism, which, in turn, formally
characterizes the deviation that the decision/action has, from
the optimal goal.
Overview of ML and Connection to Cybernetics
Norbert Wiener is considered the father of cybernetics, and
his works and seminal book [78] are regarded as pioneering
references in the field. In an editorial article [43], cybernetics
was perceived through the lenses of ML, and the article
claimed that the developments within the area of NN was first
anchored in cybernetics. As early as in the 1940s, Norbert
Wiener paved the way toward the field of brain-machine
interfaces even as he observed and confirmed the need for
“feedback processes, involving sensors, signals and actua-
tors, everywhere around him, including in all living systems
and in human–machine interactions” [43]. However, when it
comes to brain-machine interfaces, cybernetics is concerned
with the control, actuation, and understanding of the bio-
logical neural signals in order to process them and to issue
commands directly from the brain. Such an understanding
B. John Oommen et al.
of the nervous signals in brain-machine interfaces is a key
enabler for medical applications, such as in brain-controlled
prosthetics. ML and AI, in general, are rather concerned with
mimicking the functioning of NNs to endow machines with
humanlike intelligence.
There are a multitude of ML models available in the
literature. An abridged list of the well-known and classical
ML methods include: Logistic Regression Decision Trees,
Support Vector Machines, Naive Bayes, Random Forest, and
neural networks [23]. However, the advent of the field of
Deep Learning has led to more sophisticated and superior
approaches than what one would call the “classical” ones.
Deep Learning includes architectures such as deep NNs,
deep belief networks, graph neural networks, recurrent NNs
such as Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM), and convolu-
tional NNs [19]. However, while cybernetics usually relies
on physical models of the system under study, the latter
approaches are concerned with building data-driven models.
Based on evidence from the literature, we advocate that since
cybernetics is a form of a closed-loop control system, it
can particularly benefit most from the advances within deep
RL and within recurrent NNs that are made in the realm
of Deep Learning. Furthermore, the field of cybernetics has
benefited generally from NNs to assist in the design of neural
controllers. NNs usually operate based on the concept of
feedback backward learning, where the measured error is fed
back to adjust the weights of the network, which is akin to the
concept to residual error in a closed-loop cybernetic system.
Applications of Cybernetics in Machine Learning
ML can benefit significantly from cybernetics in many ways.
Cybernetics can help in the field of explainable artificial
intelligence, in which the results of the proposed solution
can be understood by humans. In such cases, one tries to
explain complicated black box ML models in a human-
understandable manner. There is a stream of research in the
intersection between cybernetics and neural systems, which
has to do with the stability of NNs when they are perceived
as dynamical systems. This stream is particularly centered on
recurrent NNs [7,9,68] and centers about the stability of NNs.
It is booming and is one of richest research arenas within
ML that is also relevant for the cybernetics community. This
is of utmost importance to help the practitioner have a full
understanding of the stability of the system, especially when
implemented for autonomous robots (and vehicles) and in
scenarios where the interactions with the physical world can
lead to hazardous and unsafe situations [9].
Connection to Reinforcement Learning
From a cybernetic perspective, Markov Decision Processes
(MDPs) and RL can be seen as being central to control. RL
10 Cybernetics, Machine Learning, and Stochastic Learning Automata
algorithms are becoming more and more sophisticated, and
their applications are increasing considerably. Stochastic LA
falls under the umbrella of RL. The popularity of RL is in-
creasing as new applications of its algorithms emerge. There
are a variety of RL algorithms, such as deep Q-learning [25],
policy gradient methods [50], trust region policy optimization
[47], and proximal policy optimization [66]. MDPs are the
basis of RL. An LA (which is the topic of interest of the
major portion of this chapter) is a learning scheme, which
is an extension of the multiarmed bandit problem. MDPs,
however, consider a more complicated case where there are
also states in the environment. Upon taking an action in a
state, the learner receives an immediate reward and transits
to another state according to a Markovian Law. The learner
is interested in the “long-term reward,” which is usually a
discounted reward. There have been different attempts to
integrate LA as a part of the action selection at each state
in MDP. Some notable works include the results of [11],
which uses the pursuit scheme (studied, in detail, later) for
MDPs and the work due to Wheeler and Narendra [67],
where the authors propose a nonintuitive way of updating the
probabilities of the LA at the different states by carrying the
update whenever the agent revisits to the same state again.
The latter work [67] led to more interest in distributed multi-
agent learning based on teams of LA [30, 65]. According
to Barto [51], who is considered to be the father of RL,
“we can view reinforcement learning as a computationally
simple, direct approach to the adaptive control of nonlinear
systems.”
In a seminal paper entitled “RL is direct adaptive optimal
control,” Barto et al. treated Q-learning as a form of a proof-
of-concept scheme for a novel control system design. Q-
learning is considered a form of model-free learning. Thus,
from this perspective, RL can be classified broadly under
model-free learning and model-based learning.
LA and the temporal difference method [51] also fall
under the umbrella of model-free learning, and they all aim
at learning an optimal policy without learning a model of
the environment. Model-based learning methods such as
Adaptive Dynamic Programming [8] learn an optimal policy
by rather iteratively building a model of the environment.
In a subsequent work, Barto established a link between
dynamic programming, which is considered as model-based
learning, and control theory [8]. RL has gained popularity
in control theory, and for a review of the applications of RL
in controlling industrial applications, we refer the reader to
the following review [28]. For instance, Lee et al. designed
a bioinspired RL mechanism for controlling an automated
artificial pancreatic system [20].
The above is an attempt to provide the reader with an
overall overview of ML, RL, AI, and LA and of how these
domains are intertwined. We now proceed to a more detailed
and formal survey of the area of LA and its applications.
235
10.1.2 Automation, Automaton, and Learning
Automata
While etymology suggests that automaton and automation
are closely related, these words describe different concepts,
as explained in Ch.  1, Sect. 10.1.1 LAs have scores of ap-
plications, as described in this chapter, and in the references
of this chapter.
Learning Automata and Cybernetics
What is a learning automaton? What is “learning” all about?
What are the different types of learning automata (LA) avail-
able? How are LA related to the general field of cybernetics?
10
These are some of the fundamental issues that this chapter
attempts to describe so that we can understand the potential
impact of the mechanisms and their capabilities as primary
tools that can be used to solve a host of very complex
problems.
The Webster’s dictionary defines “cybernetics” as the sci-
ence of communication and control theory that is concerned
especially with the comparative study of automatic control
systems (as the nervous system, the brain, and mechanical-
electrical communication systems). The word “cybernetics”
itself has its etymological origins in the Greek root kybernan
meaning “to steer” or “to govern.” Typically, as explained
in the Encyclopaedia Britannica, “cybernetics is associated
with models in which a monitor compares what is happening
to a system at various sampling times with some standard
of what should be happening, and a controller adjusts the
system’s behaviour accordingly.” Of course, the goal of the
exercise is to design the “controller” so as to appropriately
adjust the system’s behavior. Modern cybernetics is an in-
terdisciplinary field, which philosophically encompasses an
ensemble of areas including neuroscience, computer science,
cognition, control systems, and electrical networks.
An automaton is a self-operating machine attempting to
achieve a certain goal. As part of its mandate, it is supposed
to respond to a sequence of instructions to attain to this goal.
These instructions are usually predetermined and could be
deterministic or stochastic. The automaton is designed so
as to work with a random environment, and it does this in
such a way that it achieves “learning.” From a psychological
perspective, the latter implies that the automaton can acquire
knowledge and, consequently, modify its behavior based on
the experience that it has gleaned. Thus, we refer to the
automata studied in this chapter as adaptive automata or
learning automata since they can adapt to the dynamics of the
environment in which they operate. More precisely, the adap-
tive automata that we study in this chapter glean information
from the responses that they receive from the environment by
virtue of interacting with it. Further, the automata attempt to
learn the best action from a set of possible actions that are
offered to them by the random environment, which could be
236
stationary or nonstationary. The automaton is thus a model
for a stochastic “decision maker,” whose task is to arrive at
the best action.
What do “learning automata” have to do with “cybernet-
ics”? The answer probably lies in the results of the Russian
pioneer Tsetlin [59] and [60]. Indeed, when Tsetlin first pro-
posed his theory of learning, his aim was to use the principles
of automata theory to model how biological systems could
learn. Little did he guess that his seminal results would lead
to a completely new paradigm for learning and a subfield of
cybernetics.
Narendra and Thathachar [27], who have pioneered this
field, have described the operations of the LA as follows:
“. . . a decision maker operates in the random environment
and updates its strategy for choosing actions on the basis of
the elicited response. The decision maker, in such a feedback
configuration of decision maker (or automaton) and environ-
ment, is referred to as the learning automaton. The automaton
has a finite set of actions, and corresponding to each action,
the response of the environment can be either favorable or
unfavorable with a certain probability.” The latter is a precise
quote from [27] (p. 3).
The applications of LA are predominantly in optimization
problems where one needs to determine the optimal action
from a set of actions. LA are particularly pertinent when the
level of noise or uncertainty is high in the environment, and
conversely, they are not so helpful when the noise level is low
where alternate optimization strategies are advocated [27].
The first studies with LA models date back to the stud-
ies by mathematical psychologists like Bush and Mosteller
[10] and Atkinson et al. [3]. In 1961, the Russian mathe-
matician Tsetlin [59, 60] studied deterministic LA in detail.
Varshavskii and Vorontsova [62] introduced the stochastic
variable structure versions of the LA. Tsetlin’s determin-
istic automata [59, 60] and Varshavskii and Vorontsova’s
stochastic automata [62] were the major initial motivators
of further studies in this area. Following them, several the-
oretical and experimental studies have been conducted by
several researchers: K. Narendra, M. A. L. Thathachar, S.
Lakshmivarahan, M. Obaidat, K. Najim, A. S. Poznyak, N.
Baba, L. G. Mason, G. Papadimitriou, O.-C. Granmo, X.
Zhang, L. Jiao, A. Yazidi, and B. J. Oommen, just to mention
few. A comprehensive overview of the research in the field
of LA can be found in the classic text by Narendra and
Thathachar [27] (and its more recent edition); in the special
issues of the journal IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man,
and Cybernetics, Part B [31]; and in a recent paper published
by two of the present authors and others [71].
It should be noted that none of the work described in this
chapter is original. Most of the discussions, terminologies,
and all the algorithms that are explained in this chapter are
fairly standard and are taken from the corresponding existing
pieces of literature.
B. John Oommen et al.
LA have boasted scores of applications. These include
theoretical problems like the graph partitioning problem
[36]. They have been used in controlling intelligent vehicles
[61]. When it concerns neural networks and hidden Markov
models, Meybodi et al. [21] have used them in adapting
the former, and the authors of [14] have applied them in
training the latter. Network call admission, traffic control,
and quality of service routing have been resolved using LA
in [5, 6, 64], while the authors of [48] have studied the
problem of achieving distributed scheduling using LA. They
have also found applications in tackling problems involving
network and communications issues [24, 32, 37, 41]. Apart
from these, the entire field of LA and stochastic learning has
had a myriad of applications listed in the reference books
[17, 26, 27, 42, 58].
We conclude this introductory section by emphasizing that
this brief chapter is not be a comprehensive survey of the
field of LA. In particular, we have not addressed the concept
of LA, which possesses an infinite number of actions [46],
systems that deal with “teachers” and “liars” [40], nor with
any of the myriads of issues that arise when we deal with
networks of LA [58]. Also, the reader should not expect a
mathematically deep exegesis of the field. Due to space lim-
itations, the results available are merely cited. Additionally,
while the results that are reported in the acclaimed books are
merely alluded to, we give special attention to the more recent
results – namely, those which pertain to the discretized,
pursuit and estimator algorithms, the hierarchical schemes,
and those that deal with the Stochastic Point Location (SPL)
Problem. Finally, we mention that the bibliography cited here
is by no means comprehensive. It is brief and is intended to
serve as a pointer to the representative papers in the theory
and applications of LA.
10.2 A Learning Automaton
To present a formal introduction to the field, we present some
initial sections, which essentially draw from [17, 26, 27, 42,
58]. In the field of automata theory, an automaton can be
defined as a quintuple consisting of a set of states, a set of
outputs or actions, an input, a function that maps the current
state and input to the next state, and a function that maps a
current state (and input) into the current output.
Definition 10.1 An LA is defined by a quintuple A, B, Q,
F(., .), G(.), where:
(i) A = {α1 , α2 , . . . , αr } is the set of outputs or actions, and
α(t) is the action chosen by the automaton at any instant
t.
(ii) B = {β1 , β2 , . . . , βm } is the set of inputs to the automa-
ton. β(t) is the input at any instant t. The set B can be
10 Cybernetics, Machine Learning, and Stochastic Learning Automata 237

finite or infinite. In this chapter, we consider the case

when m = 2, i.e., when B = {0, 1}, where β = 0 ci {c1, ..., cr}
represents the event that the LA has been rewarded, Random
and β = 1 represents the event that the LA has been environment
penalized. a {a1, ..., ar} b {0, 1}
(iii) Q = {q1 , q2 , . . . , qs } is the set of finite states, where q(t)
Learning
denotes the state of the automaton at any instant t. automaton
(iv) F(., .) : Q × B → Q is a mapping in terms of the
state and input at the instant t, such that q(t + 1) =
F[q(t), β(t)]. It is called a transition function, i.e., a Fig. 10.1 The automaton-environment feedback loop
function that determines the state of the automaton at
any subsequent time instant t + 1. This mapping can
either be deterministic or stochastic. depending on the penalty probability ci corresponding to αi . 10
(v) G(.): is a mapping G : Q → A, and is called the output Although the LA does not know the penalty probabilities,
function. Depending on the state at a particular instant, the reward/penalty feedback, corresponding to the action that
this function determines the output of the automaton at is provided, helps it to choose the subsequent action. This
the same instant as α(t) = G[q(t)]. This mapping can, simple process is repeated through a series of environment-
again, be either deterministic or stochastic. Without loss automaton interactions. The intention is that, hopefully, the
of generality, G is deterministic. LA finally learns the optimal action, i.e., the one that provides
the minimum average penalties, from the environment.
If the sets Q, B, and A are all finite, the automaton is said We now provide a few important definitions used in the
be finite. field. P(t) is referred to as the action probability vector where
P(t) = [p1 (t), p2 (t), . . . , pr (t)]T , in which each element of the
vector.
10.3 Environment

r
pi (t)=Pr[α(t) = αi ], i = 1, . . . , r, such that pi (t)=1 ∀t.
The environment, E, typically, refers to the medium in which
i=1
the automaton functions. The environment possesses all the (10.1)
external factors that affect the actions of the automaton.
Mathematically, the environment can be abstracted by a triple Given an action probability vector, P(t) at time t, the
A, C, B. A, C, and B are defined as follows: average penalty is:

(i) A = {α1 , α2 , . . . , αr } is the set of actions. M(t) = E[β(t)|P(t)] = Pr[β(t) = 1|P(t)]

(ii) B = {β1 , β2 , . . . , βm } is the output set of the envi- 
r

ronment. Again, we consider the case when m = 2, = Pr[β(t) = 1|α(t) = αi ] Pr[α(t) = αi ] (10.2)
i.e., with β = 0 representing a “reward” and β = 1 i=1

representing a “penalty.” 
r

(iii) C = {c1 , c2 , . . . , cr } is a set of penalty probabilities = ci pi (t).

where element ci ∈ C corresponds to an input action i=1

αi .
The average penalty for the “pure-chance” automaton is
given by:
The strategy or paradigm by which the learning is
1
r
achieved is as follows. It involves a simple learning feedback- M0 = ci . (10.3)
oriented loop involving a random environment (RE) and r i=1
the LA. This loop is depicted in Fig. 10.1. The premise of As t → ∞, if the average penalty M(t) < M0 , at least
the feedback is the following. The RE possesses a set of asymptotically, the automaton is generally considered to be
possible actions {α1 , α2 , . . . , αr }, and the LA has to choose better than the pure-chance automaton. E[M(t)] is given by:
one of these. Let us assume that the LA chooses αi . This
serves as an input to the RE that operates as an oracle that E[M(t)] = E{E[β(t)|P(t)]} = E[β(t)]. (10.4)
knows the underlying penalty probability distribution of the
system. It, in turn, “prompts” the LA with a reward (denoted An LA that performs better than by pure-chance is said to be
by the value “0”) or a penalty (denoted by the value “1”) expedient.
238
Definition 10.2 An LA is considered expedient if:
limt→∞ E[M(t)] < M0 .
Definition 10.3 An LA is said to be absolutely expedient
if E[M(t + 1)|P(t)] < M(t), implying that E[M(t + 1)] <
E[M(t)].
Definition 10.4 An LA is considered optimal if limt→∞
E[M(t)] = cl ,where cl = mini {ci }.
Definition 10.5 An LA is considered -optimal if:
limn→∞ E[M(t)] < cl + , (10.5)
where  > 0, and can be arbitrarily small, by a suitable
choice of some parameter of the LA. It should be noted that
one cannot design an optimal LA – such an LA cannot exist.
Marginally suboptimal performance, also termed above as
-optimal performance, is what LA researchers attempt to
attain.
10.4 Classification of Learning Automata
10.4.1 Deterministic Learning Automata
An automaton is termed as a deterministic automaton if both
the transition function F(., .) and the output function G(.), de-
fined in Sect. 10.2, are deterministic. Thus, in a deterministic
automaton, the subsequent state and action can be uniquely
specified, provided the present state and input are given.
10.4.2 Stochastic Learning Automata
If, however, either the transition function F(., .) or the output
function G(.) are stochastic, the automaton is termed to be
a stochastic automaton. In such an automaton, if the current
state and input are specified, the subsequent states and actions
cannot be specified uniquely. In such a case, F(., .) only
provides the probabilities of reaching the various states from
a given state. Let F β1 , F β2 , . . . , F βm denote the conditional
probability matrices, where each of these conditional matri-
ces F β (for β ∈ B) is a s × s matrix, whose arbitrary element
β vector, which is, in turn, updated based on the reward/penalty
fij is:
β
fij = Pr[q(t+1) = qj |q(t) = qi , β(t) = β], i, j = 1, 2, . . . , s.
(10.6)
β
In Equation (10.6), each element fij of the matrix F β repre-
sents the probability of the automaton moving from state qi
to the state qj on receiving an input signal β from the RE. F β
is a Markov matrix, and hence:
B. John Oommen et al.

s
β
fij = 1, where β ∈ B; i = 1, 2, . . . , s. (10.7)
j=1
Similarly, in a stochastic automaton, if G(.) is stochastic, we
have:
gij = Pr{α(t) = αj |q(t) = qi }, i, j = 1, 2, . . . , s. (10.8)
where gij represents the elements of the conditional proba-
bility matrix of dimension s × r. Intuitively, gij denotes the
probability that when the automaton is in state qi , it chooses
the action αj . As in Equation (10.7), we have:

r
gij = 1, for each row i = 1, 2, . . . , s. (10.9)
j=1
Fixed Structure Learning Automata
β
In a stochastic LA, if the conditional probabilities fij and gij
are constant, i.e., they do not vary with the time step “t” and
the input sequence, the automaton is termed to be a Fixed
Structure Stochastic Automaton (FSSA). The popular exam-
ples of these types of automata were proposed by Tsetlin
[59, 60], Krylov [16], and Krinsky [15] – all of which are
-optimal under various conditions. Their details can be
found in [27].
Variable Structure Learning Automata
Unlike the FSSA, Variable Structure Stochastic Automata
(VSSA) are the ones in which the state transition probabilities
are not fixed. In such automata, the state transitions or the ac-
tion probabilities themselves are updated at every time instant
β
using a suitable scheme. The transition probabilities fij and
the output function gij vary with time, and the action proba-
bilities are updated on the basis of the input. These automata
are discussed here in the context of linear schemes. But
the concepts discussed below can be extended to nonlinear
updating schemes as well. The types of automata that update
transition probabilities with time were introduced in 1963
by Varshavskii and Vorontsova [62]. A VSSA depends on a
random number generator for its implementation. The action
chosen is dependent on the action probability distribution
input that the automaton receives from the RE.
Definition 10.6 A VSSA is a quintuple Q, A, B, T, where
Q represents the different states of the automaton, A is the set
of actions, B is the set of responses from the environment
to the LA, G is the output function, and T is the action
probability updating scheme T : [0, 1]r × A × B → [0, 1]r ,
such that
10 Cybernetics, Machine Learning, and Stochastic Learning Automata 239

P(t + 1) = T(P(t), α(t), β(t)), (10.10) updating scheme for a continuous automaton is described
below. We assume that the action αi is chosen, and thus,
where P(t) is the action probability vector.
α(t) = αi . The updated action probabilities can be specified
as:
Normally, VSSA involve the updating of both the state and
action probabilities. For the sake of simplicity, in practice, it
For β(t) = 0, ∀j
= i , pj (t + 1) = pj (t) − gj (P(t))
is assumed that in such automata, each state corresponds to
(10.11)
a distinct action, in which case the action transition mapping
G becomes the identity mapping, and the number of states, s, For β(t) = 1, ∀j
= i , pj (t + 1) = pj (t) + hj (P(t))
is equal to the number of actions, r (s = r < ∞).
VSSA can be analyzed using a discrete-time Markov 
r
Since P(t) is a probability vector, pj (t) = 1. Therefore,
process, defined on a suitable set of states. If a probability j=1
updating scheme T is time invariant, {P(t)}t≥0 is a discrete-
10
homogenous Markov process, and the probability vector at 
r
the current time instant P(t), along with α(t), and β(t)), com- When β(t) = 0, pi (t + 1) = pi (t) + gj (P(t)),
pletely determines P(t + 1). Hence, each distinct updating j=1,j
=i

scheme, T, identifies a different type of learning algorithm (10.12)

as follows: 
r
and when β(t) = 1, pi (t + 1) = pi (t) − hj (P(t)).
• Absorbing algorithms are the ones in which the updating j=1,j
=i
scheme, T is chosen in such a manner that the Markov
process has absorbing states. The functions hj and gj are nonnegative and continuous in
• Non-absorbing algorithms are the ones in which the [0, 1] and obey:
Markov process has no absorbing states.
• Linear algorithms are the ones in which P(t+1) is a linear ∀i = 1, 2, . . . , r, ∀P ∈ (0, 1)R , 0 < gj (P) < pj ,
function of P(t). (10.13)
• Nonlinear algorithms are the ones in which P(t + 1) is a
nonlinear function of P(t). 
r
and 0< [pj + hj (P)] < 1
j=1,j
=i
In a VSSA, if a chosen action αi is rewarded, the probability
for the current action is increased, and the probabilities for For continuous linear VSSA, the following four learning
all the other actions are decreased. On the other hand, if the schemes are extensively studied in the literature. They are
chosen action αi is penalized, the probability of the current explained for the 2-action case; their extension to the r-action
action is decreased, whereas the probabilities for the rest of case, where r > 2, are straightforward and can be found in
the actions could, typically, be increased. This leads to the [27].
following different types of learning schemes for VSSA:
• The Linear Reward-Inaction Scheme (LRI )
• Reward-Penalty (RP): In both the cases, when the au- • The Linear Inaction-Penalty Scheme (LIP )
tomaton is rewarded as well as penalized, the action prob- • The Symmetric Linear Reward-Penalty Scheme (LRP )
abilities are updated. • The Linear Reward--Penalty Scheme (LR−P )
• Inaction-Penalty (IP): When the automaton is penalized,
the action probability vector is updated, whereas when the For a 2-action LA, let
automaton is rewarded, the action probabilities are neither
increased nor decreased. gj (P(t)) = a pj (t)
• Reward-Inaction (RI): The action probability vector is
updated whenever the automaton is rewarded, and is un- and hj (P(t)) = b (1 − pj (t)) (10.14)
changed whenever the automaton is penalized.
In Equation (10.14), a and b are called the reward and
An LA is considered to be a continuous automaton if the penalty parameters, and they obey the following inequalities:
probability updating scheme T is continuous, i.e., the prob- 0 < a < 1, 0 ≤ b < 1. Equation (10.14) will be used
ability of choosing an action can be any real number in the further to develop the action probability updating equations.
closed interval [0, 1]. The abovementioned linear schemes are quite popular in LA
In a VSSA, if there are r actions operating in a stationary because of their analytical tractability. They exhibit signifi-
environment with β = {0, 1}, a general action probability cantly different characteristics as can be seen in Table 10.1.
240 B. John Oommen et al.

Table 10.1 Properties of the continuous learning schemes further discussions. They and their respective analyses can be
Learning Learning Usefulness Optimality Ergodic/absorbing found in [27].
scheme parameters (good/bad) (when useful) The so-called symmetry conditions for the functions g(·)
LRI a> Good -optimal Absorbing and h(·) to lead to absolutely expedient LA are also derived
0; b = 0 in [17] and [27].
as a → 0 (stationary E)
LIP a= Very bad Not even Ergodic
0, b > 0
Discretized Learning Automata
expedient (nonstationary E) The VSSA algorithms presented in Sect. 10.4.2 are continu-
LRP a= Bad Never Ergodic ous, i.e., the action probabilities can assume any real value in
b; a, b > the interval [0, 1]. In LA, the choice of an action is determined
0 by a random number generator (RNG). In order to increase
(Symmetric) -optimal (nonstationary E) the speed of convergence of these automata, Thathachar
LR−P a> Good -optimal Ergodic and Oommen [53] introduced the discretized algorithms for
0, b << a
VSSA, in which they suggested the discretization of the
as a → 0 (nonstationary E)
probability space. The different properties (absorbing and
ergodic) of these learning automata and the updating schemes
of action probabilities for these discretized automata (like
The LRI scheme was first introduced by Norman [29] and their continuous counterparts) were later studied in detail by
then studied by Shapiro and Narendra [49]. It is based on the Oommen et al. [18, 33–35].
principle that whenever the automaton receives a favorable Discretized automata can be perceived to be somewhat
response (i.e., reward) from the environment, the action like a hybrid combination of FSSA and VSSA. Discretization
probabilities are updated in a linear manner, whereas if the is conceptualized by restricting the probability of choosing
automaton receives an unfavorable response (i.e., penalty) the actions to only a fixed number of values in the closed
from the environment, they are unaltered. interval [0, 1]. Thus, the updating of the action probabilities
The probability updating equations for this scheme can be is achieved in steps rather than in a continuous manner as
simplified to be as below: in the case of continuous VSSA. Evidently, like FSSA, they
possess finite sets. But because they have action probability
vectors that are random vectors, they behave like VSSA.
p1 (t + 1) = p1 (t) + a(1 − p1 (t)) if α(t) = α1 , and β(t) = 0
Discretized LA can also be of two types: (i) linear, in
p1 (t + 1) = (1 − a)p1 (t) if α(t) = α2 , and β(t) = 0 which case the action probability values are uniformly spaced
in the closed interval [0, 1], and (ii) nonlinear, in which case
p1 (t + 1) = p1 (t) if α(t) = α1 or α2 , and β(t) = 1.
the probability values are unequally spaced in the interval
(10.15)
[0,1] [33–35, 53].
Perhaps the biggest motivation behind discretization is
We see that if action αi is chosen, and a reward is received, the overcoming the persistent limitation of continuous LA, i.e.,
probability pi (t) is increased, and the other probability pj (t) the slow rate of convergence. This is achieved by narrowing
(i.e., j
= i) is decreased. If either α1 or α2 is chosen, and a down the underlying assumptions of the automata. Origi-
penalty is received, P(t) is unaltered. nally, the assumption was that the RNGs could generate real
Equation (10.15) shows that the LRI scheme has the vec- values with arbitrary precision. In the case of discretized
tors [1, 0]T and [0, 1]T as two absorbing states. Indeed, with LA, if an action probability is reasonably close to unity,
probability 1, it gets absorbed into one of these absorb- the probability of choosing that action increases to unity
ing states. Therefore, the convergence of the LRI scheme (when the conditions are appropriate) directly rather than
is dependent on the nature of the initial conditions and asymptotically [18, 33–35, 53].
probabilities. The scheme is not suitable for nonstationary The second important advantage of discretization is that
environments. On the other hand, for stationary random envi- it is more practical in the sense that the RNGs used by
ronments, the LRI scheme is both absolutely expedient and - continuous VSSA can only theoretically be assumed to be
optimal [27]. Recently, Yazidi et al. [70] presented a modified any value in the interval [0, 1]. But almost all machine
version of the LRI scheme. But unlike the well-established implementations of RNGs use pseudo-RNGs. In other words,
version, this one had nonabsorbing barriers, rendering the the set of possible random values is not infinite in [0, 1] but
scheme ergodic. However, more theoretical work is needed finite.
to understand the properties of this newly devised LRI so that Last, but not the least, discretization is also important
it can become an established reference LA algorithm. The LIP in terms of implementation and representation. Discretized
and LRP schemes are devised similarly and are omitted from implementations of automata use integers for tracking the
10 Cybernetics, Machine Learning, and Stochastic Learning Automata 241

Table 10.2 Properties of the discretized learning schemes speaking, be referred to as “proofs.” The flaw was discovered
Learning Learning Usefulness Optimality Ergodic/absorbing by the authors of [44]. The details of this flaw and how it has
scheme parameters (good/bad) (As N → ∞) (when useful) been subsequently rectified has been explained in Sect. 10.6.
DLRI N>0 Good -optimal Absorbing In a random environment, these algorithms help in choos-
(stationary E) ing an action by increasing the confidence in the reward
DLIP N>0 Very bad Expedient Ergodic capabilities of the different actions. For example, these al-
(nonstationary E) gorithms initially process each action a number of times
ADLIP N>0 Good -optimal Artificially and then (in one version) could increase the probability of
absorbing the action with the highest reward estimate [1]. This leads
Sluggish (Stationary to a scheme with better accuracy in choosing the correct
environments)
action. The previous non-estimator VSSA algorithms update
DLRP N>0 Reasonable -optimal Ergodic
the probability vector directly on the basis of the response of
If cmin < 0.5 (nonstationary E)
the environment to the automaton where, depending on the 10
ADLRP N > 0 Good -optimal Artificially
absorbing type of vector updating scheme being used, the probability of
(stationary E) choosing a rewarded action in the subsequent time instant is
MDLRP N > 0 Good -optimal Ergodic increased, and the probabilities of choosing the other actions
(nonstationary E) could be decreased. However, estimator algorithms update
the probability vector based on both the estimate vector
and the current feedback provided by the environment to
number of multiples of N1 of the action probabilities, where N the automaton. The environment influences the probability
is the so-called resolution parameter. This not only increases vector both directly and indirectly, the latter as being a result
the rate of convergence of the algorithm but also reduces the of the estimation of the reward estimates of the different ac-
time in terms of the clock cycles it takes for the processor tions. This may, thus, lead to increases in action probabilities
to do each iteration of the task and the memory needed. different from the currently rewarded action.
Discretized algorithms have been proven to be both more Even though there is an added computational cost in-
time and space efficient than the continuous algorithms. volved in maintaining the reward estimates, these estimator
Similar to the continuous LA paradigm, the discretized algorithms have an order of magnitude superior performance
versions, the DLRI , DLIP , and DLRP automata have also been than the non-estimator algorithms previously introduced.
reported. Their design, analysis, and properties are given in Lanctôt and Oommen [18] further introduced the discretized
[33–35, 53] and are summarized in Table 10.2. versions of these estimator algorithms, which were proven to
have an even faster rate of convergence.

10.5 Estimator Algorithms

10.5.1 Rationale and Motivation
As we have seen so far, the rate of convergence of learn-
ing algorithms is one of the most important considerations,
which was the primary reason for designing the family of
“discretized" algorithms. With the same goal, Thathachar
and Sastry designed a new class of algorithms, called the
estimator algorithms [45, 55–57], which have faster rate
of convergence than all the previous families. These algo-
rithms, like the previous ones, maintain and update an action
probability vector. However, unlike the previous ones, these
algorithms also keep running estimates for each action that is
rewarded using a reward estimate vector and then use those
estimates in the probability updating equations. The reward
estimates vector is, typically, denoted in the literature by
D̂(t) = [dˆ1 (t), . . . , dˆr (t)]T . The corresponding state vector
is denoted by Q(t) = P(t), D̂(t).
Unfortunately, the convergence results (proofs) of all the
LA presented in this section are flawed and should, strictly
10.5.2 Continuous Estimator Algorithms
Thathachar and Sastry introduced the class of continuous
estimator algorithms [45, 55–57] in which the probability
updating scheme T is continuous, i.e., the probability of
choosing an action can be any real number in the closed
interval [0, 1]. As mentioned subsequently, the discretized
versions of these algorithms were introduced by Oommen
and his coauthors, Lanctôt and Agache [2, 18]. These algo-
rithms are briefly explained in Sect. 10.5.3.
Pursuit Algorithm
The family of pursuit algorithms is a class of estimator
algorithms that pursue an action that the automaton “cur-
rently” perceives to be the optimal one. The first pursuit
algorithm, referred to as the CPRP algorithm and introduced
by Thathachar and Sastry [54,55], pursues the optimal action
by changing the probability of the current optimal action
whether it receives a reward or a penalty by the environment.
In this case, the currently perceived “best action” is rewarded,
242
and its action probability value is increased with a value
directly proportional to its distance to unity, namely, 1 −
pm (t), whereas the “less optimal actions” are penalized and
their probabilities decreased proportionally.
To start with, based on the probability distribution P(t),
the algorithm chooses an action α(t). Whether the response
was a reward or a penalty, it increases that component of
P(t), which has the maximal current reward estimate, and
it decreases the probability corresponding to the rest of the
actions. Finally, the algorithm updates the running estimates
of the reward probability of the action chosen, this being
the principal idea behind keeping and using the running
estimates. The estimate vector D̂(t) can be computed using
the following formula, which yields the maximum likelihood
estimate:
Wi (t)
dˆi (t) = , ∀i = 1, 2, . . . , r, (10.16)
Zi (t)
where Wi (t) is the number of times the action αi has been
rewarded until the current time t, and Zi (t) is the number of
times αi has been chosen until the current time t. Based on
the above concepts, the CPRP algorithm is formally given in
[1, 2, 18].
The algorithm is similar in principle to the LRP algo-
rithm because both the CPRP and the LRP algorithms in-
crease/decrease the action probabilities of the vector indepen-
dent of whether the environment responds to the automaton
with a reward or a penalty. The major difference lies in the
way the reward estimates are maintained, used, and updated
on both reward/penalty. It should be emphasized that whereas
the non-pursuit algorithm moves the probability vector in the
direction of the most recently rewarded action, the pursuit
algorithm moves the probability vector in the direction of
the action with the highest reward estimate. Thathachar and
Sastry [54] have theoretically proven their -optimality and
experimentally proven that these pursuit algorithms are more
accurate and several orders of magnitude faster than the non-
pursuit algorithms.
The Reward-Inaction version of this pursuit algorithm is
also similar in design and is described in [2, 18]. Also, other
pursuit-like estimator schemes have also been devised, and
they can be found in [2].
TSE Algorithm
A more advanced estimator algorithm, which we refer to as
the TSE algorithm to maintain consistency with the existing
literature [1, 2, 18], was designed by Thathachar and Sastry
[56, 57].
Like the other estimator algorithms, the TSE algorithm
maintains the running reward estimates vector D̂(t) and uses
it to calculate the action probability vector P(t). When an
action αi (t) is rewarded, according to the TSE algorithm,
the probability components with a reward estimate greater
B. John Oommen et al.
than dˆi (t) are treated differently from those components
with a value lower than dˆi (t). The algorithm does so by
increasing the probabilities for all the actions that have a
higher estimate than the estimate of the chosen action and
decreasing the probabilities of all the actions with a lower
estimate. This is done with the help of an indicator function
Sij (t) that assumes the value 1 if dˆi (t) > dˆj (t) and the value
0 if dˆi (t) ≤ dˆj (t). Thus, the TSE algorithm uses both the
probability vector P(t) and the reward estimates vector D̂(t)
to update the action probabilities. The algorithm is formally
described in [1]. On careful inspection of the algorithm, it can
be observed that P(t + 1) depends indirectly on the response
of the environment to the automaton. The feedback from the
environment changes the values of the components of D̂(t),
which, in turn, affects the values of the functions f (.) and
Sij (t) [1, 18, 56, 57].
Analyzing the algorithm carefully, we obtain three cases.
If the ith action is rewarded, the probability values of the ac-
tions with reward estimates higher than the reward estimate of
the currently selected action are updated using the following
equation [56]:
 
ˆ ˆ {pi (t) − pj (t)pi (t)}
pj (t + 1) = pj (t) − λ f (di (t) − dj (t))
r−1
(10.17)
When dˆi (t) < dˆj (t), since the function f (dˆi (t) − dˆj (t))
is monotonic and increasing, f (dˆi (t) − dˆj (t)) is seen to be
negative. This leads to a higher value of pj (t + 1) than that of
pj (t), which indicates that the probability of choosing actions,
which have estimates greater than that of the estimates of the
currently chosen action, will increase.
For all the actions with reward estimates smaller than the
estimate of the currently selected action, the probabilities are
updated based on the following equation:
 
pj (t + 1) = pj (t) − λf dˆi (t) − dˆj (t) pj (t) (10.18)
 
The sign of the function f dˆi (t) − dˆj (t) is negative, which
indicates that the probability of choosing actions, which have
estimates less than that of the estimate of the currently chosen
action, will decrease.
Thathachar and Sastry have proven that the TSE algorithm
is -optimal [56]. They have also experimentally shown
that the TSE algorithm often converges several orders of
magnitude faster than the LRI scheme.
Generalized Pursuit Algorithm
Agache and Oommen [2] proposed a generalized version of
the pursuit algorithm (CPRP ) proposed by Thathachar and
Sastry [54, 55]. Their algorithm, called the Generalized Pur-
suit Algorithm (GPA), generalizes Thathachar and Sastry’s
10 Cybernetics, Machine Learning, and Stochastic Learning Automata 243

pursuit algorithm by pursuing all those actions that possess
higher reward estimates than the chosen action. In this way,
the probability of choosing a wrong action is minimized.
Agache and Oommen experimentally compared their pursuit
algorithm with the existing algorithms and found that their
algorithm is the best in terms of the rate of convergence [2].
In the CPRP algorithm, the probability of the best esti-
mated action is maximized by first decreasing the probability
of all the actions in the following manner [2]:
pj (t + 1) = (1 − λ)pj (t), j = 1, 2, . . . , r
The sum of the action probabilities is made unity by the
help of the probability mass Δ, which is given by [2]:

r 
r of Moderation and the Monotone Property. Together, these
Δ=1− pj (t + 1) = 1 − (1 − λ)pj (t)
j=1 j=1

r 
r
=1− pj (t) + λ pj (t) = λ
j=1 j=1
Thereafter, the probability mass Δ is added to the probability
of the best estimated action. The GPA algorithm, thus, equi-
distributes the probability mass Δ to the action estimated to
be superior to the chosen action. This gives us [2]:
= m
pm (t + 1) = (1 − λ)pm (t) + Δ = (1 − λ)pm (t) + λ, (10.21)
where dˆm = maxj=1,2,...,r (dˆj (t)). Thus, the updating scheme is
given by [2]:
λ TSE algorithm possessing the moderation and the monotone
pj (t + 1) = (1 − λ)pj (t) + , if dˆj (t) > dˆi (t), j
= i properties are presented below.
K(t)
pj (t + 1) = (1 − λ)pj (t), ifdˆj (t) ≤ dˆi (t), j
= i Discrete Pursuit Algorithm
 The Discrete Pursuit Algorithm (formally described in [18])
pi (t + 1) = 1 − pj (t + 1),
j
=i
where K(t) denotes the number of actions that have estimates
greater than the estimate of the reward probability of the
action currently chosen. The formal algorithm is omitted but
can be found in [2].
10.5.3 Discrete Estimator Algorithms
As we have seen so far, discretized LA are superior to their
continuous counterparts, and the estimator algorithms are
superior to the non-estimator algorithms in terms of the rate
of convergence of the learning algorithms. Utilizing the pre-
viously proven capabilities of discretization in improving the
speed of convergence of the learning algorithms, Lanctôt and
Oommen [18] enhanced the pursuit and the TSE algorithms.
This led to the designing of classes of learning algorithms,
referred to in the literature as the Discrete Estimator Al-
gorithms (DEA) [18]. To this end, as done in the previous
discrete algorithms, the components of the action probability
vector are allowed to assume a finite set of discrete values in
the closed interval [0, 1], which is, in turn, divided into the
number of subintervals that is proportional to the resolution
parameter, N. Along with this, a reward estimate vector is
(10.19) maintained to keep an estimate of the reward probability of
each action [18].
Lanctôt and Oommen showed that for each member al- 10
gorithm belonging to the class of DEAs to be -optimal,
it must possess a pair of properties known as the Property
properties help prove the -optimality of any DEA algorithm
[18].
(10.20) Moderation Property A DEA with r actions and a resolu-
tion parameter N is said to possess the property of moderation
if the maximum magnitude by which an action probability
can decrease per iteration is bounded by 1/rN.
Monotone Property Suppose there exists an index m and a
time instant t0 < ∞, such that dˆm (t) > dˆj (t), ∀j s.t. j
and ∀t s.t. t ≥ t0 , where dˆm (t) is the maximal component of
D̂(t). A DEA is said to possess the Monotone Property if there
exists an integer N0 such that for all resolution parameters
N > N0 , pm (t) → 1 with probability one as t → ∞, where
pm (t) is the maximal component of P(t).
The discretized versions of the pursuit algorithm and the
(10.22)
is referred to as the DPA in the literature and is similar to
a great extent to its continuous pursuit counterpart, i.e., the
CPRI algorithm, except that the updates to the action prob-
abilities for the DPA algorithm are made in discrete steps.
Therefore, the equations in the CPRP algorithm that involve
multiplication by the learning parameter λ are substituted by
the addition or subtraction by quantities proportional to the
smallest step size.
As in the CPRI algorithm, the DPA algorithm operates
in three steps. If  = rN 1
(where N denotes the resolution
and r the number of actions) denotes the smallest step size,
the integral multiples of  denote the step sizes in which
the action probabilities are updated. Like the continuous
Reward-Inaction algorithm, when the chosen action α(t) =
αi is penalized, the action probabilities remain unchanged.
However, when the chosen action α(t) = αi is rewarded, and
244
the algorithm has not converged, the algorithm decreases, by
the integral multiples of , the action probabilities that do
not correspond to the highest reward estimate.
Lanctôt and Oommen have shown that the DPA algorithm
possesses the properties of moderation and monotonicity and
that it is thus -optimal [18]. They have also experimentally
proved that in different ranges of environments from simple
to complex, the DPA algorithm is at least 60% faster than the
CPRP algorithm [18].
Discrete TSE Algorithm
Lanctôt and Oommen also discretized the TSE algorithm and
have referred to it as the Discrete TSE Algorithm (DTSE)
[18]. Since the algorithm is based on the continuous version
of the TSE algorithm, it obviously has the same level of
intricacies, if not more. Lanctôt and Oommen theoretically
proved that like the DPA estimator algorithm, this algorithm
also possesses the Moderation and the Monotone properties
while maintaining many of the qualities of the continuous
TSE algorithm. They also provided the proof of convergence
of this algorithm.
There are two notable parameters in the DTSE algo-
rithm:
1. Δ = rNθ1
, where N is the resolution parameter as before.
2. θ is an integer representing the largest value any of the
action probabilities can change by in a single iteration.
A formal description of the DTSE algorithm is omitted here
but is in [18].
Discretized Generalized Pursuit Algorithm
Agache and Oommen [2] provided a discretized version of
their GPA algorithm presented earlier. Their algorithm, called
the Discretized Generalized Pursuit Algorithm (DGPA) also
essentially generalizes Thathachar and Sastry’s pursuit algo-
rithm [54,55]. But unlike the TSE, it pursues all those actions
that possess higher reward estimates than the chosen action.
In essence, in any single iteration, the algorithm computes
the number of actions that have higher reward estimates
than the current chosen action, denoted by K(t), whence the
probability of all the actions that have estimates higher than
the chosen action is increased by an amount Δ/K(t), and
the probabilities for all the other actions are decreased by
an amount Δ/(r − K(t)), where Δ = 1/rN denotes the
resolution step and N the resolution parameter. The DGPA
algorithm has been proven to possess the Moderation and
Monotone properties and is thus -optimal [2]. The detailed
steps of the DGPA algorithm are omitted here.
B. John Oommen et al.
10.5.4 The Use of Bayesian Estimates in PAs
There are many formal methods to achieve estimation, the
most fundamental of them being the ML and Bayesian
paradigms. These are age-old and have been used for
centuries in various application domains. As mentioned in the
previous sections, PAs have been designed, since the 1980s,
by using ML estimates of the reward probabilities. However,
as opposed to these estimates, more recently, the first author
of this present chapter (and others) have shown that the
family of Bayesian estimates can also be incorporated into
the design and analysis of LA. Incorporating the Bayesian
philosophy has led to various Bayesian Pursuit Algorithms
(BPAs).
The first of these BPAs was the Continuous Bayesian
Pursuit Algorithm (CBPA) (which, unless otherwise stated, is
referred to here as the BPA) [74]. This subsequently made the
way for the development of the Discretized Bayesian Pursuit
Algorithm (DBPA) [75]. The BPAs obey the same “pursuit”
paradigm for achieving the learning. However, since one can
invoke the properties of their a priori and a posteriori distri-
butions, the Bayesian estimates can provide more meaningful
estimates when it concerns the field of LA and are superior
to their ML counterparts. The families of BPAs are, probably,
the fastest and most accurate nonhierarchical LA reported in
the literature.
10.5.5 Stochastic Estimator Learning
Algorithm (SELA)
The SELA algorithm belongs to the class of discretized LA
and was proposed by Vasilakos and Papadimitriou [63]. It
has, since then, been used for solving problems in the domain
of computer networks [4, 64]. It is an ergodic scheme, which
has the ability to converge to the optimal action irrespective
of the distribution of the initial state [63, 64].
As before, let A ={α1 , α2 , . . . , αr } denote the set of
actions and B = {0, 1} denote the set of responses that can
be provided by the environment, where β(t) represents the
feedback provided by the environment corresponding to a
chosen action α(t) at time t. Let the probability of choosing
the kth action at the tth time instant be pk (t). SELA updates the
estimated environmental characteristics as the vector E(t),
which can be defined as E(t) = D(t), M(t), U(t), explained
below.
D(t) = {d1 (t), d2 (t), . . . , dr (t)} represents the vector of the
reward estimates, where:

W
βk (t)
i=1
dk (t) = , (10.23)
W
10 Cybernetics, Machine Learning, and Stochastic Learning Automata
In the above equation, the numerator on the right-hand side
represents the total rewards received by the LA in the window
size representing the last W times a particular action αk was
selected by the algorithm. W is called the learning window.
The second parameter in E(t) is called the Oldness Vector
and is represented as M(t) = {m1 (t), m2 (t), . . . , mr (t)}, where
mk (t) represents the time passed (counted as the number of
iterations) since the last time the action αk (t) was selected.
The last parameter U(t) is called the Stochastic Estimator
Vector and is represented as U(t) = {u1 (t), u2 (t), . . . , ur (t)},
where the stochastic estimate ui (t) of action αi is calculated
using the following formula:
ui (t) = di (t) + N(0, σi 2 (t)), (10.24)
where, N(0, σi 2 (t)) represents a random number selected
from a normal distribution, which has a mean of 0 and a
standard deviation of σi (t) = min{σmax , a mi (t)}, and a
is a parameter signifying the rate at which the stochastic
estimates become independent, and σmax represents the maxi-
mum possible standard deviation that the stochastic estimates
can have. In symmetrically distributed noisy stochastic en-
vironments, SELA is shown to be -optimal and has found
applications for routing in ATM networks [4, 64].
10.6 Challenges in Analysis
10.6.1 Previous Flawed Proofs
It is relatively easy to design a new LA. How is it extremely
difficult to analyze a new machine? Indeed, the formal proofs
of the convergence accuracies of LA are, probably, the most
difficult part in the fascinating field involving the design
and analysis of LA. Since this is a comprehensive chapter,
it would be educative to record the distinct mathematical
techniques used for the various families, namely, for the
FSSA, VSSA, Discretized, and PAs.
• The proof methodology for the family of FSSA simply
involves formulating the Markov chain for the LA. There-
after, one computes its equilibrium (or steady state) prob-
abilities and then derives the asymptotic action selection
probabilities.
• The proofs of the asymptotic convergence for VSSA in-
volve the theory of small-step Markov processes and
distance diminishing operators. In more complex cases,
they resort to the theory of regular functions.
• The proofs for Discretized LA also consider the asymp-
totic analysis of the LA’s Markov chain in the discretized
space. Thereafter, one derives the total convergence prob-
ability to the various actions.
245
• The convergence proofs become much more complex
when we have to deal with two rather non-orthogonal
interrelated concepts, as in the case of the families of
EAs. These two concepts are the convergence of the
reward estimates and the convergence of the action prob-
abilities themselves. Ironically, the combination of these
phenomena to achieve the updating rule is what grants the
EAs their enhanced speed. But this leads to a surprising
dilemma: If the accuracy of the estimates computed is
not dependable because of an inferior estimation phase
(i.e., if the nonoptimal actions are not examined “enough
number of times”), the accuracy of the EA converging to
the optimal action can be forfeited. Thus, the proofs for 10
EAs have to consider criteria that the other types of LA do
not have to.
The -optimality of the EAs and the families of pursuit
algorithms including the CPA, GPA, DPA, TSE, and the
DTSE (explained in the previous sections) have been studied
and presented in [1, 2, 18, 45, 55–57]. The methodology for
all these derivations was the same and was erroneous. The
estimate used was an MLE, and by the law of large numbers,
when all the actions are chosen infinitely often, they claimed
that the estimates are ordered in terms of their reward prob-
abilities. They also claimed that these estimates are properly
ordered forever after some time instant, t0 . We refer to this as
the the monotonicity property. If now the learning parameter
is small/large enough, they will consequently converge to the
optimal action with an arbitrarily large probability. The fault
in the argument is the following: While such an ordering is,
indeed, true by the law of large numbers, it is only valid if all
the actions are chosen infinitely often. This, in turn, forces
the time instant, t0 , to also be infinite. If such an “infinite"
selection does not occur, the ordering cannot be guaranteed
for all time instants after t0 . In other words, the authors of all
these papers misinterpreted the concept of ordering “forever”
with the ordering “most of the time” after t0 , rendering the
“proofs” of the -optimality invalid.
The authors of [44] discovered the error in the proofs of
the abovementioned papers, and the detailed explanation of
this discovery is found in [44]. These authors also presented
a correct proof for the -optimality of the CPA based on
the monotonicity property except that their proof required an
external condition that the learning parameter, λ, decreased
with time. This, apparently, is the only strategy by which
one can prove the -optimality of the CPA. However, by
designing the LA to jump to an absorbing barrier in a single
step when any pj (t) ≥ T, where T is a user-defined threshold
close to unity, the updated proofs have shown -optimality
because of a weaker property, i.e., the submartingale property
of pm (t), where t is greater than a finite time index, t0 .
It is not an elementary exercise to generalize the argu-
ments of [44] for the submartingale property if the value
246
of λ is kept fixed. However, the submartingale arguments
can avoid the previously flawed methods of reasoning. This
is achieved by the proofs not requiring that the process
{dˆj (t)|t ≥ 0} satisfies the monotonicity property but the
submartingale property. This phenomenon is valid for the
corrected proofs of the CPA, DPA, and the family of Bayesian
PAs.
10.6.2 The Rectified Proofs of the PAs
With regard to the abovementioned flaw, we mention:
1. The primary intent of much of the theoretical work in the
field of LA in the more-recent past has been to correct the
abovementioned flaw for the various families of PAs.
2. To do this, the researchers have introduced a new method
that can, hopefully, be used to prove the -optimality of
all EAs, which are specifically enhanced with artificially
enforced absorbing states [35] and in particular, for the
ACPA, the CPA with artificially enforced absorbing states.
3. Though the method used in [44] is also applicable for
absorbing EAs, it has been shown that while the mono-
tonicity property is sufficient for convergence, it is not
really necessary for proving that the ACPA is -optimal.
4. In [76], the authors have presented a completely new proof
methodology, which is based on the convergence theory
of submartingales and the theory of regular functions [27].
This proof is, thus, distinct in principle and argument from
the proof reported in [44], and it adds insights into the
convergence of different absorbing EAs.
5. Thereafter, the authors of [77] have utilized the conver-
gence theory of submartingales and the theory of regular
functions to prove the -optimality of the DPA.
6. Finally, the authors of [74] and [75] have invoked the same
theories (of submartingales and of regular functions) to
prove the -optimality of the families of Bayesian PAs,
where the estimates of the reward probabilities are not
computed using an ML methodology but rather due to a
Bayesian paradigm.
10.6.3 Proofs for Finite-Time Analyses
One of the most challenging analytic issues when it con-
cerns LA relates to the Finite-Time Analysis (FTA) of LA
algorithms. This is a topic for which very little work has
been reported in the literature. This is as opposed to the
asymptotic steady-state analysis (i.e., after the transient phase
of the chain has elapsed) for which there are an extensive
number of results. For ergodic Markov chains, one obtains
the latter by evaluating the eigenvector associated with the
eigenvalue λ = 1, and there are many reported closed-form
B. John Oommen et al.
and computational methods to achieve this. For absorbing
chains, one computes the absorption first passage probabil-
ities by invoking the Kolmogorov-Chapman equations. All
of these techniques have formed the basis for analysis even
when the number of actions is large and/or when they are
arranged hierarchically.
The FTA of Markov chains and LA is far more complex.
Unlike the steady-state scenario, which only involves the case
when λ = 1, the FTA involves all the non-unity eigenvalues
(and predominantly the second largest one) of the Markov
matrix, and this convergence occurs in a geometric manner. It
is hard enough trying to analytically evaluate these non-unity
eigenvalues, and so very little work has been done on the FTA
of any family of LA, including the families of FSSA and/or
VSSA. However, recently, Zhang et al. [72] have published
some of the most conclusive results for the FTA of the DPA.
An understanding of the FTA for other types of algo-
rithms is an interesting research direction deserving future
research.
10.7 Hierarchical Schemes
Hierarchical schemes have recently regained popularity in
the field of LA [69, 71, 73]. Arranging the search space,
generally, in the form of a hierarchy yields superior search
results when compared to a linear search. The idea of using
a hierarchy is not new in the field of LA. In [71], Yazidi
et al. laid the foundations of a new model for devising
efficient and rapid LA schemes that are specially adequate
for a large number of actions by introducing a novel paradigm
that extends the CPA’s capability to such sets of actions. The
settings in which the number of actions is large is particularly
challenging since the dimensionality of the probability vector
becomes consequently large, and many of its components
tend to decay in a few iterations to small values that are
under what the machine accuracy can permit. This leads to
the fact that they cease to be selected. In this case, the LA
will be inaccurate, and the theoretical assumption that each
action will be probed for a large number of times will not be
fulfilled, in practice, if we use the family of estimator LA.
The most distinguishing characteristic of the scheme re-
ported in [71] is the fact that while it is hierarchical, all the
actions reside in the leave nodes. Further, at each level of the
hierarchy, one only needs a two-action LA, and thus, we can
easily eliminate the problem of having extremely low action
probabilities. By design, all the LA of the hierarchy resort
to the pursuit paradigm, and therefore, the optimal action of
each level trickles up toward the root. Thus, by recursively
applying the “max” operator in which the maximum of sev-
eral local maxima is a global maximum, the overall hierarchy
converges to the optimal action.
10 Cybernetics, Machine Learning, and Stochastic Learning Automata 247

10.8 Point Location Problems which could also operate in nonstationary environments
[13]
The Stochastic Point Location (SPL), an LA-flavored prob- 5. The Hierarchical Stochastic Search on the Line (HSSL),
lem, was pioneered by Oommen in [38]. Since then, it has where the authors proposed that the LM moved to distant
been studied and analyzed by numerous researchers over points in the interval (modeled hierarchically) and speci-
more than two decades. The SPL involves determining an fied by a tree [69]
unknown “point” when all that the learning system stochasti- 6. The Symmetrical Hierarchical Stochastic Search on the
cally knows is whether the current point that has been chosen Line (SHSSL), which symmetrically enhanced the HSSL
is to the left or the right of the unknown point. to work in deceptive environments [73]
The formal specification of the SPL problem is as follows: 7. The Adaptive Step Search (ASS), which used historical
An arbitrary Learning Mechanism (LM) is assumed to be information within the last three steps to determine the
trying to infer the optimal value, say μ∗ ∈ [0, 1], of some current step size [52]
variable μ. μ could also be some parameter of a black box 8. The probability flux-based SPL presented by Mofrad 10
system. Although the LM is unaware of μ∗ , the SPL assumes et al. [22], which used the theory of weak estimators to
that it is interacting with a teacher/oracle from whom it re- perform the tasks of searching and estimating (in tandem)
ceives responses. From the perspective of the field of LA, this the effectiveness, p, of the environment
entity serves as the intelligent “environment,” E. However,
rather than provide rewards/penalties, E stochastically (or in
a “faulty” manner) informs the LM of whether the current
10.9 Emerging Trends and Open
value of μ is too small or too big. Thus, E may provide
Challenges
the feedback to the LM to decrease μ when it should be
Although the field of LA is relatively young, the analytic
increased and vice versa. In the initial versions of the SPL, the
results that have been obtained are quite phenomenal. Si-
model assumes that the probability of receiving an intelligent
multaneously, however, it is also fair to assert that the tools
response is p > 0.5.
available in the field have been far too underutilized in real-
The index “p” is an indicator of the “quality/effectiveness”
life problems.
of E. So when the current μ > μ∗ , the environment would
We believe that the main areas of research that will emerge
accurately suggest that the LM decrease λ with probability p
in the next few years will involve applying LA to a host of
or would have inaccurately suggested that it increases μ with
application domains. Here, as the saying goes, “the sky is the
probability (1 − p) and vice versa. The task in solving the
limit” because LA can probably be used in any application
SPL involves proposing a strategy by which one can update
where the parameters characterizing the underlying system
the present guess μ(n) at time n of μ∗ to yield the subsequent
are unknown and random. Some possible potential applica-
guess, μ(n + 1). One will observe that each updating rule
tions are listed below:
leads to a different potential solution to the SPL. The aim in
determining a proposed solution is to have it converge to a
1. LA could be used in medicine to help with the diagnosis
value μ(∞), whose expected value is arbitrarily close to μ∗ .
process.
Such a scheme, which attains this property, is characterized
2. LA have potential applications in Intelligent Tutorial (or
as being -optimal.
Tutorial-like) systems to assist in imparting imperfect
We catalog all the reported -optimal solutions to the SPL
knowledge to classrooms of students, where the teacher is
[38], namely:
also assumed to be imperfect. Some initial work is already
available in this regard [12].
1. The first-reported SPL solution that proposed the problem
3. The use of LA in legal arguments and the associated
and pioneered a solution operating in a discretized space
decision-making processes is open.
[38]
4. Although LA have been used in some robotic applications,
2. The Continuous Point Location with Adaptive Tertiary
as far as we know, almost no work has been done for
Search (CPL-ATS) solution where three LA worked in
obstacle avoidance and intelligent path planning of real-
parallel to resolve it [39]
life robots.
3. Th extension of the latter, namely, the Continuous Point
5. We are not aware of any results that use LA in the
Location with Adaptive d-ARY Search (CPL-AdS),
biomedical application domain. In particular, we believe
which used ‘d’ LA in parallel [40], which could operate
that they can be fruitfully utilized for learning targets and
in truth-telling and deceptive environments
in the drug design phase.
4. The General CPL-AdS Methodology that extended the
6. One of the earliest applications of LA was in the routing of
CPL-AdS to possess all the properties of the latter but
telephone calls over landlines. But the real-life application
248
of LA in wireless and multi-hop networks is still relatively
open.
We close this section by briefly mentioning that the main
challenge in using LA for each of these application domains
would be that of modeling what the “environment” and
“automaton” are. Besides this, the practitioner would have
to consider how the response of a particular solution can be
interpreted as the reward/penalty for the automaton or for the
network of automata.
10.10 Conclusions
In this chapter, we have discussed most of the important
learning mechanisms reported in the literature pertaining to
learning automata (LA). After briefly stating the concepts
of Fixed Structure stochastic LA, the families of continuous
and discretized Variable Structure Stochastic Automata were
discussed. The chapter, in particular, concentrated on the
more recent results involving continuous and discretized
pursuit and estimator algorithms and on the current develop-
ments concerning hierarchical LA and the Stochastic Point
Location Problem.
In each case, we have briefly summarized the theoretical
and experimental results of the different learning schemes.
See additional details on cybernetics, machine learning,
and stochastic learning in Chapters 8, 9, and 72.
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Dr. Sudip Misra is a professor in the Department of Computer Science

& Engineering at IIT Kharagpur. He did his PhD from Carleton Uni-
versity, Ottawa. His research interests are in IoT, sensor networks, and
learning automata applications. He is an associate editor of IEEE TMC,
TVT, and SJ. He is a fellow of NASI (India), IET (UK), BCS (UK), and
RSPH (UK).

Dr. B. John Oommen is a chancellor’s professor at Carleton University

in Ottawa, Canada. He obtained his B. Tech. from IIT Madras, India
(1975); his MS from IISc in Bangalore, India (1977); and his PhD from
Purdue University, USA (1982). He is an IEEE and IAPR fellow. He
is also an adjunct professor with the University of Agder in Grimstad,
Norway.

Dr. Anis Yazidi received the MSc and PhD degrees from the University
of Agder, Grimstad, Norway, in 2008 and 2012, respectively. He is
currently a full professor with the Department of Computer Science,
OsloMet-Oslo Metropolitan University, Oslo, Norway. He was a senior
researcher with Teknova AS, Grimstad. He is leading the research group
on Autonomous Systems and Networks.
 Network Science and Automation
11
Lorenzo Zino, Baruch Barzel, and Alessandro Rizzo

Contents Abstract
11.1 Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251
From distributed sensing to autonomous vehicles,
11.2 Network Structure and Definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252 networks are a crucial component of almost all
11.2.1 Notation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252
11.2.2 Networks as Graphs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252
our automated systems. Indeed, automation requires
11.2.3 Network Matrices and Their Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253 a coordinated functionality among different, self-
11.2.4 Real-World Networks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254 driven, autonomous units. For example, robots that
11.3 Main Results on Dynamics on Networks . . . . . . . . . . . 254 must mobilize in unison, vehicles or drones that
11.3.1 Consensus Problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254 must safely share space with each other, and, of
11.3.2 Synchronization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256 course, complex infrastructure networks, such as the
11.3.3 Perturbative Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257 Internet, which require cooperative dynamics among its
11.3.4 Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258
millions of interdependent routers. At the heart of such
11.4 Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260 multi-component coordination lies a complex network,
11.4.1 Distributed Sensing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260
11.4.2 Infrastructure Models and Cyberphysical Systems . . . . . 263
capturing the patterns of interaction between its
11.4.3 Motion Coordination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266 constituting autonomous nodes. This network allows the
different units to exchange information, influence each
11.5 Ongoing Research and Future Challenges . . . . . . . . . 268
11.5.1 Networks with Adversarial and Malicious Nodes . . . . . . 268 other’s functionality, and, ultimately, achieve globally
11.5.2 Dynamics on Time-Varying and Adaptive Networks . . . 269 synchronous behavior. Here, we lay out the mathematical
11.5.3 Controllability of Brain Networks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 270 foundations for such emergent large-scale network-
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271 based cooperation. First, analyzing the structural patterns
of networks in automation, and then showing how
these patterns contribute to the system’s resilient and
coordinated functionality. With this toolbox at hand, we
discuss common applications, from cyber-resilience to
L. Zino () sensor networks and coordinated robotic motion.
Department of Electronics and Telecommunications, Politecnico di
Torino, Torino, Italy Keywords
Engineering and Technology Institute Groningen, University of
Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands Cascading failures · Consensus · Coupled oscillators ·
e-mail: lorenzo.zino@polito.it Distributed control · Distributed sensing · Dynamics on
B. Barzel () networks · Networks · Pinning control · Resilience ·
Department of Mathematics, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel Synchronization
The Gonda Interdisciplinary Brain Science Center, Bar-Ilan
University, Ramat-Gan, Israel
e-mail: baruchbarzel@gmail.com
A. Rizzo () 11.1 Overview
Department of Electronics and Telecommunications, Politecnico di
Torino, Torino, Italy In its classic form, automation focuses on replacing human
Institute for Invention, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship, New York labor and, at times, also cognitive skills, with autonomous
University Tandon School of Engineering, Brooklyn, NY, USA units. Robots and machines, for example, take the place of
e-mail: alessandro.rizzo@polito.it
manual workers in production lines, and computers enhance

© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 251

S. Y. Nof (ed.), Springer Handbook of Automation, Springer Handbooks,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-96729-1_11
252
our ability to analyze data and conduct elaborate calculations.
Yet, modern automation reaches beyond the autonomous
units and scales our view up to the autonomous system. In-
deed, many of our most crucial technological systems cannot
be simply reduced to their technical components, but rather
their true function and value are rooted in their ability to drive
these components toward cooperative large-scale behavior.
For example, the Internet, in technical terms, is a critical in-
frastructure comprising routers, cables, and computers. Yet,
put together, the Internet is not a big computer or router. It is
an evolving system that interacts and responds to its human
environment, shares, produces, and processes information –
and – in its essence – exhibits functions that supersede those
of its autonomous components.
More broadly, whether it involves drones, autonomous
vehicles, or sensing units, modern automation is an emer-
gent phenomenon, in which technological units – nodes
– cooperate to generate higher-level functionalities. Simple
building blocks come together to perform complex functions.
Lacking central design, and without specific control over
each and every unit, these complex multi-component systems
often amaze us with their reliable and resilient functionality.
Indeed, we can carelessly send an email and have no doubt
that the Internet’s globally distributed routers will find an
efficient path for it to reach its destination. Similarly, we turn
on electrical units and need not to think about the automatic
redistribution of loads across all power grid components.
The basis for this seemingly uncoordinated cooperation
lies not at the technology of the units themselves but rather at
their patterns of connectivity – namely the network. Each of
these systems has an underlying complex network, allowing
the components to transfer information, distribute loads, and
propagate signals, thus enabling a synchronous action among
distributed, self-driven, autonomous nodes.
Now, we therefore transition our viewpoint, from the spe-
cific technology of the components, to the design principles
of their interaction networks. What characteristics of the
network allow units to reach a functional consensus? What
are the bottlenecks and Achilles’ heels of the network that
mark its potential vulnerabilities? Conversely, what ensures
the network’s resilience in the face of failures and attacks?
In this chapter, we seek the fundamental principles that
look beyond the components and allow us to mathematically
characterize, predict, and ultimately control the behavior of
their networks.
11.2 Network Structure and Definitions
Seeking the connectivity patterns that drive networks and
automation, we first begin by laying the mathematical foun-
dations – indeed, the language – of network science. We focus
on the network characteristics that, as we show below, play
L. Zino et al.
a key role in the emergent behavior of our interconnected
autonomous systems.
11.2.1 Notation
We gather here the notational conventions used throughout
this chapter. Unless otherwise stated, vectors and matrices
have dimension n and n × n, respectively. The sets R and
R+ denote the set of real and real non-negative numbers.
The sets Z and Z+ denote the set of integer and integer
non-negative numbers. The set C denote the set of complex
numbers. Given a complex number z ∈ C, we denote by |z|
its modulus, by R(z) its real part, and by I (z) its imaginary
part. The imaginary unit is denoted as ι. Given a vector x
or matrix M, we denote by x and M the transpose vector
and matrix, respectively. We use ||x|| to denote x’s euclidean
norm. The symbol 1 denotes a vector of all 1 entries, i.e.,
1 = (1, . . . , 1) ; I denotes the identity matrix; and, more
generally, diag(x) represents a matrix with vector x on its
diagonal and 0 for all its off-diagonal entries. Given a set S ,
we denote by |S | its cardinality.
11.2.2 Networks as Graphs
The most basic mathematical model of a network is given by
a graph with n nodes, indexed by positive integers, forming
the node set V = {1, . . . , n}. These nodes are connected
through a set of directed edges (or links), i.e., the edge set
E ⊆ V × V , such that (i, j) ∈ E if and only if node i is
connected to node j. An edge that connects node i to itself,
(i, i), is called self-loop. The pair of sets G = (V , E ) defines
the network.
To track the spread of information between nodes in a
network we map its pathways, linking potentially distant
nodes through indirect connections. A path from node i to
node j is a sequence of edges (i, i1 ), (i1 , i2 ) . . . , (i−1 , j) ∈ E ,
where  is the path length. In case i = j, the path is called
cycle. A path (cycle) is said to be simple, if no node is
repeated in the sequence of edges (apart from the first and
last nodes in a cycle). The length lij of the shortest path(s)
between i and j, provides a measure of distance between
them. This, however, is not, formally a metric, as the distance
from i to j may, generally, be different than that from j to
i. The greatest common divisor of the lengths of all the
cycles passing through a node i is denoted as pi and called
the period of node i, with the convention that, if no cycles
pass through i, then pi = ∞. If pi = 1, we say that
node i is aperiodic. Note that, if i has a self-loop, then it is
necessarily aperiodic. If there exists a path from i to j, we
say that j is reachable from i. If a node i is reachable from
any j ∈ V , we say that i is a globally reachable node. If
i is reachable from j and j is reachable from i, we say that
11 Network Science and Automation 253

the two nodes are connected. Connectivity is an equivalence A network is said to be undirected if for any (i, j) ∈ E , then
relation, which determines a set of equivalence classes, called (j, i) ∈ E . For undirected networks, much of the notation pre-
strongly-connected components. If all the nodes belong to the sented above simplifies. In fact, if i is reachable from j, then
same strongly connected component, we say that the network also j is necessarily reachable from i. As a consequence, for
is strongly-connected. It can be shown that the period of a undirected graphs, if there exists a globally reachable nodes,
node and its global reachability are class properties, that is, then the network is necessarily strongly connected. Further-
all the nodes belonging to the same class have the same period more, the in- and out-neighbors coincide, and consequently
and, if one node is globally reachable, then all the nodes share the in-degree is equal to the out-degree. Hence, we can omit
this property. Hence, we will say that a strongly connected the prefix in/out and refer to the neighbors and the degree of
component is globally reachable and has period p. a node. In an undirected network, distance is symmetric and
For strongly connected graphs, paths provide a measure of each edge is also a cycle of length 2. See Fig. 11.1 for some
node “centrality” in the network. Specifically, denoting the illustrative examples of networks and their properties.
set Sij containing all the shortest paths between two nodes i
and j, we define the betweenness centrality of a node i as the
(normalized) number of shortest paths traversing through i, 11.2.3 Network Matrices and Their Properties
namely 11
 |{s ∈ Sjk : i ∈ s}| Besides graphs, we can use matrices to represent networks.
γi ∝ . (11.1)
|Sjk | Given a network G = (V , E ), we define a non-negative-
j,k∈V
valued matrix W ∈ Rn×n + , such that Wij > 0 ⇐⇒ (i, j) ∈ E .
As we shall see in Sect. 11.4.2, the betweenness centrality The resulting matrix W associates each edge of the graph
plays a key role in determining the vulnerability of a network (i, j) with a weight W ij , forming the network’s weighted
to cascading failures. Betweenness centrality, we emphasize, adjacency matrix. Together, this yields the weighted network,
is just one of the many centrality measures that can be defined denoted by the triplet
+  G = (V , E−, W).  For each node i ∈ V , we
to rank the importance of nodes in a network. For example, denote by wi := Wij and wi := Wji its weighted out-
in the next section, we present the Bonacich centrality [1]. and in-degrees, respectively. See Fig. 11.1 for an example.
Given a node i ∈ V , we denote by Often the weights W ij capture transition rates between
nodes, and hence the weight matrix W is assumed to be
Ni+ := {j ∈ V : (i, j) ∈ E } and Ni− := {j ∈ V : (j, i) ∈ E } a stochastic matrix, in which all rows sum to 1. For such
(11.2) matrices, the Perron-Frobenius theory can be used to study
the spectral properties of W [2]. An immediate observa-
the sets of out-neighbors and in-neighbors, respectively, tion is that 1 is an eigenvalue of W, associated with the
namely, the set of nodes that i links to, and the nodes linking right-eigenvector 1. All the other eigenvalues of W are not
to i, respectively. The cardinality of Ni+ is i’s out-degree larger than 1 in modulus. Further results can be established,
di+ := |Ni+ |, and that of Ni− is its in-degree di− := |Ni− |. depending on the connectivity properties of the network,

a) b) c) 8
8 8 1
7 7 7
3
5 1
3 3 3
c2 2 7
c1 5 5 5 1
6 2 2 1
6 6

4 4 4
1 1
1 1
2 2 2 2

Fig. 11.1 Three examples of networks: a) an undirected network, b)
a directed network, and c) a weighted (directed) network. The network
in a) is strongly connected and aperiodic, that is, p = 1. Aperiodicity
can be verified by observing that through node 7 we have the cyan
cycle c1 = (7, 6), (6, 7) and the green cycle c2 = (7, 5), (5, 8), (8, 7),
of length equal to 2 and 3, respectively. Node 6 has a self loop and
degree d6 = 2. In b), there are four strongly connected components,
highlighted in different colors: {6}, {5, 7, 8}, {1, 2}, and {3, 4}; the latter
(the cyan one) is globally reachable and has period p3 = p4 = 2. Node
1 has out-degree d+ = 2 and in-degree d− = 1. In c), we show the
network in b) equipped with a weight matrix. Note that weight W12 = 1,
and that node 1 has weighted out-degree w+ 1 = 3 and weighted in-degree
w−1 = 2 (out-going and in-going edges are denoted in green and cyan,
respectively)
254
which can be directly mapped into properties of the matrix
W. For instance, strong connectivity of the network yields
irreducibility of W, which guarantees that the eigenvalue 1
is simple, and it admits a left-eigenvector π with strictly
positive entries. This result can be extended to networks with
a unique globally reachable strongly connected component,
whereby the left-eigenvector π has strictly positive entries
corresponding to the nodes that belong to the component,
whereas the other entries are equal to 0 (see, e.g., [3]). Note
that, under these hypotheses we have
lim Wt → 1π  . (11.3)
t→∞
Such repeated multiplications of W, t → ∞, capture the con-
vergence of a linear process driven by W. Therefore, the left-
eigenvector π, the Bonacich centrality of the weighted net-
work, plays a key role in determining the consensus point of
linear averaging dynamics, as we will discuss in Sect. 11.3.1.
Next, we define the weighted Laplacian matrix as
L = diag(w+ ) − W, (11.4)
where w+ is a vector that assembles the out-degrees of all
nodes. In simple terms, the diagonal entries of the Laplacian
contain the weighted out-degree of the node, while the off-
diagonal entries are equal to −Wij , the sign inverse of the i, j
weight. As opposed to W that contains the entire information
on the network structure, in the Laplacian the information on
the presence and weight of the self-loops is lost. By design,
the rows of L sum to 0. Consequently, the all-1 vector, a right
eigenvector of the Laplacian, now has eigenvalue 0.
For stochastic matrices, as all rows sum to one, the Lapla-
cian reduces to L = I − W. Hence, the two matrices share
the same eigenvectors ξ1 , . . . , ξn , and their eigenvalues are
shifted by 1, namely if μk is an eigenvalue of W then λk =
1 − μk is an eigenvalue of L. Therefore, all the spectral
properties described above for stochastic matrices W apply
directly to the study the Laplacian spectrum.
11.2.4 Real-World Networks
Social, biological, and technological networks have been ex-
tensively studied over the past two decades, uncovering sev-
eral widespread characteristics, universally observed across
these different domains. For example, most real networks
exhibit extremely short paths between all connected nodes,
with the average shortest path length often scaling as ¯ ∼
log n, a slow logarithmic growth with the network size [1].
Another universal feature, crossing domains of inquiry, is
degree-heterogeneity. This is captured by P± (d), the prob-
ability for a randomly selected node to have an in-degree
di− = d (out-degree di+ = d). In many real-world networks,
L. Zino et al.
these probabilities are fat-tailed, describing a majority of low
degree nodes, coexisting alongside a small minority of hubs,
which can have orders of magnitude more neighbors than the
average. According to real-world empirical observations [4],
several real-world degree distributions in technological and
biological networks can be accurately approximated by a
power law of the form P± (d) ∼ d−γ , describing a collection
degree that lacks a typical scale, i.e., scale-free networks [1].
The exponent γ plays a key role in shaping the degree
distribution, whereby smaller values of γ yield more het-
erogeneous and disperse distributions. In particular, power-
law distributions with exponent γ ∈ [2, 3), which are often
observed in real-world networks, exhibit a constant average
degree, whereas its variance grows with the network size.
Other real-world networks, including many social networks,
exhibit weaker scale-free properties, which can be captured,
for instance, by log-normal distributions [5]. Finally, another
key feature of many real-world networks, especially in the
social and biological domains, is the tendency of nodes to
create clusters, whereby two nodes that are connected have a
higher probability of having other connections “in common.”
Such a property, in combination with the slow logarithmic
growth of the shortest paths, characterizes the so told small-
world network models, which have become popular in net-
work science in the past few decades [6].
11.3 Main Results on Dynamics on
Networks
Up to this point we discussed the characterization of the net-
work’s static structure – who is connected to whom. However,
networks are truly designed to capture dynamic processes, in
which nodes spread information and influence each other’s
activity [7, 8]. Hence, we seek to use the network to map
who is influenced by whom. We, therefore, discuss below
dynamics flowing on networks.
11.3.1 Consensus Problem
Since the second half of the twentieth century, the consensus
problem has started attracting the interest of the systems and
control community. The reason for such a growing interest is
that the consensus problem, initially proposed by J. French
and M.H. De Groot as a model for social influence [9,10], has
found a wide range of applications, encompassing opinion
dynamics [11, 12], distributed sensing [13], and formation
control [14]. In its very essence, the problem consists of
studying whether a network of dynamical systems is able
to reach a common state among its nodes in a distributed
fashion via pairwise exchanges of information, lacking any
sort of centralized entity. In the following, we provide a
11 Network Science and Automation
formal definition of the problem and illustrate some of its
main results.
Here, our nodes represent units (also called agents) V =
{1, . . . , n}, modeling, for instance, individuals, sensors, or
robots. Agents are connected through a weighted network
G = (V , E , W), where W is a stochastic matrix. Each agent
i ∈ V is characterized by a state variable xi (t) ∈ R, which,
at every time-step, is updated to the weighted average of
the states of its neighboring agents - hence the consensus
dynamics. The consensus problem can be formulated either
in a discrete-time framework (t ∈ Z+ ), or in continuous time
(t ∈ R+ ). In discrete-time, the simplest state update rule is
formulated via
 equal to 0 [3]. A special case of the consensus problem is
xi (t + 1) = Wij xj (t), (11.5)
j∈V
or, in compact matrix form, as
x(t + 1) = Wx(t), (11.6)
where x(t) is a n-dimensional vector capturing all the agents’
states. In the continuous-time version, (11.5) and (11.6) are
formulated using the weighted Laplacian matrix as
ẋ(t) = −εLx(t), (11.7)
where ε > 0 is a positive constant that determines the rate of
the consensus dynamics.
One of the main goals of the consensus problem is to study
how the topological properties of the network influence the
asymptotic behavior of x(t). In particular, the key question
is to determine under which conditions the states of the
agents converge to a common quantity, reaching a consensus
state x∗ .
Perron-Frobenius theory [2] provides effective tools to
study the consensus problem in terms of the spectral prop-
erties of the weight matrix W, establishing conditions that
can be directly mapped into connectivity patterns of the
network. Specifically, it is shown that a consensus state is
reached for any initial condition x(0) if and only if the graph
described by W has a unique globally reachable strongly
connected component. In the case of discrete-time consensus,
it is also required that such a strongly connected compo-
nent is aperiodic [3]. An extremely important consequence
of this observation, especially for applications seeking to
drive agents toward consensus, is that such convergence is
guaranteed if the network is strongly connected and, for
discrete-time consensus, if at least one self-loop is present.
This captures rather general conditions to reach consensus.
A second key result obtained through the Perron-
Frobenius theory touches on the characterization of the
consensus state. Specifically, given the initial conditions
255
x(0) and the (unique) left eigenvector of W associated with
the unit eigenvalue π, the consensus point coincides with the
weighted average

x∗ = π  x(0) = πi xi (0). (11.8)
i∈V
More specifically, each agent contributes to the consensus
state proportionally to its Bonacich (eigenvector) centrality.
This result has several important consequences. Notably,
agents that do not belong to the unique globally reachable
aperiodic strongly connected component do not contribute
to the formation of the consensus state, as their centrality is
when the consensus is driven toward the arithmetical average
of the initial conditions. This is observed if and only if matrix
11
W is doubly stochastic (a trivial case occurs when the matrix
is symmetric). A simulation of a consensus dynamics with W
doubly stochastic is illustrated in Fig. 11.2b.
Consensus state x∗ captures, when indeed reached, the
long-term state of the system. Next, we seek to estimate
the rate of convergence to this consensus. For a review of
the main findings, see, e.g. [15]. Given the linear nature of
the consensus dynamics, the convergence rates are closely
related to the eigenvalues of the stochastic matrix W. Intu-
itively, the speed of convergence of the consensus dynamics
depends on the speed of convergence of matrix Wt to 1π  ,
which is determined by the second largest eigenvalue in mod-
ulus, denoted by ρ2 . Under the convergence conditions for
the discrete-time consensus dynamics, we recall that ρ2 < 1.
For symmetric matrices W, all the eigenvalues are real and
positive, so ρ2 is the second largest eigenvalue. Following
[16], we can directly write the speed of convergence of the
discrete-time consensus as
||x(t) − 1x∗ || ≤ ρ2t ||x(0)|| , (11.9)
A similar expression can be obtained for the continuous-
time model in (11.7). For non-symmetric matrices, the result
is slightly more complicated, due to the potential presence
of non-trivial Jordan blocks. More details and an explicit
derivation of the speed of convergence for generic matrices
W can be found in [3].
Building on these seminal results, the systems and control
community has extensively studied the consensus problem
toward designing algorithms to converge to desired consen-
sus points and expanding its original formulation to account
for a wide range of extensions. These extensions include,
but are not limited to, asynchronous and time-varying update
rules [17, 18], the presence of antagonistic interactions [19],
quantized communications [20], and the investigation of
different operators other than the weighted average, such as
maximum and minimum operators [21].
256 L. Zino et al.

a) b)
3 2
2

x (t)
4 1

–2

5 6 –4
0 20 40

Time, t

c) d)

10 10
x (t)

x (t)
0 0

–10 –10
0 20 40 0 20 40

Time, t Time, t

Fig. 11.2 Consensus dynamics and synchronization. We consider six
dynamical systems connected through the 3-regular network illustrated
in a). All the weights are Wij = 1/3, as in (11.20). In b), we show the
trajectories of a continuous-time consensus dynamics, which converge
to the average of the initial conditions. In c) and d), we illustrate the
trajectories of six Rössler oscillators, with equations ẋi = −yi , ẏi =
x1 + 0.2yi , żi = 0.2 + zi (xi − 0.2) (for the sake of readability, we plot
only the first variable xi for each of the dynamical systems, a similar
behavior is observed for the other variables). In c), the oscillators are not
coupled and the trajectories are not synchronized. In d), the dynamical
systems are coupled with ε = 0.3 and G(xj (t)) = [xj (t), 0, 0] , leading
the trajectories to the synchronization manifold

11.3.2 Synchronization Rd → Rd . Overall, the state of agent i is governed by the

differential equation
The consensus problem captures a cooperative phenomenon,
in which agents reach a common state in the absence of 
ẋi (t) = F(xi ) − ε Lij G(xj (t)), (11.10)
centralized control. More broadly, this problem is part of a
j∈V
general class of challenges, consisting of synchronizing a
set of coupled dynamical systems in a distributed fashion
where ε ≥ 0 is a non-negative parameter that quantifies the
toward a common trajectory. From a historical perspective,
strength of the coupling between agents. Setting the function
and also due to its applicability to real-world settings [22], the
F null and G equal to the identity, (11.10) reduces to the
synchronization challenge is often formulated in continuous
consensus dynamics in (11.7). Figure 11.2c,d illustrate an
time. In this vein, synchronization focuses on a state vector
example of a set of Rössler oscillators [22] in the absence
associated with each agent, xi ∈ Rd , rather than a scalar state
and in the presence of coupling, respectively, on the network
variable. In the absence of a coupling network, these state
illustrated in Fig. 11.2a.
variables evolve according to a generic nonlinear function F :
The goal of the synchronization problem consists of de-
Rd → Rd , capturing each individual node’s self-dynamics.
termining the conditions that the nonlinear functions F and G
The couplings via Wij then introduce a distributed, potentially
and the network - here, represented by the Laplacian matrix
nonlinear averaging dynamics, regulated by a function G :
L - have to satisfy in order to guarantee that the vector
11 Network Science and Automation
state of each node xi (t) converges to a common trajectory
x∗ (t). Formally, this maps to studying the stability of the
synchronization manifold
S := {x(t) : xi (t) = xj (t) = x∗ (t), ∀ i, j ∈ V }. (11.11)
From (11.10) and from the zero-sum property of L, it is
straightforward to observe that the synchronization manifold
S is invariant, that is, if x(t∗ ) ∈ S , for some t∗ ≥ 0, then
the system will stay synchronized for all t ≥ t∗ . Hence,
the problem of the synchronization of coupled dynamical
systems ultimately boils down to determining the asymptotic
stability conditions for such a manifold.
The seminal work by [23] introduced an effective and
elegant technique to study the local stability of the syn-
chronous state, through the study of the stability of the modes
transverse to it. The approach, based on a master stability
function (MSF), decouples the synchronization problem in
two independent sub-problems, one focusing on the node’s
dynamics, the other on the network topology. First, the dy-
namical system in (11.10) is linearized about the synchronous
state x∗ (t) by defining δxi (t) = xi (t) − x∗ (t), and writing the
linearized equations
 In case (11.10) exhibits a stable fixed-point x∗ , the challenge
˙ i = JF (x∗ )δxi − εJG (x∗ )
δx Lij δxj , (11.12)
j∈V
with i ∈ V , and where JF ∈ Rd×d and JG ∈ Rd×d are the
Jacobian matrices of F and G, respectively. The system of
equations in (11.12) can be further decomposed into n de-
coupled equations by projecting them along the eigenvectors
of the Laplacian L, obtaining
ξ̇k = [JF (x∗ ) − ελk JG (x∗ )]ξk , (11.13)
where λ1 , . . . , λn are the eigenvalues of L, in ascending order
in modulus. Assuming W to be strongly connected, we have
λ1 = 0 and λ2 = 0. Hence, the first term k = 1 of (11.13) co-
incides with the perturbation parallel to the synchronization
manifold, and all the other n − 1 equations correspond to its
transverse directions. Therefore, the synchronization mani-
fold is stable if all the equations k = 2, . . . , n in (11.13) damp
out. We define the MSF λmax (α) that associates each com-
plex number α ∈ C with the maximum Lyapunov exponent
of ξ = [JF (x∗ )+αJG (x∗ )]ξ . Hence, if λmax (σ λk ) < 0, for all
k = 2, . . . , n, the synchronization manifold is locally stable.
Interestingly, the MSF allows us to decouple the effects of the
dynamics and the role of the network. The nodal dynamics,
captured via JF and JG , fully determines the critical region
of the complex plane in which λmax (α) < 0; the network
topology, in contrast, determines the eigenvalues λk of L.
Synchronization is attained if all the eigenvalues belong to
the critical region. Hence, the MSF can be effectively utilized
257
to design a network structure to synchronize a general set of
dynamical systems in a distributed fashion.
Generalizations of the MSF approach have been proposed
to deal with many different scenarios, including moving
agents [24], time-varying and stochastic couplings [25], and
more complex network structures such as multi-layer net-
works [26, 27] and simplicial complexes [28]. The main lim-
itations for the use of the MSF are that, in general, the com-
putation of the largest Lyapunov exponent can be performed
only numerically, thus limiting the analytical tractability of
the problem, and that, using the MSF, only local stability
results can be established. Different approaches to study
the stability of the synchronization manifolds have been
developed in the last two decades by means of Lyapunov
methods [29] and contraction theory [30]. While these ap-
proaches have allowed specific rigorous, global convergence 11
results, they typically provide sufficient conditions for syn-
chronization that, in general, are more conservative than
those established via MSF-based approaches.
11.3.3 Perturbative Analysis
is to understand its fixed-point dynamics [7, 8, 31]. This
can be observed by studying its response to small pertur-
bations, either structural – removing nodes/links or altering
weights, or dynamic – small activity perturbations x∗ →
x + δx(t). Such perturbation instigates a signal S, which
then propagates through all network pathways to impact the
state of all other nodes. First, we wish to track the signal’s
spatiotemporal propagation, namely how much time it will
take for the signal to travel from a source node i to a target
node j. This can be done by extracting the specific response
time τi of all nodes to the incoming signal, then summing
over all subsequent responses along the path from i to j. The
resulting propagation patterns uncover a complex interplay
between the weighted network structure Wij and the nonlinear
functions F and G, resulting in three dynamic classes [32]:
Ultra-fast. For certain dynamics, the highly connected hubs
respond rapidly (τi small), and hence, as most pathways
traverse through them, they significantly expedite the signal
propagation through the network. Fast. In other dynamics,
the degrees play no role, the system exhibits a typical re-
sponse time τi for all nodes, and the signal propagation is
limited by the shortest path length of the network. Ultra-
slow. In this last class, hubs are bottlenecks (τi large), causing
signals to spread extremely slowly.
The long-term response of the system to signal S is ob-
served once the propagation is completed and all nodes have
reached their final, perturbed state xi∗ + δxi (S). This defines
the cascade C = {i ∈ V : δxi (S) > Th}, the group of all
nodes, whose response exceeded a pre-defined threshold Th.
258
Often, the cascade sizes |C| are broadly distributed - most
perturbations have an insignificant impact, while a selected
few may cause a major disruption [8].
A sufficiently large perturbation can lead to instability,
resulting in an abrupt transition from one fixed-point, the
desired state, to another, potentially undesired [33]. This
can capture, for instance, a major blackout, or an Internet
failure, which can be caused by infrastructure damage, i.e.,
structural perturbations, or by overloads, capturing activity
perturbations.
11.3.4 Control
Consensus and synchronization are emergent phenomena,
that is, their onset is spontaneously achieved over time by
the network nodes. Similarly, perturbation analysis captures
the network’s response to naturally occurring disturbances.
With this in mind, the natural next step is to seek controlled
interventions to drive the network toward a desired dynamic
behavior, e.g., an equilibrium point, a limit cycle, an attractor,
etc. Typically, we wish to achieve such control with limited
resources, i.e., acting upon a subset of the network nodes,
links, or using a limited amount of energy. Network control
can be achieved via off-line strategies, such as controlling
the nodal dynamic or their coupling, or on-line strategies,
through adaptive rewiring of the network structure [34]. Here,
to outline the principles of control, we focus on a represen-
tative problem, where one seeks to synchronize a network
system, whose uncontrolled dynamics in (11.10) does not
naturally converge to a synchronous solution [35].
One of the first and most successful methods proposed to
synchronize a network is pinning control, originally proposed
in [36], where one controls the entire network by driving just
a small number of nodes. First we designate a master node,
whose state is fully under our control, namely, we can freely
determine its dynamics by designing a suitable control input
signal. The master node is then linked to a small number of
pinned nodes 1, . . . , m, influenced indirectly, via their links
to the master node, by our input signal, as illustrated in
Fig. 11.3. These pinned nodes follow
 address this, it was shown that this condition can be mapped
ẋi (t) = F(xi ) − ε Lij G(xj (t)) + ui (t), (11.14)
j∈V
where ui (t) represents the control exerted by the master node
on the pinned node i ∈ {1, . . . , m}. The remaining n−m nodes
continue to evolve according to (11.10).
The fundamental question is how many and which nodes
should be pinned in order to control the network? Clearly, a
general answer to this problem does not exist. Indeed, such an
answer inevitably depends on the properties of the nonlinear
L. Zino et al.
8
7
3
5
6
4
u6 (t) 1
2
u1 (t)
Fig. 11.3 Schematic of a pinning control scheme. The master node (in
black) is connected to the two pinned nodes (in red), namely 1 and 6
functions F and G, on the weighted network topology Wij ,
and on the form of the control inputs ui . Therefore, the first
approach to tackle this challenge is under linear dynamics,
mapping (11.14) to
ẋ(t) = Wx + Bu , (11.15)
where W is the weighted network matrix, as in the consensus
problem in (11.7), and B ∈ Rn×m is a rectangular matrix,
routing the control inputs u(t) to the m pinned nodes. The
linear equation in (11.15) reduces the control problem to a
structural one, seeking the conditions for Wij that guarantee
controllability [37].
Under a single pinned node m = 1, the controllability
of the network is determined by the presence of a subgraph
of G that is a cactus, that is, such that it spans all the
nodes of the network and in which every edge belongs to at
most one simple cycle [37]. Other results based on structural
controllability are summarized in [38]. For the general case
with m ≥ 1, standard control-theoretic tools may be lever-
aged, specifically Kalman’s controllability rank condition,
showing that (11.15) is controllable if the matrix C :=
[B, WB, W2 B, . . . Wn−1 B] has full rank, i.e., Rank(C) =
n. The challenge is to verify Kalman’s condition, which
becomes unfeasible for a large-scale real-world network. To
to the more scalable graph-theoretic concept of maximal
matching [39], where one seeks the largest set of edges
with different start and end nodes. Linking the size of the
maximal matching to the number of nodes that should be
pinned to control the network, this criterion helps predict
the controllability of (11.15). Controllability is found to be
primarily driven by the network’s degree distribution P± (d),
independent of the weights Wij , and, counter-intuitively, of-
ten driven by the low-degree nodes, especially for directed
networks.
11 Network Science and Automation
Next, if indeed the network is controllable, we wish to
design the control inputs ui (t) to drive it to the desired dy-
namic state. For a detailed discussion, we refer to the review
papers [40, 41]. A common approach employs a feedback
strategy, setting
ui (t) = ki G(x∗ (t) − xi (t)), (11.16)
where x∗ (t) is the desired dynamic state and ki ≥ 0 are the
control gains [36]. For example, such feedback control can
steer the system to the stationary state x∗ (t) = x̄, achieving
consensus toward a desired equilibrium via control rather
than to spontaneous emergence as in (11.7). In undirected
scale-free networks, this strategy shows that controlling the
hubs is most effective for reaching synchronization, as it
requires a smaller number of nodes to be pinned [36].
The specific feedback structure in (11.16) has enabled the
scientific community to establish several important results
in network control, even though a complete theory is still
lacking. In fact, the expression for ui (t) in (11.16) allows us to
write (11.14) in a form similar to (11.10), with an additional
term that accounts for the master node. The MSF approach
used to study synchronization for the uncontrolled problem
can then be extended to tackle this scenario. Specifically,
in [42], the authors propose to add an (n + 1)-th equation
for the master node, that is, simply ẋn+1 = F(xn+1 ). Conse-
quently, all the n + 1 equations can be written in the form
of (11.10), where the Laplacian matrix L is substituted by
an augmented Laplacian matrix M, in which a row and a
column corresponding to the master node are added. All
the remaining entries in this added row are equal to zero,
while the column contains the control gains. Furthermore, the
corresponding control gains are subtracted from the diagonal
of the augmented Laplacian. The MSF approach can then
be applied to the augmented system on n + 1 equations to
determine the stability, depending on k1 , . . . , km .
One of the main limitations of the approaches described
so far is that they rely on the assumption that all the dynam-
ical systems on network nodes are identical, which ensures
stability of the synchronous trajectory once it has been at-
tained. Unfortunately, in many real-world applications, we
face the problem of synchronizing networks of heteroge-
neous dynamical systems, often in the presence of noise
and disturbances. To overcome these problems, in [43, 44],
the authors proposed to use a coupling term that includes a
distributed integral action. Building on this intuition, in [45],
a distributed proportional-integral-derivative (PID) control
protocol was proposed to reach consensus in a network or
linear heterogeneous systems in the presence of disturbances.
In its simplest formulation, we can assume that each
node of the network is a unidimensional dynamical system
with linear dynamics. Hence, the proposed model can be
formulated as follows:
259
ẋi (t) = ai xi (t) + bi + ui (t) , (11.17)
for all i ∈ V , where ai ∈ R is a constant that determines
the uncoupled dynamic of the system, bi ∈ R is a constant
disturbances (e.g. an input/output in the dynamical system
i, and ui (t) is the control action applied to node i at time
t. In the standard coupling discussed presented so far, the
control action coincides with the continuous-time consensus
dynamics, that is,

ui (t) = −ε Lij xj (t) . (11.18)
j∈V
However, the control action in (11.18) is not able to guaran-
tee convergence to consensus in many scenarios, when the
parameters ai and bi are heterogeneous. In [45], a controller 11
in the following form has been proposed:
   t 
ui (t) = − Lij αxj (t) + β xj (s)ds + γ ẋj , (11.19)
j∈V 0
where α, β, γ ∈ R+ are constant parameters that weigh the
three terms in the controller. Note that, besides utilizing
the information from the state of the neighboring nodes xj (t),
the proposed controller uses also their integral and deriva-
tives. The analysis of (11.19) has allowed the authors of [45]
to explicitly derive conditions for the parameters α, β, and γ
to control the system toward a consensus. These conditions,
besides depending on the disturbances bi , depend on the
network structure through the second largest eigenvalue in
modulus of W.
Recently, several efforts have started to address the control
problem also from an energy point of view, namely, toward
the development of a minimum-energy theory for the control
of network systems. Several results have been established for
linear systems in the form of (11.15). In [46], the authors es-
tablish upper and lower bounds on the control cost – defined
in terms of the smallest eigenvalue of the Gramian matrix –
as scaling laws of the time required to reach synchronization.
Further development in this direction has been proposed in
[47], where rigorous bounds on the smallest eigenvalue of the
Gramian matrix are derived as functions of the eigenvalues of
matrix W and on the number of pinned nodes m, establishing
non-trivial trade-offs between the number of pinned nodes
and the control cost. Recently, an interesting discussion on
minimum energy control has been presented in [48]. Therein,
using an approach based on standard control-theoretic tools,
the authors express the control energy as a function of the real
part of the eigenvalues of W. An interesting heuristic has then
been proposed for generic (directed) networks, according to
which the cost for controlling a network is reduced if the
pinned nodes are chosen as those with large (weighted) out-
degree (w+ −
i ) but small in-degree (wi ).
260
11.4 Applications
Many of our modern technological applications rely on net-
works. Such systems, e.g., the Internet or the power grid, be-
have almost as natural phenomena, often lacking a blueprint
or central control, hence functioning based on the emergent
cooperation between their components. Therefore, the net-
work principles of consensus, synchronization, and control
play a key role in an array of modern-day applications,
from distributed sensing to cyber-resilience and coordinated
robotic motion.
11.4.1 Distributed Sensing
Sensor networks are a key application of the theoretical
findings discussed in Sect. 11.3. Since the 1990s, the use of
wired or wireless networks of sensors able to exchange data
has become widespread in technological and industrial sys-
tems [49]. The Internet of Things has pushed this technology
further, providing the market with a plethora of inexpensive
devices able to perform sensing, computation, and commu-
nication at a negligible cost [49]. One of the most common
applications of sensor networks is distributed estimation, that
is, the joint estimation of the value of a quantity of interest,
with the advantage of reducing the measurement uncertainty,
without requiring a centralized processor to gather all the sen-
sors’ measurements and centrally perform the desired estima-
tion. There are several advantages to synchronize distributed
estimations, from high robustness against noise, errors, and
malicious attacks, to lower costs by relinquishing the need for
a central processor. Most importantly, a network of redundant
sensors performing under distributed operations avoids the
risk of a single point of weakness, leading to systemic failure.
Formally, in the distributed sensing problem, each of the
n sensors is represented by a node, and the communication
patterns between sensors by links, leading to the sensor net-
work G = (V , E ). Each sensor i ∈ V performs a measurement
of a common quantity of interest x, whose result we denote
by x̂i . The distributed sensing problem consists of designing
an algorithm to estimate the actual value of the quantity in
a distributed fashion, using local exchanges of information
only between the linked sensors, namely sensor i can only
share information with its out-neighborhood Ni+ . The goal
of such estimation is to converge, asymptotically or in finite
time, to a common estimate x∗ of the quantity x, thus reducing
the uncertainty associated with each local measurement x̂i .
Assuming that the sensors are all identical and unbiased,
that is, the expected value of their measurements coincides
with x and they all have the same variance σ 2 , the best esti-
mate of the quantity of interest can be obtained by computing
the arithmetic average of the sensors’ measurements, whose
variance, following the central limit theorem, approaches
L. Zino et al.
σ 2 /n [50]. Recalling the consensus problem formalized and
discusses in Sect. 11.3.1, the arithmetic average of a set of
measurements can be computed in a distributed fashion, by
initializing the state of each sensor to the measured value,
i.e., setting xi (0) = x̂i , and then updating the state of the
sensors according to the algorithm in (11.5), with a suitable
weight matrix W adapted to the sensor network, in order
to ensure convergence to the average. Assuming that the
network of sensors is strongly connected and that each sensor
can access its own state (all the nodes have a self-loop),
we know from Sect. 11.3.1 that the state of each node con-
verges to a common quantity, precisely equal to the weighted
average of the initial conditions, with weights determined
by each sensors’ Bonacich centrality, i.e., xi (t) → x∗ =
π  x̂. Hence, to estimate the arithmetic average of the initial
measurements, one has to design the matrix W such that its
Bonacich centrality is uniform among all nodes. This can be
satisfied by designing W to be doubly stochastic, having both
its rows and columns sum to 1.
Hence, the problem of designing an algorithm for dis-
tributed sensing ultimately boils down to designing a doubly
stochastic matrix W adapted to the graph representing the
sensor network. Several methods have been proposed to suc-
cessfully address this problem, depending on the properties
of the network. The simplest method is to select symmetric
weights W = W , in which case stochasticity directly
implies double-stochasticity. If the network is undirected and
regular, namely all nodes have the same degree di = d for all
i ∈ V , this amounts to setting W with uniform weights as
1
Wij = , (11.20)
d
for all (i, j) ∈ E . In this case, at each time step, each sensor
will average its own state with those of all its neighbors. For
non-regular networks, where degrees are potentially hetero-
geneous, the practical solution is to use Metropolis weights
setting
1
Wij = , (11.21)
max{di , dj }
for all (i, j) ∈ E such that j = i, and

Wii = 1 − Wij . (11.22)
j∈V \{i}
Finally, if, in addition, the network is directed, double-
stochasticity requires the use of Birkhoff’s theorem for
doubly-stochastic matrices [51]. Specifically, selecting a
set of simple cycles C = {c1 , . . . , cm } that span all the edges
of the network, we let Vh to be the nodes through which cycle
ch passes and define the permutation matrix W(h) associated
with cycle ch as
11 Network Science and Automation

1 if (i, j) ∈ ch , or i = i and i ∈
/ Vh ,
Wij(h) =
0 otherwise.
Note that each matrix W(h) is doubly stochastic, but in gen-
eral, they are not adapted to the network, since only a subset
of the edges of the network are associated with non-zero
entries of a permutation matrix (precisely, those associated
with the corresponding cycle). Then, we construct the doubly
stochastic matrix adapted to the network as
 such as lattices [53], but also finite-time convergence. Other
1 m
W= I+ W(h) .
m+1 h=1
With an appropriate construction, it is now verified that
the consensus dynamics will solve the distributed sensing
problem, leading us to investigate the system’s performance.
First, we ask how fast does the algorithm converge and,
consequently, how to optimally interconnect a set of sensors
to guarantee rapid convergence. This problem ultimately
boils down to estimating the speed of convergence of the
consensus algorithm and, hence, to the computation of the
second largest eigenvalue of W. In addition to speed, we wish
to evaluate accuracy, asking how noise and errors in each
sensor’s measurement propagate to the distributed estimate
x∗ . As we will show later on, this is also strictly related to the
spectral properties of the weight matrix W.
The problem of understanding how to interconnect a set of
nodes to have fast convergence to consensus is a problem of
paramount importance in the design of networks of sensors
and, more in general, of networked systems. The rate of
convergence of the state of the nodes to the desired estimate
can be bounded using (11.9), that is, as a function of ρ2 ,
the second largest eigenvalue of W in modulus. Another
important metric that measures the convergence performance
of the distributed sensing algorithm is
1
J(t) := ||x(t) − 1x∗ ||2 ,
n t≥0
which can be associated with the cost of a linear-quadratic
regulator problem. Also this metric can be related to the
spectrum of matrix W. Specifically, in [52], the authors show
that for a set of homogeneous unbiased sensors with variance
σ 2 in the measurements, it holds
σ2 
n
1 1  2
J(t) = . (11.26)
n i=1 1 − |μi |2
In light of the previous two metrics, the optimal solution
would be to utilize a fully connected (complete) network,
where convergence is reached in one step, since each sensor
can access the information of all the others and compute
261
the average (in fact, for complete graphs it holds μ2 =
(11.23) · · · = μn = 0). However, complete network structures may
be unfeasible in large-scale systems because they require
too many connections, while often sensors may be able to
process only a limited number of inputs. The problem of
identifying families of graphs with bounded degree that yield
fast consensus has been extensively studied in the literature.
In [52], the family of de Bruijn graphs has been identified as
a good candidate to this goal, ensuring not only much faster
convergence rate than other topologies with bounded degree
(11.24) important networks for which fast convergence results have
been established include several realistic models of complex
networks, including small-world networks [54, 55].
So far, we have focused on the performance of a dis-
tributed sensing algorithm in terms of its speed of conver- 11
gence to consensus. Another important performance metric
quantifies how the error and the noise in the initial sensor’s
measurements propagate to the distributed estimation. If the
sensors are all equal and unbiased, we can assume that each
measurement can be expressed as x̂i = x + ηi , where
ηi ∼ N (0, σ 2 ) is a Gaussian distributed random variable with
mean equal to 0 and variance σi2 . If W is symmetric (e.g. us-
ing W constructed according to (11.20) or (11.21)), then we
can compute the error at the tth iteration of the algorithm as
1 1 1
E[||x(t) − 1x||2 ] = E[||Wt x(0) − 1x||2 ] = E[||Wt η||2 ]
n n n
2 
n
σ
= |μi |2t . (11.27)
n i=1
Note that the estimation error converges to the asymptotic
2
value σn , which coincides with the error of a centralized
estimator. The speed of convergence is again associated with
the other eigenvalues of W and, in particular, with the second
largest in modulus, which governs the speed of convergence
to zero of the slowest mode.
(11.25)
In a scenario of unbiased heterogeneous sensors, the arith-
metic average of the sensors’ measurements may not be the
best estimate of the desired quantity. In fact, assuming that
the measurement of sensor i ∈ V is a Gaussian random
variable with mean equal to x and variance equal to σi2 , that is,
x̂i ∼ N (x, σ 2 ), the arithmetic average of the measurements
x∗ would lead to an estimate of the desired quantity such that

x∗ ∼ N x, 2 σ , (11.28)
n i∈V i
that is, the average of independent Gaussian random vari-
ables [50]. Instead, the minimum-variance estimator xbest is
obtained through a weighted average, where the weight given
to the measurement of sensor i is proportional to the inverse
262 L. Zino et al.

of its variance [50]. In fact, the estimator obtained with these yi (t)/zi (t), which converges to xbest . A comparison between a
weights has the following distribution distributed sensing algorithm based on the computation of the
average of the measurements and the one proposed in (11.31)

1 is illustrated in Fig. 11.4.
xbest ∼ N x,  1
, (11.29) The problem of understanding how noisy measurements
i∈V σi2
affect the distributed estimation process becomes crucial
when one adopts the distributed estimation process to recon-
whose variance is always less than or equal to the one of struct the state of a dynamical system from a set of repeated
the arithmetic mean, with equality holding only if all the measurements obtained by a network of sensors. Such a
variances are equal (in that case, the two averages coincide). problem has been extensively studied in the literature, and
Such an estimator can be easily implemented in a distributed a two-stage strategy to tackle it has been originally proposed
fashion, without the need of re-designing the weight matrix and demonstrated in [56,57]. This strategy entails the use of a
W. In fact, the minimum-variance estimation can be com- Kalman filter, which does not require any information from
puted by running two consensus dynamics in parallel, with a the other sensors, and then p updates, performed according
doubly stochastic matrix W. Specifically, each sensor i ∈ V to a consensus dynamic, as illustrated in the schematic in
has a two-dimensional state, initialized as Fig. 11.5. In its simplest implementation, denoting by yi (t)
the measurement of sensor i at time t, the estimate xi (t) is
x̂i 1
yi (0) = and zi (0) = , (11.30) updated as
σi2 σi2

zi (t) = (1 −
)xi (t) + yi (t) ,
where x̂i is the measurement performed by sensor i. Being W (11.32)
xi (t + 1) = j∈V (W p )ij zj (t) ,
doubly-stochastic, the consensus point of the two states will
be equal to where at the first step, a Kalman filter is applied, with  ∈
  (0, 1) the (common) Kalman gain, producing a (local) esti-
x̂i 1
∗ i∈V σi2 ∗ i∈V σi2 mate zi (t); then, the sensors average their estimates according
y = and z = , (11.31) to p consecutive steps of a consensus dynamics, using the
n n
local estimates of the neighboring sensors zj , thus producing
which implies that each sensor can calculate the minimum- a distributed estimate xi (t). Subsequent studies have allowed
variance estimator by simply computing the ratio xi (t) = the systems and control community to derive rigorous esti-

a) b)
1 1

0.5 0.5
x (t)

x (t)

0 0

–0.5 –0.5

–1 –1
0 5 10 0 5 10

Time, t Time, t

Fig. 11.4 Comparison between two different methods to perform dis-
tributed sensing. In both simulations, 100 sensors make a noisy mea-
surement of a quantity, which is equal to 0. The first 20 sensors have
variance σi2 = 0.01; the other 80 sensors have variance σi2 = 1. Sensors
are connected through a random regular graph with degree 6, generated
with a configuration model [1], and W is defined according to (11.20).
In a), we use a standard consensus dynamics; in b), we use the algorithm
proposed in (11.31). We observe that the latter sensibly reduces the error
in the distributed estimation
11 Network Science and Automation
a) b)
8 z2 (t), z3 (t)
7
3
y1 (t)
5 Kalman filter
6
1
4
2 x1 (t + 1)
Fig. 11.5 Schematic of a distributed Kalman filter. The scheme in panel b) refers to node 1, highlighted in red in panel a)
mations on the error of this estimation process, relating it to
the eigenvalues of W, the number of consensus steps m, and
the Kalman gain , and formalizing optimization problems
to optimally design such an estimation process [53, 58].
Several extensions of this problem have been proposed, for
instance, to address heterogeneity across the sensors [59],
or to distributed estimation of unknown payloads through
robotic manipulation [60].
11.4.2 Infrastructure Models and
Cyberphysical Systems
The opportunity of mathematically modeling a set of possibly
heterogeneous dynamical systems, evolving and interacting
over a topology of any complexity, makes networks an in-
tuitive modeling paradigm for cyberphysical systems (CPS)
and infrastructure models. CPSs are complex interconnected
systems of different nature (mechanical, electrical, chemical,
etc.), governed by software components, where the behavior
of hardware and software is usually deeply intertwined. They
usually operate over multiple spatial and temporal scales
and require transdisciplinary knowledge to be studied and
managed. Typical examples of CPSs are industrial control
systems, robotics systems, autonomous vehicles, avionics
systems, medical monitoring, tele-surgery, and the Internet
of Things, to name a few [61, 62]. Infrastructure models,
on the other hand, are complex connections of units of the
same nature, interconnected or interacting over a spatially
extended network. Typical examples are power grids (see
Fig. 11.6), water grids, transportation networks, computer
networks, and telecommunication networks [63–68]. It is
evident that single infrastructure systems are heavily inter-
dependent: for example, a shortage in the power grid for a
prolonged time interval would cut the mobile communica-
tion network off. These critical interdependencies have led
scholars to gather together single infrastructure models in
more complex, interconnected ones, leading to the concept
263
z1 (t)
Consensus
of critical infrastructure models. Modeling tools for such 11
systems are interdependent paradigms, such as systems-of-
systems, networks-of-networks, or multilayer networks [69].
The most important problem in all these systems concerns
the effect of isolated failures on the global functioning of
the system, that is, how the performance of the system
degrades in spite of isolated or multiple failures [70–74]. In
critical infrastructures, moreover, a problem of interest is to
study how failures propagate both over and across the single
infrastructures [61, 62]. The study of this problem is key
toward understanding the mechanisms that trigger cascading
failures, for instance, causing massive blackouts in power
grids [63], which in turn may damage the functionality of the
telecommunication networks [61]. Hence, these results can
be applied to detect the vulnerability of CPSs and infrastruc-
ture systems, preventing the emergence of these disastrous
cascading phenomena.
In terms of topological properties of a network, the vulner-
ability of a network system is strictly related to the network
resilience, that is, the ability of the network to maintain its
connectivity when nodes and/or edges are removed. Such a
problem has been extensively studied in statistical physics
by means of percolation theory [75–77]. In these works, the
robustness of different network topologies has been analyt-
ically studied, establishing important results that relate the
vulnerability of a network to the degree distribution of the
nodes and the correlation between their degrees. In [75], the
authors use percolation theory to study resilience of different
types of random networks, depending on their degree distri-
bution P(d). Specifically, they assume that a fraction p of the
nodes is randomly removed, and they study whether there
exists a critical threshold for p such that, below such thresh-
old, the network has a giant strongly connected component;
while, above the threshold, such a giant component vanishes.
Interestingly, the authors find that such a threshold depends
on the ratio between the second moment of the degree distri-
bution and its average. Specifically, the threshold tends to 1 as
this ratio increases. Hence, networks with power-law degree
264
Generator Consumer
Increasing S
III
Norway
Denmark
Fig. 11.6 Northern European power grid, composed by 236 nodes and 320 edges (reprinted from [64])
distribution P(d) ∝ d−α , with α ≤ 3 are extremely resilient,
as the threshold p → 1 for this types of networks. These
networks are extremely important for applications, as they are
effective proxies of several real-world networks, including
social networks and the internet [1].
However, this “static” concept of network resilience per se
is often not sufficient to accurately determine the presence of
vulnerabilities in a network of dynamical systems, since it is
not able to capture the complex interplay between the struc-
tural properties of the network and the dynamical aspects of
the processes unfolding over the network [33]. In fact, in real-
world infrastructures and cyberphysical systems, the global
L. Zino et al.
1
Sweden
2
Finland
II
performance of the network may be only mildly affected by
the loss of connectivity of marginal nodes, whereas serious
damages to the system and its performance can occur even if
the network remains connected (e.g. due to overloads). This
requires us to use the tools of our perturbative analysis of
Sect. 11.3.3, seeking to predict the onset and propagation of
dynamic cascades in the network.
The theory of dynamic vulnerability has started to be
developed from the concept of cascading failure, that is,
understanding when the failure of a node in a network of
dynamical systems can trigger a large-scale cascade of fail-
ures, causing the collapse of the entire network or of a
11 Network Science and Automation
substantial part of it. In [70], the authors propose a simple
but effective model for studying cascading failures caused
by overloads in complex networks, such as power grids or
cyberphysical systems. In their model, it is assumed that each
pair of nodes of a strongly connected network exchanges
one unit of quantity (e.g. information or energy) through
the shortest path between them. According to this model, the
load of a node bi (t) is equal to the number of shortest paths
passing through it, and thus proportional to the betweenness
centrality γi . The authors assume that the capacity of each
node is proportional to its initial load, that is,
Ci = (1 + α)bi (0) ∝ γi , (11.33)
for some α ≥ 0, and that nodes whose load is greater than
their capacity (bi (t) > Ci ) fail and are thus removed from
the network. Clearly, each removal will change the network
structure, and this may change the loads on the nodes, po-
tentially triggering a cascade of failures. In their work, the
authors have shown that the effect of the failure (removal)
of a node depends on its betweenness centrality. Specifically,
the failure of a node i with small γi has a small impact on the
network, while the failure of a node i with large γi would
likely trigger a cascade, especially when the betweenness
centrality of the nodes is highly heterogeneous. Interestingly,
the authors show that for scale-free networks the failure of
the node with the highest betweenness centrality may cause
the failure of more than 60% of the nodes in a network with
5000 nodes. In [71], it has been shown that the immediate
removal of some nodes and edges after the initial failure,
but before the propagation of the cascade (specifically, nodes
with low centrality and edges on which the initial failure
would strongly increase the load) can drastically reduce the
size of the cascade.
In [72], a similar model for cascading failures has been
proposed for weighted networks, where the weight of each
edge Wij represents the efficiency of the communication
across that edge. In this model, overloaded nodes are not
removed, but the communication through edges insisting on
them is degraded and thus the corresponding efficiency is
reduced, according to the following formula:
 in our complex, hyper-connected world. In [61], the
Wij if bi (t) ≤ Ci ,
Wij (t + 1) = (11.34)
Wij bCi (t)i if bi (t) > Ci .
The authors utilize this model to study the effect of failures
on the network performance, evaluated as the average link
efficiency, while different performance measures have been
discussed in [73, 78]. Even for this model, the effect of the
failure of a node is related to the (weighted) betweenness cen-
trality of the nodes that fail. Building on these seminal works,
a huge body of literature has been developed toward includ-
ing more real-world features in the modeling frameworks.
265
Specifically, accurate models of power grids have been pro-
posed [74], which have allowed the researchers to accurately
identify critical properties of the network structure [64],
sets of vulnerable nodes [65] and vulnerable edges [66],
by leveraging network-theoretic tools. Besides power grids,
these models for cascading failures have been tailored to
study the vulnerability of other complex systems, including
water supply networks [67] and production networks [68].
These models, while assuming a dynamic exchange of
energy between all nodes, are in their essence still structural,
mapping the loads on the nodes to the network structure via
γi or updating the weights according to (11.34). To truly
capture the role of the dynamics we must include the non-
linear mechanisms F, G driving the system, a là (11.10).
First, one maps the system’s resilience function that captures
its potential fixed-points x∗ – desirable vs. undesirable. For 11
random networks with arbitrary degree sequence d± =
(d1± , . . . , dn± ) , it is shown [33] that the control parameter,
governing the transitions between these states is determined
by Wij via
1 Wd−
β=  . (11.35)
1 W1
Hence, the network’s dynamic response to any form of pertur-
bation – changing weights, removing/adding nodes or links
– can be reduced to the perturbation’s subsequent impact on
the macroscopic parameter β. This parameter, in turn, fully
determines the perturbation outcome, specifically whether
the system will transition to the undesired x∗ .
These vulnerability results have highlighted the richness
and complexity of the emergent behavior of infrastructure
networks and have allowed to shed light on the phenomenon
of cascading failures on a network. However, in the real
world, power grids, water supply systems, production
networks, transportation and communication networks, and
many other infrastructure networks are not isolated, indeed
they are often mutually dependent and interdependent,
whereby the failure of one of these layers may cause
severe consequences on the other layers. Such complex
systems of interconnected complex systems determine the so
told critical infrastructure of a country, whose modeling
and vulnerability analysis is key for many applications
authors proposed an approach based on the functional
interconnection of different networks, to study how failures
in one network affect the functioning of the others. In
the proposed approach, the interdependency between
different systems is captured by a matrix function called
interdependence matrix. In the example proposed in that
paper, the authors investigate the interconnection of the
Italian electric grid and the telecommunication network.
In [62], a simple but effective model to the study cascade
of failures in interdependent networks was proposed and an-
alyzed. In the simplest scenario, two networks G1 = (V1 , E1 )
266
and G2 = (V2 , E2 ) are considered. Each network Gi is charac-
terized by its degree distribution Pi (d), which associates with
each number d the probability that a node of Gi has degree d.
The interdependence between the two networks is modeled
as follows. Each node i ∈ V1 is associated with a node ī ∈ V2
through a functional dependence, whereby the functionality
of node i depends on the one of ī. This represents, for
instance, the fact that ī supplies some critical resources to
node i. Similar, each node i ∈ V2 is associated with a node
in V1 through a functional dependence. Then, when a node
fails, as a consequence all the nodes that have a functional
dependence on it fail too, possibly triggering a cascade. The
model can be easily generalized to multiple dependencies
and networks. The authors utilize an analytical approach
based on branching processes to study a system where some
random nodes fail on one of the two networks and consider
different network structures, and they reach some non-trivial
findings. Interestingly, network structures with broad degree
distribution, which exhibit a high resilience when the network
is isolated, display instead high vulnerability when intercon-
nected. Recent developments of the theory of interconnected
networks are extensively discussed in the review paper [69].
11.4.3 Motion Coordination
Motion coordination is a very important phenomenon in
many biological systems, being key to the emergence of
collective behaviors such as fish schooling and birds flock-
ing. Remarkably, even though the single members of a fish
school or of a bird flock are not aware of the entire state
of the system, they are able to achieve global coordination
by means of local interactions with other members [79].
The observation and study of these biological systems have
inspired the design of distributed protocols to reproduce
these coordinated behaviors in groups of robots. Motion
coordination for groups of robots finds a wide range of
applications, spanning from the coordination of drones, to
platooning of autonomous vehicles, and coverage problems
in surveillance [38, 80, 81]. As we shall see, network science
is an important tool for the analysis and the design of these
systems, where global coordination emerges as an effect of
local interactions.
In its simplest formulation, the problem of motion coordi-
nation can be summarized as follows. We consider a group of
n robots, each one characterized by a position xi (t) ∈ Rd and
a velocity vi (t) ∈ Rd , where d is the dimension of the space
in which the robots are moving. For the sake of simplicity, we
introduce the scenario d = 1, in which the robots are moving
in a uni-dimensional space. Similar to biological systems,
robots coordinate their motion in a distributed fashion, that
is, the system of robots is connected by the presence of a
network structure G = (V , E ) that determines how robots can
communicate, and the control action implemented on robot
L. Zino et al.
i ∈ V is a function of the information exchanged with its
neighbors, without the intervention of a central unit. Control
actions can apply a force to the robot, and thus they determine
the acceleration of the robot. Hence, in its simplest form, the
dynamics of robot i ∈ V is described by the following system
of equations: 
ẋi (t) = vi (t) ,
(11.36)
v̇i (t) = ui (t) ,
where ui (t) is the control exerted on node i and is a function
of xj (t) and vj (t), for j ∈ Ni+ . Even though the model in
(11.36) is quite simplistic, many robot dynamics can be sim-
plified to this form by applying suitable nonlinear feedback
linearization techniques, based on the inverse dynamics of
the system [82].
In [80], the authors consider the rendezvous problem,
where a group of robots governed by (11.36) must coordinate
in a decentralized fashion toward reaching a consensus in
which xi (t) = xj (t) and vi (t) = vj (t), for all i, j ∈ V . Note
that the latter task (that is, convergence of the velocities) can
be easily achieved by defining a control ui (t) according to
a standard consensus dynamics, that is, in the form ui (t) =

− j∈V Lij vi (t), for some matrix W adapted to the graph
G . However, the convergence of the velocities does not in
general implies that all the positions converge. Hence, to
address this problem, the authors have proposed a second-
order linear consensus protocol, in which

ui (t) = − Lij (αxi (t) + βvi (t)) , (11.37)
j∈V
where W is a weight matrix adapted to G . In plain words, the
control action applied to robot i is a linear combination of a
weighted average of the position and of the velocity of the
neighbor robots. The case α = 0 reduces to the consensus
algorithm on the velocities, whose limitations were previ-
ously discussed. In [80], the authors establish conditions for
the dynamics in (11.36) to coordinate the network under the
second-order linear consensus protocol in (11.37). Specifi-
cally, they show that the presence of a globally reachable
node in G is a necessary condition to reach coordination. A
sufficient condition is also proved, for the special case α = 1.
Further studies establish a necessary and sufficient condi-
tion for reaching coordination [83]. Specifically, besides the
presence of a globally reachable node, the authors found that
(11.37) succeeds in controlling the system if
β2 I (λi )
> max , (11.38)
α i=2,...,n |λi |2 R(λi )
where λ2 , . . . λn are the non-zero eigenvalues of L, and R(x)
and I (x) denote the real and imaginary part of a complex
number x ∈ C, respectively. Note that also the convergence
of the second-order consensus dynamics is related to the
spectral properties of the network.
11 Network Science and Automation 267

Rendezvous is a very important and ambitious coordina- above, the control action can apply a force to the robot,
tion task, which is not always required. Even simpler coordi- affecting its (angular) velocity. Hence, the state of node i
nation tasks are of great interest to the robotics and control evolves according to the following system of equations:
community. Flocking, for instance, requires that robots reach

a coordination state in which they have the same velocities żi (t) = eιθi (t) ,
(11.39)
but can maintain different positions (often with some require- θ̇i (t) = ui (t) ,
ments on the distances) [84]; formation control problems,
on the other hand, require the robots to displace according where ui (t) is a control action that depends on rj (t) and xj (t),
to some specific shape and follow a (possibly predefined) with j ∈ Ni+ . The approach in [85] consists of writing the
trajectory as a rigid body [14]. In the previous discussion, we control action as the sum of three contribution: a constant
have observed that the coordination of the velocities, which term ωi , termed natural oscillation; a term that depends only
is a common goal of these problems, can be directly reduced on the phase of the other nodes uor i (t), called orientation
to a consensus problem in one-dimensional space. However, control; and a term that depends also on the others’ position
sp
such a task may become non-trivial on a plane or on the ui (t), termed spacing control, as
three-dimensional space, in particular when some additional
ui (t) = ωi + uor
sp 11
i (t) + ui (t) .
constraints on the robots’ positions are posed. (11.40)
Here, we illustrate a simple formulation of such types of
problems in a two-dimensional plane [85]. Particles with cou- When the goal of the controller is to coordinate the phases
pled oscillator dynamics constitute a valuable and successful sp
of the nodes, one can set the spacing control ui (t) = 0, and
framework to model and study collective motion on the plane. focus on the system
In its simplest formulation, we assume that a set of particles
can move on a circle. In this setting, each node (representing θ̇i (t) = ui (t) = ωi + uor
i (θ (t)) , (11.41)
a member of the group) is characterized by an oscillator,
which models the position of the node as a point on the which evolves on an n-dimensional torus.
complex plane. Specifically, given the Cartesian coordinates Several analyses of the system in (11.39) have been pur-
(xi (t), yi (t)) of the position of node i at time t, such a position sued, for different shapes of the control action uor
i (θi (t)) [85].
is encoded as the complex number zi (t) = xi (t) + ιyi (t) = Of particular interest is the Kuramoto model, in which it is
eιθi (t) , where θi (t) is the phase of node i at time t, as illustrated assumed that nodes can interact through a weighted network
in Fig. 11.7. The state of each node is thus characterized G = (V , E , W), and it is set as
by its phase θi (t), which evolves on the one-dimensional
torus (i.e., the quotient space R with the equivalence relation 

i (θ (t)) = K
uor Wij sin θj (t) − θi (t) , (11.42)
0 = 2π ). Similar to the uni-dimensional model described
j∈V

for some constant K > 0 that represents the coupling

strength. Most of the studies of the model have been proposed
y (t)
for complete networks with uniform weights, that is, Wij =
1 1/N for all i, j ∈ V . See, e.g., the recent review [86] for more
1 details. These results shed light on the critical role played by
2 the coupling strength K on the emergence of synchronization,
0.5
6
with the observation of interesting phenomena such as explo-
q1 sive synchronization and the emergence of Chimera states.
x (t) However, several interesting results have been established
for scenarios in which the communication between nodes is
–1 –0.5 0.5 1
constrained by the presence of network structures, relating
the emergence of synchronization to the coupling strength
–0.5 K and to network properties such as its connectivity and its
4 degree distribution. For more details see, for instance, [87].
5
3 So far, we have assumed that the network of interactions
–1
is not affected by the motion of the robots. However, in many
real-world applications, the interactions between robots de-
pend on the position of the robots, whereby robots often
Fig. 11.7 Example of six coupled oscillators moving on the unit cycle. have a limited range of interaction. In these scenarios, it
In the figure, we highlight the phase of node 1, denoted by θ1 has been shown in [38] that the application of a standard
268
linear consensus dynamics as a control action may cause the
loss of the necessary connectivity properties, thus hindering
convergence. Hence, in many applications, one of the main
problems is that the network G is not fixed but evolves
together with the dynamical process, and more sophisticated
nonlinear control actions have to be designed to guarantee
that the network retains some connectivity properties (e.g.
the presence of a globally reachable node) that guarantee
convergence [38]. Several extensions of the standard theory
of consensus and synchronization dynamics have been pro-
posed to deal with time-varying networks [3].
11.5 Ongoing Research and Future
Challenges
Network science, an emerging field, is continuously evolv-
ing, helping us uncover both the universal and the system-
specific connectivity patterns of real-world complex systems.
While we currently have a rather strong grip on the structure
of many relevant networks, we continue to seek progress on
several challenges. For example, networks that host hetero-
geneous types of nodes, or ones whose links vary with time.
Another important challenge is to systematically translate our
advances on network structure into predictions on their actual
observed dynamic behavior. We wish to exploit the powerful
toolbox of network science toward practical modern-day
applications, ultimately, aiming to understand, predict and
control out most crucial complex technological systems.
11.5.1 Networks with Adversarial and
Malicious Nodes
A common feature of all the processes described in this
chapter is the presence of cooperative dynamics between the
nodes. In the consensus dynamics described in Sect. 11.3.1,
nodes cooperate to reach a common state, and such a mod-
eling framework is utilized to design distributed sensing
algorithms (Sect. 11.4.1). In the synchronization problem (in
Sect. 11.3.2), the presence of a cooperative coupling between
a group of dynamical systems lead to the emergence of
collective network behaviors, as also discussed in the ap-
plications illustrated in Sect. 11.4.3. However, many real-
world applications witness the presence of not only cooper-
ative interactions but also of antagonistic interactions. Such
antagonistic interactions model, for instance, malicious at-
tacks on distributed sensing systems, or the presence of non-
cooperative robots in multi-agent systems. Signed networks
have emerged as a powerful tool to represent and study the
presence of cooperative and antagonistic interactions. In a
signed network, the edge set E is partitioned into two com-
plementary subsets: the positive edge set E + , which models
L. Zino et al.
cooperative interactions, and the negative edge set E − , which
models antagonistic interactions. The use of signed networks
has started becoming popular in the 1940s, within the social
psychology literature, with the definition of the important
concept of structural balance [88]. A signed network is struc-
turally balanced if and only if its nodes can be partitioned into
two sets, with all positive edges connecting the nodes within
each set and negative edges connecting the nodes between
the two sets.
In the last decade, the study of dynamical processes on
signed networks has started growing in popularity, in partic-
ular for its several insightful applications to biological and so-
cial systems [89]. The consensus dynamics on signed graphs
has been originally proposed and analyzed in a seminal paper
by C. Altafini [19]. Therein, the consensus on signed net-
works is defined in a continuous-time framework by means
of the signed Laplacian matrix of a graph. Specifically, given
a stochastic weight matrix W ∈ Rn×n + (which represent the
strength of the interactions between nodes), and the positive
and negative edge sets E + and E − (which represents the type
of such interactions–either cooperative or antagonistic), the
signed Laplacian matrix L̄ is defined as
⎧
⎪ −Wij
⎪ if i = j and (i, j) ∈ E + ,
⎨ Wij if i = j and (i, j) ∈ E − ,
L̄ij =  (11.43)
⎪
⎪ Wij if i = j ,
⎩ j=i
0 if i = j and (i, j) ∈
/E.
The consensus dynamics is then defined as
ẋ(t) = −L̄x(t) . (11.44)
Note that, different from the standard Laplacian matrix,
the terms corresponding to negative edges appear in the
Laplacian with a positive sign. Hence, instead of averaging
their state with the ones of their neighbors, nodes move
away from those with whom they are connected through a
negative edge. The theoretical analysis of the consensus on
signed networks, initially performed in [19] for undirected
networks via a Lyapunov argument, and then extended to
more general cases, including directed networks [90], has
highlighted the importance of the graph-theoretic concept of
structural balance. In fact, for strongly connected networks,
it has been shown that, if the signed network is structurally
balanced, then the state of the nodes converge to a bipartite
consensus (see Fig. 11.8a,b), in which the state of all nodes
converge to the same quantity in absolute value, but with
different sign. Otherwise, if the network is not structurally
balanced, the state of all the nodes converge to the consensus
point x∗ = 0 (see Fig. 11.8c,d). Extensions of these results,
accounting for time-varying network topologies and for more
complex dynamics including synchronization of dynamical
systems and stochastic dynamics have been proposed and
11 Network Science and Automation 269

a) b)
4

2
8
+
7

x (t)
– 0
+
+ 3
–
–2
5
+
6 + +
–4
4
0 50 100 150
1
– Time, t
2
11
c) d)
4

2
8
+
7
x (t)

– 0
–
+ 3
–
–2
5
+
6 + +
–4
4
0 50 100 150
1
– Time, t
2

Fig. 11.8 Consensus dynamics on signed networks. In the networks in trajectories of the consensus dynamics in b) converge to a polarized
a) and c), positive edges are denoted in blue, and negative edges are equilibrium. The network in c) is not structurally balanced, and the
denoted in red. The network in a) is structurally balanced (the two sets corresponding trajectories in d) converge to the consensus point x∗ = 0
are V1 = {1, 3, 4, 6} and V2 = {2, 5, 7, 8}). Hence, the corresponding

analyzed, see, e.g. the review paper [89]. These results have
allowed to understand the mechanisms of many important
phenomena that emerge whenever cooperating and antago-
nistic interactions present in a system, including polarization
phenomena in social systems.
11.5.2 Dynamics on Time-Varying and
Adaptive Networks
In this chapter, we have focused our discussion on groups of
interacting dynamical systems whose patterns of interaction
do not change in time, and thus they can be represented
by a time-invariant network. However, such an assumption
may be simplistic in many real-world scenarios. In motion
coordination, we have already mentioned that agents may
have a limited range of interactions, and thus the position
of the agents may influence the network structure [38]. In
sensor networks and to perform distributed estimations, we
have assumed that all the sensors perform their tasks (namely,
exchanging information and averaging the measurements)
in a synchronized fashion, that is, according to a central-
ized clock. However, in many applications, the sensors may
perform their tasks asynchronously and in the presence of
disturbances and communication errors, yielding thus a time-
varying pattern of information exchange [18, 91–93]. Fur-
thermore, the use of adaptive networks may be a strategy to
enhance the control of networks of dynamical systems and
270
improve the performance [94, 95]. These three real-world
problems are just three examples of the several motivations
that have called for an extension of the theory of interacting
dynamical systems to dynamical network structures [96, 97].
For all these reasons, the last 15 years have witnessed a
growing interest in the study of dynamics evolving on time-
varying networks of interactions. A time-varying network
can be described by a time-invariant node set V ={1, . . . , n},
a time-varying set of edges E (t)⊆V × V , and (possibly) a
time-varying weight matrix W(t)∈Rn×n + , such that Wij (t)>0
⇐⇒ (i, j) ∈ E (t), where the network can evolve in discrete
time t ∈ Z+ or in continuous time t ∈ R+ . Such a
growing body of literature has started developing from a
small set of seminal papers written at the beginning of the
2000s by different groups of researchers from the systems
and control community [18, 91–93]. In these papers, the
consensus dynamics on time-varying networks is formalized
in both the discrete- and continuous-time frameworks, and
necessary and sufficient conditions on the network structure
for convergence of the states of all nodes to a consensus state
are derived. These results typically require that the network
obtained by combining all the edge sets over a sufficiently
long time time-horizon has some connectivity properties,
such as being strongly connected for undirected graphs [91],
or having a globally reachable node [93]. Further conditions
may be required to reach desired consensus states, such as the
average of the initial conditions [92]. These seminal works
laid the foundation of several lines of research, including the
analysis of the performance and of the convergence times
of consensus dynamics on time-varying networks, scenarios
with communication noise or disturbances, and the extension
of these results to more complex dynamical systems such as
synchronization and motion coordination problems. Further
details can be found in several surveys and books, for in-
stance, see [3, 97].
Among these several extensions, of particular interest is
the scenario in which the network of interaction evolves ac-
cording to a stochastic process. In fact, the stochasticity in the
network formation process may hinder the direct application
of the convergence results established in the seminal papers
on consensus on time-varying networks [18,91–93] and their
more recent extensions to other dynamics. Hence, dynamics
on stochastically switching networks have called for the
development of a different set of tools for their analysis,
grounded in the theory of stochastic dynamical systems. The
main difficulty of the analysis of such problems is that the
network and the nodal dynamics co-evolve, and thus the
analytical approaches should be tailored to the specific prop-
erties of both dynamics and to the corresponding time-scales,
hindering the possibility of developing a general theory for
these dynamics. In particular, several interesting results have
been established in scenarios in which the network formation
dynamics is much faster than the nodal dynamics, which
L. Zino et al.
often goes under the name of blinking networks. In these
scenarios, under some conditions, the stochastic network
dynamics behaves like a deterministic system determined by
the expectation of the stochastic variables. For these sce-
narios, the results for deterministic consensus and synchro-
nization problems have been adapted and extended [98, 99].
In a regime in which the dynamics of the networks and
the nodal dynamics co-evolve at comparable time scales,
the aforementioned averaging techniques cannot be applied.
Rigorous convergence results for the consensus problem have
initially been established for simple time-varying random
network structures, where each edge is present or absent with
a fixed probability, independently of the others [100]. Ex-
tensions have then been developed to incorporate non-trivial
correlations between edges for networks of homogeneous
nodes [101]. In the last few years, activity-driven networks
have been proposed as a valuable framework to perform
rigorous analyses of dynamics on time-varying networks
with heterogeneous nodes [102–104]. In [105], the consensus
dynamics on activity-driven networks is studied by means
of a perturbation technique, establishing closed-form results
on the speed of convergence that highlight that heterogeneity
hinders distributed coordination.
In all these works, it is assumed that the dynamics of the
network is not directly influenced by the nodal dynamics.
However, in many realistic scenarios, the state of the nodes
influences the network formation process. Besides the al-
ready mentioned problems related to motion coordination,
in which the network connectivity is passively affected by
the position of the agents in the space [24, 38, 106], an
interesting scenario is that of adaptive topologies [94, 107],
in which the state of the nodes actively affects the network
formation process, whereby nodes adapt their contact in
order to facilitate the coordination with others. In particular,
we mention the edge-snapping model, proposed in [94], in
which nodes implement local decentralized rules to activate
and deactivate edges by means of a second-order dynami-
cal process. In [94], the effectiveness of such an adaptive
topology in synchronizing networks of dynamical systems
has been proved utilizing a MSF-based approach. Based
on this seminal paper, adaptive topologies have then been
proposed to enhance pinning control schemes to facilitate the
synchronization process [95].
11.5.3 Controllability of Brain Networks
The recent discoveries in neuroscience have allowed the
scientific community to increase our understanding on the
structure and the functioning of the brain [108]. The brain
is a highly-complex system, formed by a large number of
neurons, spanning from the 302 neurons of the C. Elegans -
a nematode often used as a model organism by researchers
11 Network Science and Automation
- to the tens of billions for human beings. Each neuron
has a non-trivial internal dynamics, while they also interact
with other neurons. Such a structure has led an increasing
number of researchers to investigate the brain functioning
from the perspective of networks of coupled dynamical sys-
tems, starting from the seminal paper by D. S. Bassett and
E. Bullmore [109]. In these works, networks are used to
represent the patterns of interactions within brains, where
nodes may be used to represent either single neurons or brain
units that perform a specific function [108].
Among the growing body of literature on brain networks,
we would like to mention the work by S. Gu et al. [110].
In this paper, the authors investigate the controllability of
structural brain networks, utilizing an approach based on the
computation of the smallest eigenvalue of the controllability
Gramian, as proposed in [47] (see Sect. 11.3.4 for more
details). Specifically, the authors study the controllability of
a network of coupled linear dynamical systems, connected
according to the structure of the brain, where each node
represents an area of the brain, and its state represents the
magnitude of the neurophysiological activity of the corre-
sponding area. The results of this study provide some inter-
esting insights into the functioning of the brain; distinct areas
of the brain (with different connectivity characteristics) have
been identified as critical to control the network, depending
on the state that the network has to reach.
While linear dynamics may be used to study the func-
tioning of the brain at a coarse level of brain areas, the
neuronal activity is highly nonlinear, calling for the use of
networks of coupled nonlinear dynamical systems. Network
of coupled oscillators – as the Kuramoto oscillators pre-
sented in Sect. 11.4.3 – have emerged as a suitable modeling
framework to study brain networks at the level of the single
neurons or small groups of neurons. Of particular interest
is the analysis of partial (or clustered) synchronization
[111]. In fact, in a healthy functioning brain, we typically
observe the emergence of cluster synchronization, where
neurons belonging to the same area of the brain have a
synchronized activity, but such an activity is not synchro-
nized with the one of neurons in other areas, while global
synchronization is often observed in pathological brains of
epileptic patients. Recent results on the stability of clustered
synchronization for coupled nonlinear dynamical systems
[112] and Kuramoto oscillators [113] have helped shedding
light on this important phenomenon, establishing quantitative
conditions on the network structure and on the coupling
between the dynamical systems that guarante the stability
of cluster synchronized states, specifically highlighting the
role of symmetries on the emergent behavior of cluster syn-
chronization and, potentially, on its controllability [114,115].
These control-theoretic results might be used to help design
stimulation techniques to prevent the emergence of epileptic
seizures.
271
Further Reading
– A. Barrat, M. Barthélemy, and A. Vespignani. Dynamical
Processes on Complex Networks. Cambridge University
Press, Cambridge, UK, 2008.
– M. E. J. Newman. Networks: an introduction. Oxford
University Press, Oxford, UK, 2010.
– A.-L. Barabási. Network Science. Cambridge University
Press, Cambridge, UK, 2016.
– V. Latora, V. Nicosia, and G. Russo. Complex Networks:
Principles, Methods and Applications. Cambridge, UK,
2017.
Acknowledgments The authors are indebted to Claudio Altafini,
Francesco Bullo, Mario di Bernardo, Mattia Frasca, Maurizio Porfiri,
and Sandro Zampieri for precious discussion and advice. 11
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of network dynamics (https://www.barzellab.com)
 What Can Be Automated? What Cannot Be
Automated? 12
Richard D. Patton and Peter C. Patton

Contents
12.1 The Limits of Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275
12.2 The Limits of Mechanization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276
12.3 Expanding the Limit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279
12.4 The Current State of the Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280
12.5 A General Principle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281
12.6 Editor’s Notes for the New Edition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 282
12.6.1 What Can We Automate, But We Prefer Not
to Automate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 282
12.6.2 What Should Not Be Automated? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 282
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 282
Abstract
The question of what can and what cannot be automated
challenged engineers, scientists, and philosophers even
before the term automation was defined. While this ques-
tion may also raise ethical and educational issues, the
focus here is scientific. In this chapter, the limits of au-
tomation and mechanization are explored and explained in
an effort to address this fundamental conundrum. The evo-
lution of computer languages to provide domain-specific
solutions to automation design problems is reviewed as an
illustration and a model of the limitations of mechaniza-
tion. The current state of the art and a general automation
principle are also provided.
R. D. Patton ()
Lawson Software, St. Paul, MN, USA
e-mail: richard.patton@lawson.com
P. C. Patton ()
School of Engineering, Oklahoma Christian University, Oklahoma
City, OK, USA
e-mail: peter.patton@oc.edu
Keywords
Complex adaptive system · Execution model · European
Economic Community · Pattern language · Complex
interact system
12.1 The Limits of Automation
The recent (1948) neologism automation comes from au-
tom(atic oper)ation. The term automatic means self-moving
or self-dictating (Greek autómatos) [1]. The Oxford English
Dictionary (OED) defines it as:
Automatic control of the manufacture of a product through a
number of successive stages; the application of automatic control
to any branch of industry or science; by extension, the use of
electronic or other mechanical devices to replace human labor.
Thus, the primary theoretical limit of automation is built
into the denotative meaning of the word itself. Automation
is all about self-moving or self-dictating as opposed to self-
organizing. Another way of saying this is that the very notion
of automation is based upon, and thus limited by, its own me-
chanical metaphor. In fact, most people would agree that, if
an automated process began to self-organize into something
else, then it would not be a very good piece of automation per
se. It would perhaps be a brilliant act of creating a new form
of life (i.e., a self-organizing system), but that is certainly not
what automation is all about.
Automation is fundamentally about taking some process
that itself was created by a life process and making it more
mechanical or in the modern computing metaphor hardwired,
such that it can be executed without any volitional or further
expenditure of life process energy. This phenomenon can
even be seen in living organisms themselves. The whole
point of skill-building in humans is to drive brain and other
neural processes to become more nearly hardwired. It is well
known that, as the brain executes some particular circuit more
and more, it hardwires itself by growing more and more
synaptic connections. This, in effect, automates a volitional

© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 275

S. Y. Nof (ed.), Springer Handbook of Automation, Springer Handbooks,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-96729-1_12
276 R. D. Patton and P. C. Patton

process by making it more mechanical and thus more highly

automated. Such nerve training is driven by practice and rep- The rest of the universe
etition to achieve greater performance levels in athletes and
musicians.
This is also what happens in our more conscious processes
of automation. We create some new process and then seek to In The system Out
under study
automate it by making it more mechanical. An objection to
this notion might be to say that the brain itself is a mechanism,
albeit a very complex one, and since the brain is capable of
this self-organizing or volitional behavior, how can we make
this distinction? I think there are primarily two and possibly
a third answer to this, depending on one’s belief system. Fig. 12.1 The Carnot circle as a system definition tool

1. For those who believe that there is life after death it seems
and founder of thermodynamics L. N. S. Carnot (1796–1832)
to me conclusive to say that, if we live on then, there must
to describe the heat engine and other mechanical systems
be a distinction between our mind and our brain.
(Fig. 12.1) separates the engine or system under study from
2. For almost everyone else there is good research evidence
the rest of the universe by a circle with an arrow in for
for a distinction between the mind and the brain. This can
input and an arrow out for output. This is a simple but pow-
especially be seen in people with obsessive compulsive
erful philosophical (and graphical) tool for understanding
disorder and, in fact, The Mind and the Brain is very
the functions and limits of systems and familiar to every
persuasive in showing that a person has a mind which is
mechanical and systems engineer. More complex mechanical
capable of programming their brain or overcoming some
processes may have to go beyond strictly linear algorithmic
faulting programming of their brain – even when the brain
control to include negative feedback, but still operate in such
has been hardwired in some particularly unuseful way [2].
a way that they satisfy a clear objective function or goal.
3. However, the utter materialist would further argue that the
When the goal requires extremely precise positioning of
mind is merely an artifact of the electrochemical function
the automation, a subprocess or correction function called
of the brain as an ensemble of neurons and synapses
dither is added to force the feedback loop to hunt for the
and does not exist as a separate entity in spite of its
precise solution or positioning in a heuristic manner but still
phenomenological differences in functionality.
subsidiary to and controlled by the algorithm itself. In any
case, mechanical means noncontext sensitive and discrete,
In any case, as long as we acknowledge that there is some
even if it involves dither. Machine theory is basically the
operational degree of distinction between the mind as anal-
opposite of general system theory. And by a general system
ogous to software and the brain as analogous to hardware,
we mean an open system, i.e., a system that is capable of
then we simply cannot determine to what extent the mind and
locally overcoming entropy and is self-organizing. Today
the brain together are operating as a mechanism and to what
such systems are typically referred to as complex adaptive
extent they are operating as a self-organizing open system.
systems (CAS).
The ethical and educational issues related to what can and
An open system is fundamentally different from a ma-
cannot be automated, though important, are outside of the
chine. The core difference is that an open system is nonlinear.
scope of this chapter. Readers are invited to read Ch.  47 on
That is, in general, everything within the system is sensitive
Ethical Issues of Automation Management, Ch.  17 on The
to its entire context, i.e., to everything else in the system, not
Human Role in Automation, and Ch.  44 on Education and
just the previous step in an algorithm. This is most easily seen
Qualification.
in quantum theory with the two-slit experiment. Somehow
the single electron is aware that there are two slits rather than
one and thus behaves like a wave rather than a particle. In
12.2 The Limits of Mechanization
essence, the single electron’s behavior is sensitive to the en-
tire experimental context. Now imagine a human brain with
So, another way of asking what are the limits of automation
100 billion neurons interconnected with some 100 trillion
is to ask what are the limits of mechanization? or, what
synapses, where even local synaptic structures make their
are machines ultimately capable of doing autonomously?
own locally complex circuits. The human brain is also bathed
But what does mechanical mean? Fundamentally it means
in chemicals that influence the operation of this vast network
linear or stepwise, i.e., able to carry out an algorithmi-
of neurons whose resultant behavior then influences the mix
cally defined process having clear inputs and clear outputs.
of chemicals. And then there are the hypothesized quantum
The well-known Carnot circle used by the military engineer
effects, giving rise to potential nonlocal effects, within any
12 What Can Be Automated? What Cannot Be Automated?
particular neuron itself. This is clearly a vastly different sort
of thing than a machine: a difference in degree of context
sensitivity that amounts to a difference in kind.
One way to illustrate this mathematically is to define
a system of simultaneous differential equations. Denoting
some measure of elements, pi (i = 1, 2, . . . , n), by Qi , these,
for a finite number of elements and in the simplest case, will
be of the form:
dQ1 /dt = f1 (Q1 , Q2 , . . . , Qn )
dQ2 /dt = f2 (Q1 , Q2 , . . . , Qn )
···
dQn /dt = fn (Q1 , Q2 , . . . , Qn ) .
Change of any measure Qi is therefore a function of all Q,
from Q1 to Qn ; conversely, change of any Qi entails change
of all other measures and of the system as a whole [3].
What has been missing from the strong artificial intelli-
gence (AI) debate and indeed from most of Western thought
is the nature of open systems and their propensity to generate
emergent behavior. We are still mostly caught up in the
mechanical metaphor believing that it is possible to mech-
anize or model any system using machines or algorithms, but
this is exactly the opposite of what is actually happening.
It is systems themselves that use a mechanizing process to
improve their performance and move onto higher levels of
emergent behavior.
However, it is no wonder that we are so caught up in the
mechanical metaphor, as it is the very basis of the Industrial
Revolution and is thus responsible for much of our wealth
today. In the field of business application software this pe-
ripheral blindness (or, rather, intense focus) has led to huge
failures in building complex business application software
systems. The presumption is that building a software system
is like building a bridge; that it is like a construction project;
that it is fundamentally an engineering problem where there
is a design process and then a construction process where
the design process can fully specify something that can be
constructed using engineering principles; more specifically,
that there is some design process done by designers; and
that the construction process is the process of programming
done by programmers. However, it is not. It is really a
design problem through and through and, moreover, a design
problem that does not have general-purpose engineering-like
principles and solutions that have already been reduced to
code by years of practice. It is a design problem of pure
logic where the logic can only be fully specified in a com-
pleted program where the construction process is then simply
running a compiler against the program to generate machine
instructions that carry out the logic.
There are no general-purpose solutions to all logic design
problems. There are only special-purpose domain-specific
solutions. This can be seen in the evolution, or lately
lack thereof, of computer languages. We went from first-
277
generation languages (machine code) to second-generation
languages (assembler), to third-generation languages
(FORTRAN, COBOL, and C), and to fourth-generation
languages (Java and Progress) where each generation
represented some tenfold productivity improvement in our
ability to produce systems (Fig. 12.2). This impressive
progression however slowed down and essentially stopped
dead in its tracks some 20 years ago in its ability to
significantly improve productivity. Since then there have
been many attempts to come up with the next (fifth)-
generation language or general-purpose framework for
dramatically improving productivity. In the 1980s, computer-
aided software engineering (CASE) tools were the hoped-for
solution. In the 1990s, object-oriented frameworks looked
promising as the ultimate solution and now the industry as
a whole seems primarily focused on the notion of service-
oriented architecture (SOA) as our best way forward. While
these attempts have helped boost productivity to some extent, 12
they have all failed to produce an order of magnitude shift
in the productivity of building software systems (Fig. 12.3).
What they all have in common is the continuation of the
mechanical metaphor. They are all attempts at general-
purpose engineering-like solutions to this problem. General-
purpose languages can only go so far in solving the
productivity problem. However, special-purpose languages
or domain-specific languages (DSL) take us much farther.
There are multiple categories of DSLs. There are horizontal
DSLs that address some functional layer, like SQL does for
data access or UML does for conceptual design (as opposed
to the detail design which is the actual complete program in
this metaphor). And there are vertical DSLs which address
some topical area such as mathematical analysis, molecular
modeling, or business process applications. There is also
the distinction between a DSL and a domain-specific design
language (DSDL). All DSDLs are DSLs but not all DSLs are
DSDLs (a prescission distinction in Peirce’s nomenclature
[4]). A design language is distinct from a programming
or implementation language in that in a design language
everything is defined relative to everything else. This is
like the distinction between a design within a CAD system
and the actually built component. In the CAD system one
can move a line and everything changes around it. In the
actually built component that line is a physical entity in
some hardened structural relationship. Then there is the
further prescission distinction of a pattern language versus
a DSDL. A pattern language is a DSDL that has built-in
syntax that allows for specific design solutions to be applied
to specific domain problems. This tends to be the most
vertically domain-specific and also the most powerful sort of
language for improving the productivity of building systems.
Lawson Landmark is one example of a pattern language
that delivers a 20 times improvement over fourth-generation
languages in its particular domain.
278 R. D. Patton and P. C. Patton

1st Generation Machine code

2nd Generation Assembler |10× over 1st generation

Machine specific symbolic languages Allowed complex operating
systems to be built – cost was
built into hardware price

3rd Generation High level language |10× over 2nd generation

C, COBOL, FORTRAN Allowed for independent software
companies to become profitable

4th Generation High-level language integrated with |10× over 3rd generation
a (virtual) machine environment Greatly increased the scale of
Visual Basic, Powerbuilder, Java how large a software company
could grow to

“5th Generation” Non-existent as a general purpose 10–20× over 4th generation

language must be domain-specific
Lawson Landmark (Business Applications)

Fig. 12.2 Software language generations

ability to model those aspects. In other words it is a design

Developer productivity Quality adaptability problem. In general, the theoretical limit of mechanization
(log scale) innovation is always the current limit of our capacity to design linear
x The industry has only made stepwise models in any particular solution domain. Thus the
incremental progress from 4GLs 5GL Vertical
for 20+ years domain- key to what can be automated is the depth of our knowledge
x Creating a 5GL works only specific
for a specific problem domain language 20× and understanding within any specific problem domain, the
4GL improvement depth required being that depth necessary to be able to design
(VB, Power-
builder) SOA
automatons that fit, where fit is determined both by the
Objects automaton actually producing what is expected as well as
CASE
fitting appropriately within the system as a whole; i.e., if the
automation disturbs the system that it is within beyond some
threshold then the very system that gives rise to the useful
General purpose automaton will change so dramatically that the automation
3GL & broad
(C, COBOL) is no longer useful. An example of this might be a software
program for paying employees. If this program does pay
employees correctly but requires dramatic changes to the
Fig. 12.3 Productivity progression of languages manner in which time card information is gathered such that
it becomes too great a burden on some part of the system then
the program will likely soon be surrounded by organizational
It is not possible to mechanize or model an entire complex
T cells and rejected.
system. We can only mechanize aspects of any particu-
Organisms are not machines, but they can to a certain
lar system. To mechanize the entire system is to destroy
extent become machines, or perhaps congeal into machines.
the system as such; i.e., it is no longer a system. Analysis of a
Never completely, however, for a thoroughly mechanized
system into its constituent parts loses its essence as a system,
organism would be incapable of reacting to the incessantly
if a system is truly more than the sum of its parts. That is,
changing conditions of the outside world. The principle
the mechanistic model lacks the system’s inherent capability
of progressive mechanization expresses the transition from
for self-organization and thus adaptability, and thus becomes
undifferentiated wholeness to higher function, made possible
more rigid and more limited in its capabilities, although,
by specialization and division of labor; this principle also im-
perhaps, much faster. And the limit to what aspects of a
plies loss of potentialities in the components and of regularity
system can be mechanized is really the limit of our cognitive
in the whole [5].
12 What Can Be Automated? What Cannot Be Automated?
12.3 Expanding the Limit
Human business processes (buying, selling, manufacturing,
invoicing, and so on), like actual organisms, operate funda-
mentally as open systems or rather complex adaptive system
(CAS). Other examples of CAS are cities, insect colonies,
and so on. The architecture of an African termite mound
requires more bits to describe than the number of neurons
in a termite brain. So, where do they store it? In fact, they
do not, because each termite is programmed as an automa-
ton to instinctively perform certain functions under certain
stimuli and the combined activity of the colony produces and
maintains the mound. Thus, the entire world is fundamentally
made up of vastly complex interacting systems. When we
automate we are ourselves engaging in the principle of pro-
gressive mechanization. We are mechanizing some portion or
aspect of a system. We can only mechanize those aspects that
are themselves already highly specialized within the system
itself or that we can make highly specialized; for example, it
is possible to make a mechanical heart but it is impossible to
make a mechanical stem cell or a mechanical human brain.
It is possible to make a mechanical payroll program but
impossible to make a mechanical company that responds to
dynamic market forces and makes a profit. The result of this
is that any mechanization requires specific understanding of
some particular specialization within some particular system.
In other words, there are innumerable specific domains of
specialization within all of the complex interacting systems
in the world. And thus any mechanization is inherently
domain specific and requires detailed domain knowledge.
The process of mechanization is therefore fundamentally a
domain-specific design problem. Thus, the limit of mecha-
nization is our ability to comprehend some particular aspect
of a system well enough to be able to extract some portion
or aspect of that system in which it is possible to define a
boundary or Carnot circle with clear inputs and clear outputs
along with a transfer function mapping those inputs to those
outputs. If we cannot enumerate the inputs and outputs and
then describe what inputs result in what outputs then we
simply cannot automate the process. This is the fundamental
requirement of mechanization.
This does not, however, mean that we are limited to our
current simple mechanical metaphor of a machine as a set
of inputs into a box that transforms those inputs into their
associated outputs. Indeed the next step of mechanization
under way is to try to mimic aspects of how a system itself
works. One aspect of this is the object-oriented revolution in
software, which itself grew out of the work done in complex
adaptive systems research. Unfortunately, the prevailing sim-
ple mechanical metaphor and lack of understanding of the
nature of CAS has blunted the evolution of object-oriented
technology and limited its impact.
Object-oriented concepts have taken us from a simplistic
view of a machine as a black box process or function F
279
Input The black box Output
Fig. 12.4 The engineer’s black box
as shown in Fig. 12.4, in which (outputs = F[inputs]), to
conceptualizing a machine as an interacting set of agents or
objects. These concepts have allowed us to manage higher
levels of complexity in the machines we build but they have
not taken us to a higher order of magnitude in our ability to
mechanize complex systems. In the realm of business process
software what has been missing is the following:
1. The full realization that what we are modeling with busi-
ness process software is really a portion or aspect of a
complex adaptive system. 12
2. That this is fundamentally a logic design problem rather
than an engineering problem.
3. That, in this case, the problem domain is primarily about
semiotics and pragmatics, i.e., the nature of sign processes
and the impact on those who use them.
Fortunately, there is a depth of research in these areas
that provides guidance toward more powerful techniques
and tools for making further progress. John Holland, the
designer of the Holland Machine, one of the first paral-
lel computers, has done extensive research into CAS and
has discovered many basic principles that all CAS seem to
have in common. His work led to object-oriented concepts;
however, the object-oriented community has not continued
to seek to implement his further discoveries and principles
regarding CAS into object-oriented computing languages.
One very useful concept is how CAS systems use rule-block
formations in driving their behavior and the nature of how
adaptation continues to build rule-block hierarchies on top of
existing rule-block structures [6].
Christopher Alexander [7] is a building architect who
discovered the notion of a pattern language for designing
and constructing buildings and cities [8]. In general, a pattern
language is a set of patterns or design solutions to some
particular design problem in some particular domain. The key
insight here is that design is a domain-specific problem that
takes deep understanding of the problem domain and that,
once good design solutions are found to any specific problem,
we can codify them into reusable patterns. A simple example
of a pattern language and the nature of domain specificity is
perhaps how farmers go about building barns. They do not
hire architects but rather get together and, through a set of
rules of thumb based on how much livestock they have and
storage and processing considerations, build a barn with such
and such dimensions. One simple pattern is that, when the
280
barn gets to be too long for just doors on the ends, they put
a door in the middle. Now, can someone use these rules of
thumb or this pattern language to build a skyscraper in New
York?
Charles Sanders Peirce was a nineteenth-century Ameri-
can philosopher and semiotician. He is one of the founders
of the quintessential American philosophy known as prag-
matism, and came up with a triadic semiotics based on
his metaphysical categories of firstness, secondness, and
thirdness [9]. Firstness is the category of idea or possibility.
Secondness is the category of brute fact or instance, and
thirdness is the category of laws or behavior. Peirce argues
that existence itself requires these categories; that they are in
essence a unity and that there is no existence without these
three categories. Using this understanding one could argue
that this demystifies to some extent the Christian notion of
God being a unity and yet also being triune by understanding
the Father as firstness, the Son as secondness, and the Holy
Spirit as thirdness. Thus the trinity of God is essentially a
metaphysical statement about the nature of existence. Peirce
goes on to build a system of signs or semiotics based on
this triadic structure and in essence argues that reality is
ultimately the stuff of signs; e.g., God spoke the universe
into existence. At first one could seek to use this notion to
support the strong AI view that all intelligence is symbol
representation and symbol processing and thus a computer
can ultimately model this reality. However, a key concept of
Peirce is that the meaning of a sign requires an interpretant,
which itself is a sign and thus also requires a further interpre-
tant to give it meaning in a never-ending process of meaning
creation; that is, it becomes an eternally recursive process.
Another way of viewing this is to say that this process of
making meaning is ultimately an open system. And while
machines can model and hence automate closed systems they
cannot fully model open systems.
Peirce’s semiotics and his notion of firstness, secondness,
and thirdness provide the key insights required for building
robust ontology models of any particular domain. The key to
a robust ontology model is not that it is right once and for all
but rather that it can be done using a design language and that
it has perfect fidelity with the resulting execution model. An
ontology model is never right; it is just more and more useful.
This is because of the notion of the relativity of categories.
Perception is universally human, determined by man’s
psychophysical equipment. Conceptualization is culture-
bound because it depends on the symbolic systems we apply.
These symbolic systems are largely determined by linguistic
factors, the structure of the language applied. Technical
language, including the symbolism of mathematics, is, in the
last resort, an efflorescence of everyday language, and so
will not be independent of the structure of the latter. This, of
course, does not mean that the content of mathematics is true
only within a certain culture. It is a tautological system of a
R. D. Patton and P. C. Patton
hypothetico-deductive nature, and hence any rational being
accepting the premises must agree to all its deductions [10].
The most critical aspect of achieving the theoretical limit
of automation is the ability to continue to make execution
models that are more and more useful. And this is true for
two reasons:
1. CAS are so complex that we cannot possibly understand
large portions of them perfectly ab initio. We need to
model them, explore them, and then improve them.
2. CAS are continually adapting. They are continually
changing and thus, even if we perfectly modeled some
aspect of a CAS, it will change and our model will become
less and less useful.
In order to do this we need a DSDL capable of quickly
building high-fidelity models. That is, models which are
themselves the drivers of the actual execution of automation.
In order for the model of the CAS to ultimately actually
drive the execution it is critical that the ontology model be
in perfect fidelity with the execution model. Today there is
a big disconnect between what one can build in an analysis
model and the resultant executing code or execution model.
This is analogous to having a design of a two-story home on
a blueprint and then having the result become a three-story
office building. What is required is a design language that
can both model the ontology in its full richness as the analysis
model but also be able to model the full execution in perfect
fidelity with the ontology model. In essence this means a
single model that fully incorporates firstness, secondness,
and thirdness in all their richness that can then either be fully
interpreted on a machine or fully generated to some other
machine language or a combination of both.
Only with such a powerful design or pattern language we
can overcome the inherent limitations we have in our ability
to comprehend the workings of some particular CAS, model,
and then automate those portions that can be mechanized and
continue to keep pace with the continually evolving CAS that
we are seeking to progressively mechanize.
12.4 The Current State of the Art
The computing industry in general is still very much caught
up in the mechanical metaphor. While object-oriented design
and programming technology is more than decades old, and
there is a patterns movement in the industry that is just
over a decade old, there are very few examples of this
new DSDL technology in use today. However, where it has
been used the results have been dramatic, i.e., on the order
of a 20-fold reduction of complexity as measured in lines
of code. Lawson Landmark™ is such a pattern language
intended for the precise functional specification of business
enterprise computer applications by domain specialists rather
12 What Can Be Automated? What Cannot Be Automated?
than programmers [11]. The result of the domain expert’s
work is then run through a metacompiler to produce Java
code which can be loaded and tested against a transaction
script also prepared by the same or another domain expert
(i.e., accountant, supply chain expert, etc.). The traditional
application programmer does not appear in this modern busi-
ness application development scenario because his or her
function has been automated. It has taken nearly 50 years
for specification-based programming to arrive at this level of
development and utility and several other aggressive attempts
at automation of intellectual functions have taken as long.
Automation of human intellectual functions is basically
an aspect of AI, and the potential of AI is basically a philo-
sophical rather than a technical question. The two major pro-
tagonists in this debate are the philosopher Hubert Dreyfus
[12, 13] and Ray Kurzweil [14–16], an accomplished engi-
neer. Dreyfus argues that computers will never ever achieve
anything like human intelligence simply because they do not
have consciousness. He gives the argument from what he
calls associative or peripheral consciousness in the human
brain. Kurzweil has written extensively as a futurist arguing
that computers will soon exceed human intelligence and even
develop spiritual capabilities.
Early in the computer era Herbert Simon hypothesized
that a computer program that was able to play master-level
chess would be exhibiting intelligence [17]. Dreyfus and
other strong AI opponents argue that it is not, because the
chess program does not automatically play chess like a hu-
man does and therefore does not exhibit AI at all. They
go on to show that is impossible for a program to play an
even simpler game like Go well using this same technol-
ogy. Playing chess was the straw man set up by Herbert
Simon in the mid-1950s to be the benchmark of AI, i.e.,
if a computer could beat the best human chess player, then
it would show true intelligence, but it actually does not. It
took nearly 50 years to develop a special-purpose computer
able to beat the leading human chess master, Gary Kasparov,
but it does not automate or mechanize human intelligence
to do so. In fact, it just came up with a different design
for a computational algorithm that could play chess. This
is analogous to the problem of flying. We did not copy
how a bird flies but rather came up with a special-purpose
design that suited our particular requirements. The strong AI
hypothesis appears to assume that all human thought, or at
least intelligent thought, can be reduced to computation, and
since computers can compute orders of magnitude faster than
humans they will soon, says Ray Kurzweil, exhibit human-
like intelligence, and eventually intelligence even superior
to that of humans. Of course, the philosophers who gainsay
the strong AI hypothesis argue that not all intelligent human
thought and its consequent behavior can be reduced to simple
computation, or even logic.
An early goal of AI was to mechanize the function of an
autonomous vehicle, that is, to give the vehicle a goal or set
281
of objectives and the algorithms needed to accomplish them
and let it function. The annual autonomous vehicle race in
the Nevada desert shows that at least simple goals can be
met autonomously or at least as well as a mildly intoxicated
human driver. The semiautonomous Mars rovers show off
this technology even better but still fall far short of being
intelligent.
Another of the early intrinsically human activities that AI
researchers tried to automate was the typewriter. Professor
Marvin Minsky started his AI career as a graduate student
at MIT in the mid-1950s working on a voice typewriter to
type military correspondence for the Department of Defense
(DoD). Now, more than 50 years later, the technology is
modestly successful as a software program.
At the same time Professor Anthony Oettenger did his
dissertation at the Harvard Computation Laboratory on au-
tomatic language translation with the Automatic Russian–
English Dictionary. It was modestly successful for a nar- 12
row genre of Russian technical literature and created the
whole new field of computational linguistics. Today, more
than 50 years later, a similar technology is available as a
software program for Russian and a few other languages
with a library of genre-specific and technical-area-specific
vocabulary plug-ins sold separately. The best success story
on automatic language translation today is the European
Economic Community (EEC), which writes its memos in
French in the Brussels headquarters and converts them into
the 11 languages of the EEC and then sends them out to
member nations. French bureaucratese is a very narrow lan-
guage genre and probably the easiest case for autotranslation
automation due not only to the genre but the source language.
No one has ever suggested that Eugene Onegin will ever be
translated automatically from Russian to English, since so far
it has even resisted human efforts to do so. Amazing as it may
seem, Shakespeare’s poetry translates beautifully to Russian
but Pushkin’s does not translate easily to English.
Linguists are divided, like philosophers, on whether com-
putational linguistics technology will ever really achieve true
automation, but we think that it probably will, subject to
human pre- and post-editing in actual volume production
practice, and then only for very narrow subject areas in a few
restricted genres. Technical prose in which the translator is
only copying one fact at a time from one language to another
will be possible, but poetry will always be too complex, since
poetry always violates the rules of grammar of its own source
language.
12.5 A General Principle
What we need is a general principle which will cleanly divide
all the things that can be done into those which can be
automated and those which cannot be automated. You cannot
automate what you cannot do manually, but the converse is
not true, since you cannot always automate everything you
282
can do manually [4, 18, 19]. However, this principle is much
too blunt. In his book Darwin’s Black Box Professor Michael
Behe argued from the principle of irreducible complexity that
neo-Darwinism was inadequate to explain the development
of the eye or of the endocrine system because too many mu-
tations and their immediate useful adaptations had to happen
at once, since each of 20 or more required mutations would
have no competitive advantage in adaptation individually
[20]. In his second book The Edge of Evolution he sharpens
his principle significantly to divide biological adaptations
into those which can be explained by neo-Darwinism (single
mutations) and those which cannot (multiple mutations).
The refined principle, while sharper, still leaves a ragged
edge between the two classes of adaptive biological systems,
according to Behe [21].
In our case we postulate the principle of design. Anything
that can be copied can be copied automatically. However,
any process involving design cannot be automated and any
sufficiently (i.e., irreducibly) complex adaptive system can-
not be automated (as Behe shows), however simple adaptive
systems can be modeled to some extent mechanistically.
Malaria can become resistant to a new antibiotic in weeks
by Darwin’s black box if it requires only a one-gene change,
however in 10,000 years malaria has not been able to over-
come the cell cycle mutation in humans because it would
require too many concurrent mutations.
We conclude that anything that can be reduced to an al-
gorithm or computational process can be automated, but that
some things, like most human thought and most functions
of complex adaptive systems, are not reducible to a logical
algorithm or a computational process and therefore cannot
be automated.
12.6 Editor’s Notes for the New Edition
By advice from reviewers and our advisory board, this chap-
ter is repeated from the first edition. Two common and
related questions have been expressed by readers since its
publication, and are mentioned next.
12.6.1 What Can We Automate, But We Prefer
Not to Automate
In the early 1980s, I worked with a doctoral student on what
was then a challenge: developing two robots that can interact
and work together (what now we define as “robot collabora-
tion”). One of the challenges was that robot programming
was in its infancy. Another challenge was that to set the
computational power to enable such a task we had to reserve
exclusive use of the entire university computer network. (We
were allowed to do it only between 4 and 6 AM.) We began
making progress.
R. D. Patton and P. C. Patton
The student, who was a tennis player, said to me one day:
“I like this project. Often, my tennis partner does not show
up for a game. I can program the robot to play tennis with me
instead.”
We both laughed, and I said: “Why not program both
robots to play the game, so you can also sleep over?” We
both laughed even harder. It meant that we can automate and
delegate fun tasks but then lose all the fun of playing. We can
generalize this realization:
Let us not automate ourselves out of activities that we enjoy and
have time to enjoy.
Examples: Automatic scanning of documents and inter-
preting them can be and is automated for efficiency and
accuracy, yet we still prefer to read a good book by ourselves,
at our own pace. Similarly, driving a car, navigating a boat,
playing sports and competing, dancing, singing in a choir,
creating artwork, and many more.
12.6.2 What Should Not Be Automated?
This question is part of the problem of automation and ethics.
(See Ch.  34.)
References
1. American Machinist, 21 Oct. 1948. Creation of the term automa-
tion is usually attributed to Delmar S. Harder
2. Schwartz, J.M., Begley, S.: The Mind and the Brain: Neuroplastic-
ity and the Power of Mental Force. Harper, New York (2002)
3. von Bertalanffy, K.L.: General System Theory: Foundations, De-
velopment, Applications, p. 56. George Braziller, New York (1976)
4. Spencer, D.D.: What Computers Can Do. Macmillan, New York
(1984)
5. von Bertalanffy, K.L.: General System Theory: Foundations, De-
velopment, Applications, p. 213. George Braziller, New York
(1976). Revised edition
6. Holland, J.: Hidden Order, How Adaptation Builds Complexity.
Addison-Wesley, Reading (1995)
7. Alexander, C.: The Timeless Way of Building. New York, Oxford
(1979)
8. Alexander, C.: A Pattern Language. New York, Oxford (1981)
9. Peirce, C.S.: Collected Papers of Charles Sanders Peirce, Vols. 1–6
ed. by C. Hartshorne, P. Weiss, 1931–1935; Vols. 7–8 ed. by A. W.
Burks. Harvard University Press, Cambridge (1958)
10. von Bertalanffy, K.L.: General System Theory: Foundations, De-
velopment, Applications, p. 237. George Braziller, New York
(1976)
11. Jyaswal, B.K., Patton, P.C.: Design for Trustworthy Software:
Tools, Techniques and Methodology of Producing Robust Soft-
ware, p. 501. Prentice-Hall, Upper Saddle River (2006)
12. Dreyfus, H.: What Computers Can’t Do: A Critique of Artificial
Intelligence. Harper Collins, New York (1978)
13. Dreyfus, H.: What Computers Still Can’t Do: A Critique of Artifi-
cial Reason. MIT Press, Cambridge (1992)
14. Kurzweil, R.: The Age of Intelligent Machines. MIT Press, Cam-
bridge (1992)
15. Kurzweil, R.: The Age of Spiritual Machines: When Computers
Exceed Human Intelligence. Viking, New York (1999)
12 What Can Be Automated? What Cannot Be Automated? 283

16. Kurzweil, R.: The Singularity Is Near: When Humans Transcend

Biology. Viking, New York (2005)
17. Simon, H.: Perception in chess. Cognitive Psychol. 4, 11–27 (1973)
18. Arden, B.W. (ed.): What Can Be Automated? The Computer Sci-
ence and Engineering Research Study (COSERS) Ser. MIT Press,
Cambridge (1980)
19. Wilson, I.Q., Wilson, M.E.: What Computers Cannot Do. Vertex,
New York (1970)
20. Behe, M.: Darwin’s Black Box: The Biochemical Challenge to
Evolution. Free, New York (2006)
21. Behe, M.: The Edge of Evolution: The Search for the Limits of
Darwinism. Free, New York (2007)
Peter C. Patton has taught computer science, mathematics, aerospace
engineering, and ancient history, classical civilizations at the Universi-
ties of Kansas, Minnesota, Stuttgart, and Pennsylvania. His last book,
Further Reading Design for Trustworthy Software (together with Bijay Jayaswal) won the
Crosby Medal from the ASQ. He is currently teaching mechanical engi-
Frank, M., Roehrig, P., Pring, B.: What to Do when Machines Do neering, Western civilization, and philosophy to engineering students at
Everything: How to Get Ahead in a World of AI, Algorithms, Bots, Oklahoma Christian University. He is currently teaching software engi-
and Big Data. Wiley, New York (2017) neering to aerospace engineering in-service graduate student engineers
Pasquale, F.: The automated public sphere. In: The Politics and Policies at Oklahoma Christian University as an adjunct professor of engineering
of Big Data: Big Data, Big Brother, pp. 110–128. Taylor and science.
Francis (2018) 12
Verbeek, P.P.: What Things Do. Penn State University Press, University
Park (2021)
Wash, R., Rader, E., Vaniea, K., Rizor, M.: Out of the loop: how au-
tomated software updates cause unintended security consequences.
In: 10th Symposium On Usable Privacy and Security (SOUPS), pp.
89–104 (2014)
West, D.M.: The Future of Work: Robots, AI, and Automation. Brook-
ings Institution Press, Washington, DC (2018)

Richard D. Patton is Chief Technology Officer of Lawson Software and

has been involved with building business application software languages
and development methodologies for over 25 years. His current project
is building a new application development language based on the latest
research in the areas of pattern languages and complex adaptive systems
theory as well as Charles Sanders Peirce’s triadic semiotics.
 Part III
Automation Design: Theory, Elements, and
Methods
 Designs and Specification of Mechatronic
Systems 13
Rolf Isermann

Contents 13.12 Mechatronic Steering Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 308

13.12.1 Electrical Power Steering (EPS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 309
13.1 From Mechanical to Mechatronic Systems . . . . . . . . . 288 13.12.2 Basic Designs of EPS Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 309
13.2 Mechanical Systems and Mechatronic 13.12.3 Fault-Tolerant EPS Structures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 310
Developments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 290 13.13 Conclusion and Emerging Trends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 311
13.2.1 Machine Elements and Mechanical Components . . . . . . 290
13.2.2 Electrical Drives and Servosystems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 311
13.2.3 Power-Generating Machines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291
13.2.4 Power-Consuming Machines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291
13.2.5 Vehicles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291
13.2.6 Trains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291 Abstract

13.3 Functions of Mechatronic Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 292 Many technical processes and products in the area of
13.3.1 Basic Mechanical Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 292 mechanical and electrical engineering show increasing
13.3.2 Distribution of Mechanical
integration of mechanics with digital electronics and in-
and Electronic Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 292
13.3.3 Operating Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 292 formation processing. This integration is between the
13.3.4 New Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 293 components (hardware) and the information-driven func-
13.3.5 Other Developments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 293 tions (software), resulting in integrated systems called
13.4 Integration Forms of Processes with Electronics . . . . 293 mechatronic systems. Their development involves find-
13.5 Design Procedures for Mechatronic Systems . . . . . . . 296
ing an optimal balance between the basic mechanical
structure, sensor and actuator implementation, and au-
13.6 Computer-Aided Design of Mechatronic Systems . . . 299
tomatic information processing and overall control. Fre-
13.7 Model-Based Control Function Development . . . . . . . 300 quently formerly mechanical functions are replaced by
13.7.1 Model-in-the-Loop Simulation electronically controlled functions, resulting in simpler
and Control Prototyping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300
13.7.2 Software-in-the-Loop and Hardware-in-the-Loop mechanical structures and increased functionality. The
Simulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301 development of mechatronic systems opens the door to
many innovative solutions and synergetic effects which
13.8 Control Software Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301
are not possible with mechanics or electronics alone. This
13.9 Internet of Things for Mechatronics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 302 technical progress has a very strong influence on a mul-
13.10 Mechatronic Developments for Vehicles . . . . . . . . . . . 303 titude of products in the areas of mechanical, electrical,
13.11 Mechatronic Brake Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 305 and electronic engineering and is increasingly changing
13.11.1 Hydraulic Brake System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 305 the design, for example, of conventional electromechan-
13.11.2 Antilock Control with Switching Valves (ABS) . . . . . . . 305 ical components, machines, vehicles, and precision me-
13.11.3 Electromechanical Brake Booster . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 306
chanical devices, and their connection to cloud services.
13.11.4 Electrohydraulic Brake System (EHB) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 307
13.11.5 Electromechanical Brake (EMB) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 307 The contribution describes besides of general aspects a
procedure for the computer-aided design and specifica-
tion of mechatronic systems, model-based control system
design, and control software development and illustrates
R. Isermann () mechatronic developments for brake and steering systems
Institute of Automatic Control, Research group on Control Systems
of automobiles.
and Process Automation, Darmstadt University of Technology,
Darmstadt, Germany
e-mail: risermann@iat.tu-darmstadt.de

© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 287

S. Y. Nof (ed.), Springer Handbook of Automation, Springer Handbooks,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-96729-1_13
288 R. Isermann

Keywords
Mechatronic systems · Drives · Machines · Mechatronic
functions · Design procedures · Hardware-in-the-loop
simulation · V-development model · Model-based
control · Control software development · Mechatronic
brakes · Mechatronic steering systems
13.1 From Mechanical to Mechatronic
Systems
Mechanical systems generate certain motions or transfer
forces or torques. For the oriented command of, e.g., dis-
placements, velocities, or forces, feedforward and feedback
control systems have been applied for many years. The con-
trol systems operate either without auxiliary energy (e.g., a
fly-ball governor) or with electrical, hydraulic, or pneumatic
auxiliary energy, to manipulate the commanded variables
directly or with a power amplifier. A realization with added
fixed wired (analog) devices turns out to enable only rela-
tively simple and limited control functions. If these analog
devices are replaced with digital computers in the form of,
e.g., online coupled microcomputers, the information pro-
cessing can be designed to be considerably more flexible and
more comprehensive.
Figure 13.1 shows the example of a machine set, con-
sisting of a power-generating machine (DC motor) and a
power-consuming machine (circulation pump): (a) a scheme
of the components, (b) the resulting signal flow diagram in
two-port representation, and (c) the open-loop process with
one or several manipulated variables as input variables and
several measured variables as output variables. This process
is characterized by different controllable energy flows (elec-
trical, mechanical, and hydraulic). The first and last flow
can be manipulated by a manipulated variable of low power
(auxiliary power), e.g., through a power electronics device
and a flow valve actuator. Several sensors yield measur-
able variables. For a mechanical–electronic system, a digital
electronic system is added to the process. This electronic

a) I w1

w2
w3

b) Power Drive Power

Power generating train consuming
electronics machine (gear machine
(actuator) (DC motor) unit) (pump)
V IA T1 T2 T3

A PGM DT PCM

VA w1 w2 w3
Pi Po

c) Energy flow

Manipulated Measured
Mechanics & Sensors
Actuator
variables energy converter
variables
Primary Consumer
energy energy
flow Pi flow Po
Auxiliary
Energy Energy
energy
supply consumer
supply

Fig. 13.1 Schematic representation of a machine set: (a) scheme of current; T – torque; ω – angular frequency; Pi – drive power; Po –
the components; (b) signal flow diagram (two-port representation); (c) consumer power
open-loop process. V – voltage; VA – armature voltage; IA – armature
13 Designs and Specification of Mechatronic Systems 289

system acts on the process based on the measurements or are joined. The word mechatronics was probably first created
external command variables in a feedforward or feedback by a Japanese engineer in 1969 [43] and had a trademark by 13
manner (Fig. 13.2). If then the electronic and the mechanical a Japanese company until 1972 [19]. Several definitions
system are merged to an autonomous overall system, an can be found in [24, 44, 47, 51, 61]. All definitions agree
integrated mechanical–electronic system results. The elec- that mechatronics is an interdisciplinary field, in which the
tronic system processes information, and such a system is following disciplines act together (Fig. 13.3):
characterized at least by a mechanical energy flow and an
information flow. • Mechanical systems (mechanical elements, machines, and
These integrated mechanical–electronic systems are precision mechanics)
called mechatronic systems. Thus, mechanics and electronics • Electronic systems (microelectronics, power electronics,
and sensor and actuator technology)
• Information technology (systems theory, control and au-
tomation, software engineering, artificial intelligence, and
cloud services)
Man/machine
interface
The solution of tasks to design mechatronic systems is per-
Reference
Monitored variables formed on the mechanical as well as on the digital-electronic
variables side. Thus, interrelations during design play an important
Information
processing Measured
role; because the mechanical system influences the electronic
Manipulated variables system, and vice versa, the electronic system influences the
variables Information flow
design of the mechanical system (Fig. 13.4). This means that
Energy flow simultaneous engineering has to take place, with the goal of
Mechanics & designing an overall integrated system (an organic system)
Actuators energy converter Sensors
and also creating synergetic effects.
Primary Consumer A further feature of mechatronic systems is integrated
energy energy
flow flow digital information processing. As well as basic control func-
Auxiliary Energy Energy
tions, more sophisticated control functions may be realized,
energy supply consumer e.g., calculation of nonmeasurable variables, adaptation of
supply
controller parameters, detection and diagnosis of faults, and,
Mechanical, hydraulic, in the case of failures, reconfiguration to redundant com-
thermal, electrical
ponents. A connection to cloud services, like remote main-
tenance, remote fault diagnosis, and teleoperation, offers
Fig. 13.2 Mechanical process and information processing develop to- further possibilities in the frame of Internet-of-Things (IoT).
ward a mechatronic system Hence, mechatronic systems are developing with adaptive or

System theory
Micro electronics
Modeling
Power electronics Information
Electronics Automation-technology
Sensors technology
Mecha- Software
Actuators
tronics Artificial intelligence

Mechanics
&
electro-
mechanics

Mechanical elements
Machines
Precision mechanics
Electrical elements

Fig. 13.3 Mechatronics: synergetic integration of different disciplines

290 R. Isermann

even learning behavior, which can also be called intelligent
mechatronic systems.
The developments to date can be found in [15, 19, 27, 61,
65, 71]. An insight into general aspects are given editorially
in journals [24, 47], conference proceedings such as [2, 12,
25, 26, 38, 66], journal articles by [30, 68], and books [6, 9,
21, 28, 35, 46, 54]. A summary of research projects at the
Darmstadt University of Technology can be found in [33].
13.2 Mechanical Systems and Mechatronic
Developments
subdivided into mechanical components, machines, vehicles,
precision mechanical devices, and micromechanical compo-
nents.
The design of mechanical products is influenced by the
interplay of energy, matter, and information. With regard
to the basic problem and its solution, frequently either the
energy, matter, or information flow is dominant. Therefore,
one main flow and at least one side flow can be distinguished
[52].
In the following, some examples of mechatronic devel-
opments are given. The area of mechanical components,
machines, and vehicles is covered by Fig. 13.5.

Mechanical systems can be applied to a large area of mechan-

ical engineering. According to their construction, they can be

13.2.1 Machine Elements and Mechanical

Components
a) Conventional procedure b) Mechatronic procedure
Machine elements are usually purely mechanical. Figure 13.5
Design Design shows some examples. Properties that can be improved
construction construction
by electronics are, for example, self-adaptive stiffness and
damping, self-adaptive free motion or pretension, automatic
Mechan. Mechan. Electron. operating functions such as coupling or gear shifting, and
Electronics
system system system supervisory functions. Some examples of mechatronic
approaches are hydrobearings for combustion engines with
Separate components Mechatronic overall system electronic control of damping, magnetic bearings with
position control, automatic electronic–hydraulic gears,
Fig. 13.4 Interrelations during the design and construction of mecha- adaptive shock absorbers for wheel suspensions, and
tronic systems electromechanical steering systems (EPS), [57].

Mechatronic systems

Mechatronic Mechatronic
Mechatronic Mechatronic
power power Mechatronic Mechatronic
machine motion
producing consuming automobiles trains
components generators
machines machines

• Semi-active • Integrated • Brushless DC • Integrated • Anti-lock braking • Tilting trains

hydraulic electrical motor multi-axis systems (ABS) • Active boogie
dampers servo drives • Integrated AC machine tools • Electro hydraulic • Magnetic
• Automatic gears • Integrated drives • Integrated break (EHB) levitated trains
• Magnetic hydraulic • Mechatronic hydraulic • Active suspension (MAGLEV)
bearings servo drives combustion pumps
• Electrical power
• Integrated engines
steering (EPS)2
pneumatic
servo drives
• Robots
(multi-axis,
mobile)

Fig. 13.5 Examples of mechatronic systems

13 Designs and Specification of Mechatronic Systems
13.2.2 Electrical Drives and Servosystems
Electrical drives with direct-current, universal, asyn-
chronous, and synchronous motors have used integration
with gears, speed sensors or position sensors, and power
electronics for many years. Especially the development
of transistor-based voltage supplies and cheaper power
electronics on the basis of transistors and thyristors with
variable-frequency three-phase current supported speed
control drives also for smaller power. Herewith, a trend
toward decentralized drives with integrated electronics can be
observed. The way of integration or attachment depends, e.g.,
on space requirement, cooling, contamination, vibrations,
and accessibility for maintenance. Electrical servodrives
require special designs for positioning.
Hydraulic and pneumatic servodrives for linear and ro-
tatory positioning show increasingly integrated sensors and
control electronics. Motivations are requirements for easy-
to-assemble drives, small space, fast change, and increased
functions.
Multiaxis robots and mobile robots show mechatronic
properties from the beginning of their design.
13.2.3 Power-Generating Machines
Machines show an especially broad variability. Power-
producing machines are characterized by the conversion
of hydraulic, thermodynamic, or electrical energy and
delivery of power. Power-consuming machines convert
mechanical energy to another form, thereby absorbing
energy. Vehicles transfer mechanical energy into movement,
thereby consuming power.
Examples of mechatronic electrical power-generating ma-
chines are brushless DC motors with electronic commutation
or speed-controlled asynchronous and synchronous motors
with variable-frequency power converters.
Combustion engines increasingly contain mechatronic
components, especially in the area of actuators [57].
Gasoline engines showed, for example, the following steps
of development: microelectronic-controlled injection and
ignition (1979), electrical throttle (1991), direct injection
with electromechanical (1999) and piezoelectric injection
valves (2003), and variable valve control (2004); see, for
example, [56].
Diesel engines first had mechanical injection pumps
(1927), then analog-electronic-controlled axial piston pumps
(1986), and digital-electronic-controlled high-pressure
pumps, since 1997 with common-rail systems [57]. Further
developments are exhaust turbochargers with wastegate or
controllable vanes (variable turbine geometry, VTG), since
about 1993.
291
13.2.4 Power-Consuming Machines
13
Examples of mechatronic power-consuming machines are
multiaxis machine tools with trajectory control, force control,
tools with integrated sensors, and robot transport of the
products; see, e.g., [64]. In addition to these machine tools
with open kinematic chains between basic frame and tools
and linear or rotatory axes with one degree of freedom,
machines with parallel kinematics will be developed. Ma-
chine tools show a tendency toward magnetic bearings if ball
bearings cannot be applied for high speeds, e.g., for high-
speed milling of aluminum, and also for ultracentrifuges [39].
Within the area of manufacturing, many machinery, sorting,
and transportation devices are characterized by integration
with electronics, but as yet they are mostly not fully hardware
integrated. For hydraulic piston pumps the control electronics
is now attached to the casing. Further examples are packing
machines with decentralized drives and trajectory control or
offset printing machines with replacement of the mechanical
synchronization axis through decentralized drives with digi-
tal electronic synchronization and high precision.
13.2.5 Vehicles
Many mechatronic components have been introduced, es-
pecially in the area of vehicles, or are in development: an-
tilock braking control (ABS), controllable shock absorbers,
controlled adaptive suspensions, active suspensions, drive
dynamic control through individual braking (electronic sta-
bility control, ESC), electrohydraulic brakes (2001), active
front steering (AFS) (2003), and electrical power steering
(EPS). Of the innovations for vehicles 80–90% are based
on electronic/mechatronic developments. Here, the value of
electronics/electrics of vehicles increases to about 30% or
more. Advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) make use
of automatic braking and acceleration for adaptive cruise
control, wheel individual braking for electronic stability con-
trol (ESC) and traction control (TRC), and lane keeping con-
trol (LKC) based on mechatronic brake and steering systems;
see, for example, [8, 10, 23, 32, 40, 67].
13.2.6 Trains
Trains with steam, diesel, or electrical locomotives have
followed a very long development. For wagons the design
with two boogies with two axes is standard. ABS braking
control can be seen as the first mechatronic influence in
this area. The high-speed trains (TGV and ICE) contain
modern asynchronous motors with power electronic control.
The trolleys are supplied with electronic force and position
control. Tilting trains show a mechatronic design (1997) and
292
actively damped and steerable boogies also [17]. Further,
magnetically levitated trains are based on mechatronic con-
structions; see, e.g., [17].
13.3 Functions of Mechatronic Systems
Mechatronic systems enable, after the integration of the
components, many improved and also new functions. This
will be discussed by using examples based on [26, 28].
13.3.1 Basic Mechanical Design
The basic mechanical construction first has to satisfy the task
of transferring the mechanical energy flow (force and torque)
to generate motions or special movements, etc. Known tra-
ditional methods are applied, such as material selection, as
well as calculation of strengths, manufacturing, production
costs, etc. [69] By attaching sensors, actuators, and mechan-
ical controllers, in earlier times, simple control functions
were realized, e.g., the fly-ball governor. Then gradually
pneumatic, hydraulic, and electrical analog controllers were
introduced. After the advent of digital control systems, es-
pecially with the development of microprocessors around
1975, the information processing part could be designed to be
much more sophisticated. These digitally controlled systems
were first added to the basic mechanical construction and
were limited by the properties of the sensors, actuators,
and electronics, i.e., they frequently did not satisfy reliability
and lifetime requirements under rough environmental condi-
tions (temperature, vibrations, and contamination) and had
a relatively large space requirement and cable connections,
and low computational speed. However, many of these initial
drawbacks were removed with time, and since about 1980
electronic hardware has become greatly miniaturized, robust,
and powerful, and has been connected by field bus systems.
Based on this, the emphasis on the electronic side could be
increased and the mechanical construction could be designed
as a mechanical–electronic system from the very beginning.
The aim was to result in more autonomy, for example, by
decentralized control, field bus connections, plug-and-play
approaches, and distributed energy supply, such that self-
contained units emerge.
13.3.2 Distribution of Mechanical
and Electronic Functions
In the design of mechatronic systems, interplay for the real-
ization of functions in the mechanical and electronic parts is
crucial. Compared with pure mechanical realizations, the use
of amplifiers and actuators with electrical auxiliary energy
R. Isermann
has already led to considerable simplifications, as can be seen
in watches, electronic typewriters, and cameras. A further
considerable simplification in the mechanics resulted from
the introduction of microcomputers in connection with de-
centralized electrical drives, e.g., for electronic typewriters,
sewing machines, multiaxis handling systems, and automatic
gears.
The design of lightweight constructions leads to elastic
systems that are weakly damped through the material itself.
Electronic damping through position, speed, or vibration
sensors and electronic feedback can be realized with the addi-
tional advantage of adjustable damping through algorithms.
Examples are elastic drive trains of vehicles with damp-
ing algorithms in the engine electronics, elastic robots, hy-
draulic systems, far-reaching cranes, and space constructions
(e.g., with flywheels).
The addition of closed-loop control, e.g., for position,
speed, or force, does not only result in precise tracking of
reference variables, but also an approximate linear overall
behavior, even though mechanical systems may show non-
linear behavior. By omitting the constraint of linearization
on the mechanical side, the effort for construction and man-
ufacturing may be reduced. Examples are simple mechanical
pneumatic and electromechanical actuators and flow valves
with electronic control.
With the aid of freely programmable reference variable
generation, the adaptation of nonlinear mechanical systems
to the operator can be improved. This is already used for
driving pedal characteristics within engine electronics for
automobiles, telemanipulation of vehicles and aircraft, and
in the development of hydraulically actuated excavators and
electric power steering.
However, with increasing number of sensors, actuators,
switches, and control units, the cables and electrical con-
nections also increase, such that reliability, cost, weight, and
required space are major concerns. Therefore, the develop-
ment of suitable bus systems, plug systems, and fault-tolerant
and reconfigurable electronic systems is a challenge for the
designer, as can be seen in modern automotive platforms.
13.3.3 Operating Properties
By applying active feedback control, the precision of, e.g.,
a position is reached by comparison of a programmed ref-
erence variable with a measured control variable and not
only through the high mechanical precision of a passively
feedforward-controlled mechanical element. Therefore, the
mechanical precision in design and manufacturing may be
reduced somewhat and simpler constructions for bearings or
slideways can be used. An important aspect in this regard is
compensation of larger and time-variant friction by adaptive
friction compensation. Larger friction at the cost of backlash
13 Designs and Specification of Mechatronic Systems
may also be intended (e.g., gears with pretension), because it
is usually easier to compensate for friction than for backlash.
Model-based and adaptive control allow operation at more
operating points (wide-range operation) compared with fixed
control with unsatisfactory performance (danger of insta-
bility or sluggish behavior). A combination of robust and
adaptive control enables wide-range operation, e.g., for flow,
force, and speed control, and for processes involving engines,
vehicles, and aircraft. Better control performance allows the
reference variables to be moved closer to constraints with
improved efficiencies and yields (e.g., higher temperatures,
pressures for combustion engines and turbines, compressors
at stalling limits, and higher tensions and higher speed for
paper machines and steel mills).
13.3.4 New Functions
Mechatronic systems also enable functions that could not be
performed without digital electronics. Firstly, nonmeasurable
quantities can be calculated on the basis of measured signals
and influenced by feedforward or feedback control. Exam-
ples are time-dependent variables such as the slip for tires,
internal tensions, temperatures, the slip angle and ground
speed for steering control of vehicles or parameters such
as damping and stiffness coefficients, and resistances. The
automatic adaptation of parameters, such as damping and
stiffness for oscillating systems based on measurements of
displacements or accelerations, is another example. Inte-
grated supervision and fault diagnosis becomes increasingly
important with more automatic functions, increasing com-
plexity, and higher demands on reliability and safety. Then,
fault tolerance by triggering of redundant components and
system reconfiguration, maintenance on request, and any
kind of teleservice make the system more intelligent. Cloud
services in the frame of the Internet-of-Things (IoT) are
further possibilities.
13.3.5 Other Developments
Mechatronic systems frequently allow flexible adaptation
to boundary conditions. A part of the functions and also
precision becomes programmable and rapidly changeable.
Advanced simulations enable the reduction of experimental
investigations with many parameter variations. Also, shorter
time to market is possible if the basic elements are developed
in parallel and the functional integration results from the
software.
A far-reaching integration of the process and the electron-
ics is much easier if the customer obtains the functioning
system from one manufacturer. Usually, this is the manufac-
turer of the machine, the device, or the apparatus. Although
293
these manufacturers have to invest a lot of effort in coping
with the electronics and the information processing, they gain 13
the chance to add to the value of the product. For small
devices and machines with large production numbers, this is
obvious. In the case of larger machines and apparatus, the
process and its automation frequently comes from different
manufacturers. Then, special effort is needed to produce
integrated solutions.
Table 13.1 summarizes some properties of mechatronic
systems compared with conventional electromechanical
systems.
13.4 Integration Forms of Processes
with Electronics
Figure 13.6a shows a general scheme of a classical
mechanical–electronic system. Such systems resulted from
adding available sensors and actuators and analog or digital
controllers to the mechanical components. The limits
of this approach were the lack of suitable sensors and
actuators, unsatisfactory lifetime under rough operating
conditions (acceleration, temperature, and contamination),
large space requirements, the required cables, and relatively
slow data processing. With increasing improvements in
the miniaturization, robustness, and computing power of
microelectronic components, one can now try to place more
emphasis on the electronic side and design the mechanical
part from the beginning with a view to a mechatronic
overall system. Then, more autonomous systems can be
envisaged, e.g., in the form of encapsulated units with
noncontacting signal transfer or bus connections and robust
microelectronics.
Integration within a mechatronic system can be performed
mainly in two ways: through the integration of components
and through integration by information processing (see also
Table 13.1).
The integration of components (hardware integration) re-
sults from designing the mechatronic system as an overall
system and embedding the sensors, actuators, and microcom-
puters into the mechanical process (Fig. 13.6b). This spatial
integration may be limited to the process and sensor or the
process and actuator. The microcomputers can be integrated
with the actuator, the process, or sensor, or be arranged at
several places. Integrated sensors and microcomputers lead
to smart sensors, and integrated actuators and microcom-
puters develop into smart actuators. For larger systems, bus
connections will replace the many cables. Hence, there are
several possibilities for building an integrated overall system
by proper integration of the hardware.
Integration by information processing (software integra-
tion) is mostly based on advanced control functions. Be-
sides basic feedforward and feedback control, an additional
294 R. Isermann

Table 13.1 Some properties of conventional and mechatronic designed systems

Conventional design Mechatronic design
Added components Integration of components (hardware)
Bulky Compact
Complex Simple mechanisms
Cable problems Bus or wireless communication
Connected components Autonomous units
Simple control Integration by information processing (software)
Stiff construction Elastic construction with damping by electronic feedback
Feedforward control, linear (analog) control Programmable feedback (nonlinear) digital control
Precision through narrow tolerances Precision through measurement and feedback control
Nonmeasurable quantities change arbitrarily Control of nonmeasurable estimated quantities
Simple monitoring Supervision with fault diagnosis
Fixed abilities Adaptive and learning abilities

a) Micro- Integration by information processing

Actuators Process Sensors
computer
Knowledge base

b) Information Performance
Micro- gaining criteria
Actuators Process Sensors
computer • Identification
• State observer
Design methods
• Control
Possible points of integration Methematical • Supervision
process models • Optimization
c)
Information Process
processing knowledge
Software Online information processing
Hardware Feedword,
feedback Supervision Adaptation
control diagnosis optimization

Micro-
Actuators Process Sensors
computer
Integration of components
Micro-
Actuator Process Sensors
computer

Fig. 13.6 Integration of mechatronic systems: (a) general scheme of

a (classical) mechanical–electronic system; (b) integration through
components (hardware integration); (c) integration through functions
(software integration)
influence may take place through process knowledge and
corresponding online information processing (Fig. 13.6c).
This means processing of available signals at higher levels,
as will be discussed in the next section. This includes the
solution of tasks such as supervision with fault diagnosis,
optimization, and general process management. The corre-
sponding problem solutions result in online information pro-
cessing, especially using real-time algorithms, which must
be adapted to the properties of the mechanical process, e.g.,
expressed by mathematical models in the form of static char-
acteristics, differential equations, etc. (Fig. 13.7). Therefore,
Fig. 13.7 Integration of mechatronic systems: integration of compo-
nents (hardware integration); integration by information processing
(software integration)
a knowledge base is required, comprising methods for design
and information gain, process models, and performance crite-
ria. In this way, the mechanical parts are governed in various
ways through higher-level information processing with intel-
ligent properties, possibly including learning, thus resulting
in integration with process-adapted software. Both types of
integration are summarized in Fig. 13.7. In the following,
mainly integration through information processing will be
considered.
13 Designs and Specification of Mechatronic Systems 295

Recent approaches for mechatronic systems mostly use
signal processing at lower levels, e.g., damping or control
of motions or simple supervision. Digital information pro-
cessing, however, allows the solutions of many more tasks,
such as adaptive control, learning control, supervision with
fault diagnosis, decisions for maintenance or even fault-
tolerance actions, economic optimization, and coordination.
These higher-level tasks are sometimes summarized as pro-
Manage-
cess management. Information processing at several levels
under real-time condition is typical for extensive process 13
automation (Fig. 13.8).
With the increasing number of automatic functions (au-
tonomy) including electronic components, sensors, and actu-
ators, increasing complexity, and increasing demands on reli-
ability and safety, integrated supervision with fault diagnosis
becomes increasingly important. This is, therefore, a signif-
icant natural feature of an intelligent mechatronic system.
Figure 13.9 shows a process influenced by faults. These faults
indicate unpermitted deviations from normal states and can
be generated either externally or internally. External faults
Higher

Information processing
ment levels are, e.g., caused by the power supply, contamination or colli-
sion, internal faults by wear, missing lubrication, and actuator
Super- or sensor faults. The classic methods for fault detection are
Super- vision
vision level limit-value checking and plausibility checks of a few mea-
surable variables. However, incipient and intermittent faults
v Feedforw. Control r Control
control feedback level
cannot usually be detected, and in-depth fault diagnosis is not
possible with this simple approach. Therefore, model-based
fault detection and diagnosis methods have been developed
Process- in recent years, allowing early detection of small faults with
Process
u y level normally measured signals, also in closed loops [11, 16, 29].
Based on measured input signals U(t), output signals Y(t),
and process models, features are generated by, e.g., parameter
estimation, state and output observers, and parity equations
Fig. 13.8 Different levels of information processing for process au-
tomation. u: manipulated variables; y: measured variables; v: input (Fig. 13.9).
variables; r: reference variables

Faults
N
U Actu- Sen- Y
Process
ators sors

Process
model
Process
model-based
fault detection
Threshold- Vibration Signal-based
Feature
plausibil.- signal fault detection
generation
check models

r, Q, x features
Normal Change detection
behavior
s Analytical symptoms

Fault diagnosis

f Diagnosed faults

Fig. 13.9 Scheme for model-based fault detection and diagnosis [29]
296 R. Isermann

13.5 Design Procedures for Mechatronic have to work together and the products have to be developed
Systems more or less simultaneously to an overall optimum (concur-
rent engineering, top-down design). Usually, this can only be
The design of comprehensive mechatronic systems requires realized with suitable teams.
systematic development and use of modern software design The principle procedure for the design of mechatronic
tools. As with any design, mechatronic design is also an systems is, e.g., described in the VDI guideline 2206 [71].
iterative procedure. However, it is much more involved than A flexible procedural model is described, consisting of the
for pure mechanical or electrical systems. Figure 13.10 shows following elements:
that, in addition to traditional domain-specific engineering,
integrated simultaneous (concurrent) engineering is required 1. Cycles of problem solutions at microscale:
due to the integration of engineering across traditional bound- • Search for solutions by analysis and synthesis of basis
aries that is typical of the development of mechatronic sys- steps
tems. • Comparison of requirements and reality
Hence, the mechatronic design requires a simultaneous • Performance and decisions
procedure in broad engineering areas. Traditionally, the de- • Planning
sign of mechanics, electrics and electronics, control, and 2. Macroscale cycles in the form of a V-model:
human–machine interface was performed in different depart- • Logical sequence of steps
ments with only occasionally contact, sometimes sequen- • Requirements
tially (bottom-up design). Because of the requirements for • System design
integration of hardware and software functions, these areas • Domain-specific design

System definition

Requirements engineering
(specification)

Mechanical & electrical Electronic Information & control Operating

engineering
Traditional

engineering engineering engineering engineering

Electronic hardware Inform. processing & Human machine

Process design
design software design interface design

Integration of components Integration by information processing

(hardware) (software)

Integrated mechan. electronic system

Integrated (concurrent)

Generation of synergetic effects

engineering

Reliability & safety engineering

Manufacturing engineering

Mechatronic system

Fig. 13.10 From domain-specific traditional engineering to integrated, simultaneous engineering (iteration steps are not indicated)
13 Designs and Specification of Mechatronic Systems 297

•System integration • Functional model: further development, fine-tuning, inte-

•Verification and validation
•Modeling (supporting)
•Products: laboratory model, functional model, and pre-
series product
3. Process elements for repeating working steps:
• Repeating process elements
• System design, modeling, element design, integration,
etc.
The V-model, according to [14, 71], is distinguished with
regard to system design and system integration with domain-
specific design in mechanical engineering, electrical engi-
neering, and information processing. Usually, several design
cycles are required, resulting, e.g., in the following interme-
diate products:
• Laboratory model: first functions and solutions, rough
design, and first function-specific investigations
gration of distributed components, power measurements, 13
and standard interfaces
• Pre-series product: consideration of manufacturing, stan-
dardization, further modular integration steps, encapsula-
tion, and field tests
The V-model originates most likely from software devel-
opment [63]. Some important design steps for mechatronic
systems are shown in Fig. 13.11 in the form of an extended V-
model, where the following are distinguished: system design
up to laboratory model, system integration up to functional
model, and system tests up to pre-series product.
The maturity of the product increases as the individual
steps of the V-model are followed. However, several itera-
tions have to be performed, which is not illustrated in the
figure. One intension of the V-model is that the results,
tests, and documents of the right branch correspond to the
development procedures of the left branch.

Degree of maturity
Production
Requirements
• Simultaneous planning
• Overall functions • Technologies
• Rated values • Assembling
• Costs & milestones Validation
• Quality control

Field testing
Specifications
• Final product
• Fulfillment of requirements • Normal use
• Sources, limitations Verification • Statistics
• Reliability, safety • Certification

System design System testing

• Paritioning • Test rigs
• Modules • Stress testing, electromagnetic compatibility
• Mechanics vs. electronics • Behavior testing
System • Synergies • Reliability, safety
design
Modeling & simulation System integration (software)
• Models of component • Signal analysis
• Behavior analysis • Filtering
• Requirements for components • Tuning of algorithms
• Design
System
System integration (hardware) integration
Component design (domain specific) • Assembling
Mechanics Electronics Automatic Human machine • Mutual adaption
control interface • Optimization
• Synergies

Prototypes Component testing

• Laboratory solutions • Hardware-in-the-loop simulation
• Modifications former products • Stress analysis
• Prototype computers/algorithms

Mechatronic components
• Mechanics
• Electronics
• Control-software
• Human machine interface

Fig. 13.11 A “V” development scheme for mechatronic systems

298
Depending on the type of product, the degree of mecha-
tronic design is different. For precision mechanic devices
the integration is already well developed. In the case of
mechanical components one can use as a basis well-proven
constructions. Sensors, actuators, and electronics can be in-
tegrated by corresponding changes, as can be seen, e.g.,
in adaptive shock absorbers, hydraulic brakes, and fluidic
actuators. In machines and vehicles it can be observed that
the basic mechanical construction remains constant but is
complemented by mechatronic components, as is the case for
machine tools, combustion engines, and automobiles.
Some important steps of the V-model for the development
of hardware and software functions can be described as
follows:
1. Requirements
• User requirements
• Definition of general (overall) functions and data
(rated values) of the final product
• General solution outline
• Development and manufacturing costs
• Timely development and milestones
• Result: requirements document (does not include
technical implementation)
2. Specifications
• Definition of the product that fulfills the requirements
• Partitioning in manageable modules
• Specification of features and data of the modules
• Consideration of the sources, tools, and limitations for
the development and final manufacturing and mainte-
nance
• Specification of hardware data
• Specification of used software, compilers, and devel-
opment systems
• Result: specification document
3. System design
• Detailed partitioning into electronic, mechanic,
hydraulic, pneumatic, and thermal components with
their auxiliary power supplies
• Detailed fixing of type of sensors and actuators and
their data
• Detailed data of interfaces between microcomputer,
sensors, and actuators
• Task distribution between sensors and actuators with
integrated electronics
• Specification of power-related data
• Hardware design: data of microprocessors, data stor-
ages, interfaces, bus systems, cabling, and plug sys-
tems
• Control engineering design:
– Definition of sensor inputs and outputs to the actu-
ators
R. Isermann
– Control system structure: feedforward control
(open loop) and feedback control (closed loop)
– Required engine and component models
– Model-based design
– Calibration (parametrization) methods
– Supervision and diagnosis functions
• Reliability and safety issues: FMEA (fault mode and
effect analysis) studies for sensor, actuator, and ECU
faults and failures
• Result: control system design document
4. Modeling and simulation
• Required mathematical models of processes, sensors,
actuators, drives, and transmission
• Theoretical/physical modeling
• Experimental modeling
• Use of modeling/identification tools
• Measurement procedures for test benches and design
of experiments
• Kind of models: stationary (lookup tables, polynomi-
als, and neural networks) and dynamic (differential
equations and neural networks)
• Result: overall process and component models
5. Domain-specific component design
• Design of mechanics, sensors, actuators, and electron-
ics
• Hardware and software integration of functions
• Prototype solutions
• Human-machine interface
• Laboratory models
6. Control function development
• Hierarchical control structure
• Computer-supported design and manual design
• Operation states: from start-up to shut-off
• Control functions: process state dependent and time
dependent
• Sampling times and word length
• Supervision and diagnosis functions
• Model-in-the-loop simulation: process and μC-
models
• Rapid control prototyping with development μC, by-
pass computer and test bench
• Result: control structure and control algorithms
7. Control software development
• Software architecture layers and modules
• Software-component interfaces
• High-level language: selection, floating point (e.g., C-
code, MATLAB/Simulink)
• Availability of compilers for target software
• Implementation of control functions and modules into
software structure
• Standardization and reuse of software modules
• Code optimization
13 Designs and Specification of Mechatronic Systems
• Testing of software modules with, e.g., model-in-the-
loop simulation
• Rapid control prototyping with bypass computer and
test bench experiments
• Transfer of high-level language control software into
machine code. Use of cross-compiler
• Test of control functions with simulated process
• Software-in-the-loop simulation
• Hardware-in-the-loop simulation if real-time func-
tions with components are of interest
• Result: implemented control software in target micro-
computer (μC)
8. Mechatronic components integration
• Integration of components
• Mechanical integration
• Integration of mechanics, sensors, actuators, and mi-
crocomputer
• Integration with cables, switches, and bus systems
• Result: integrated prototype product
9. Hardware and software testing
• Hardware-in-the-loop simulation
• Real-time software analysis
• Stress analysis
10. Final system integration (hardware)
• Assembling
• Mutual adaption of components
• Optimization with regard to manufacturing
• Creation of synergies
11. Final system integration (software functions)
• Use of real signals
• Filtering of signals
• Calibration of control parameters
• Tests for stationary and dynamic behavior
• Tests of the human-machine interface
12. System testing
• Use of test benches, if required
• Stress testing
• Reliability and safety tests
• Electromagnetic compatibility
13. Field testing
• Final product
• Normal and abnormal use
• Statistics
• Certification, if required
14. Production
• Preparations for series production
• Used machines
• Assembling lines
• Quality control
One special topic within the domain-specific component
design (no. 5) is the design of the human-machine interface
(HMI). This holds especially for mechatronic equipment,
299
machines, and vehicles and needs special consideration with
regard to the human role and capabilities. In this context, a 13
design with virtual reality and visual simulations can be used
as described in [5].
If the overall system consists of many different compo-
nents a modular design and specification of the subcompo-
nents is advisable with a hierarchical structure and horizontal
and vertical branches. Some examples are given in [45].
13.6 Computer-Aided Design
of Mechatronic Systems
One general goal in the design of mechatronic systems is the
use of computer-aided design tools from different domains.
A survey is given in [71]. The design model given in [14]
distinguishes the following integration levels:
• Basic level: specific product development, computer-
aided engineering (CAE) tools
• Process-oriented level: design packages, status, process
management, and data management
• Model-oriented level: common product model for data
exchange (STEP)
• System-oriented level: coupling of information technol-
ogy (IT) tools with, e.g., CORBA, DCOM, and JAVA
The domain-specific design is usually designed on gen-
eral CASE tools, such as CAD/CAE for mechanics, two-
dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) design with
AutoCAD, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) tools for
fluidics, electronics, and board layout (PADS), microelec-
tronics (VHDL), and computer-aided design of control sys-
tems CADCS tools for the control design (see, e.g., [14, 34]).
For overall modeling, object-oriented software is espe-
cially of interest based on the use of general model-building
laws. The models are first formulated as noncausal objects
installed in libraries. They are then coupled with graphical
support (object diagrams) by using methods of inheritance
and reusability.
Examples are MODELICA, MOBILE, VHDL-AMS, and
20 SIM; see, e.g., [13, 34, 48, 49, 50]. A broadly used tool for
simulation and dynamics design is MATLAB/SIMULINK.
When designing mechatronic systems the traditional bor-
ders of various disciplines have to be crossed. For the clas-
sical mechanical engineer this frequently means that knowl-
edge of electronic components, information processing, and
systems theory has to be deepened, and for the electri-
cal/electronic engineer that knowledge on thermodynamics,
fluid mechanics, and engineering mechanics has to be en-
larged. For both, more knowledge on modern control princi-
ples, software engineering, and information technology may
be necessary (see also [69]).
300 R. Isermann

13.7 Model-Based Control Function
Development
A systematic and efficient development of control functions
and their optimization and calibration requires special sim-
ulation methods and computers, which support the control
function development as well as calibration and software test-
ing. This is part of the control system integration, represented
in the right branch of the V-development model in Fig. 13.11.
13.7.1 Model-in-the-Loop Simulation
and Control Prototyping
A design of new control functions in an early development
phase may be based on simulations with process models
and an ECU model, i.e., control algorithms in a high-level
language, as, e.g., MATLAB-Simulink. This is called model-
in-the-loop simulation (MiL). Both, the ECU and the process
are then represented as a model, i.e., a virtual picture of the
real parts.
If some control functions of a real development ECU can
already be applied to the real process on a test bench, some
new control functions may be tested as prototypes with a
special real-time computer parallel to the ECU. This is called
rapid control prototyping (RCP). Frequently the new control
functions operate in a bypass mode and use the interfaces
of the ECU to the sensors and the actuators, see Fig. 13.12.
The computing power for the experimental RCP computer
exceeds that of the ECU and operates with a high-level
language. Thus, the new control functions do not have to be
implemented in machine code within the limited computer
power and fix point restrictions of an ECU. This may save
considerable development time by trying and testing new
functions directly on a higher software level with the real
engine. If a development ECU is not available, a powerful
real-time computer can be used if the required sensors and
actuators interface are implemented. It is then called fullpass
mode, see [60].

Process model ECU model

q FW
p2, stat p2 p2
Control upwm
SiL q FW
algorithm
neng
T2, stat T2
neng p2, setpoint

Simulation tool High-performance

H

real-time computer
iL

P
RC

(full pass, bypass)

Integrated
mechatronic system
(final product)

Real process (engine) Real ECU + real actuator

(injection pump)

Fig. 13.12 Different couplings of process and electronics for a mechatronic design. SiL: software-in-the-loop; RCP: rapid control prototyping;
HiL: hardware-in-the-loop [31]
13 Designs and Specification of Mechatronic Systems
13.7.2 Software-in-the-Loop
and Hardware-in-the-Loop Simulation
Existing process models in high-level language can be used
for the validation of software functions as test candidates
in an early development phase by software-in-the-loop sim-
ulation (SiL), see Fig. 13.12. The software functions may
already be implemented with fix point or floating point arith-
metic and required interfaces, before they are implemented
on the target ECU. Real-time behavior is not required.
For a final validation of control functions the target ECU
with its interfaces has to cooperate with real signals. In order
not to use real process on expensive test benches, real-time
process models are implemented in a powerful development
computer. The sensor signals may be generated by special
electronic modules and the output signals are frequently
transferred to real actuators. Thus, the real ECU with imple-
mented software operates with some real components, but
with simulated real-time high-performance process models
and is known as hardware-in-the loop simulation (HiL), see
Fig. 13.12. The advantages are that, e.g., software functions
can be tested under real-time constraints, validation tests
are reproducible and can be automated, critical boundary
conditions (high speed and high load) can be realized without
being dangerous, the reaction to faults and failures can be
investigated, on-board diagnosis functions can be tested, etc.
13.8 Control Software Development
According to the V-development model in Fig. 13.11, the
first steps are the control system development and the control
functions development in high-end software (e.g., MATLAB-
SimulinkTM and StateflowTM). The next steps are then the
control software development and the software implementa-
tion on the ECU for series production using special software
tools and computers for code generation and testing with
compilers and real-time simulation. In the following, some
remarks are given briefly for the software architecture for the
example of combustion engine control, which may also be
applied to mechatronic systems in general.
The design of the software architecture has to consider
many aspects from software development to the requirements
of the target microprocessor and includes connected modules
which have to be flexible with regard to continuous changes
and variants. Several software layers have to be defined. The
minimum is two layers, a platform software and an appli-
cation software, as shown in Fig. 13.13, [60]. The platform
software is oriented to the ECU and comprises the operating
system, as well as communications and network management
according to OSEK/VDX (2005) standards and diagnostic
protocols. OSEK stands for “Open Systems and Interfaces
for Automotive Electronics” and is the result of a committee
301
of major automotive manufacturers and component suppliers
to support portability and reusability of application software 13
under real-time constraints, started in 1993. It also contains
standardized flash memory programming procedures. The
standardization of the platform software is additionally ad-
vantageous during the software development with regard to
software changes and parametrization. Interfaces for mea-
surement and calibration via CAN protocols support the
development phase as well, see [7, 8]. A hardware abstraction
layer (HAL) gives access to the peripheral components of the
ECU and is specified for the used microprocessors.
The application software can be designed by the vehicle
manufacturer and contains vehicle-specific functions. Stan-
dardization takes place for control functions, ranging from
lookup tables and their interpolation to dynamic control
algorithms. The standardization is, e.g., treated in the MSR-
MEGMA working group and ASAM [3].
The configuration of standardized software components
allows a specific application by using configuration tools.
An automated configuration comprises, e.g., the handling
of signals, messages, buses, nodes, and functions. It may
contain export and import interfaces with data exchange
formats and a documentation interface. More details like data
models for engine and vehicle variants, storage in volatile
(RAM) or nonvolatile memories (ROM, PROM, EPROM, or
flash memory), and description files for data structure can be
found, e.g., in [60].
Activities for an open industry standard of the automotive
software architecture between suppliers and manufacturers
are going on in the AUTOSAR consortium (AUTomotive
Open System ARchitecture) since 2003, [4, 22]. One of
its aims is an open and standardized automotive software
architecture. The standard includes specifications describing
software architecture components and defining their inter-
faces.
The AUTOSAR architecture separates the basis software
from the application software and connects them by stan-
dardized interfaces, see Fig. 13.14. To master the complexity,
several layers are defined, see [72]. The connection to the
microcomputer is provided by the lowest level, the micro-
controller abstraction layer. Here, the interfaces are defined
to the memories, the I/O drivers, their communication, and to
additional features which are not part of the microcontroller.
The second layer is the ECU abstraction layer, comprising
the hardware design of the ECU including driver to external
components. The service layer at the third level provides
basic software modules like the operating system, memory
administration, and bus communication. This layer is rela-
tively independent on the ECU hardware. The fourth level
is the runtime environment (RTE), which separates the basis
software and application software and carries out data ex-
change in both directions. Therefore, the application software
components have standardized interfaces to the RTE. The
302 R. Isermann

Function
f3

Application software
Function Function
f1 f2

Platform software
Flash loader

Interaction layer
Diagnostic protocol
OSEK-COM Network
ISO
management

OSEK-NM Hardware
Network layer ISO abstraction
layer

Bus driver(s) (CAN, K-line, LIN) (HAL)

Operating system
OSEK-OS
....

Fig. 13.13 Software architecture composed of standardized software components, [60]

and testing. An exchange of information becomes possible

through standardized software input and output ports. Thus
Application layer
a validation of the interaction of the SWCs and interfaces is
possible before software implementation.
AUTOSAR runtime environment

Service layer
Complete
ECU abstraction layer drives
Microcontroller abstraction layer
Microcontroller
Fig. 13.14 AUTOSAR layer structure of automotive software, [72]
RTE also integrates the application software components
(SWCs), see Fig. 13.15. This separation and integration
with standardized interfaces enables a hardware-independent
software development. The application software components
can therefore be transferred to other ECUs and reused.
A virtual function bus (VFB) connects the various soft-
ware components during the design and allows a configura-
tion independent of a specific hardware. Thus the SWCs are
runnable entities and can be linked together for development
13.9 Internet of Things for Mechatronics
The Internet of Things (IoT) covers a network of physical
objects with embedded sensors, microcomputers, and com-
munication links to connect and exchange data with other
devices and systems over the Internet. The applications of IoT
devices comprise many areas like, for example, consumers
(smart home, wearable equipment, medical, and health care),
industry (manufacturing, technical processes, and energy
systems), and infrastructure (buildings, bridges, roadways,
and environment), see, e.g., [1, 18, 55].
IoT devices may use several networks to communicate
by wireless or wired technologies. Their addresses are, e.g.,
based on radio frequency identification (RFID) tags (an elec-
tromechanic electronic product code) or on an IP address for
linking with the Internet or the use of an Internet protocol.
For wireless communication, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, LTE, or 5G
13 Designs and Specification of Mechatronic Systems 303

13
Application Actuator Sensor AUTOSAR Application
software software software software
component component component software component
AUTOSAR AUTOSAR AUTOSAR .............. AUTOSAR
interface interface interface interface

AUTOSAR runtime environment (RTE)

Standardized Standardized Standardized AUTOSAR AUTOSAR

interface interface interface interface interface
Services Communi- ECU
cation abstraction
Standardized Standardized Standardized
interface interface interface
Standardized
interface

Operating Complex
system Standardized drivers
interface
Basic software Micro-
controller
abstraction
ECU hardware

Fig. 13.15 AUTOSAR software architecture components and interfaces (RTE: runtime environment), [41]

are possible and for wired communication Ethernet or power
line communication (power and data), see [36, 62].
In the frame of mechatronic systems the principle of IoT
may be applied for mechatronic machine components (spe-
cial suspensions and bearings), motion generators (servo-
drives, robots), power-producing machines (electrical drives
and combustion engines), power-consuming machines (ma-
chine tools and pumps), mechatronic components of vehicles
(automatic gears, ABS, and EPS), and mechatronic trains
(boogies drives), see Fig. 13.5.
The additional functions by communication via the In-
ternet are supervision and monitoring of the status for fault
detection and maintenance, adaptation of control algorithms,
teleoperation, and statistics for the manufacturer. This holds
especially for the parts subject to wear and aging, like actua-
tors, drives, and tools.
The data obtained from sensors and actuators are treated
locally if fast decisions have to be made, or in higher levels,
like an edge gateway, if more computations are required or
via the cloud for, e.g., teleservice.
13.10 Mechatronic Developments for
Vehicles
Many automotive developments in the last three decades have
been possible through an increasing number of mechatronic
components in the power train and the chassis. Figure 13.16
gives some examples for engines, drive trains, suspensions,
brakes and steering systems. This development has a consid-
erable influence on the design and operation of the power
train consisting of the combustion engine, the drive train, and
the chassis with suspension, steering, and braking systems.
In the case of hybrid drives this includes also the electrical
motor and the battery.
The mechatronic components replace formally pure me-
chanical, hydraulic, or pneumatic parts and use sensors with
electrical outputs, actuators with electrical inputs, and dig-
ital electronics for control. The available electrical sensor
measurements open the access to internal functions and thus
enable new possibilities not only for control but also for fault
detection and diagnosis.
The development of sensors, actuators, and electronic
control for automobiles is depicted in Fig. 13.17. The first
mechatronic components for the control of vehicles have
been wheel speed sensors and electrohydraulic switching
valves for the brake system (1979), electrical throttle (1986),
and semi-active shock absorbers (1988). These basic mecha-
tronic components then allowed to develop control systems
for antilock braking (ABS, 1979), automatic traction control
(TCS, 1986), electronic stability control (ESC, 1995), and ac-
tive body control (ABC, 1999). Next development steps were
electric power steering (EPS, 1996) and active front steering
(AFS, 2003). These mechatronic systems served mainly to
304 R. Isermann

Mechatronic
vehicle components

Mechatronic Mechatronic Hybrid/ Mechatronic Mechatronic Mechatronic

combustion drive electric suspensions brakes steering
engines trains drives
- Electric throttle - Automatic - Electromotors: - Semi-active - Hydraulic anti- - Parameter-
- Mechatronic hydrodynamic asynchr. EM shock-absorbers lock braking controlled
fuel injection transmission synchr. EM - Active hydraulic (ABS) power-assisted
- Mechatronic - Automatic - Hybrid drives: suspension - Electronic steering
valve trains mechanic parallel, series (ABC) stability control - Electro-
- Variable geo- shift transm. powersplit - Active pneumatic (ESC) mechanical
metry turbo- - Continuously - Batteries suspension - Electro-hydraulic power-
charger (VGT) variable trans- Lith. Ion - Active anti-roll brake (EHB) assisted
- Emission control mission (CVT) - 48 V bars - Electro- steering (EPS)
- Evaporative - Automatic traction (dynamic drive mechanical brake - Active front
emission control control (ATC) control (DDC) (EMB) steering (AFS)
- Electrical pumps - Automatic speed or roll-control) - Electrical
and fans and distance parking brake
control (ACC)
2
3 4 5 6

+ -

7 8

Electrical energy flow

Fig. 13.16 Mechatronic components and systems for automobiles and engines [32]

Sensors Driver-assistance systems and Actuators

mechatronic components
Wheel speed Hydraulic pump

Antilock brakes Highly automated driving (20xx) Magnet switching valves

Pedal position
(ABS, 1979)
Anti-collision avoidance (20xx) Electronic throttle valves
Yaw rate Traction control
(TCS, 1986) Lane keeping assist
Lateral and longitudinal (LKA, 2007) Electro-pneumatic
acceleration brake booster
Electronic stability Parking assistance
control (ESC, 1995)
Steering angle (2003) Magnetic proportional
Dynamic drive control valves
Susp. deflection Brake assist
(BA, 1996) (DDC, 2003)
Electro-hydraulic
Distance (radar) Continuous damping control absorbers
Electrical power steering (CDC, 2002)
Brake pressure (EPS, 1996) Hydraulic pump with
Electro-hydraulic brake
accumulator
Electronic air suspension (EHB, 2001)
Wheel acceleration
control (EAS, 1998) Electro-hydraulic or
Active body control
Steering torque (ABC, 1999) electro-motoric stabiliser
Adaptive cruise control
(ACC, 1999)
Roll angle Electrical superposition
angle actuator

Fig. 13.17 Examples for the introduction of sensors, actuators, and electronic control systems for automobiles [32]

increase safety and comfort and required many new sensors
with electrical outputs, actuators with electrical inputs, and
micro-controller-based electronic control units. Because they
support the driver in performing driving maneuvers, they are
driver assistance systems.
Parallel to the increase of electronic control functions
for the chassis the engines and drive trains have shown
a similar development. This has to be seen together with
the improvements of the combustion, fuel consumption and
13 Designs and Specification of Mechatronic Systems
emission reductions, as well as hybrid and electrical drives,
see, e.g., [8, 56, 57].
In the following mechatronic engineering for automobiles
is illustrated by considering the developments of brake and
steering systems.
13.11 Mechatronic Brake Systems
In the frame of active vehicle safety, the optimal function of
brake systems has one of the highest priorities. In the long
history of the development of mechanical, hydraulic, and
pneumatic brake systems, the improvements of the braking
performance by electronic control since the introduction of
ABS brake control around 1978 play a dominant role for
automotive control.
13.11.1 Hydraulic Brake System
Service brake systems for passenger cars and light utility ve-
hicles consist usually of two independent hydraulic circuits.
They are configured either diagonal, i.e., the right front wheel
and the left rear wheel belong to one circuit, or parallel,
where the two front wheels and the two rear wheels form each
one circuit. The brake pedal acts on a dual master cylinder
and the brake booster, which amplifies the pedal force, e.g.,
by a vacuum-operated booster with a factor 4–10, and acts on
the brake master cylinder. There, the force is converted into
hydraulic pressure with up to 120–180 bar.
A hydraulic unit carries the solenoid valves and the ECU
for the brake control system (ABS, ESC). The pressurized
brake fluid transmits the brake pressure through brake lines
and flexible brake hoses to the wheel brake cylinders. The
pistons of the brake cylinder then generate the force to press
the brake pads against the disc or drum brake.
Brake force boosters use an auxiliary energy to amplify
the pedal force, either stemming from air vacuum or hy-
draulic pressure. Vacuum brake boosters use the (variable)
vacuum in the intake manifold of gasoline engines or from
special vacuum pumps in the case of diesel engines.
13.11.2 Antilock Control with Switching Valves
(ABS)
In order to avoid locking wheels during strong braking,
antilock braking systems (ABS) are installed. They ensure
that the wheels rotate with a certain angular speed close to
optimal slip with the goals to keep the vehicle’s steerability
and stability and to shorten braking distances.
A hydraulic-electronic control unit (HECU) consists of a
central hydraulics block with valves, an electric-driven pump
305
13
1
M
6
Hydraulic control
7 8
unit (HCU)
4 3
5
2 1 Brake master cylinder
2 Wheel brake cylinder
3 Inlet valve
4 Outlet valve
5 Intermediate accumulator
6 Return pump
7 Pulsation damper
8 Flow restrictor
Fig. 13.18 Hydraulic brake system with magnetic 2/2-way valves for
ABS-braking
(90 W to 220 W), see Fig. 13.18, and a coil carrier with an
electronic control unit (two micro-controllers, ∼ 20 MHz,
ROM with 256 kB to 1 MB). The coil carrier is connected
to the hydraulics unit with a magnetic connector.
An inlet valve and an outlet valve (both 2/2 way) within
the hydraulic block enable to modulate the brake pressure for
each wheel. The inlet valve is normally open and the outlet
valve is closed.
Based on the wheel speed sensor, the wheel’s acceleration
is determined. If this acceleration shows during breaking a
sharp negative value, a deceleration, the braking pressure in
the master cylinder has to be reduced in order to avoid locking
of the wheel, though the braking pedal is applied by the driver
to strong braking. Therefore, first the inlet valve is closed
and the brake pressure remains constant. If the deceleration
continues the outlet valve is opened, the braking pressure gets
smaller, and the wheel results in smaller slip, thus avoiding
complete locking of the wheel. By determining the wheel
speed rate and the tire slip a sequence of valve commands
is generated, thus resulting in an optimal range of brake slip
values, see [8, 32, 70].
Figure 13.19 shows a hydraulic system for four wheels.
The ABS control unit comprises for each of the two separated
brake circuits six magnetic values, one DC-driven return
pump, a damper pressure, and low-pressure accumulator. To-
gether with the tandem master cylinder, the pneumatic brake
booster, the brake systems form a hydraulic mechatronic
system, where the electrohydraulic components are together
with the ECU integrated in one ABS block.
306 R. Isermann

Vacuum brake booster

1 Tandem master cylinder Fluid supply
2 Push rod
3 Pressure chamber
4 Intermediate piston
5 Floating chamber Brake pedal
6 Isolating valve
7 Changeover valve
8 Pressure-control valve
9 DC motor
10 Return pump
11 Damper chamber
12 Throttling point
13 Inlet valve
14 Outlet valve
15 Non-return valve
16 Low-pressure accumulator
FL front left
FR front right
RL rear left
RR rear right Floating circuit (F) Pressure circuit (P) MK 60 Hydroaggregat
Continental Teves AG

Wheel brakes

Fig. 13.19 Hydraulic brake system for antilock braking of a passenger car in a diagonal configuration, [32]

The brake fluid leaving the brake circuit is stored in
an intermediate accumulator and then pumped back by the
return pump to the brake master cylinder.
13.11.3 Electromechanical Brake Booster
The conventional vacuum brake booster requires a vacuum
source, either from the manifold of gasoline engines or an
extra vacuum pump for diesel engines. Additionally, the
required packaging space is relatively large. With the goal
of an integrated mechatronic brake force generator, an elec-
tromechanical brake booster (i-booster) has been developed,
which uses the dual master cylinder and an electrical motor
with gear to amplify the pedal force and is used since 2013
for series production. The advantages are a faster brake
pressure generation, better use of electrical inputs for driver
assistance systems, redundancy for automatic driving, and
use for electrical and hybrid drives.
The generation of the supporting brake force is performed,
e.g., by a permanently excited synchronous motor (PMSM)
followed by a two-step reduction gear and a worm gear, with
a power of about 300 W, see [8].
13 Designs and Specification of Mechatronic Systems
zgear
M
Gear el. motor
FBB
bB FF
FBR
Brake Foot
pedal force
Fig. 13.20 Signal flow for an electromechanical brake booster acting on the master piston of a dual master cylinder with difference position
control. Please note that only the master piston for brake circuit I is considered [32]
A schematic illustration of the signal flow is depicted in
Fig. 13.20. The generation of the supporting braking force is
based on the measurement of the travel ways of the pedal
push rod and of the electromotorically driven rack. The
control variable is the difference of the two travel ways with
the goal to bring it to zero. An alternative is to measure
directly the difference of the two travel ways.
This electromechanical brake booster is more precise and
faster than a vacuum booster. Because of the electrically
actuated braking force, it allows the direct blending for
recuperative braking with generators or electrical drives and
a direct use for automatic driving.
13.11.4 Electrohydraulic Brake System (EHB)
A further mechatronic development is the electrohydraulic
brake system (EHB), where the brake forces for each wheel
are individually controlled electronically by continuously
operating valves. This allows to directly integrate ABS, TCS,
and ESC functions in one compact mechatronic braking unit.
The EHB came on the market in 2001 and consists of the
following components:
• Actuation unit with dual master cylinder, pedal travel
force simulator, backup travel sensor, and brake fluid
reservoir
• Hydraulic control unit (HCU) with motor, three piston
pumps, high-pressure accumulator, eight continuously op-
erating electromechanical valves, two isolation valves,
two balancing valves, and six pressure sensors
• Electronic control unit (ECU) with two microprocessors
307
'z
13
'z –
+
Controller
pI
b
A
zMP VI PI
– Master Clearances Pressure
piston generation
Pressure force
feedback I pMPI
The brake pedal force simulator generates a suitable pedal
travel/force characteristic with damping. The pedal travel
is measured by two separate angle position sensors. Addi-
tionally, the brake pressure of the brake master cylinder is
measured, such that a threefold redundancy of the drivers
brake command exists.
In normal driving mode the electrically driven hydraulic
three piston pump charges the high-pressure metal diaphragm
accumulator leading to a pressure between 90 and 180 bar,
which is measured by an accumulator pressure sensor. The
isolating valves are closed if the brake pedal is activated and
separate the pressure in the master cylinder from the brake
calipers. The braking demand from the driver, measured by
the pedal travel sensors, is then transferred to the ECU, which
controls the brake pressures individually for each wheel “by
wire,” see [37].
The software structure of the ECU is characterized by a
modular structure with different levels from basic functions
through yaw control, traction control (TCS), and antilock
control (ABS) to electronic stability control (ESC), see [59].
13.11.5 Electromechanical Brake (EMB)
The number of registered cars being equipped with modern
electronic driver-assisting brake control systems such as
antilock braking (ABS), traction control system (TCS), and
electronic stability control (ESC) have increased steadily.
However, to embed such functionality in conventional
hydraulic brake systems, a large number of electrohydraulic
components are required. In recent years, the automotive
industry and their suppliers have therefore started to develop
308
brake-by-wire systems as typical mechatronic solutions.
There are two concepts favored, the electrohydraulic system
(EHB) and the fully electromechanical system (EMB). The
electrohydraulic brake-by-wire system still uses brake fluid
and conventional brake actuators but proportional valves.
However, with regard to the disadvantages of the elec-
trohydraulic system (brake fluid, brake lines, proportional
valves, etc.) the fully electromechanical brake system is a
promising concept. An electromechanically actuated brake
system provides an ideal basis for converting electrical com-
mand signals into clamping forces at the brakes. Standard and
advanced braking functions can then be realized with uniform
hardware and software. The software modules of the control
unit and the sensor equipment determine the functionality of
the brake-by-wire system.
The reduction of vehicle hardware and entire system
weight are not the only motivational factors contributing
to the development of a fully mechatronic brake-by-wire
system. The system is environmentally friendly due to the
lack of brake fluid and requires little maintenance (only pads
and discs). Its decoupled brake pedal can be mounted in a
crash-compatible and space-saving manner in the passenger
compartment. There are no restraints to the design of the
pedal characteristics, so ergonomic and safety aspects can
be directly included. This “plug and play” concept with
a minimized number of parts also reduces production and
logistics costs.
A wheel brake module consists of an electromechani-
cal brake with servo-amplifier and microcontroller unit, see
Fig. 13.21. The microcontroller performs the clamping force
and position control as well as the clearance management, the
communication, and the supervision of the wheel module.
To drive the DC brushless motor of the wheel brake, a
compact and powerful servo-amplifier is used. It processes
the motor rotor position, which is provided by a resolver,
for electronic commutation. Additionally, the servo-amplifier
Micro-controller
System bus Control signals:
(CAN) - Initialization
- Control mode
- Desired value
Desired
clamping for Functions:
x Clamping force control Sensor signals:
x Position control - Rotor position
Wheel speed x Clearance management - Motor current
x Communication
x Supervision
Fig. 13.21 Block diagram of an electromechanical wheel brake module [32]
R. Isermann
is equipped with two analog controllers, a motor current
controller, and a rotor velocity controller.
The design of this mechatronic brake consisting of an
electromechanical converter, gear, friction brake, and sensors
is mainly driven by the demand for minimized space and
lightweight construction. A gear set consisting of the motor-
driven planetary gear and a spindle generates the clamping
force.
13.12 Mechatronic Steering Systems
Except very small cars, electrical power–assisted steering
systems (EPS) are standard for small to larger passenger
cars and hydraulic power–assisted steering systems (HPS) for
large passenger cars, and lightweight and heavy commercial
vehicles. These power-assisted steering systems amplify the
driver’s muscular forces by adding additional steering forces
resulting from hydraulic or electrical auxiliary energy. Some
development steps for power steering systems are shown in
Fig. 13.22.
In addition to the mechanical steering system a torque
sensor in the steering column measures the manual torque
MH of the driver via a torsion bar generating a small twist
angle δ M . This value then directly changes an orifice valve
in the case of an hydraulic actuator to influence hydraulic
flows or is an electrical output of a torque sensor in the case of
electrical power steering. Based on this torque measurement
the hydraulic or electrical power actuator is feedforward
controlled via a calibrated characteristic curve UPA = f (δ M )
which determines the actuator force dependent on the steer-
ing angle δ H and the vehicle speed vX . For both hydraulic and
electric power steering systems many different constructions
exist, see, e.g., [8, 23, 53].
Servo-amplifier Wheel brake
Phase-
voltages
Functions:
x Velocity control
x Current control Rotor
x Electronic position
communication
Clamping force
13 Designs and Specification of Mechatronic Systems
Hydraulic
power steering
Electrical
power steering
Electrical power
assisted steering
(HPS) (EPS)
Hydraulic
Electrical
Fig. 13.22 On the development of different power steering systems [32]
13.12.1 Electrical Power Steering (EPS)
An electrical power steering system (EPS) uses an electromo-
tor powered by the electrical board net to support the manual
torque by the driver through a mechanical transmission.
Though the energy density of electrical system is less than
that for hydraulic systems and therefore more package space
may be required around the actuator space, they offer many
advantages and have therefore penetrated passenger cars
since about 1988 from the A segment to heavy vehicles, with
electrical power from 150–1000 W. This required partially a
24 V power supply. The upcoming 48 V voltage level will
further increase their application rate.
The advantages of EPS compared to HPS are mainly:
• Reduction of fuel consumption
• Elimination of engine-driven oil pump, flexible hoses,
hydraulic cylinder, and many seals
• Complete system modules delivered as a single assembly,
ready and tested units
• An EPS electronic control unit (ECU) together with a
steering angle sensor allows a precise position and torque
control
• ECU enables the use of additional inputs from chassis
sensors and other ECUs via bus systems
• Enhanced steering functions like electrical damping, ac-
tive return of the steering wheel to straight-line driving,
and compensation of disturbance torques from road or side
wind by control software
• Addition of driver assistance functions like automated
parking, lane keeping, and trailer backup assist, and for
automated driving
Thus EPS systems show some typical advantages of a
mechatronic design: compactness, integration of mechanics,
electrics and electronics, integration by software, precision
though digital feedback control, and autonomous units.
309
Active front
steering
Steer-by-
wire
13
(HPS + EPS) (AFS) (SbW)
Examples for EPS systems are shown in Fig. 13.23. A
torque sensor in the steering shaft as a measure of the driver’s
manual torque is transmitted to a specific ECU which deter-
mines together with other measurements like the vehicle’s
speed the power steering assisting torque of the electric
motor.
13.12.2 Basic Designs of EPS Systems
Depending on the arrangement of the electrical motor at the
column or at the rack with different gears following EPS type
can be distinguished; see, e.g., [53, 58] Fig. 13.23.
Column-type EPS systems, consisting of the torque sen-
sor, the electric motor, and a reduction gear, are arranged
directly at the steering column inside the vehicle. The ECU is
installed separately or attached to the motor or torque sensor.
The reduction gear can be a worm gear, allowing sufficient
back-turning capability. This type is usually applied for light
vehicles and uses the existing rack and pinion steering sys-
tem.
Pinion-type EPS (single pinion) may also use the existing
rack and pinion system. The electric motor with ECU is con-
nected to the pinion by a worm gear. This enables more direct
connection to the rack, but undergoes harder environmental
influences (temperature and splash water).
Dual pinion-type EPS acts with a second pinion on an
additional rack, e.g., by a worm gear, and allows more
freedom for the integration in the vehicle. It also contains a
gear set and the ECU.
Axis-parallel-type EPS (APA) has the electric motor ar-
ranged parallel to the rack and transmit the rotary movement
to a straight rack movement by a ball screw which is driven
by a tooth belt and the electric motor. The transfer of forces
from the ball nut to the rack is performed by a chain of
hardened steel balls with ball screw threads. The gear set
operates without backlash. The advantages are high precision
310
Lore
Fig. 13.23 Different types of electrical power steering systems: (a)
column type (b) pinion type (c) dual pinion type (d) axis-parallel type
(e) rack-centered axis-parallel type [32]
R. Isermann
Recirculation
ball gear Steering column shaft
Torque
sensor
Steering
rack
Pinion gear
Tooth belt
Brushless DC motor
Fig. 13.24 Axis-parallel EPS with PMSM electric motor, tooth belt,
recirculation ball gear, and rack spindle. (Source: [74], Imax = 80 A,
Pel,max = 960 W, Frack,max = 12,000 N)
and suitability also for heavier vehicles. Figure 13.24 depicts
an example.
Axis-parallel rack-type EPS (RC: rack concentric) has the
ball nut of the ball screw without additional gear directly
operating on the rack. The electrical motor has then a hollow
shaft where the rack ball screw passes through. This very
direct, stiff design requires a high torque motor and precise
control.
The generated rack forces range from about 6000 N for
the column-type to 15,000 N for the axis-parallel-type EPS,
with electrical motors power from 200–1000 W.
13.12.3 Fault-Tolerant EPS Structures
In the case of faults and even failures of the electrical power
steering system, the driver can take over the required steer-
ing torque for small and medium cars. However, for larger
cars and light commercial vehicles the EPS should be fail-
operational with regard to failures.
For automatic driving the driver is out of the loop. Au-
tomatic closed-loop systems cover usually smaller additive
and parametric faults of the controlled process. However,
if the faults become larger, either sluggish, less damped,
or unstable behavior may result. The not engaged driver
may then not perform the right steering command in time.
Therefore, it will be required that EPS systems in the case
of automatic controlled driving must have fail-operational
functions in the case of certain faults, i.e., have to be fault
tolerant.
For most components of the steering actuator system
hardware redundancy is required in the form of dynamic re-
dundancy with hot or cold standby, see [28]. This means that
a selection of components has to be doubled. Figure 13.25
depicts redundancy structures with different degrees of re-
dundancy. At first the torque sensor can be duplicated or an
13 Designs and Specification of Mechatronic Systems 311

a) b) c) d) e) 13
Sensors Sensors Sensors Sensors Sensors

ECU ECU ECU ECU ECU ECU ECU ECU ECU

Inverter Inverter Inverter Inverter Inverter Inverter Inverter Inverter Inverter

2 three
phase
Three Switch motors
phase Three Six 2 three
phase (parallel)
motor phase phase
motor motor motors
(serial)

Gear Gear Gear Gear Gear Gear

Faults Redundancy Redundancy Redundancy Redundancy Redundancy

Sensors - 9 9 9 9
ECU - 9 9 9 9
Inverter - 9 9 9 9
Motor - - 9 9 9
Gear - - - - (9)

Fig. 13.25 Redundancy structures for EPS systems [32]

analytical redundancy concept can be programmed. In a next
step the torque sensor, the ECU, and inverter are duplicated.
The arrangement can be cold or hot standby. In the case of
a fault in one channel the other channel stays active and
the faulty channel is switched off. Case C in Fig. 13.25
has a further redundance in the windings by a multiphase
configuration, see [20, 73]. A serial connection of two motors
is shown in Fig. 13.25d. Figure 13.25e depicts a duplication
of the complete EPS actuator. In this parallel arrangement
also the gear is duplicated. The degree of redundancy in-
creases from case A to E, however on cost of hardware extent,
installation space, cost, and weight. The selection of the
redundancies also depends on fault statistics for the different
components. Case C seems to be a reasonable compromise,
however requires a special motor design. In the case of a
winding fault the power is reduced. In the cases D and E
the power can be distributed differently to both motors in the
normal operating range.
13.13 Conclusion and Emerging Trends
This chapter could only give a brief overview on the design
of mechatronic systems. As outlined, mechatronic systems
cover a very broad area of engineering disciplines. Advanced
mechatronic components and systems are realized in many
products such as automobiles, combustion engines, aircraft,
electrical drives, actuators, robots, and precision mechanics
and micromechanics. However, the integration aspects of
mechanics and electronics include increasingly more com-
ponents and systems in the wide areas of mechanical and
electrical engineering.
The design of mechatronic systems follows along a V-
model and includes modeling, HiL and SiL simulation,
integration aspects, prototyping, and testing. Further
developments show communication links to higher levels
in the frame of Internet-of-Things, teleservice, and cloud
computing.
As the development toward the integration of computer-
based information processing into products and their man-
ufacturing comprises large areas of engineering, suitable
education in modern engineering and also training is funda-
mental for technological progress. This means, among others,
to take multidisciplinary aspects and method-oriented proce-
dures into account. The development of curricula for mecha-
tronics as a proper combination of electrical and mechanical
engineering and computer science during the last decades
shows this tendency. For additional content on education and
training for automation see Chs.  32,  63, and  68; on fault
tolerance, error, conflict, and disruption prevention in Ch.
 22; and on CAD/CAE of automation in Ch.  28. On the
design of human-machine and human-automation interfaces,
see Chs.  19 and  20.
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 Sensors, Machine Vision, and Sensor Networks
14
Wootae Jeong

Contents various types of sensors and their working principles are

14.1 Sensors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 315 briefly explained as well as their technical advancement
14.1.1 Sensing Principles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 316 to recent applications such as self-driving vehicles is in-
14.1.2 Position Sensors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 317 troduced. In addition, artificial intelligent-based machine
14.1.3 Velocity Sensors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 317
vision systems are briefly described as a core technology
14.1.4 Acceleration Sensors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 317
14.1.5 Flow Sensors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 317 for current smart factories. The individual sensor issue
14.1.6 Ultrasonic Sensors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 318 is also extended to wireless networked sensors and their
14.1.7 Micro- and Nanosensors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 318 applications from recent research activities. Through this
14.1.8 Miscellaneous Sensors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 318
chapter, readers can also understand the working principle
14.2 Machine Vision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 319 of various sensors and also how sensors or networked
14.2.1 Image-based Automation Technology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 319 sensors can be configured and collaborated with each
14.2.2 Machine Vision System Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 320
14.2.3 Artificial Intelligence and Machine Vision . . . . . . . . . . . 322 other to provide higher performance and reliability within
networked sensor systems.
14.3 Sensor Networks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 322
14.3.1 Sensor Network Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 322
14.3.2 Multisensor Data Fusion Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 323
Keywords
14.3.3 Sensor Network Design Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 325
14.3.4 Sensor Network Architectures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 326 Sensor node · Sensor network · Wireless sensor
14.3.5 Sensor Network Protocols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 327
14.3.6 Sensor Network Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 328 network · Machine vision · Machine learning
14.3.7 Sensor Network Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 329
14.3.8 Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 329
14.4 Emerging Trends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 330
14.4.1 Heterogeneous Sensors and Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . 331
14.4.2 Appropriate Quality-of-Service (QoS) Model . . . . . . . . . 331
14.1 Sensors
14.4.3 Integration with Other Networks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 331
A sensor is an instrument that responds to a specific physical
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 332
stimulus and produces a measurable corresponding electrical
signal. A sensor can be mechanical, electrical, electrome-
chanical, magnetic, or optical. Any devices that are directly
Abstract
altered in a predictable, measurable way by changes in a real-
Sensors are essential devices in many industrial appli- world parameter can be a sensor for that parameter. Sensors
cations such as factory automation, digital appliances, have an important role in daily life because of the need to
automotive applications, environmental monitoring, and gather information and process it conveniently for specific
system diagnostics. The main role of those sensors is to tasks. Recent advances in microdevice technology, micro-
measure changes of physical quantities of surroundings. fabrication, chemical processes, and digital signal process-
In general, sensors are embedded into sensory devices ing have enabled the development of micro/nanosized, low-
with a circuitry as a part of a system. In this chapter, cost, and low-power sensors called microsensors. Microsen-
sors have been successfully applied to many practical areas,
W. Jeong () including medical and space devices, military equipment,
Korea Railroad Research Institute, Uiwang, South Korea telecommunication, and manufacturing applications [1, 2].
e-mail: wjeong@krri.re.kr When compared with conventional sensors, microsensors

© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 315

S. Y. Nof (ed.), Springer Handbook of Automation, Springer Handbooks,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-96729-1_14
316
have certain advantages, such as interfering less with the en-
vironment they measure, requiring less manufacturing cost,
being used in narrow spaces and harsh environments, etc. The
successful application of microsensors depends on sensor
capability, cost, and reliability.
14.1.1 Sensing Principles
Sensors can be technically classified into various types
according to their working principle, as listed in Table 14.1.
That is, sensors can measure physical phenomena by
capturing resistance change, inductance change, capacitance
change, thermoelectric effect, piezoelectric effect, photoelec-
tric effect, hall effect, and so on [3, 4]. Among these effects,
most sensors utilize the resistance change of a conductor, i.e.,
resistivity. As long as the current density is uniform in the
insulator, the resistance R of a conductor of cross-sectional
area A can be computed as
ρ·l
R= , (14.1)
A the resistivity change (ρ/ρ) (e.g., resistance temperature
where l is the length of the conductor, A is the cross-sectional
area, and ρ is the electrical resistivity of the material. Resis-
tivity is a measure of the material’s ability to oppose electric
current. Therefore, change of resistance can be measured
by detecting physical deformation (l or A) of conductive
materials or by sensing resistivity (ρ) of conductor. As an
example, a strain gage is a sensor that measures resistance
by deformation of length or cross-sectional area, and a ther-
Table 14.1 Technical classification of sensors according to their work-
ing principle
Sensing
principle Sensors
Resistance Strain gage, potentiometer, resistance temperature
change detector (RTD), potentiometric throttle position
sensor (TPS), magnetoresistive sensor, thermistor,
piezoresistive sensor, photoresistive sensor
Capacitance Capacitive-type torque meter, capacitance level
change sensor
Inductance Inductive angular position sensor (magnetic
change pick-up), inductive torque meter, linear variable
differential transformer (LVDT)
Electromagnetic Electromagnetic flow meter
induction
Thermoelectric Thermocouple
effect
Piezoelectric Piezoelectric accelerometer, sound navigation and
effect ranging (SONAR)
Photoelectric Photodiode, phototransistor, photo-interrupter
effect (optical encoder)
Hall effect Hall sensor
W. Jeong
mometer is a sensor that measures resistance by examining
the resistivity change of a material. By expanding (14.1) in
a Taylor series and then simplifying the equation, resistance
change can be expressed as
l ρ ρ·l
R = ρ + l − A 2 . (14.2)
A A A
By dividing both side of (14.2) by the resistance R, the
resistance change rate can be expressed as
R ρ l A ρ
= + − = + ε + 2νε (14.3)
R ρ l A ρ
where ν and ε are the Poisson’s ratio of the material and
the strain, respectively. When the resistivity (ρ) of a sensing
material is close to constant, the resistance can be determined
from the values of strain (ε) and Poisson’s ratio (ν) of the
material (e.g., strain gage). When the resistivity of a sensing
material is sensitive to the measuring targets and values of
ε, ν can be neglected; the resistance can be measured from
detector (RTD)).
In capacitance-based sensors, the sensor measures the
amount of electric charge stored between two plates of ca-
pacitors. The capacitance C can be calculated as
ε·A
C= , (14.4)
d
where d is the separation between the plates, A is the area of
each plate, and ε is the dielectric constant (or permittivity) of
the material between the plates. The dielectric constant for
a number of very useful dielectrics changes as a function of
the applied electrical field. Thus, capacitance-based sensors
utilize capacitance change by measuring the dielectric con-
stant, the area (A) of each plate, or the separation (d) between
the plates. A capacitive-type torque meter is an example of a
capacitance-based sensor.
Inductance-based sensors measure the ratio of the mag-
netic flux to the current. Linear variable differential trans-
formers (LVDT; Fig. 14.1) and magnetic pick-up sensors are
representative inductance-based sensors.
Electromagnetic induction-based sensors are based on
Faraday’s law of induction, which is involved in the operation
of inductors, transformers, and many forms of electrical gen-
erators. The law states that the induced electromotive force
(EMF) in any closed circuit is equal to the time rate of change
of the magnetic flux through the circuit. Quantitatively, the
law takes the following form
dB
E=− , (14.5)
dt
14 Sensors, Machine Vision, and Sensor Networks
A In fact, there also exist optical encoders for measuring linear
B
Fig. 14.1 Cutaway view of an LVDT. Current is driven through the
primary coil at A, causing an induction current to be generated through
the secondary coils at B
where E is the electromotive force (EMF), and B is the
magnetic flux through the circuit.
Besides these types of sensors, thermocouples measure
the relative difference of temperature between two points
rather than absolute temperature. In traditional applications,
one of the junctions (the cold junction) is maintained at a ref-
erence temperature, while the other end is attached to a probe.
Having available a cold junction at a known temperature is
simply not convenient for most directly connected control
instruments. They incorporate into their circuits an artificial
cold junction using some other thermally sensitive device,
such as a diode or thermistor, to measure the temperature
of the input connections at the instrument, with special care
being taken to minimize any temperature gradient between
terminals. Hence, the voltage from a known cold junction can
be simulated, and the appropriate correction applied. Photo-
diodes, phototransistors, and photo-interrupters are sensors
that use the photoelectric effect. Various types of sensors and
their working principle are summarized in Table 14.1.
Sensors can also be classified by the physical phenomena
measured, such as position, velocity, acceleration, heat, pres-
sure, flow rate, sound, etc. This classification of sensors is
briefly explained below.
14.1.2 Position Sensors
A position sensor is any device that enables position measure-
ment. Position sensors include limit switches or proximity
sensors that detect whether or not something is close to or
has reached a limit of travel. Position sensors also include po-
tentiometers that measures rotational or linear position. The
linear variable differential transformer (LVDT) is an example
of the potentiometers for measuring linear displacement,
while resolvers and optical encoders measure the rotational
position of a rotating shaft. The resolver and LVDT function
much like a transformer. The optical encoder produces digital
317
signals that convert motion into a sequence of digital pulses.
motion.
Some position sensors are classified by their measuring
techniques. Sonars measure distance with sonic/ultrasonic 14
waves, and radar utilizes electronic/ radio to detect or mea-
sure the distance between two objects. Many other sensors
are used to measure position or distance.
14.1.3 Velocity Sensors
Speed measurement can be obtained by taking consecutive
position measurements at known time intervals and comput-
ing the derivative of the position values. A tachometer is an
example of a velocity sensor that does this for a rotating
shaft. The typical dynamic time constant of a tachometer is
in the range 10–100 μs. A tachometer is a passive analog
sensor that provides an output voltage proportional to the
velocity of a shaft. There is no need for an external reference
or excitation voltage. Traditionally tachometers have been
used for velocity measurement and control only, but all
modern tachometers have quadratic outputs which are used
for velocity, position, and direction measurements, making
them effectively functional as position sensors.
14.1.4 Acceleration Sensors
An acceleration sensor or accelerometer is a sensor designed
to measure continuous mechanical vibration such as aerody-
namic flutter and transitory vibration such as shock waves,
blasts or impacts. Accelerometers are normally mechanically
attached or bonded to an object or structure for which accel-
eration is to be measured. The accelerometer detects acceler-
ation along one axis and is insensitive to motion in orthogonal
directions. Since acceleration of objects is directly related to
the force applied from the Newton’s second law of motion,
accelerometers are broadly used in engineering dynamics ap-
plications. Strain gages or piezoelectric elements constitute
the sensing element of an accelerometer, converting vibration
into a voltage signal. The design of an accelerometer is based
on the inertial effects associated with a mass connected to a
moving object.
Detailed information and technical working processes
about position, velocity, and acceleration sensors can be
found in many references [5, 6].
14.1.5 Flow Sensors
A flow sensor is a device for sensing the rate of fluid flow. In
general, a flow sensor is the sensing element used in a flow
318
meter to record the flow of fluids. Some flow sensors have a
vane that is pushed by the fluid (e.g., a potentiometer), while
other flow sensors are based on heat transfer caused by the
moving medium.
14.1.6 Ultrasonic Sensors
Ultrasonic sensors or transducer generates high-frequency
sound waves and evaluate the echo received back by the sen-
sor. An ultrasonic sensor computes the time interval between
sending the signal and receiving the echo to determine the
distance to an object. Radar or sonar works on a principle
similar to that of the ultrasonic sensor. Some sensors are
depicted in Fig. 14.2. However, there are many other groups
of sensors not listed in this section. With the advent of semi-
conductor electronics and manufacturing technology, sensors
have become miniaturized and accurate, and brought into
existence micro/nanosensors.
a) b)
c) d)
Fig. 14.2 Various sensors: (a) absolute encoder, (b) photoresistor, (c)
sonar, and (d) digital load cell cutaway. (Courtesy of Society of Robots)
Wec 1999
Rene 2000
smart rock
Fig. 14.3 Evolution of smart wireless microsensors. (Courtesy of Crossbow Technology Inc.)
W. Jeong
14.1.7 Micro- and Nanosensors
A microsensor is a miniature electronic device functioning
similar to existing large-scale sensors. With recent micro-
electromechanical system (MEMS) technology, microsen-
sors are integrated with signal-processing circuits, analog-
to-digital (A/D) converters, programmable memory, and a
microprocessor, a so-called smart microsensor [7, 8]. Cur-
rent smart microsensors contain an antenna for radio signal
transmission. Wireless microsensors are now commercially
available and are evolving with more powerful functionali-
ties, as illustrated in Fig. 14.3.
In general, a wireless microsensor consists of a sensing
unit, a processing unit, a power unit, and communication
elements. The sensing unit is an electrical part detecting
the physical variable from the environment. The process-
ing unit (a tiny microprocessor) performs signal-processing
functions, i.e., integrating data and computation required in
the processing of information. The communication elements
consist of a receiver, a transmitter, and an amplifier if needed.
The power unit provides energy source with other units
(Fig. 14.4). Basically, all individual sensor nodes are operated
by a limited battery, but a base-station node as a final data
collecting center can be modeled with an unlimited energy
source.
Under the microscale, nanosensors are used in chemical
and biological sensory applications to deliver information
about nanoparticles. As an example, nanotubes are used to
sense various properties of gaseous molecules. In developing
and commercializing nanosensors, developers still need to
overcome high costs of production and reliability challenges.
The nanosensors are currently used in specific applications,
but there is still tremendous room to improve the technology
for practical uses in real-life applications.
14.1.8 Miscellaneous Sensors
Among the many technologies which make self-driving, au-
tonomous vehicle possible is a combination of sensors and
Mica2 2002
Dot 2001 Spec 2003
Mica 2002
demo scale mote on a chip
14 Sensors, Machine Vision, and Sensor Networks
Node Processing unit
(processor,
Sensing unit
(sensor, ADC)
memory)
Receiver Transmitter Amplifier
Node Power unit Node
Fig. 14.4 Wireless micronode model. Each node has a sensing module
(analog-to-digital converter (ADC)), processing unit, and communica-
tion elements
actuators. In particular, diverse sensors are recently utilized
for autonomous vehicles, but there are essential sensors in
autonomous driving assistance such as camera, radar, and
lidar. These sensors help cars to detect objects, monitor
surroundings, and safely plan their paths.
Video camera in autonomous cars is used to see and
interpret the objects in the road by replacing human drivers’
eyes. The vehicles with these cameras at certain position
are capable of maintaining a 360◦ view of their external
environment, thereby providing a broader picture of the
traffic conditions around cars. In addition, by utilizing 2D
currently and once utilizing 3D cameras, the cameras can pro-
vide highly detailed and realistic images to detect obstacles,
classify them, and determine the distances between them and
the vehicle. However, these cameras are highly dependent on
weather conditions such as rain, snow, and fog.
Radar (radio detection and ranging) sensors send out radio
waves that detect objects and gauge their distance and speed
in relation to the vehicle in real time. While short range
(24 GHz) radar applications enable blind spot monitoring,
the ideal lane-keeping assistance, and parking aids, the roles
of the long range (77 GHz) radar sensors include auto-
matic distance control and brake assistance. Unlike camera
sensors, radar systems typically have relatively less trouble
when identifying objects during fog or rain [9]. However,
commonly used 2D radars have a limitation to determine
accurately an object’s height, a wider variety of 3D radar
sensors are recently being developed.
Lidar (light detection and ranging) sensors work very sim-
ilar to radar sensors, but they use laser light instead of radio
waves [10–12]. Lidar is sometimes called 3D laser scanning.
Apart from measuring the distances to various objects on
the road, lidar allows creating 3D images of the detected
objects and mapping the surroundings. Moreover, lidar can be
configured to create a full 360-degree map around the vehicle
rather than relying on a narrow field of view. These two
advantages make autonomous vehicle manufacturers such
319
as Tesla [13], Google [14, 15], and Uber [16] choose lidar
systems although lidar sensors are still much more expensive
than radar sensors.
There are also miscellaneous sensors to measure physical
quantities such as strain, force, temperature, humidity, flow, 14
and pressure. The load cell consists of several strain gages
connected to a bridge circuit to yield a voltage proportional
to the load. Force sensors are represented by a load cell
that is used to measure a force. Temperature sensors are
devices that indirectly measure quantities such as pressure,
volume, electrical resistance, and strain, and then convert the
values using the physical relationship between the quantity
and temperature; for example: (a) a bimetallic strip composed
of two metal layers with different coefficients of thermal
expansion utilizes the difference in the thermal expansion
of the two metal layers, (b) a resistance temperature sensor
constructed of metallic wire wound around a ceramic or glass
core and hermetically sealed utilizes the resistance change of
the metallic wire with temperature, and (c) a thermocouple
constructed by connecting two dissimilar metals in contact
produces a voltage proportional to the temperature of the
junction [17, 18].
14.2 Machine Vision
14.2.1 Image-based Automation Technology
Machine vision is also widely used sensor. A vision sensor
is typically used embedded in a vision system using cam-
eras. A vision system is generally used for applications of
measurement, guidance, and inspection. The visual measure-
ment technology can improve the productivity of the factory
by measuring the key dimensions, counting a number of
parts or features, surface quality, and assembly effect of the
product. The visual guidance technology can significantly
improve manufacturing efficiency and body assembly quality
by guiding the machine to complete automatic handling,
optimum matching assembly, and precise drilling. The visual
inspection technology can monitor the stability of the body
manufacturing process and can also be used to ensure the
integrity and traceability of the product to reduce the cost of
manufacturing.
Machine vision and image-based automation technology
has improved significantly over the last decade in that they
have become rather standard smart sensing components in
most factory automation systems for part sorting, object
inspection, and robot guidance. In general, a vision system
consists of a vision camera, a lighting module, and an image
processing system as shown in Fig. 14.5. The basic principle
of operation of a vision system is that it forms an image by
measuring the light reflected from objects, and the sensor
head analyzes the output voltage from the light intensity
320 W. Jeong

Vision system package

“All in one”system
“Smart camera”
“Vision sensor” Optional ext.
computer for
LED
operator interface
Camera Computer
Lens
Imager Electronics
Power/control Frame grabber Digital
or other signal image
Signal conversion

Fig. 14.5 Overall procedure of machine vision system

a) b)

c) d)

Fig. 14.6 Types of vision sensor applications: (a) automated low-volume/high-variety production, (b) vision sensors for error-proof oil cap
assembly, (c) defect-free parts with 360◦ inspection, (d) inspection of two-dimensional (2D) matrix-marked codes. (Courtesy of Cognex Corp.)

received. The sensor head consists of an array of photosen-
sitive, photodiodes, or charge-coupled devices (CCD). Cur-
rently, various signal-processing techniques for the reflected
signals are applied for many industrial applications to provide
accurate outputs, as illustrated in Fig. 14.6 [19, 20].
14.2.2 Machine Vision System Components
Lighting: Since machine vision itself is not capable of light-
ing, proper illumination is essential for the machine vision
to identify the object clearly. Key features of various lighting
14 Sensors, Machine Vision, and Sensor Networks 321

techniques are summarized in Table 14.2 and corresponding PC-based machine vision still offers the best performances
lighting techniques are depicted in Fig. 14.7. and the best flexibility. Recently, the industrial camera is
Industrial Cameras: Industrial cameras originally used evolving in smart cameras and board camera. The smart
in the vision system is the PC-based machine vision. The camera, an evolution of the PC-based machine vision, is in-
tegrated system with onboard computing capabilities. Thus, 14
it is easier to implement but its flexibility and performance
Table 14.2 Key features of various lighting techniques
are limited. The board camera is an evolution of industrial
camera. By adopting CMOS instead of CCD, components of
Lighting
techniques Features
the industrial camera are simplified and reduced to a single
Back lighting Accurate outline of objects for applications board.
Axial or coaxial Very even illumination and homogeneous image Line Scan Camera and Area Scan Camera: As depicted
lighting on specular surfaces in Fig. 14.8, line scan cameras record a single row of pixels
Reducing low-contrast surface features and at a time and build continuous images, allowing for much
highlighting high-contrast geometric surface higher resolutions than area scan cameras. Thus, the line scan
features depending on reflective
camera is effective when an object or camera is moving.
Structured light Providing contrast-independent surface inspection
and 3D information in 2D images Area scan cameras capture an area image of a given scene
Dark-field Preferred for low-contrast applications using in one exposure cycle with designed vertical and horizontal
illumination low-angle ring light pixels. Area scan cameras are easier to setup and implement
Specular light is reflected away from the camera than line scan cameras, and also they are suited toward when
Bright-field Preferred for high-contrast applications using an object is stationary.
illumination high-angle ring light
Image Processing: Image processing in vision system is
Producing sharp shadows and inconsistent
illumination throughout the entire field of view the procedure for extracting required information from a dig-
Constant diffuse Providing the most uniform illumination of ital image which is performed by various software tools. The
illumination features of interest machine vision software should provide sufficient algorithm
(dome lighting) Masking irregularities that are not of interest depth and capability to perform the required inspection tasks.
Collimated Highly accurate back lighting It should be also capable of adequate flexibility in the process
illumination Reducing stray light and highlighting surface
features as a front light
configuration to service the automation requirements. The

a) Camera b) Camera c) Camera

Heat dissipation
material
LED
Half
mirror

LED

Chip Illumination
LEDs Object system Object

d) Camera e) Camera f) Camera

LED

LED
LED
Object

Object
Object

Fig. 14.7 Lighting techniques for vision sensor applications: (a) back lighting, (b) axial or coaxial lighting, (c) structured lighting, (d) dark-field
illumination, (e) bright-field illumination, and (f) constant diffuse illumination (dome lighting)
322
a) b)
Line scan 2 area scan
camera cameras
Lin
Ar
es
ea
can
sca
n
Fig. 14.8 Line scan camera (a) and area scan cameras (b)
major functions of the vision algorithms are image transfor-
mation, preprocessing including image enhancement, con-
tent statistics, edge detection, geometric search, color image
processing, correlation, and connectivity.
Today, the size of vision system components becomes
condensed and minimized to be adoptable for easy imple-
mentation in manufacturing. Machine vision components are
also becoming more intelligent and sophisticated as com-
bined with an artificial intelligence technology.
14.2.3 Artificial Intelligence and Machine
Vision
One of the revolutionary progresses in the machine vision
systems is an extensive use of machine learning. As a subset
of artificial intelligence, machine learning, based on con-
volutional neural networks (CNNs) [21] and deep learning
algorithm [22–24], makes the vision system more intelligent.
That is, the CNNs were rapidly integrated into vision system
to provide more intelligent decisions by solving image clas-
sification, localization, object detection, segmentation, and
other problems with state-of-art accuracy. As a result, the
embedded deep learning has radically improved the value
proposition for machine vision by accelerating inspection
processes, improving operational efficiencies, and increasing
productivity in applications that were not cost-effective to
strive for in the past. Deep learning and also reinforcement
learning [25] provide solution for vision applications difficult
to program with rule-based algorithms, and it handles com-
plex surface textures and variations in part appearance and
acclimatizes to new examples without reprogramming core
networks. This technology effectively handles judgment-
based inspection, part location, classification, and character
recognition challenges efficiently when compared to con-
ventional machine vision systems. Deep learning, based on
CNNs, has become the most widely used algorithm for
different problems of computer vision although it requires
higher computer processing capability.
W. Jeong
In fact, for the machine learning models to be accurate
in various automation applications, very large amounts of
digital image data are required for a comprehensive training
process to be able to classify new objects independently
afterward. There exist many public datasets available to
implement intelligent machine learning models, but many in-
dustrial applications require very specialized datasets. There-
fore, many companies in providing intelligent machine vision
solution make efforts on collecting right metadata with their
own smart cameras. Successful examples of the AI-based
vision system can be found in automation service providing
vendors, such as Keyence [26], Cognex [27], and Adlink
[28]. Today, the AI-based machine vision system is becoming
essential technology of smart factories.
14.3 Sensor Networks
14.3.1 Sensor Network Systems
Before the advent of wireless and microminiaturization tech-
nology, single-sensor systems had an important role in a vari-
ety of practical applications because they were relatively easy
to construct and analyze. Single-sensor systems, however,
were the only solution when there was critical limitation of
implementation space. Moreover, single-sensor systems for
recently emerging applications have various limitations and
disadvantages.
• They have limited applications and uses; for instance, if
a system should measure several variables, e.g., temper-
ature, pressure, and flow rate, at the same time in the
application, single-sensor systems are insufficient.
• They cannot tolerate a variety of failures which may take
place unexpectedly.
• A single sensor cannot guarantee timely delivery of ac-
curate information all of the time because it is inevitably
affected by noise and other uncertain disruptions.
These limitations are critical when a system requires
highly reliable and timely information. Therefore, single-
sensor systems are not suitable when robust and accurate
information is required in the application.
To overcome the critical disadvantages of single-sensor
systems in most applications, multisensor-based wireless net-
work systems which require replicated sensory information
have been studied, along with their communication network
technologies. Replicated sensor systems are applicable not
only because microfabrication technology enables produc-
tion of various microsensors at low manufacturing cost, but
also because microsensors can be embedded in a system
with replicated deployment. These redundantly deployed
sensors enable a system to improve accuracy and tolerate
14 Sensors, Machine Vision, and Sensor Networks
sensor failure, i.e., distributed microsensor arrays and net-
works (DMSA/DMSN) are built from collections of spatially
scattered microsensor nodes. Each node has the ability to
measure the local physical variable within its accuracy limit,
process the raw sensory data, and cooperate with its neigh-
boring nodes.
Sensors incorporated with dedicated signal-processing
functions are called intelligent, or smart, sensors. The
main roles of dedicated signal processing functions are
to enhance design flexibility and realize new sensing
functions. Additional roles are to reduce loads on central
processing units and signal transmission lines by distributing
information processing to the lower layers of the system [8].
A set of microsensors deployed close to each other to
measure the same physical quantity of interest is called a
cluster. Sensors in a cluster can be either of the same or
different type to form a distributed sensor network (DSN).
DSN can be utilized in a widely distributed sensor system and
implemented as a locally concentrated configuration with a
high density.
14.3.2 Multisensor Data Fusion Methods
There are three major ways in which multiple sensors interact
[29, 30]: (1) competitive, when sensors provide independent
measurement of the same information regarding a physical
phenomenon; (2) complementary, when sensors do not de-
pend on each other directly, but are combined to give a more
complete image of the phenomena being studied; and (3)
cooperative, when sensors combine data from independent
sensors to derive information that would be unavailable from
the individual sensors.
In order to combine information collected from each
sensor, various multisensory data fusion methods can be
applied. Multisensor data fusion is the process of combining
observations from a number of different sensors to provide a
robust and complete description of an environment or process
of interest. Most current data fusion methods employ prob-
abilistic descriptions of observations and processes and use
Bayes’ rule to combine this information [31, 32]. Although
the probabilistic grid and the Kalman filter described in
the following section is more commonly used as integrating
multiple readings from single sensor, they are also effective
in processing sensing data from distributed sensors.
Bayes’ Rule
Bayes’ rule provides basic logic among the most data fu-
sion methods. In general, Bayes’ rule provides a means to
make inferences about an object or environment of interest
described by a state x, given an observation z. Based on the
rule of conditional probabilities, Bayes’ rule is obtained as
323
P(z|x) P(x)
P (x|z) = . (14.6)
P(z)
The conditional probability P(z | x) serves the role of a
sensor model. The probability is constructed by fixing the 14
value of x = x and then asking what probability density
P(z | x = x) on x is inferred. The multisensory form of Bayes’
rule requires conditional independence

n
P(z1 , · · · , zn |x) = P(z1 |x) · · · P(zn |x) = P(zi |xi ) (14.7)
i=1
The recursive form of Bayes’ rule is
 
  P(zk |x) P x|Z k−1
P x|Z k
=   (14.8)
P zk |Z k−1
From this equation, one needs to compute and store only
the posterior density P(x | Zk − 1 ), which contains a complete
summary of all past information.
Probabilistic Grids
Probabilistic grids, also called occupancy grids, are the
means to implement the Bayesian data fusion technique
to problems in mapping [33] and tracking [34]. Practically,
a grid of likelihoods on the states xij is produced in the form
P(z = z | xij ) = (xij ). It is then trivial to apply Bayes’ rule
to update the property value at each grid cell as
     
P+ xij = C xij P xij , ∀i, j, (14.9)
where C is a normalizing constant obtained by summing pos-
terior probabilities to 1 at node ij only. Computationally, this
is a simple pointwise multiplication of two grids. Grid-based
fusion is appropriate to situations where the domain size
and dimension are modest. In such cases, grid-based meth-
ods provide straightforward and effective fusion algorithms.
Monte Carlo and particle filtering methods can be considered
as grid-based methods, where the grid cells themselves are
samples of the underlying probability density for the state.
The Kalman Filter
The Kalman filter is a recursive linear estimator that succes-
sively calculates an estimate for a continuous-valued state on
the basis of periodic observations of the state. The Kalman
filter may be considered a specific instance of the recursive
Bayesian filter [35] for the case where the probability densi-
ties on states are Gaussian.
The Kalman filter algorithm produces estimates that min-
imize mean-squared estimation error conditioned on a given
observation sequence and so is the conditional mean
324 W. Jeong

     
  uncertainty in situations where there is a lack of probabilistic
x̂(i|j)  E x(i) z(1), · · · , z(j)  E x(i) Z j (14.10)
information, but in which sensor and parameter error is
known to be bounded. In this technique, the uncertainty in
The estimate variance is defined as the mean-squared error
a parameter x is simply described by a statement that the true
in this estimate
value of the state x is known to be bounded between a and
 b, i.e., x ∈ [a, b]. There is no other additional probabilistic
P(i|j)  E [x(i) − x̂(i|j)] [x(i) − x̂(i|j)]T | Z j (14.11)
structure implied. With a, b, c, d ∈ R, interval arithmetic is
also possible as
The estimate of the state at a time k, given all information
up to time k, is written x̂(k|k). The estimate of the state at a  
d [a, b] , [c, d] = max (|a − c|, |b − d|) (14.14)
time k given only information up to time k − 1 is called a
one-step-ahead prediction and is written x̂(k|k − 1).
Interval calculus methods are sometimes used for detec-
The Kalman filter is appropriate to data fusion problems
tion, but are not generally used in data fusion problems
where the entity of interest is well defined by a continuous
because of the difficulties to get results converged to anything
parametric state. Thus, it would be useful to estimate posi-
value, and to encode dependencies between variables.
tion, attitude, and velocity of an object, or the tracking of a
simple geometric feature. Kalman filters, however, are inap-
Fuzzy Logic
propriate for estimating properties such as spatial occupancy,
Fuzzy logic has achieved widespread popularity for repre-
discrete labels or processes whose error characteristics are
senting uncertainty in high-level data fusion tasks. Fuzzy
not easily parameterized.
logic provides an ideal tool for inexact reasoning, particularly
in rule-based systems. In the conventional logic system, a
Sequential Monte Carlo Methods
membership function μA (x) (also called the characteristic
The sequential Monte Carlo (SMC) filtering method is a
function) is defined. Then the fuzzy membership function
simulation of the recursive Bayes update equations using
assigns a value between 0 and 1, indicating the degree of
sample support values and weights to describe the underlying
membership of every x to the set A. Composition rules for
probability distributions. SMC recursion begins with a poste-
fuzzy sets follow the composition processes for normal crisp
rior probability density represented by a set of support values
 Nk−1 sets as
i
and weights xk−1 , wik−1|k−1 in the form
i=1
A ∩ B  μA∩B (x) = min [μA (x), μB (x)] (14.15)

i
Nk−1
  
P xk−1 |Z k−1 = wk−1 δ xk−1 − xk−1
i
(14.12)
i=1 A ∪ B  μA∪B (x) = max [μA (x), μB (x)] (14.16)
Leaving the weights unchanged wk i = wk − 1 i and allowing
There exist a number of similarities between fuzzy set
the new support value xk i to be drawn on the basis of old
theory and probability as the probability density function
support value xk − 1 i , the prediction becomes
and the fuzzy membership function resemble. However, the
relation between probability theory and fuzzy logic has been


N
 k−1
 
P xk |Z k−1 = wik−1 δ xk − xki . (14.13)
i=1
The SMC observation update step is relatively straightfor-
ward and described in Refs. [31, 36].
SMC methods are well suited to problems where state-
transition models and observation models are highly nonlin-
ear. However, they are inappropriate for problems where the
state space is of high dimension. In addition, the number of
samples required to model a given density faithfully increases
exponentially with state-space dimension.
Interval Calculus
Interval representation of uncertainty has a number of po-
tential advantages over probabilistic techniques. An interval
to bound true parameter values provides a good measure of
an object of discussion [37, 38].
Evidential Reasoning
Evidential reasoning methods are qualitatively different from
either probabilistic methods or fuzzy set theory. In evidential
reasoning, belief mass cannot only be placed on elements
and sets, but also sets of sets, while in probability theory
a belief mass may be placed on any element xr ∈ χ and
on any subset A  χ. The domain of evidential reasoning
is the power set 2χ . Evidential reasoning methods play an
important role in discrete data fusion, attribute fusion, and
situation assessment, where information may be unknown or
ambiguous.
Multisensory fusion methods and their models are sum-
marized in Table 14.3 and details can be founded in Refs.
[31, 32].
14 Sensors, Machine Vision, and Sensor Networks 325

Table 14.3 Multisensor data fusion methods [31]

Approach Method Fusion model and rule
  P(z |x)Px|Z k−1 
Probabilistic modeling Bayes’ rule P x|Z k = Pk z |Z k−1
(k )
Probabilistic grids P+ (xij ) = C(xij )P(xij ) 14
The Kalman filter P (i|j)  E {[ x(i) − x̂ (i|j) [x(i) − x̂ (i|j)]T | Z j
  
Nk    
Sequential Monte Carlo P xk |Z k = C wik−1 P zk = zk |xk = xki δ xk − xki
methods i=1

Nonprobabilistic Interval calculus d([a, b], [c, d]) = max (|a − c|, |b − d|)
modeling
Fuzzy logic A ∩ B  μA ∩ B (x) = min [μA (x), μB (x)]
A ∪ B  μA ∪ B (x) = max [μA (x), μB (x)]
Evidential reasoning 2X = {{occupied, empty}, · · · {occupied}, {empty}, 0}

In addition, multisensor integration or fusion is not only
the process of combining inputs from sensors with informa-
tion from other sensors, but also the logical procedure of
inducing optimal output from multiple inputs with one rep-
resentative format [39]. In the fusion of large-size distributed
sensor networks, an additional advantage of multisensor in-
tegration (MSI) is the ability to obtain more fault-tolerant
information. This fault tolerance is based on redundant sen-
sory information that compensates for faulty or erroneous
readings of sensors. There are several types of multisensor
fusion and integration methods, depending on the types of
sensors and their deployment [40]. This topic has received
increasing interest in recent years because of the sensibility of
networks built with many low-cost micro- and nanosensors.
As an example, a recent improvement of the fault-tolerance
sensor integration algorithm (FTSIA) by Liu and Nof [41,
42] enables it not only to detect possibly faulty sensors and
widely faulty sensors, but also to generate a final data interval
estimate from the correct sensors after removing the readings
of those faulty sensors.
14.3.3 Sensor Network Design Considerations
Sensor networks are somewhat different from traditional
operating networks because sensor nodes, especially mi-
crosensors, are highly prone to failure over time. As sensor
nodes weaken or even die, the topology of the active sensor
networks changes frequently. Especially when mobility is
introduced into the sensor nodes, maintaining the robustness
and discovering topology consistently become challenging.
Therefore, the algorithms developed for sensor network com-
munication and task administration should be flexible and
stable against changes of network topology and work prop-
erly under unexpected failure of sensors.
In addition, in order to be used in most applications,
DSN systems should be designed with application-specific
communication algorithms and task administration proto-
cols, because microsensors and their networking systems
are extremely resource constrained. Therefore, most research
efforts have focused on application-specific protocols with
respect to energy consumption and network parameters such
as node density, radio transmission range, network coverage,
latency, and distribution. Current network protocols also use
broadcasting for communication, while traditional and ad hoc
networks use point-to-point communication. Hence, the rout-
ing protocols, in general, should be designed by considering
crucial sensor network features as follows:
1. Fault tolerance: Over time, there is always potential possi-
bility that sensor nodes may fail or be blocked due to lack
of power, physical damage, or environmental interference.
The failure of sensor nodes, however, should not affect
the overall operation of the sensor network. Thus, fault
tolerance or reliability is the ability to sustain sensor
network functionality despite likely problems.
2. Accuracy improvement: Redundancy of information can
reduce overall uncertainty and increase the accuracy with
which events are perceived. Since nodes located close
to each other are combining information about the same
event, fused data improve the quality of the event infor-
mation.
3. Network topology: A large number of nodes deployed
throughout the sensory field should be maintained by care-
fully designed topology because any changes in sensor
nodes and their deployments affect the overall perfor-
mance of DSN. Therefore, a simple and flexible topology
is usually preferred.
4. Timeliness: DSN can provide the processing parallelism
that may be needed to achieve an effective integration
process, either at the actual speed that a single sensor
could provide or at even faster operation speed.
5. Energy consumption: Since each wireless sensor node is
working with a limited power source, the design of power-
saving protocols and algorithms is a significant issue for
providing longer lifetime of sensor network systems.
6. Lower cost: Despite the use of redundancy, a distributed
microsensor system obtains information at lower cost than
the equivalent information expected from a single sensor,
326
because it does not require the additional cost of functions
to obtain the same reliability and accuracy. The current
cost of a microsensor node, e.g., dust mote [7], is still
expensive, but it is expected to be less than US$ 1 in the
near future, so that sensor networks can be justified.
7. Scalability: The coverage area of a sensor network system
depends on the transmission range of each node and
the density of the deployed sensors. The density of the
deployed nodes should be carefully designed to provide a
topology appropriate for the specific application.
To provide the optimal solution to meet these design
criteria in the sensor network, researchers have considered
various protocols and algorithms. However, none of these
studies has been developed to improve all design factors
because the design of a sensor network system has typically
been application specific.
A distributed network of microsensor arrays (MSA) can
yield more accurate and reliable results based on built-in
redundancy. Recent developments of flexible and robust pro-
tocols with improved fault tolerance will not only meet
essential requirements in distributed systems but will also
provide advanced features needed in specific applications.
While micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) sensor
technology has advanced significantly in recent years, sci-
entists now realize the need for design of effective MEMS
sensor communication networks and task administration.
14.3.4 Sensor Network Architectures
Recent developments of flexible and robust protocols with
improved fault tolerance will not only meet essential require-
ments in distributed systems but will also provide advanced
features needed in specific applications. They can produce
widely accessible, reliable, and accurate information about
physical environments.
Various architectures have been proposed and developed
to improve the performance of systems and fault-tolerance
functionality of complex networks depending on their ap-
plications. General DSN structures for multisensor systems
were first discussed by Wesson et al. [43]. Iyengar et al.
[44] and Nadig et al. [45] improved and developed new
architectures for distributed sensor integration.
A network is a general graph G = (V, L), where V is a
set of nodes (or vertices) and L is a set of communicating
links (or edges) between nodes. For a DSN, a node means
an intelligent sensing node consisting of a computational
processor and associated sensors, and an edge is the connec-
tivity of nodes. As shown in Fig. 14.7, a DSN consists of a
set of sensor nodes, a set of cluster-head (CH) nodes, and a
communication network interconnecting the nodes [40, 44].
In general, one sensor node communicates with more than
W. Jeong
a) b)
BS Cluster BS Cluster
head head
Cluster
c) BS d) BS
Fig. 14.9 Four different configurations of wireless sensor networks:
(a) single hop with clustering, (b) multihop with clustering, (c) single
hop without clustering, and (d) multihop without clustering. BS base
station
one CH, and a set of nodes communicating with a CH is
called a cluster. A clustering architecture can increase system
capacity and enable better resource allocation [45, 46]. Data
are integrated in CH by receiving required information from
associated sensors of the cluster. In the cluster, CHs can inter-
act not only with other CHs but also with higher-level CHs or
a base station. A number of network configurations have been
developed to prolong network lifetime and reduce energy
consumption in forwarding data. In order to minimize energy
consumption, routing schemes can be broadly classified into
two categories: (1) clustering-based data forwarding scheme
(Fig. 14.9 a, b) and (2) multihop data forwarding scheme
without clustering (Fig. 14.9 b, d).
In recent years, with the advancement of wireless mobile
communication technologies such as the fifth generation
network communication, ad hoc wireless sensor networks
(AWSNs) have become important. With this advancement,
the above wired (microwired) architectures remain relevant
only where wireless communication is physically prohibited;
otherwise, wireless architectures are considered superior.
The architecture of AWSN is fully flexible and dynamic, that
is, a mobile ad hoc network represents a system of wireless
nodes that can freely reorganize into temporary networks as
needed, allowing nodes to communicate in areas with no
existing infrastructure. Thus, interconnection between nodes
can be dynamically changed, and the network is set up
only for a short period of communication [47, 48]. Now the
AWSN with an optimal ad hoc routing scheme has become
an important design concern.
In applications where there is no given pattern of sensor
deployment, such as product monitoring in flexible automa-
14 Sensors, Machine Vision, and Sensor Networks
tion environment, the AWSN approach can provide efficient
sensor networking. Especially in dynamic network environ-
ments such as AWSN, three main distributed services, i.e.,
lookup service, composition service, and dynamic adaptation
service by self-organizing sensor networks, are also studied
to control the system (see, for instance, Ref. [49]).
In order to route information in an energy-efficient way,
directed diffusion routing protocols based on the localized
computation model [50, 51] have been studied for robust
communication. The data consumer will initiate requests
for data with certain attributes. Nodes will then diffuse the
requests towards producers via a sequence of local interac-
tions. This process sets up gradients in the network which
channel the delivery of data. Even though the network status
is dynamic, the impact of dynamics can be localized.
A mobile-agent-based DSN (MADSN) [52] utilizes a for-
mal concept of agent to reduce network bandwidth require-
ments. A mobile agent is a floating processor migrating from
node to node in the DSN and performing data processing
autonomously. Each mobile agent carries partially integrated
data which will be fused at the final CH with other agents’
information. To save time and energy consumption, as soon
as certain requirements of a network are satisfied in the
progress of its tour, the mobile agent returns to the base
station without having to visit other nodes on its route. This
logic reduces network load, overcoming network latency, and
improves fault-tolerance performance.
14.3.5 Sensor Network Protocols
Communication protocols for distributed microsensor
networks provide systems with better network capability and
performance by creating efficient paths and accomplishing
effective communication between the sensor nodes
[49, 53, 54].
The point-to-point protocol (PTP) is the simplest com-
munication protocol and transmits data to only one of its
neighbors, as illustrated in Fig. 14.10a. However, PTP is not
appropriate for a DSN, because there is no communication
path in case of failure of nodes or links.
a) PTP b) FP c) GP
Fig. 14.10 Three basic communication protocols: (a) point-to-point
protocol (PTP), (b) flooding protocol (FP), and (c) gossiping protocol
(GP)
327
In the flooding protocol (FP), the information sent out
by the sender node is addressed to all of its neighbors, as
shown in Fig. 14.10b. This disseminates data quickly in
a network where bandwidth is not limited and links are
not loss-prone. However, since a node always sends data 14
to its neighbors, regardless of whether or not the neighbor
has already received the data from another source, it leads
to the implosion problem and wastes resources by sending
duplicate copies of data to the same node.
The gossiping protocol (GP) [55, 56] is an alternative to
the classic flooding protocol in which, instead of indiscrimi-
nately sending information to all its neighboring nodes, each
sensor node only forwards the data to one randomly selected
neighbor, as depicted in Fig. 14.10c. While the GP distributes
information more slowly than FP, it dissipates resources,
such as energy, at a relatively lower rate. In addition, it
is not as robust relative to link failures as a broadcasting
protocol (BP), because a node can only rely on one other
node to resend the information for it in the case of link
failure.
In order to solve the problem of implosion and overlap,
Heinzelman et al. [57] proposed the sensor protocol for
information via negotiation (SPIN). SPIN nodes negotiate
with each other before transmitting data, which helps en-
sure that only useful transmission of information will be
executed. Nodes in the SPIN protocol use three types of
messages to communicate: ADV (new data advertisement),
REQ (request for data), and DATA (data message). Thus,
SPIN protocol works in three stages: ADV–REQ–DATA. The
protocol begins when a node advertises the new data that is
ready to be disseminated. It advertises by sending an ADV
message to its neighbors, naming the new data (ADV stage).
Upon receiving an ADV, the neighboring node checks to see
whether it has already received or requested the advertised
data to avoid implosion and the overlap problem. If not, it
responds by sending a REQ message for the missing data
back to the sender (REQ stage). The protocol completes when
the initiator of the protocol responds to the REQ with a DATA
message, containing the missing data (DATA stage).
In a relatively large sensor network, a clustering architec-
ture with a local cluster-head (CH) is necessary. Heinzelman
et al. [58] proposed the low-energy adaptive clustering hi-
erarchy (LEACH), which is a clustering-based protocol that
utilizes randomized rotation of local cluster base stations to
evenly distribute the energy load of sensors in DSN. Energy-
minimizing routing protocols have also been developed to
extend the lifetime of the sensing nodes in a wireless network;
for example, a minimum transmission energy (MTE) routing
protocol [59] chooses intermediate nodes such that the sum
of squared distances is minimized by assuming a square-
of-distance power loss between two nodes. This protocol,
however, results in unbalanced termination of nodes with
respect to the entire network.
328 W. Jeong

In recent years, a time-based network protocol has been
developed. The objective of a time-based protocol is to
ensure that, when any tasks keep the resource idle for too
long, their exclusive service by the resource is disabled; that
is, the time-based control protocol is intended to provide
a rational collaboration rule among tasks and resources in
the networked system [41]. Here, slow sensors will delay
timely response and other sensors may need to consume extra
energy. The patented fault tolerant time-out protocol (FTTP)
uses the basic concept of a time-out scheme effectively in
a microsensor communication control (FTTP is a patent-
pending protocol of the PRISM Center at Purdue University,
USA).
The design of industrial open protocols for mostly wired
communication known as fieldbuses, such as DeviceNet and
ControlNet, have also been evolved to provide open data
exchange and a messaging framework [60]. Further develop-
ment for wireless has been investigated in asset monitoring
and maintenance using an open communication protocol
such as ZigBee [61].
Wireless sensor network application designers also re-
quire a middleware to deliver a general runtime environment
that inherits common requirements under application spec-
ifications. In order to provide robust functions to industrial
applications under somewhat limited resource constraints
and the dynamics of the environment, appropriate middle-
ware is also required to contain embedded trade-offs between
essential quality-of-service (QoS) requirements from appli-
cations. Typically, a sensor network middleware has a layered
architecture that is distributed among the networked sensor
systems. Based on traditional architectures, researchers [62]
have recently been developing a middleware for facility sen-
sor network (MidFSN) whose layered structure is classified
into three layers as depicted in Fig. 14.11.
14.3.6 Sensor Network Security
Another issue in wireless sensor networks is related to sensor
network security. Since the sensor network may operate in
a hostile environment, security needs to be built into the
network design and not as an afterthought. That is, network
techniques to provide low-latency, survivable, and secure
networks are required. However, sensor network security, es-
pecially in the wireless sensor network, is difficult to achieve
because of its fundamental characteristics of vulnerability of
wireless links.
In general, low probability of communication detection
is needed for networks because sensors are envisioned for
use behind enemy lines. For the same reasons, the network
should be protected again intrusion and spoofing. For the
wireless network security, there currently exist solutions as
follows [63]:
1. Authentication during all routing phases: Implementing
authentication procedure during all routing phases to
exclude unauthorized nodes from participating in the
routing.
2. Randomize message forwarding: A node selects a request-
ing message at random to forward. This method, however,
increases the delay of the route discovery.
3. Secure neighbor verification: By using a three-round au-
thenticated message exchange between two nodes, this
solution prevents illegal use of a high power range to
launch the rushing attacks.
4. Trust-level metric: Mirroring the minimum trust value
required by the sender. However, it is difficult to
define trust level based on a proper key sharing
mechanism.

Sensor level Middleware level Application level

Networked Low-level Context Services
sensors data abstraction management • Service interpreter
• Resource context • Application
• Data • Cluster context specification
dessamination • Qos requirements Application manager
• Energy context
• Self-configuration • Temporal context • Data aggregation • Analyze data
• Sensor rate • Analysis service • Manage database
configuration • Application
• Communication Qos control requirements
scheduling • Industrial application
• Monitoring the • Error handling classification
battery power • Service differenciation • Trade-offs
• Sensor state • Network control
control • Event detection and
• Cluster control coordination
messages • Middleware component
control

Fig. 14.11 Middleware architecture for facility sensor network applications (MidFSN). (After Ref. [36])
14 Sensors, Machine Vision, and Sensor Networks
Fig. 14.12 Wireless microsensor network system with two different types of microsensor nodes in an industrial automation application. (After
Ref. [62])
14.3.7 Sensor Network Applications
Distributed microsensor networks have mostly been applied
to military applications. However, a recent trend in sensor
networks has been to apply the technology to various
industrial applications. Figure 14.12 illustrates a networked
sensor application used in factory automation. Environment
applications such as examination of flowing water and
detection of air contaminants require flexible and dynamic
topology for the sensor network. Biomedical applications
of collecting information from internal human body are
based on bio/nanotechnology. For these applications,
geometrical and dynamical characteristics of the system
must be considered at the design step of network architecture
[51]. It is also essential to use fault-tolerant network
protocols to aggregate very weak signals without losing
any critical signals. Specifically designed sensor network
systems can also be applicable for intelligent transportation
systems, monitoring material flow, and home/office network
systems.
Public transportation systems are another example of sen-
sor network applications. Sensor networks have been suc-
cessfully implemented into highway systems for vehicle and
traffic monitoring, providing key technology for intelligent
transportation systems (ITS). Recently various networked
sensors have been applied to railway system to monitor the
location of rolling stocks and detect objects or obstacles
on the rail in advance (Fig. 14.13). Networked sensors can
cover a wide monitoring area and deliver more accurate
information by implementing multisensor fusion algorithms
[64–66].
329
14
Base station
Middleware
(MidFSN)
Resource
management
QoS control
services
Photoelectronic
sensor
Inductive sensor
Recent self-driving, autonomous cars utilize diverse array
of sensors (Fig. 14.14). Many sensors are sharing information
for better vehicle intelligence. The majority of automotive
manufacturers most commonly use three types of sensors in
the autonomous vehicle: cameras, radars, and lidars. These
sensors play an essential role in automated driving such as de-
tecting oncoming obstacles, monitoring their surroundings,
and safely planning their paths. They are also integrated in the
main computer of the vehicle. Rapid improvement of the au-
tonomous vehicle technology is recently drawing attentions
on the research of vehicle to vehicle (V2V) communication
based on the sensor network technology.
14.3.8 Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT)
In the era of industry 4.0, the fourth industrial revolution,
modern industry facilitates computerization and interconnec-
tivity into the traditional industry [67]. Industry 4.0 enables
factories and manufacturing process more flexible and in-
telligent by using sensors, autonomous machines, and mi-
crochips. In particular, wide supply of a high speed wired
or wireless internet accelerates processing, communication,
and networking capabilities.
Since the terms of internet of things (IoT) was first used
in 1999 [68], the industrial internet of things (IIoT) addi-
tionally becomes the extensive use of the internet of things
(IoT) in manufacturing through automation, optimization,
intelligent or smart factory, industrial control, and mainte-
nance as illustrated in Fig. 14.15 [69–71]. While there are
plenty of IoT definitions, one of the definitions is “network
330 W. Jeong

GPS

Kalman filter

Accelerometer
Doppler Gyroscope Tachometer

Transponder

Fig. 14.13 Networked sensors for train tracking and tracing (global positioning system (GPS))

Lidars
Radars
Cameras
Main computer
in truck

Fig. 14.14 Diverse sensors used in autonomous driving car

connectivity and computing capability to objects, devices,
sensors, and items not ordinarily considered to be computers.
These ‘smart objects’ require minimal human intervention
to generate, exchange, and consume data; they often feature
connectivity to remote data collection, analysis, and manage-
ment capabilities” [68].
Fundamental aspects of the IIoT are listed as follows:
• Architecture: While IIoT architecture can be designed dif-
ferently depending on applications, the Industrial Internet
Consortium provides models by four different viewpoints:
business, functional, usage, and implementation views
[69].
• Connectivity: IIoT and its communication protocols
should provide interoperability at different levels,
scalability and flexibility to transfer smart data among
existing heterogeneous communication protocols.
• Standardization: Since fundamental goal of IIoT is in-
formation sharing from heterogeneous environment, stan-
dardization activities should ensure interoperability by
identifying potential global needs, benefits, concepts, and
conditions for the factory.
Table 14.4 shows comparison of key features between IoT
and IIoT. Main benefits from adopting the IIoT can be opera-
tional efficiency improvement, maximizing asset utilization,
downtime reduction, and productivity improvement.
14.4 Emerging Trends
Energy-conserving microsensor network protocols have
drawn great attention over the years. Other important metrics
such as latency, scalability, and connectivity have also been
14 Sensors, Machine Vision, and Sensor Networks 331

The integration of multiple types of sensors such as seis-

mic, acoustic, and optical sensors in a specific network plat-
Industrial form and the study of the overall coverage of the system also
Internet of things
present several interesting challenges. Diverse sensors inte-
gration for self-driving and autonomous vehicle is a recent 14
example of heterogeneous sensors utilization. In addition,
when sensor nodes should be shared by multiple applications
with differing goals, protocols must efficiently serve multiple
applications simultaneously. Therefore, for heterogeneous
Smart factory Automation Smart
solution robots product sensors and their network application development, several
research questions should be considered:
Industry 4.0
Cyber-physical
production systems (CPPS) 1. How should resources be utilized optimally in heteroge-
Factory impact neous sensor networks?
2. How should heterogeneous data be handled efficiently?
3. How much and what type of data should be processed
Fig. 14.15 Industrial internet of things (IIoT) and industry 4.0 in
manufacturing to meet quality-of-service (QoS) goals while minimizing
energy usage?

Table 14.4 Comparison between IoT and IIoT [70]

IoT IIoT
Status New devices and Existing devices and
standards standards 14.4.2 Appropriate Quality-of-Service (QoS)
Model Human-centered Machine-oriented Model
Connectivity Ad hoc Structured (nodes are fixed;
centralized network Research in QoS has received considerable attention over
management)
the years. QoS has to be supported at media access control
Criticality Not stringent Mission critical (timing,
reliability, security, privacy)
(MAC), routing, and transport layers. Most existing ad hoc
Data volume Medium to high Very high
routing protocols do not support QoS. The routing metric
used in current work still refers to the shortest path or mini-
mum hop. However, bandwidth, delay, jitter, and packet loss
(reliability or data delivery ratio) are other important QoS
deeply studied recently. However, it should be realized that parameters. Hence, mechanisms of current ad hoc routing
there are still emerging research issues in sensor network protocols should allow for route selection based on both QoS
systems. Although current wireless microsensor network requirements and QoS availability. In addition to establishing
research is moving forward to more practical application QoS routes, QoS assurance during route reconfiguration has
areas, emerging research on the following new topics should to be supported too. QoS considerations need to be made
be further examined and will surface. to ensure that end-to-end QoS requirements continue to be
supported. Hence, there is still significant room for research
in this area.

14.4.1 Heterogeneous Sensors

and Applications

In many networked sensor applications and their perfor-
mance evaluation, homogeneous or identical sensors were
most commonly considered; therefore, network performance
was mainly determined by the geometrical distances between
sensors and the remaining energy of each sensor. In practical
applications, other factors can also influence coverage, such
as obstacles, environmental conditions, and noise. In addition
to nonhomogeneous sensors, other sensor models can deal
with nonisotropic sensor sensitivities, where sensors have
different sensitivities in different directions.
14.4.3 Integration with Other Networks
For information exchange and data fusion, sensor networks
may interface with other networks, such as a Wi-Fi network,
a cellular network, or the industrial internet of things (IIoT).
Therefore, to find the best way to interface these networks
under required security will be a big issue. Sensor network
protocols should support (or at least integrated as a separated
network) the protocols of the other networks; otherwise
sensors could have dual network interface capabilities.
332
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 Intelligent and Collaborative Robots
Kenji Yamaguchi and Kiyonori Inaba
Contents
15.1 The Industrial Robot Market . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 335
15.2 Emergence of Intelligent
and Collaborative Robots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 338
15.3 Intelligent and Collaborative Robots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
15.3.1 Basic Technology for Industrial Robots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
15.3.2 Intelligent Robot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
15.3.3 Collaborative Robot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
15.4 Offline Programming and IoT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 346
15.4.1 Offline Programming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 346
15.4.2 IoT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 346
15.5 Applications of Intelligent
and Collaborative Robots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
15.5.1 Welding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
15.5.2 Machining . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
15.5.3 Assembly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
15.5.4 Picking, Packing, and Palletizing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
15.5.5 Painting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
15.6 Installation Guidelines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 354
15.6.1 Range of Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 354
15.6.2 Return on Investment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 355
15.7 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 355
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 355
Abstract
It has been a belief for a long time since the birth of
the industrial robot that the only thing it can do is
playback simple motions that are taught in advance. At the
beginning of the twenty-first century, the industrial robot
was reinvented as the industrial intelligent robot, able to
perform highly complicated tasks like skilled production
workers, mainly due to the rapid advancement in vision
and force sensors. In addition, collaborative robots were
developed to meet the demand of collaboration between
K. Yamaguchi · K. Inaba ()
FANUC CORPORATION, Yamanashi, Japan
e-mail: yamaguchi.kenji@fanuc.co.jp; inaba.kiyonori@fanuc.co.jp
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023
S. Y. Nof (ed.), Springer Handbook of Automation, Springer Handbooks,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-96729-1_15
15
human operators and industrial robots. The industrial
intelligent robot and collaborative robot have recently
been a key technology to solve issues that today’s man-
ufacturing industry is faced with, including a decreasing
number of skilled workers and demands for reduced man-
339 ufacturing costs and delivery time. In this chapter, the lat-
339
339 est trends in key technologies such as vision sensors, force
343 sensors, and safety measures for collaborative robots are
introduced with some robot cell application examples that
have succeeded in drastically reducing machining costs.
Keywords
347
Industrial robot · Intelligent robot · Collaborative robot ·
347
350 Vision sensor · Force sensor · ISO 10218 · Mobile
351 robot · Offline programming · IoT · Applications
352
352
15.1 The Industrial Robot Market
Automation involving the use of industrial robots has
helped to improve productivity and manufacturing quality,
mainly in the automotive industry. Recently, securing an
adequate workforce is a serious issue due to the declining
birth rates and aging populations all over the world.
Therefore, the demand for robotization has recently grown
in various production processes not only in the automotive
industry, but in other markets such as the logistics and food
industries. The number of industrial robots in operation
in major industrialized countries is shown in Table 15.1
[1]. Conventional industrial robots are typically used in
applications such as spot welding, arc welding, material
handling, loading/unloading, assembly, and painting, as
shown in Figs. 15.1, 15.2, 15.3, and 15.4.
Devol started the history of the industrial robot by filing
the patent of its basic idea in 1954. A teaching-playback-
type industrial robot was delivered as a product for the first
time in the USA in 1961, and many teaching-playback-type
robots were adopted in factories around the world. However,
in the 2000s, due to the diversification of market demands,
335
336 K. Yamaguchi and K. Inaba

Table 15.1 Number of industrial robots in operation in select countries. (Source: World Robotics 2020)
Country/Region 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2019/2018 CAGR 2014–2019
Africa 3,874 4,114 4,906 5,153 5,521 6,545 +19% +11%
South Africa 3,452 3,604 4,322 4,457 4,416 5,120 +16% +8%
Rest of Africa 422 510 584 696 1,105 1,425 +29% +28%
Egypt 112 143 167 188 253 295 +17% +21%
Morocco 128 142 173 230 536 746 +39% +42%
Tunisia 141 155 158 180 199 242 +22% +11%
Other Africa 41 70 86 98 117 142 +21% +28%
America 248,430 273,607 299,502 323,704 361,006 389,233 +8% +9%
North America 236,891 260,642 285,143 307,135 339,354 362,136 +7% +9%
Canada 8,180 11,654 13,988 18,045 21,627 25,230 +17% +25%
Mexico 9,277 14,743 20,676 27,032 32,713 37,275 +14% +32%
United States 219,434 234,245 250,479 262,058 285,014 299,631 +5% +6%
South America 11,405 12,818 14,189 15,071 17,180 18,925 +10% +11%
Brazil 9,557 10,733 11,732 12,413 14,179 15,294 +8% +10%
Rest of South America 1,848 2,085 2,457 2,658 3,001 3,631 +21% +14%
Argentina 1,593 1,761 2,078 2,238 2,504 3,064 +22% +14%
Chile 102 130 151 182 211 250 +18% +20%
Colombia 68 103 124 149 196 220 +12% +26%
Peru 20 23 33 48 49 58 +18% +24%
Puerto Rico 41 43 46 16 16 16 –17%
Venezuela 24 25 25 25 25 23 –8% –1%
America, not specified 134 147 170 1,498 4,472 8,172 +83% +128%
Asia/Australia 780,128 887,397 1,034,397 1,253,498 1,477,878 1,687,763 +14% +17%
South East Asia 764,409 871,207 1,015,504 1,231,550 1,449,835 1,653,951 +14% +17%
China 189,358 256,463 349,470 501,185 649,447 783,358 +21% +33%
India 11,760 13,768 16,026 19,000 22,935 26,306 +15% +17%
Indonesia 5,201 6,265 7,155 7,913 8,655 9,147 +6% +12%
Japan 295,829 286,554 287,323 297,215 318,110 354,878 +12% +4%
Republic of Korea 176,833 210,458 246,374 273,146 300,197 319,022 +6% +13%
Malaysia 5,730 6,537 8,168 10,788 12,400 13,114 +6% +18%
Singapore 7,454 9,301 11,666 15,801 19,858 21,935 +10% +24%
Chinese Taipei 43,484 49,230 53,119 59,930 67,768 71,782 +6% +11%
Thailand 23,893 26,293 28,182 30,110 32,331 33,962 +5% +7%
Vietnam 1,945 2,455 4,059 12,234 13,782 15,865 +15% +52%
Other South/East Asia 2,922 3,883 3,962 4,228 4,352 4,582 +5% +9%
Hong Kong, China 1,998 2,817 2,808 2,903 2,889 2,858 –1% +7%
North Korea 43 43 44 45 56 56
Macau 10 10 10
Philippines 871 1,013 1,100 1,280 1,407 1,668 +19% +14%
Rest of Asia 669 389 373 429 516 569 +10% –3%
Iran 554 226 168 175 190 201 +6% –18%
Kuwait 2 2 2 1 3 3 +8%
Oman 2 6 6 7 7 7 +28%
Pakistan 2 3 11 44 67 73 +9% +105%
Quatar 1 1 3 4 4 11 +175% +62%
Saudia Arabia 70 81 91 103 133 157 +18% +18%
United Arab Emirates 34 66 88 95 110 115 +5% +28%
Uzbekistan 4 4 4 2 2 –13%
Other Asia 6,259 7,069 9,879 13,221 19,380 25,316 +31% +32%
Australia/New Zealand 8,791 8,732 8,641 8,298 8,147 7,927 –3% –2%
Australia 7,927 7,742 7,536 7,126 6,927 6,649 –4% –3%
(continued)
15 Intelligent and Collaborative Robots 337

Table 15.1 (continued)

Country/Region 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2019/2018 CAGR 2014–2019
New Zealand 864 990 1,105 1,172 1,220 1,278 +5% +8%
Europe 411,062 433,303 459,972 498,045 543,220 579,948 +7% +7%
Central and Eastern Europe 30,782 36,273 43,612 52,863 61,271 69,091 +13% +18%
Balkan countries 1,989 2,290 2,727 3,128 3,815 4,456 +17% +18%
Bosnia-Herzegowina 7 9 19 25 28 30 +7% +34%
Croatia 121 136 163 175 196 239 +22% +15%
15
Serbia 42 65 93 123 177 246 +39% +42%
Slovenia 1,819 2,080 2,452 2,805 3,414 3,941 +15% +17%
Czech Republic 9,543 11,238 13,049 15,429 17,603 19,391 +10% +15%
Hungary 4,302 4,784 5,424 7,711 8,481 9,212 +9% +16%
Poland 6,401 8,136 9,693 11,360 13,632 15,769 +16% +20%
Romania 1,361 1,702 2,468 3,076 3,555 4,057 +14% +24%
Russian Federation 2,694 3,032 3,366 4,028 4,994 6,185 +24% +18%
Slovakia 3,891 4,378 6,071 7,093 7,796 8,326 +7% +16%
Other Eastern Europe 601 713 814 1,038 1,395 1,695 +22% +23%
Belarus 140 145 150 161 168 192 +14% +7%
Bulgaria 197 250 288 371 479 560 +17% +23%
Estonia 83 97 123 170 220 283 +29% +28%
Latvia 19 22 24 28 58 72 +24% +31%
Lithuania 57 93 128 195 290 385 +33% +47%
Moldova 5 5 5 5 5 5
Ukraine 100 101 96 108 175 198 +13% +15%
Western Europe 345,078 358,267 373,575 396,027 426,558 447,833 +5% +5%
Austria 7,237 7,859 9,000 10,156 11,162 12,016 +8% +11%
Belgium 7,995 7,989 8,521 9,207 9,561 9,965 +4% +5%
Germany 175,768 182,632 189,305 200,497 215,795 221,547 +3% +5%
Spain 27,983 29,718 30,811 32,352 35,209 36,716 +4% +6%
France 32,233 32,161 33,384 35,321 38,079 42,019 +10% +5%
Italy 59,823 61,282 62,068 64,403 69,142 74,420 +8% +4%
Netherlands 8,470 9,739 11,320 12,505 13,385 14,370 +7% +11%
Portugal 2,870 3,160 3,942 4,622 5,050 5,620 +11% +14%
Switzerland 5,764 6,258 6,753 7,476 8,492 9,506 +12% +11%
United Kingdom 16,935 17,469 18,471 19,488 20,683 21,654 +5% +5%
Nordic countries 21,047 22,508 24,181 25,202 26,036 27,036 +4% +5%
Denmark 5,119 5,459 5,915 6,361 6,617 6,820 +3% +6%
Finland 4,178 4,124 4,422 4,342 4,553 4,721 +4% +2%
Norway 1,008 1,068 1,173 1,250 1,219 1,271 +4% +5%
Sweden 10,742 11,857 12,671 13,249 13,647 14,224 +4% +6%
Rest of Europe 8,317 10,269 12,481 14,782 17,076 18,945 +11% +18%
Turkey 6,286 7,940 9,756 11,599 13,498 15,022 +11% +19%
All other European countries 2,031 2,329 2,725 3,183 3,578 3,923 +10% +14%
Greece 392 446 491 568 640 665 +4% +11%
Iceland 22 23 31 42 37 37 +11%
Ireland 667 763 880 945 1,026 1,130 +10% +11%
Israel 938 1,080 1,278 1,533 1,770 1,979 +12% +16%
Malta 12 17 45 95 105 112 +7% +56%
Other Europe 5,838 5,986 6,123 9,171 12,279 17,043 +39% +24%
Others not specified 28,594 33,229 38,782 44,876 51,918 58,588 +13% +15%
Total 1,472,088 1,631,650 1,837,559 2,125,276 2,439,543 2,722,077 +12% +13%
Sources: IFR, national associations
338
Fig. 15.1 Spot welding
Fig. 15.2 Arc welding
it was required to meet not only conventional mass produc-
tion needs, but also the small batch production of higher
variety of products. As a result, having to prepare various
kinds of fixtures for each part type, which were needed for
teaching-playback-type industrial robots, made it difficult
in many cases to automate. It was necessary for robots to
work flexibly like a human operator, adjusting its movements
even when parts are not located precisely in a predetermined
position. This requirement led to the development of intel-
ligent robots equipped with vision or force sensors. Today,
many of these intelligent robots have been widely deployed
in production processes.
Since industrial robots for heavy part handling or high-
speed operations inherently have high energy, it is necessary
K. Yamaguchi and K. Inaba
Fig. 15.3 Loading/unloading
Fig. 15.4 Painting
to enclose them with safety fences so as not to harm nearby
humans. On the other hand, in manual assembly processes
such as automobile final assembly and electronic device man-
ufacturing, the robots are required to support human work to
address labor shortages. At such manufacturing sites, since
the safety fences can prevent human operators from getting
close to the robots, the need increased for robots to be able to
work collaboratively with humans without safety fences.
15.2 Emergence of Intelligent
and Collaborative Robots
As mentioned above, in teaching-playback-type robots, dedi-
cated equipment was used to supply workpieces to the robots.
But to do so, human operators had to set the workpieces
15 Intelligent and Collaborative Robots 339

into the dedicated equipment beforehand, so the robot was
able to pick up and handle them, such as for loading parts
into a machine tool. In 2001, industrial intelligent robots
appeared in the manufacturing scene mainly to automate
loading workpieces to the fixtures of machine tools such as
machining centers.
After the first private sector numerical control (NC) was
developed in the 1950s, the machining process itself was
almost completely automated by NCs. However, loading
and unloading of workpieces to and from machine tools
was still done by human operators even in the 1990s. The
intelligent robot appeared in 2001 for the first time. The
term intelligent robot does not mean a humanoid robot that
walks and talks like a human being, but rather one that
performs highly complicated tasks like a skilled worker on
the production site by utilizing vision sensors and force
sensors. By having robots utilize vision and finding and
picking workpieces randomly located inside containers that
they get delivered in, it enabled automation of loading of
workpieces to the fixture of the machining center without
the need of human intervention or dedicated part supply
machinery.
Thus, so many intelligent robots have been deployed in
production mainly due to their high potential for enhancing
global competitiveness and as a key technology to solve
issues that today’s manufacturing industry is faced with,
including the decreasing number of skilled workers and
demands for reducing manufactuing costs and deliverly time.
Recently, intelligent robots have been applied to more flex-
ible and complicated tasks, and it is increasing due to the
development of 3D vision sensors, vision technology utiliz-
ing AI, and force sensor technology that enables assembly
work.
On the other hand, there are still many manufacturing
processes where robot automation for assembly is difficult.
Therefore, many tasks in these processes still rely on manual
work. Many advanced industrial countries, however, have
difficulties in hiring operators because of falling birth rates
and aging populations. At such manufacturing sites, robot-
assisted operations are expected to reduce burden on the
operators. However, conventional robots that require safety
fences make it difficult to achieve effective robot assistance
[2–5]. For these reasons, the demand for collaborative robots
that can work safely with human operators without safety
fences has rapidly increased, and the development of col-
laborative robots began in earnest around 2010. In 2010
[8–10], the requirements for collaborative robots in ISO
10218-1, the industrial robot safety standard, were revised,
initiating the introduction of collaborative robots for use in
production sites. From the late 2010s to the present, many
collaborative robots have been developed, which shows how
high the market demand is.
15.3 Intelligent and Collaborative Robots
15.3.1 Basic Technology for Industrial Robots
Figure 15.5 shows a typical configuration of a vertical artic-
ulated type six-axis robot [12]. There are no major mechan-
ical differences in the structure of an intelligent robot or a
15
collaborative robot than that of a conventional robot. They are
comprised of several servomotors, reducers, bearings, arm
castings, etc.
As shown in Fig. 15.6, the sensor interface, which enables
the connection of sensors to the controller, such as vision
sensors, force sensors, and safety sensors for collaborative
robots, and high-speed microprocessors and communication
interfaces are the key differences of intelligent and collabo-
rative robots compared to conventional robots.
The servo control of an intelligent robot or a collaborative
robot is similar to that of a conventional robot as shown in
Fig. 15.7. However, the performances of several servo control
functions of intelligent and collaborative robots such as inter-
polation times are highly enhanced compared to conventional
robots [20–23].
15.3.2 Intelligent Robot
The intelligent robot [11] is a robot that is controlled based
on the visual and tactile information from the sensors it is
equipped with, and can respond flexibly to the surrounding
environment.
Vision Sensors
Two types of vision sensors are often used in production
sites, two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) vi-
sion sensors. The 2D vision sensor acquires two-dimensional
images of an object by irradiating natural light or artificial
J4, J5, J6 motor J3 axis
J4 axis
J3 motor J6 axis
Wrist
J2 axis flange
J5 axis
J1 motor J2 arm
J2 motor Reducer
J1 axis
J2 axis
motor
Base
J1 base
Fig. 15.5 Mechanical structure of industrial robot
340 K. Yamaguchi and K. Inaba

Motion control Communication

control
Flash
CPU SRAM DRAM CPU
ROM

Servo
processor USB
RS232C
6-axis RS422 I/O
amplifier ethernet unit

Safety Servo Force Vision

sensor motor sensor sensor Teach pendant

Fig. 15.6 Control system

Target Velocity Phase current

position
Current
position
t
t

Motion
command

+ Position + Velocity + Current Power

control control control amp
– – – Pulse
coder

Servo
Current feedback
motor

Phase information

Velocity feedback

Position feedback

Fig. 15.7 Servo control

light onto the object and taking an image of the reflected light been used in various robot applications, and it is possible to
by a CCD or other camera. On the other hand, with recent automate more complicated tasks such as picking randomly
processing capacity improvements, 3D vision sensors have oriented parts from containers.
15 Intelligent and Collaborative Robots 341

Robot controller Camera cable

Camera and lens

Lighting 15
equipment

Workpiece

Fig. 15.8 Vision system

Depth image

Generate 3D data
3D application
(3D data generator tool)

Convert to grayscale image

2D application

2D image

2D application

Fig. 15.9 3D vision detection

The vision for industrial robots requires to be reliable in
tough manufacturing environments. As shown in Fig. 15.6,
by incorporating the image processing device into the robot
controller and connecting the vision sensor to the robot
controller directly, the vision has the same high reliability
and ease of use as that of the industrial robots. As shown in
Fig. 15.8, a simple vision system can be realized.
A robot can use a 3D vision sensor to measure the three-
dimensional shape of parts, detect the position and orienta-
tion of each part that is three-dimensionally placed, and pick
them up. As shown in Fig. 15.9, the measured distance is
output as a depth image and is used to process with various
detection methods to find a part.
The 3D vision sensor shown in Fig. 15.10 has two cameras
and one projector, all built-in. The 3D vision sensor projects
a pattern from the built-in projector, acquires images by the
two built-in cameras, and measures the 3D shape of the part.
By measuring the 3D shape with one pattern projection, the
342 K. Yamaguchi and K. Inaba

3D vision sensor

Fig. 15.10 3D vision sensor

Fig. 15.12 Bag palletizing system

3D vision sensor

3D vision sensor

Fig. 15.13 AI bin picking system by operator pointing

need to install multiple sensors around the robot, and enables

Fig. 15.11 Bin picking system using 3D vision sensor it to pick up the part from multiple places, which makes it
possible for a simple and inexpensive system. In the example
of Fig. 15.12, the 3D vision sensor detects bags, and the robot
measurement time can be reduced compared to projecting
picks up the part and transfers it. In this case, the 3D vision
multiple patterns. By shortening the measurement time and
sensor is used not only for picking, but also for detecting the
directly controlling in the robot controller, the robot can
shifted bag after loading on the pallet.
acquire a depth image without stopping. In addition, it is
In recent years, AI has been used to simplify the teaching,
possible to measure the image for visual tracking where a
and improve robustness and accuracy of part detection. Bin
sensor or a part is moving.
picking applications require adjustments of settings of the
As an application example using the 3D vision sensor,
vision sensor in order to have the robot detect a part and
Fig. 15.11 shows a handling robot with a sensor picking
pick it up, which requires skilled knowledge of the vision
multimixed parts from a tote. Based on the information from
systems. Many work hours for system setup are required. On
the sensor, the robot picks up various types of small parts in
the other hand, in the case of Fig. 15.13, the AI learns how to
the container and transfers them to the conveyor. By detecting
detect the part by intuitive instruction work such as directly
the parts not as a shape but as an arbitrary blob from the
pointing to the part on the image with a mouse or a touch
acquired depth image, multiple types of parts can be picked
panel. The operator can easily set up the system without any
up without registering the shape of each part.
special knowledge.
In addition, due to the compactness of 3D vision sensors
Also, by utilizing AI, the robot can make pass/fail judg-
and the short measurement time, it has enabled the sensors to
ments based on good and bad images of the object. In
be mounted on the robots without increasing the cycle time.
the example of Fig. 15.14, the vision is used to check the
Mounting the 3D vision sensor on the robot can eliminate the
presence or absence of assembled parts such as welded nuts.
15 Intelligent and Collaborative Robots 343

Fz
Mz
Pass Pass Fail Fail Mx My

Fx Fy Robot

15
Controller
Force sensor

Fig. 15.15 Robot system with force sensor

Fig. 15.14 AI inspection

In conventional vision systems, the presence/absence of

a part was determined by matching a part shape taught in
advance. However, welding spatter or soot around the target
object, or halation on the metal surface, etc. could cause an
erroneous judgement, and the robot user was required to have Force sensor
skilled knowledge on how to set up the vision system to
get reliable judgements. This kind of error proofing when
using AI judges the pass/fail from the image using machine
learning [18], instead of trying to find the same shape and
position of the part from the taught image. This results in Fig. 15.16 Force sensor
a robust inspection process that is resistant to fluctuations
due to surrounding conditions. High-precision error proofing
can be easily performed by learning several to several tens of type, capacitance type, piezoelectric effect type, and optical
pass/fail images as a dataset, without requiring a fine-tuning type.
of vision settings. Figure 15.17 shows an example of the assembly of a crank
mechanical unit of an injection molding machine utilizing a
Force Sensors force sensor.
The force sensor is used to improve a robot’s dexterity. It
detects real-time force and moment when the robot contacts
any objects. With force sensors, the robots can push with a 15.3.3 Collaborative Robot
designated force or realize a compliant motion by moving
in the direction of an external force. It enables robots to Collaborative robots can work with operators safely without
smoothly conduct difficult assembly tasks that only skilled safety fences. As shown in Fig. 15.18, processes requiring
workers were able to do, such as precise fitting with a clear- both operators and robots coexisting without safety fences
ance of only several micrometers, assembly and meshing of can be configured using collaborative robots.
gears, and polishing/deburring. A robot system with a force
sensor on the robot’s wrist is shown in Fig. 15.15. 1. Workspace sharing
An example of the force sensor is shown in Fig. 15.16. The 2. Collaborative operation
force sensor has a part that is slightly deformed with an ex-
ternal force. By detecting deformation amount accurately, it In “workspace sharing,” the operators and the robots work
is possible to calculate force in three directions (X, Y, and Z) independently, but also engage in work close to each other
and moment around X, Y, and Z axes. There are several kinds without safety fences. In this case, the operator and the robot
of force sensor based on a detection principle: strain gauge have a risk of contacting each other, but the hazards are
344
minimized by using collaborative robots that are designed not
to inflict harm to the person upon contact.
The other style is called “collaborative operation,” in
which the example shows assembly work by the operator
with the robot assisting by handling heavy components. The
operators are freed from doing heavy lifting work, enhancing
productivity, and allows labor reduction because only one
Force sensor
Crank mechanical unit
Fig. 15.17 Assembly of crank mechanical unit with force sensor
Fig. 15.18 (a) Workspace sharing. (b) Collaborative operation
K. Yamaguchi and K. Inaba
operator is needed to complete the work that previously
required two or more operators.
With the expansion of applications that industrial robots
are used for, and in response to a growing need for enhanced
productivity, safety standards were also required to change,
and in 2011, the international standard ISO 10218-1:2011
was revised to allow operators and robots to coexist without
safety fences.
The collaborative operation requirements specified in ISO
10218-1:2011 are the following. Any one of the four re-
quirements must be met before a robot is operated without
safety fences. An overview of the requirements is shown in
Fig. 15.19.
1. Safety-rated monitored stop
2. Hand guidance
3. Speed and separation monitoring
4. Power and force limiting
For item 1, safety-rated monitored stop, not move when
an operator enters into the operating space of the robot. For
item 2, hand guidance, which is an operation mode where an
operator directly handles a robot for operation, a robot must
equip with an emergency stop switch, an enabling device, and
an operation speed monitor. For item 3, speed and separation
monitoring, a robot must stop or slow down when the relative
speed and distance between the robot and the operator exceed
certain criteria. For item 4, power and force limiting, the force
15 Intelligent and Collaborative Robots 345

1. Safety-rated monitored stop 2. Hand guidance

Robot stops due to operating Operator directly operates
space intrusion. robot.

Robot stops.

15

Safety – Emergency-stop switch

sensor and enable switch
3. Speed and separation – Robot speed monitoring
monitoring
4. Power and force limiting
Robot stops when relative
Robot stops when force
speed and distance exceed
exceeds a criterion.
criteria.
Stops
Safety
sensor

Fig. 15.20 Collaborative robots

Robot stops.
In recent years, as shown in Fig. 15.20, the collaborative
robots have been developed in accordance with the standard
Fig. 15.19 ISO10218-1:2011, collaborative operation requirements of ISO 10218-1.
There are various safety measures, but the following
method is general. In accordance with the safety require-
generated from a robot is restricted and when the applied
ments of item 4, power and force limiting, a sensor is built
force exceeds certain criteria, the robot must stop.
into the robot, and when the robot contacts a person or an
Each requirement was created to ensure a high reliability
obstacle, the robot detects it and instantly stops.
pertaining to safety functions and to specifically conform to
In addition, it is important for the collaborative robot to
safety category 3, PL (performance level) d, specified in ISO
provide simple robot operation and teaching so that it can be
13849-1.
used easily at production sites where people perform most of
Here, the authors would like to introduce the history of
the work. For example, the manual guided teaching function
collaborative robots. The concept of collaborative robots was
to operate the arm directly is used to make the teaching
proposed in the mid-1990s as a method for direct physical
more intuitive than the conventional teaching with a teach
interaction between humans and robots. Initially, the method
pendant [19].
was investigated to ensure human safety like intelligent as-
Furthermore, since it is not necessary to surround the
sist devices (IADs) that are computer-controlled tools that
collaborative robot with safety fences as shown in Fig. 15.21,
enable production workers to lift, move, and position pay-
a mobile robot equipped with a collaborative robot on an
loads quickly, accurately, and safely. From the late 1990s
automatic guided vehicle (AGV) can freely move and the
to the early 2000s, collaborative robots that were driven by
robot can continue to work at the destination. Although
limited power were developed, and in the late 2000s, the
depending on the drive system, the mobile robot can move
development of collaborative robots by industrial robot man-
in every direction: forward, backward, right, and left.
ufacturers began in earnest. From the viewpoint of intrinsic
In addition, the AGV guided by SLAM (simultaneous
safety, the initial collaborative robots were mostly those of
localization and mapping) registers map information for the
small types with a light robot weight and a payload of less
driving area allowing the AGV to travel while estimating
than 10 kg. However, in response to the growing demand for
its own position and flexibly respond to equipment layout
robots to do heavy-duty works instead of humans, mainly at
changes without laying magnetic tape guides. Generally,
the production sites of automobile manufacturers, in the mid-
the stopping accuracy of the mobile robot is about several
2010s, a collaborative robot with a payload of over 30 kg
centimeters, but the stopping accuracy is insufficient for the
appeared, based on functional safety [14]. In addition, with
robot to work accurately. Therefore, a vision sensor mounted
the aim of performing more complex tasks like humans,
on the robot is used to compensate its position, for accurate
collaborative robots with dual arms have also appeared. As
part picking.
such, collaborative robots have been diverse.
346
Fig. 15.21 Mobile robot
15.4 Offline Programming and IoT
15.4.1 Offline Programming
Offline programming systems have greatly contributed to
decreasing robot programming hours as PC performance has
improved. There is usually a library of robot models in the
offline programming system. The data of workpiece shapes
used in 3D CAD systems is read into the offline programming
system. Peripheral equipment is often defined by using an
easy shape-generating function of the offline programming
system, or by using 3D CAD data. As shown in Fig. 15.22,
after loading the workpiece’s 3D CAD data into the offline
programming system, the robot motion program can be easily
generated automatically, just by designating the position or
posture of the workpieces or the tool on the robot wrist.
Furthermore, the offline programming system can verify the
cycle time, robot trajectory, etc. The robot programs created
by the offline programming systems are loaded to an actual
robot, then the robot executes the robot programs.
The offline programming system can generate a motion
path without any collisions with fixtures and without any sin-
gularity positions. Figure 15.23 shows how the motion path
for loading/unloading a workpiece is automatically generated
K. Yamaguchi and K. Inaba
without any collisions with machine tools or safety fences in
the system where the robot loads/unloads a work piece. Even
the person who is not skilled at teaching robots can generate
an optimum robot program in a short time.
15.4.2 IoT
Robot Maintenance Support Tool
In a large production line, a problem with one robot would
cause a lengthy production downtime. To avoid such down-
time, prognostics and health management (PHM) becomes
important. The PHM is a prediction of remaining life by
modeling equipment deterioration progress, and execution of
preventive maintenance to avoid sudden downtime. The pre-
diction includes analysis processes, such as sending notifica-
tions of any signs of failure before the robot stops. Requests
for preventive maintenance in advance have been increasing
to help reduce maintenance cost and avoid the extra burden
on understaffed maintenance workers. Robot maintenance
support tools based on the PHM contain multiple functions
helpful for preventive maintenance and support production
uptime improvement by managing data on a server and
notifying customers upon detection of abnormal conditions
in advance.
IoT technology for preventive maintenance allows robot
users to conduct maintenance before a robot failure by pre-
dicting and detecting abnormalities from big data that is ac-
quired by connecting a large number of robots over multiple
countries and factories (Fig. 15.24) [13, 15]. As required,
robot users are notified of the results which can lead them
to perform maintenance work before an actual failure, and
realize zero downtime.
IoT Platform
In recent years, an IoT platform that connects various devices
(machine tools, industrial machines, robots, PCs, sensors,
etc.) on the factory floor with a network (Ethernet) has been
introduced on the factory floor. There are also methods of
collecting equipment operation information in real time and
sending it to a host server, but this data could be large and
burden the network or increase network costs. On the other
hand, as shown in Fig. 15.25, when an IoT platform is built
between the factory floor (edge layer) and the higher side
server (cloud layer or fog layer), it is possible to acquire
large amounts of data from the edge layer, and to increase the
communication speed. Since a large amount of data (big data)
contain important information related to factory productivity
and reliability, strict security management is required to
prevent it from leaking outside the factory.
Some IoT platforms are open, allowing users to create
their own application software.
15 Intelligent and Collaborative Robots 347

Layout investigation Program generation Verification

Library
Layout Programming Simulation
Robot
x2D layout import xCAD-to-path xCycle time
xLayout creation xGraphic jogging xRobot trajectory
xEasy teaching 15

Others

Virtual TP Load program

Simple modeling to actual robot
3D CAD data
x2D-3D conversion Teaching robot
xParts modeling is the same
IGES xLibrary registration operation as
format actual robot

CAD interface

Fig. 15.22 Offline programming system

When a spot welding production line is being installed,

15.5 Applications of Intelligent
and Collaborative Robots
Intelligent robots and collaborative robots have been intro-
duced to various production sites, contributing to automation
of production processes and operating rate improvements.
The following are typical application examples.
15.5.1 Welding
Up to now, many industrial robots have been used for spot
welding and arc welding mainly in the automotive industry.
An automotive welding site is one of the most automated
production sites.
The first mass introduction of industrial robots at the weld-
ing site was in spot welding lines for automotive manufac-
turing. Even today, a large amount of industrial robots with a
servo welding gun are used for body welding. In this applica-
tion, cycle time and welding quality are very important and
have been dependent on people’s skilled teaching. To address
this issue, learning robots, which have external sensors and
can automatically generate optimized motion programs with
the feedback from the sensor, are useful and can increase
productivity without requiring skilled workers (Fig. 15.26).
it is often set up and programmed at a different location in
advance of the actual installation. In such cases, it consumes
a lot of time to reteach each robot position that will shift
upon transitioning from the two locations. To improve the
efficiency of this, a vision sensor is used to automatically
adjust the robot program based on the shifting of the robots,
peripheral equipment, and car bodies at the actual site.
Vision sensors have been used for inspection to confirm
the quality of welds, as shown in Fig. 15.27.
Predictable preventive maintenance mentioned above
is especially important for spot welding lines. Alarms are
sent in advance to notify of abnormalities, which can allow
planned maintenance and realize zero downtime.
In arc welding, laser vision sensors are mounted on the
robot arm to make the robot system more intelligent. When
welding inconsistent production parts, the laser vision sensor
adjusts the weld program to maintain the weld quality. The
laser vision sensor can also perform real-time tracking where
it tracks the joint to be welded just ahead of the current
position during welding and compensates the position to the
detected joint. The laser vision sensor’s adaptive welding
function is used to adjust and optimize the weld parameters
based on sensor feedback in addition to real-time tracking
(Fig. 15.28).
348 K. Yamaguchi and K. Inaba

Fig. 15.23 Auto path generation

Data center

Factory A
Factory B

Head office factory

Data Data Data

collector collector collector

Fig. 15.24 IoT for maintenance

15 Intelligent and Collaborative Robots 349

Cloud

Application software 15
Open platform
Fog

Edge heavy

Edge
Machine tools, robots, PLC sensors, camera Fig. 15.27 Vision inspection in welding

Fig. 15.25 IoT platform structure

Fig. 15.28 Intelligent arc welding system

Fig. 15.26 Learning robots

Also, collaborative robots provide a new ability to work

more closely with operators. These robots come with easy-
to-use software designed to reduce work by reducing pro-
gramming time. The easy-to-program interface supports sim-
ple applications that were previously welded manually.
No special knowledge about robot teaching is required,
the operator holds the torch by hand and moves it to a
rough welding position to perform manual guided teaching,
and teaches welding start and end points. The torch posture
is set to a preset angle. It is automatically converted, the
welding operation is completed, and welding conditions are
also automatically set by setting the joints and materials of Fig. 15.29 Arc welding using a collaborative robot
the workpiece to be welded (Figs. 15.28 and 15.29).
350
15.5.2 Machining
In machining, exchanging workpieces on a machine tool and
removing them after machining are relatively simple supple-
mental tasks, but the automation rate is not very high. Such
tasks are still dependent on manual labor in many production
processes. The reason for this is that skilled knowledge is
needed, and acquiring such knowledge and skills requires a
lot of time.
The collaborative robots, which do not require any safety
fences, and robot vision systems that allow only rough po-
sitioning of workpieces, have helped to simplify systems,
thereby reducing the time and costs needed to perform design
and setup.
Figure 15.30 shows a machine tending system with two
ROBODRILLs and one robot.
With this system, a robot is installed between two machine
tools, and the robot uses the vision sensor mounted to its
hand to detect and remove two types of randomly arranged
workpieces from a container. Each workpiece is fed by the
robot to the machine tools on the right or left from the side
doors.
In a study of this system, an offline programming system
was used to arrange CAD data for the two machine tools, the
robot, the workpieces, and the peripheral equipment, study
the layout, and generate a robot program using an auto path
generation function.
These collaborative robots eliminate the need to install
safety fences used for conventional robots, making it easy
to install the robot and reducing the space required. For
example, the collaborative robot can be installed in any place
at any time by moving it on a handcart [16]. In addition, the
collaborative robot mounted on the handcart can be used to
exchange the workpieces on a machine tool (Fig. 15.31).
After the robot is roughly located in place using the hand-
cart, an integrated robot vision system automatically com-
pensates for the position by means of the camera mounted on
Fig. 15.30 Machine tending
K. Yamaguchi and K. Inaba
the robot. This allows the robot to exchange the workpiece
easily and accurately without the operator having to reteach
the robot each time it is relocated.
In addition to using the handcart as described above, the
operator can use the mobile robot – which features a small
collaborative robot on an AGV – to use a single robot in
different places without fixing the robot in place. Mounting a
collaborative robot on an AGV eliminates the need to enclose
the robot with safety fences at the site wherever it goes,
making it possible to transfer workpieces in various layouts
by using a simple system. In addition, the layout can be easily
changed when the product model is changed.
Figure 15.32 shows a machine tending system for a ma-
chine tool with a mobile robot. With this system, a tray
containing several workpieces is carried from the workpiece
stocker by the mobile robot, and fed to the robot, which is
located on the side of the machine tool. The robot takes a
workpiece from the tray and feeds it from the side of the
machine tool. The mobile robot also collects a tray containing
multiple machined workpieces and carries it to the workpiece
unloading area.
As mentioned in Sect. 15.3.3, the mobile robot can move
in every direction, including forward, backward, right, and
left. In addition, the mobile robot is guided by simultaneous
localization and mapping (SLAM). This registers map infor-
mation for the area that the mobile robot travels, allowing the
AGV to travel while estimating its own position. Since this
means that there is no need to install guides, such as magnetic
tape, it offers the flexibility to change the equipment layout.
Fig. 15.31 Machine tending by a collaborative robot
15 Intelligent and Collaborative Robots 351

Intelligent robot Robot upper arm

performing to be assembled
assembly

15

Intelligent robot
performing
assembly

Fig. 15.34 Robot total assembly

The upper arm unit weighs more than 200 kg. When the
robot picks up a wrist unit, the location of the wrist unit is
detected with a vision sensor, and then picks it up with a
gripper. However, the actual pick position of the wrist unit
within the gripper may get shift slightly when it is gripped.
To correct this slight misalignment, the wrist unit position
within the gripper is detected again by a vision sensor after
being picked up so that it is able to be preciely adjusted to
Fig. 15.32 Machine tending by a mobile robot attach it to the upper arm. In fitting and inserting the wrist
unit to the upper arm, a precise fitting with clearance less
than 10 μm is performed by the force control using the force
Force sensor sensor. Detection and compensation using the vision sensor
Robot upper arm and the force control using the force sensor allows stable
to be assembled automatic assembly.
The processes of inserting bearing units to a ball screw
are introduced as an effective example of assembly using a
Intelligent robot collaborative robot. Figure 15.35 shows a system overview
performing
assembly
and Fig. 15.36 shows how bearings are inserted.
This process inserts several types of bearings into a ball
3D vision sensor screw to produce a complete unit with a weight of about
Robot wrist 20 kg. Because there are many parts to assemble, this process
to be assembled is not suitable for full automation, and therefore the work
was done manually. However, since a completed assembled
unit is heavy, two operators were needed to move and carry
Fig. 15.33 Robot arm assembly it with caution. Although safety fences were needed for the
automation using conventional robots, safety fences could
not be installed due to need of frequent access by operators,
15.5.3 Assembly making the introduction of robots difficult.
To reduce burdens on operators and the risk of injuries, a
The intelligent robot plays an active part in assembling collaborative robot was introduced into this process. Specifi-
various machines or electronic equipment. As an example, cally, a collaborative robot was introduced to transfer the ball
the assembly of a large 200 kg payload robot is shown in screw units and to assist in the assembly so that the operators
Fig. 15.33. An intelligent robot assembles the wrist unit of the could be exclusively engaged in the bearing insertion work.
robot to the upper arm unit, and Fig. 15.34 shows intelligent As shown in Fig. 15.35, the collaborative robot lifts the ball
robots assembling the upper arm unit to the lower arm unit. screw from a stocker and carries it to a bearing press insertion
352
Bearings
Bearing press
insertion
machine
Collaborative
robot Operator
Ball screw stocker
Fig. 15.35 System for insertion of bearings to a ball screw
Fig. 15.36 Insertion of bearings
machine. Subsequently, the robot performs assembly assis-
tance by supporting the ball screw to prevent it from falling.
Finally, while the robot is carrying the complete unit back to
the stocker, the operator can perform the initial setup, such
as opening the next package with bearing units, leading to
increased productivity.
With the introduction of the collaborative robot, operator
savings has been achieved, where just one person can be allo-
cated to the work that previously needed two. Moreover, the
risk of operator injury has been drastically reduced because
operators are freed from the heavy manual work and their
work burdens are reduced.
15.5.4 Picking, Packing, and Palletizing
Intelligent robots have been widespread at manufacturing
sites for food, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, etc. In general,
manufacturing processes consist of a picking process of
K. Yamaguchi and K. Inaba
Fig. 15.37 Picking system
products manufactured by specialized machines, a packing
process for packing them into a box, and a palletizing process
for loading the boxes on shipping pallets. An example of the
series of processes is shown below.
In the picking process, as shown in Fig. 15.37, the robot
detects the position of the flowing biscuit by using the cam-
era placed above the conveyor. Then, the robot picks each
one from the conveyor in syncronization with the conveyor
movement, and sequentially stacks it on the conveyor in the
next process.
The cycle time of this process directly affects manufac-
turing output. Therefore, the robot used here is required to
have high-speed and high-duty performance, and accurate
synchronous control with high-speed vision processing.
In the packing process, as shown in Fig. 15.38, the position
of a stack of biscuits is detected by a camera placed above
the conveyor, and the robot synchronized with the conveyor
picks the stack and places it into the box. In this process, since
multiple products may be collectively picked, the gripper
becomes larger than the gripper in the picking process, so
the robots used here are required to have higher payloads, in
addition to high speed and high duty performance.
In the palletizing process, as shown in Fig. 15.39, the
packed cases are picked together and placed on the shipping
pallet. In this process, it is common that multiple products are
carried at once, and it is necessary to stack the products higher
on the pallet in order to improve transportation efficiency.
Therefore, the robots used here are required to have a large
gripper and a wide operation range capable of accommodat-
ing multistage stacking, in addition to high transportability.
15.5.5 Painting
Painting robots apply various types of waterborne or solvent-
borne liquid and powder materials to component surfaces
via a painting applicator. Painting was initially a completely
15 Intelligent and Collaborative Robots
Fig. 15.38 Packing system
Fig. 15.39 Palletizing system
manual process. Manually applying paint required personnel
to stand in a hazardous environment for long periods of time,
and paint defects such as touch marks, dirt, and nonuniform
film thickness were typical due to human fatigue. Painting
robots were introduced nearly 40 years ago into paint booths
to remove painting personnel from the dangerous atmosphere
of the paint booth and to achieve improved paint quality.
The majority of paint robots are six-axis devices. Some
exterior painting robots have five axes, which permitted
simple exterior paint path development and maintenance. The
initial seven-axis robots were six-axis versions mounted on a
robot transfer unit or rail to increase the robot’s work envelop.
Recently, seven-axis pedestal painting robots have been
introduced into the market. The unique seven-axis pedestal
353
Six axis
Seven axis
15
Five axis
Fig. 15.40 Painting robots
robot improves the robot’s reach within the painting work
envelop and is used to minimize the paint booth length and
width (Fig. 15.40).
Over time, paint robot intelligence has improved. For
example, as for the applicator, the manually calibrated spray
guns were replaced with high-performance rotary spray at-
omizers to improve paint transfer efficiency. Opener robots
were developed so the painting robots can paint the interior
surface. The robots communicate via a network, and the
communication improves system throughput and eliminates
robot to part collisions. In Fig. 15.41, an opener robot lifts the
hood to allow the painting robot to coat the interior surface.
Improvements in robot controller software and hardware
have dramatically improved robot intelligence. The con-
troller constantly evaluates the robot’s position within the
paint booth using a simplified CAD model of the robot. This
permits the booth size to be significantly smaller by minimiz-
ing the space required for safety devices. The controller can
also monitor the robot and paint application devices to elim-
inate any production downtime. While monitoring the robot
servo system, the robot can predict when maintenance will be
required and alert the end user to this need. The maintenance
can then be planned during nonproduction hours, and results
in zero downtime during production.
Painting robots have also started to use vision in the
painting process. Some paint systems utilize a vision system
to track the part through the painting booth providing offsets
to the robot. In other systems, 3D vision is used to offset
the painting path to account for parts that are not exactly
positioned on the conveyor system. In Fig. 15.42, a 3D vision
system determines the part location on the moving conveyor.
The intelligent vision system allows for some flexibility in
the actual part position and eliminates the need to constantly
maintain parts on the conveyor for position accuracy.
354 K. Yamaguchi and K. Inaba

Fig. 15.41 Painting robot system

Drone robot
IoT

AI AI
Smart factory
Intelligent and
collaborative
robot

Fig. 15.43 Smart factory

harnesses, human operators are more skillful than intelligent

3D vision sensor
Fig. 15.42 Intelligent painting
15.6 Installation Guidelines
The following items are guidelines that should be examined
before intelligent robot and collaborative robot are intro-
duced.
15.6.1 Range of Automation
Though intelligent robots can load workpieces into the ma-
chine tools or assemble parts with high accuracy, it cannot
do everything a skilled worker can do. For instance, for
handling and assembling of soft or flexible parts such as wire
robots. It is necessary to clearly separate the work for automa-
tion and work that relies on skilled people before considering
the introduction of robots.
On the other hand, based on such work separation between
people and robots, further improvement of the rate of autom-
atization can be realized by utilizing the collaborative robot.
For example, it is possible to construct a production system in
which human operators concentrate on the complicated work
such as a flexible cable assembly, and simple work such as
parts transfer or assembly of simple parts is performed by
the collaborative robots. Since the collaborative robots do not
need safety fences, it is possible to install the robots at exist-
ing human-centered production sites, which can promote the
automation step by step without stopping production.
In the future, as shown in Fig. 15.43, smart factories
will be realized, where intelligent and collaborative robots
and mobile robots or drone robots can move around the
production site to support human operators or transfer many
kinds of parts. In the smart factory, the IoT platform and AI
will realize a highly efficient production system by allowing
each device to autonomously move according to production
plans and human production activities [17].
15 Intelligent and Collaborative Robots
15.6.2 Return on Investment
One of the biggest benefits of the introduction of intelligent
robots is the simplification of the peripheral equipment since
flexibility is one of the major features of intelligent robots.
Collaborative robots do not require the installation of
costly safety fences, or additional costs for layout changes
because, as previously mentioned, they can be directly intro-
duced at existing human-centered production sites. Also, for
conventional robots, due to the enclosure of the entire robot
system with safety fences, the simultaneous automation of
all the target processes is needed. On the other hand, the
collaborative robots without safety fences can realize the
automatization step by step focusing on the most necessary
processes, which can minimize engineering processes and
installation costs.
Collaborative robots have the similar role to traditional
intelligent assist devices (IADs) [6, 7] from the view point
of human work support without safety fences. In addition to
the productivity, flexibility, safety, etc., collaborative robots
and IADs have another very important characteristic: both
of them dramatically extend the performance capabilities of
human workers in terms of highly demanding assembly tasks.
Furthermore, from the view point of automatic support
for humans, collaborative robots have more advantage over
IADs. In case of IADs, human workers usually need to
operate the IADs by themselves to move parts to the target
location. On the other hand, in case of collaborative robots,
human workers cannot only move the parts by themselves
with the robot using the hand guidance function like IADs
but also do another work near the robot while it moves or
assembles the parts automatically.
For example, collaborative robots can do extremely tight
tolerance insertions. Similarly, collaborative robots can en-
able humans to do tight tolerance insertions even in the
case of large, heavy, unwieldy parts such as automotive dash
assemblies into automobiles. They also have the ability to
allow humans to do blind insertions efficiently where the
human cannot see or feel the fitting surfaces involved in the
insertion operation. From the viewpoint of supplementing
human work, collaborative robots contribute to the optimiza-
tion of arrangement of human resources in production sites.
15.7 Conclusion
Intelligent robots using vision and force sensors appeared
on the factory floor at the beginning of 2000. Furthermore,
around 2010, collaborative robots were also developed for
manufacturing. They could work unattended at night and
during weekends because they reduced manual operations
such as arrangement or transfer of workpieces, and/or
the necessity of system monitoring compared with the
355
conventional robots. Thus, the efficiency of equipment
has risen and machining and assembly costs have been
reduced, which has led to improvements in global
competitiveness.
Industrial intelligent robots and collaborative robots have
reached a high level of skill as explained above. However,
there are still many tasks that skilled workers can do but the
robots cannot do, such as the assembly of flexible objects
15
like wire harnesses. There are several ongoing research and
development activities to solve these challenges. One idea is
to automate such a task completely, and another is to do it
partially by utilizing collaborative robots. In the future, more
and more collaborations between robots and humans will be
seen [24].
Acknowledgments The authors would like to thank S.Y. Nof, Y Inaba,
S. Sakakibara, K. Abe, S. Kato, and M. Morioka for their contribution
to this work.
References
1. IFR: World Robotics 2020 – Industrial Robots, pp. 46–47, 24 Sept
2020
2. Cobots: US Patent 5,952,796
3. Teresko, J.: Here Come the Cobots!. Industry Week, 21 Dec 2004
4. Cobot Architecture: IEEE Transactions on Robotics and Automa-
tion. 17(4) (2001)
5. A Brief History of Collaborative Robots. Engineering.com, 19 May
2016
6. Intelligent Assist Devices: Revolutionary Technology for Material
Handling (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 Jan 2017.
Retrieved 29 May 2016
7. Robotic Industries Association: BSR/T15.1, March 2020
8. ISO 10218-1:2011 Robots and Robotic Devices – Safety Require-
ments for Industrial Robots – Part 1: Robots. International Organi-
zation for Standardization (ISO)
9. ISO 10218-2:2011 Robots and Robotic Devices – Safety Require-
ments for Industrial Robots – Part 2: Robot Systems and Integra-
tion. International Organization for Standardization (ISO)
10. ISO/TS 15066:2016 Robots and Robotic Devices – Collaborative
Robots. International Organization for Standardization (ISO)
11. Inaba, Y., Sakakibara, S.: Industrial Intelligent Robots, Springer
Handbook of Automation, pp. 349–363. Springer Berlin Heidel-
berg, Berlin/Heidelberg (2009)
12. Ibayashi, J., Oe, M., Wang, K., Ban, K., Kokubo, K.: The latest
technology for high speed & high precision on FANUC Robot R-
2000iC. FANUC Tech. Rev. 23(1), 38–46 (2015)
13. Takahashi, H., Nagatsuka, Y., Arita, S.: Zero down time function for
improvement in robot utilization. FANUC Tech. Rev. 23(2), 20–28
(2015)
14. Morioka, M., Iwayama, T., Inoue, T., Yamamoto, T., Naito, Y., Sato,
T., Toda, S., Takahashi, S.: The human-collaborative industrial
robot – development of “green robot”. FANUC Tech. Rev. 24(1),
20–29 (2016)
15. Nagatsuka, Y., Aramaki, T., Yamamoto, T., Tanno, Y., Takikawa,
R., Nakagawa, H.: ZDT on ROBOT-LINKi. FANUC Tech. Rev.
27(1), 13–22 (2019)
16. Morioka, M., Inaba, G., Namiki, Y., Takeda, T.: QSSR functions
for robots. FANUC Tech. Rev. 28(1), 8–17 (2020)
356 K. Yamaguchi and K. Inaba

Further Reading

Aliev, R.A., Yusupbekov, N.R., et al. (eds.): 11th World Conference

on Intelligent System for Industrial Automation. Springer Nature,
Cham, Switzerland (2021)
Bianchini, M., Simic, M., Ghosh, A., Shaw, R.N. (eds.): Machine
Learning for Robotics Applications. Springer Nature, Singapore
(2021)
Gurgul, M.: Industrial Robots and Cobots: Everything You Need to
Know About Your Future Co-Worker. Michal Gurgul. Publisher:
Michal Gurgul (2018)
Nof, S.Y. (ed.): Handbook of Industrial Robotics, 2nd edn. Wiley, New
Kiyonori Inaba graduated from the Department of Mechanical Engi-
York (1999)
neering of the University of California, Berkeley in 2009, with a doctoral
Ross, L.T., Fardo, S.W., Walach, M.F.: Industrial Robotics Fundamen-
degree in engineering. He joined FANUC CORPORATION in 2009 and
tals: Theory and Applications, 3rd edn. Goodheart-Willcox, Tinley
was appointed Executive Managing Officer in 2013.
Park, IL (2017)
Siciliano, B., Khatib, O. (eds.): Springer Handbook of Robotics, 2nd
edn. Springer International Publishing, Cham, Switzerland (2016)
Spong, M.W., Hutchinson, S., Vidyasagar, M.: Robot Modeling and
Control, 2nd edn. Wiley, New York (2020)
Suzman, J.: Work: A Deep History, from the Stone Age to the Age of
Robots. Penguin Press, New York (2021)

Kenji Yamaguchi completed the master’s program in Precision Ma-

chinery Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, the University of
Tokyo in 1993, and in the same year, joined FANUC CORPORATION.
He was appointed President and COO in 2016, and has held the position
of President and CEO since 2019.
 Control Architecture for Automation
16
Oliver Riedel, Armin Lechler, and Alexander W. Verl

Contents more and more functionalities are shifting from the

16.1 Historical Background and the Motivation for
a Change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 357
16.1.1 Motion Control and Path Planning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 358
16.1.2 Logic Controllers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 358
16.2 General Scheme for Control Architectures for
Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
16.2.1 Typical Control Architectures and Systems . . . . . . . . . . .
16.2.2 Industrial Communication and Fieldbuses . . . . . . . . . . . .
16.2.3 Proprietary and Partially Open Interfaces . . . . . . . . . . . .
16.2.4 Resources in the Network: Cloud and Edge for Storage
and Compute . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
16.2.5 Engineering and Virtual Tryout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
16.3 Challenges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 361
16.4 New Architectural Components and Solutions . . . . .
16.4.1 Virtualization Techniques . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
16.4.2 Components for Communication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
16.4.3 Hardware-in-the-Loop Simulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
16.4.4 Data Analytics and AI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
16.5 Conclusion and Trends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 374
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 375
Abstract
Automation technology has always tried to ensure
efficient reusability of technology building blocks and
effective implementation of solutions with modular
approaches. These approaches, also known as control
architectures for automation, are experiencing an
increasing change toward more software-based methods.
All classical architectures, such as NC, CNC, and PLC,
are currently reaching their limits in terms of flexibility,
adaptability, connectivity, and expandability. In addition,
classic pyramid-shaped communication to the smallest
embedded devices or even to systems on higher levels
of the communication pyramid such as MES. Operation
technology is more and more penetrated by IT, which,
due to its high speed of innovation, opens up ever-
359 growing solution spaces. These include convergent
359
networks that are equipped with real-time functionality
360
360 and can be used directly in production for all kinds
of horizontal and vertical communication needs. New
360 wireless communications such as Wi-Fi 6 and 5G also
361
represent a current revolution in automation technology –
however, this does not apply in consumer electronics.
361 Therefore, it is time to sketch new control architectures
362 for automation. The advantage of these new architectures
366 can not only be found in the classical application area
369
372
of production but also in engineering in general. For
example, the method of hardware-in-the-loop simulation
has considerable potential in production control as well as
in the upfront simulation of production plants and virtual
commissioning. As in many other fields of applications,
the topic of artificial intelligence is added as a further
architectural component, as well. AI recently became a
very versatile tool to solve a broad range of problems at
different hierarchical levels of the automation pyramid.
Keywords
Convergent networks · Time-sensitive networks ·
Virtualization and containers · Hardware-in-the-loop
simulation · OPC UA · Data analytics · Virtual
commissioning

O. Riedel () · A. Lechler · A. W. Verl 16.1 Historical Background

Institute for Control Engineering of Machine Tools and Manufacturing and the Motivation for a Change
Unit, University of Stuttgart, Stuttgart, Germany
e-mail: oliver.riedel@isw.uni-stuttgart.de;
armin.lechler@isw.uni-stuttgart.de; Two main methods are necessary for the automation of
alexander.verl@isw.uni-stuttgart.de manual activities. The first method aims to automate motion

© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 357

S. Y. Nof (ed.), Springer Handbook of Automation, Springer Handbooks,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-96729-1_16
358
sequences in the form of paths in workspace, the second to
model logical sequences.
16.1.1 Motion Control and Path Planning
The first approaches to automation were purely mechanical.
Cam discs were used, e.g., to represent the memory for path
and speed curves. Cam discs usually rotate at a constant
speed. During one revolution, the required motion profile in
terms of path and speed is transmitted via a probe tip of the
transmission element to the component to be moved, e.g.,
the machine tool slide. An important area of application for
cam disc controls lies in the field of automatic turning and
milling machines. The production process is automatically
controlled by cam discs, which are mounted on control shafts.
The cam discs store the path, speed, and transmit the feed
power required at the actuator, as well as the torques or forces
required to accelerate and compensate friction and weights
[1].
Other transmission elements consist of mechanical com-
ponents such as rollers, levers, or racks with pinions. Such
mechanical controls are not very susceptible to faults, how-
ever, deformations and backlash in the transmission elements
can impair the working accuracy and the masses, that need to
be accelerated, limit the dynamic behavior. The piece times
required per workpiece are very short and are usually in the
seconds range. Due to the high programming and setup times,
as well as relatively high manufacturing costs for the curves,
the use of these automatic machines was limited to large
series and mass production. Flexibility is very limited since
changes in the motion sequence require mechanical exchange
of cam discs.
The first numerical control (NC) was developed by John T.
Parson in the 1940s, to increase the flexibility in path control.
By exchanging the memory, another program could run by
the control. In NCs, the program describes the path of the tool
in space, which then results in the geometry of the workpiece.
Later, the control was implemented with a computer, which
allowed the programs to be loaded into the control from an
external source. The first computerized numerical control
(CNC) system was developed in the late 1960s in the USA
(Bendix) and Europe (AEG, Siemens).
The flexible programming of control systems has offered
a wide application area with different requirements and pro-
duction processes. Over the last decades, the number and
complexity of algorithms, that have been included in control
systems, increased. During the early 1990s, open architec-
tures of CNCs were developed to divide the complexity
to single software components, that are independent from
hardware, manufacturers, and each other [2].
Parallel to the requirements of CNCs for multiaxis free
forming of workpieces, other industries require high per-
O. Riedel et al.
formance and flexible path planning. Their kinematics re-
quirements are not as complex as those of milling machines.
To control the packaging processes, motion controllers have
been developed that allow flexible programming of the mo-
tion of such machines.
16.1.2 Logic Controllers
Dependent mechanical cam switches are used to store logical
sequences over time or position. Cam switches move a tappet
when passing over them, which triggers a switching function
of mechanical, electrical, hydraulic, or pneumatic type.
The cam switches are mounted on cam rails or cam rollers,
which can have several cam switch tracks. They can be fixed
at any position. The logical program sequence is determined
by the place, respective the distance of fixation. The cam bar,
which can be fixed to the slide or machine tool bed, is a path
memory. The cam roller, which rotates with the control shaft,
is a time memory of the cam program control. To a large
extend, the machines’ control is based on linking conditions
and processes that can be derived from binary structures.
By using Boole’s algebra, it is possible to design and
describe binary circuits for control systems not only purely
intuitively, but also with the help of mathematical methods.
The systematic treatment of control problems without allo-
cation to the energy form and the possibility of applying
minimization and adaptation calculations for an existing
component is of great advantage.
The electrical contact control is characterized by its basic
element, the electromagnetic relay. By using the contact
control, even larger power ratings can be switched and the
switching times are in the range of milliseconds. Delay
circuits can also be realized via simple circuits with direct
current relays. A disadvantage is the low flexibility of relay
circuits.
Therefore, contact control was replaced by more flexible
electronic or software-based solutions at the beginning of the
1960s. Nevertheless, contact control is still used to a limited
extent for the automation of equipment. It can particularly
be found in the power control range and areas with special
personal protection requirements (e.g., emergency stop and
safety interlocks). For facilities with safety requirements,
extensive national and international standards, guidelines,
and safety regulations are required. Before commissioning,
the system or machine manufacturer must provide proof of
safety to these testing authorities, for example, in the form of
a type test.
In contrast to electronic or software-based solutions, elec-
tromechanical safety circuits often simplify to provide proof
of safety, since relays can be used to describe a defined error
response and their design permits certain error exclusions.
Practically, this means that safety-relevant functions are often
16 Control Architecture for Automation
realized in contact control and the nonsafety-relevant func-
tions are realized electronically or by software.
Programmable logic controllers (PLC) offer further flex-
ibility and are nowadays the most important type of device
for solving automation tasks in control engineering. The
history of the PLC began in 1968. In contrast to connection-
programmed (hardwired) contact, electronic controls should
have PLCs, whereby the following criteria were essential:
• The control system should be easy to program and, if
necessary, should also be reprogrammable (e.g., when
changing over transfer lines).
• The control system should work more reliable than an
electromechanical solution and should be superior to the
known solutions in the price/performance ratio.
The development of semiconductor technology made it
possible to meet these requirements to a large extend with
“programmable controllers.” Around the beginning of the
1980s, the development of programmable logic controllers
became the central component of automation technology.
Upon market launch, manufacturers were initially faced with
the problem of familiarizing a clientele experienced in con-
ventional contact control with this “new technology.” The
main difficulty was to exploit the possibilities of the PLC to
the greatest possible extend, while at the same time enabling
application-oriented programming, which is quick and easy
to learn without requiring extensive prior training as a pro-
grammer.
16.2 General Scheme for Control
Architectures for Automation
Up to the Fourth Industrial Revolution, further develop-
ments toward digitalization and adaptation of information
technology solutions have been incorporated into production
systems. CNCs and PLCs still are the production processes’
core control, as well as communication via fieldbus systems.
Interfaces have been defined by the community to simplify
the standard functionality of control systems. Only recently,
the opportunity for cloud or edge computing has been taking
hold in production systems, as has been the development
of continuous integration of production knowledge into the
control by engineering toolchains. The following chapters
will summarize the state of the art in these sectors.
16.2.1 Typical Control Architectures
and Systems
Most machines or production systems use CNCs and PLCs to
control production processes and operations. These controls
359
can be found in the middle layer of the automation pyra-
mid clustering all field-level devices, such as axes, sensors,
subcomponents, and reporting to or taking orders from man-
ufacturing execution systems (MES) or enterprise resource
planning (ERP), e.g., higher-level planning systems.
For specific applications, the central control unit can also
be a robot control (RC), which covers specific requirements
in terms of kinematic transformation and actuation when a
robot is part of a production task. AGVs (automated guided
vehicles) also have individual control, often relying on cus- 16
tom control designs for localization and actuation of move-
ments.
If production equipments, such as a machine tool, a han-
dling robot, and an AGV for logistical support, are working
together on a joint production task, a master control often is
used to control the interaction between the individually con-
trolled entities. Protocols for the interaction between automa-
tion components and manufacturing equipment are specified
in VDMA 34180/ISO 21919.
For an equipment controller that combines the motion
planning task as well as the logical controller, e.g., a machine
tool, the controls need to interact and to cover additional
functionalities. All computations relevant to motion and path
planning are executed in the NC. To activate further process
requirements, the coolant supply or the chip conveyor, the
NC offers machine functions (“M” commands in the NC
programming code following IEC 66025) that directly trig-
ger the PLC controller, which is responsible for all logical
machine functions. The NC also handles job management in
many cases, e.g., the production program administration and
execution as well as the tool management of all necessary
tools that are available in the tool magazine of the machine
and that might be needed for the execution of different
programs. These tasks are mostly handled manually in small
manufacturing plants, meaning personnel will be in charge
of loading workpieces into the machine tool workspace and
be responsible for the exchange and replacement of tools in
the tool magazine. Larger manufacturing cells offer further
automation in these tasks, such as pallet changing systems,
as well as automated loading and unloading of the machine
tool. The user can follow all processes and adapt necessary
parameters at the human-machine interface (Fig. 16.1).
The standard IEC 61131-3 specifies a widely used pro-
grammable logic controller language. Possible formats in
which to program logic operations in a control include text-
based languages such as structured text (ST; similar to Pas-
cal) and instruction list (IL). Three graphical languages are
available: ladder diagram, function block diagram (FBD),
and sequential function chart (SFC). Additional function
libraries, such as the PLCopen motion control, [3] offer func-
tionality to incorporate the abovementioned functionality in
this programming language as well.
360
HMI
Automation
systems
Job
management
Motion control PLC
Tool
management
Machine
Axes
functions
Fig. 16.1 Architectural structure of an equipment controller
The motion control is a specific task which considers all
moving actuators and defines the synchronized movements.
Different architectures and control loop designs are in prac-
tice, depending on the performance measure and application
of actuated components in manufacturing [4]. For complex
motions, such as machining work pieces, CNC offer extends
functionality such as transformation of the contour definition
into axes movement, correction of tool geometries, etc. [5, 6].
16.2.2 Industrial Communication
and Fieldbuses
Since central controllers control a varying number of axes,
commercial systems are modular in design. In most cases,
the central control runs on a structurally separate unit. The
servo drives are directly connected to the motors. Drive and
central control communicate via so-called fieldbus protocols.
The first development of fieldbus protocols started in 1975.
At the turn of the millennium, IEC 61158 defined the basic
structure in layers, divided into services and protocols. Exist-
ing fieldbuses have been incorporated into this structure; im-
plementation concepts with profiles have been summarized
in IEC 61784 in 2002.
Today’s fieldbuses use the physical layers of the open
systems interconnection model (OSI; reference model for
network protocols) via the industrial Ethernet, however ex-
tended by special message formats, as well as real-time and
security aspects. The constructional advantage is that an
Ethernet interface is common regardless of the fieldbus tech-
nology used. To ensure functional safety in industrial produc-
tion, the main focus lies on fast and reliable communication.
Fieldbus communication and control processes usually run
in a time cycle of 1–10 ms and numerous extensions for real-
time features have been implemented.
O. Riedel et al.
Starting with initially two technologies for industrial com-
munication systems, Ethernet and Modbus, 18 different field-
bus protocols or even protocol families have developed in
the meantime. Current commercial solutions additionally
combine the cabling of communication technology with the
power supply in a common hybrid cable. This further reduces
the effort required for commissioning axis systems.
Noteworthy characteristics for fieldbus systems in manu-
facturing technology are
• Short cycle times, real-time capability, and synchronicity
• High-reliability requirements
• Line or ring topologies
• Applications with many participants but very little data per
participant
Parallel to fieldbuses for communication between con-
troller and field-level devices, communication between con-
troller and higher-level systems as MES and ERP has been
developed. In addition to many proprietary interfaces offered
by controller manufacturers, Open Platform Communica-
tions Unified Architecture (OPC UA) has emerged as the
Industry 4.0 protocol for accessing information of machine
tools [7], robots [8], and other machinery equipment [9].
16.2.3 Proprietary and Partially Open
Interfaces
Digitization of Industry 4.0 drove the development of more
and more open interfaces. But even earlier, initiatives have
been working on developing standards in order to enable
interoperability and user-defined extensions for factory au-
tomation.
For controller architectures, Open System Architecture for
Controls Within Automation Systems (OSACA) [10] and a
project called “cross-manufacturer modules for user-oriented
use of the open control architecture (Hümnos)” were initia-
tives taking place before the turn of the century to develop a
definition of a hardware-independent reference architecture
for numerical machine tool equipment including the func-
tionalities of NC, RC, PLC, and cell controls (CC) [11].
For higher-level access to manufacturing components,
activities to define asset administration shells [12], descrip-
tion formats such as automation ML [13] as well as a data
standard in ECLASS [14] were taking place.
16.2.4 Resources in the Network: Cloud
and Edge for Storage and Compute
State-of-the-art manufacturing systems calculate all control
and logic calculation on the controller device. Cloud con-
16 Control Architecture for Automation
nectivity offered by, e.g., Siemens Mindsphere [15] currently
concentrates on services such as analysis and predictions,
connectivity to machines, and monitoring.
In specific applications, additional edge computing de-
vices offer the additional computing power to the central
control unit. Most edge devices are currently installed in
production systems to enable systems without state-of-the-
art connectivity to connect to cloud systems or to offer the
controller data in a specified format such as, e.g., asset
administration shells or OPC UA [16].
16.2.5 Engineering and Virtual Tryout
Current engineering for manufacturing uses toolchains such
as the CAD-CAM-CNC chain, where manufacturing instruc-
tions can directly be deducted from the three-dimensional
product description and then be converted into G-code ac-
cording to IEC 66025. However, this toolchain is to be
individually adapted to the specific manufacturing technol-
ogy or machine tool. Advances, such as STEP-NC [17],
combined the geometric description of workpiece features
with processing information. However, until today there are
only individual integrations into existing CNC systems.
For logical programming of controllers, manufacturer-
dependent tools are offered from, e.g., Siemens (TIA Por-
tal), Bosch Rexroth (IndraWorks), and Beckhoff (TwinCAT),
many of which rely on the Codesys® IDE [18]. These tools
allow the mapping of hardware inputs and outputs to runtime
variables, the programming of logical control according to
IEC 61131-3. Motion control configuration and basic pro-
gramming can also be handled in these tools with options
to synchronize axes, define cams, and, in some cases, even
transformation for a machine setup.
Virtual testing is a more recent development in which con-
trol engineering can be tested with a virtual machine before
the ramp-up of the hardware machine. The virtual machine
is modeled to behave according to the real machine and is
provided with a visual representation so that the behavior
executed by the controller can be monitored. The virtual
tryout shortens development times and offers the possibility
to detect errors in control logic before the ramp-up with very
little risk, as the virtual machine cannot be damaged in trial
runs.
16.3 Challenges
Nevertheless, the greatest challenge in automation technol-
ogy is the control of complex manufacturing processes in
a control architecture that is still quite rigid today. Besides,
increasing adaptability to requirements from the market, such
as quantities or product changes, is required for an eco-
nomical application. Up to now, machine builders have very
361
often differentiated in mechanical solutions, and automation
systems are optimized for one operating state. Increasingly,
however, a flexibilization in automation solutions is required.
A differentiation of the machine builders is, therefore, rather
necessary in the algorithms and the software. It is insuf-
ficient to just buy control functions: the control systems
must be sufficiently open to integrate individual algorithms.
Operators must also be able to adapt the operating point of
machines and systems to new market requirements. This may
involve adjustments or extensions of algorithms from the 16
field of control engineering, but also data analysis or artificial
intelligence.
Additionally, to the challenges described before, an in-
creasing demand of convergence of “Operation Technolo-
gy” (OT) and IT can be determined. Driven by the short
innovation cycles of information technology, shifting the
physical properties of machines and processes into the virtual
world of software sounds increasingly tempting. The result
increases in flexibility, the mastery of even the greatest
complexity, even with small production quantities, is within
reach. However, not every promise of IT can be fulfilled even
in the tough conditions of production. The requirements for
security, accuracy, reliability, availability, and others are still
the top priority for production planners. The more tempting
the offerings of cloud and edge technology, and as much
as the new paradigms of Industry 4.0 are demanded, the
more important it is that new architectures for automation
make the connection between state-of-the-art IT and the
demands of production. Industry 4.0 concepts can only gen-
erate added value through new algorithms and services. New
architectures and solutions are, therefore, required, which are
described below.
16.4 New Architectural Components
and Solutions
Many developments outside of production offer high-
performance approaches to the use of modern computer
technology. Often “only” at one or the other point of a
standard or de facto standard an addition or modification has
to be made to implement this in the automation software. In
the last decade, several attempts have been made to transform
traditional architectural models into new technically modern
architectures. The classical three-part division of the
architecture was always in the foreground [19, 20]. This
is on the one hand the physical level for the description of
the real resources of which a system is composed. Secondly,
it is the functional level, which describes the necessary
functions that the real system described on the physical
level should or can perform. The third level describes the
interaction between the functional and the physical level.
Among the multitude of new approaches, three have emerged
362
as particularly noteworthy: ISA-95, RAMI-4.0, and IIRA –
these three candidates are critically compared and evaluated
in [21, 22]. What they all have in common is the dissolution
of rigid structures to freely networkable structural elements,
which are particularly needed by cyber-physical production
systems (CPPS).
Unfortunately, many promising approaches are useless in
the production on closer examination as important general
conditions are not fulfilled. The new architectures for au-
tomation can be divided into the following categories, most
of which have already grown out of the research stage and
are – as of 2020 – in productive use:
• Virtualization technologies (virtual machines, containers,
etc.) to separate software from dedicated hardware
• New hardware/protocols for communication (time-
sensitive networking, wireless technologies, 5G, exten-
sions to OPC UA, etc.) to allow flexible and performant
any-to-any information exchange
• Converged industrial communication based on above
technologies to secure investment over a long time
• Hardware in the loop simulation, e.g., digital twins to
recognize potential problem upfront
• Data analytics and artificial intelligence to drill down in
the newly available data
In the following, the details of these new architectural
components are being discussed.
16.4.1 Virtualization Techniques
A hierarchical separation between individual control levels
with regard to the control architecture exists in today’s pro-
duction plants. In the respective control level, new target val-
ues for the level below are calculated, based on actual values
using static algorithms. The control in today’s production is
thus always top down. The individual control systems are
self-contained units that can exchange mostly statically con-
figured information via a large number of different interfaces.
In addition, the individual controls have a fixed scope of func-
tions and computing power. The software of these control
systems has a fixed link to the used computing hardware.
Methods of virtualization are used to counteract exactly these
limitations, considering architectures and solutions in IT.
System virtualization allows the decoupling of physical
and virtual computing platforms – which is a potential for
automation control architectures, too. In the field of cloud
computing, a variety of use cases is enabled. This includes
the consolidation of services on multiple virtual machines,
which would have traditionally been deployed on different
physical platforms. This is possible, because so-called “hy-
pervisors” provide strong isolation between multiple virtual
O. Riedel et al.
operating system (OS) instances, as well as between the
host system and virtual machines. Furthermore, resources
such as memory, communication devices, and processes can
be dynamically allocated to virtual machines according to
specified quality of service (QoS) parameters. Hence, virtu-
alization makes load balancing and optimization of resource
usage in clusters of physical computers possible. While the
hypervisor-based virtualization provides strong and dynamic
isolation between virtual machines. It is considered heavy
weight concerning overheads, such as memory usage and
especially latencies. These drawbacks are overcome by OS-
level virtualization, e.g., container-based virtualization and
methods, whose virtual deployment units are software con-
tainers. The container-based virtualization allows running
applications in isolated areas. No additional guest operating
systems are executed, because containers share the kernel of
the host operating system. Whereas the abstraction level for
virtual machines is at the hardware level, the abstraction level
in OS level virtualization lays at the system call level (see
Fig. 16.2).
This weak form of isolation between the individual con-
tainers is realized by using namespaces and control groups.
With the help of namespaces, the OS kernel provides dif-
ferent processes with different views on the system. Global
resources, such as the file system and process identities,
are surrounded by a namespace layer. Thus, each container
has an individual view on the system. The management
of resources is carried out by control groups, which are
used to limit resources for process groups. A namespace
regulates what a container “sees,” control groups regulate
the access of a container instance to resources. Unlike vir-
tual machines, containers achieve near-native performance in
terms of memory usage and latencies. Their main drawback
is the weak isolation between instances, e.g., faulty software,
which causes the host kernel to crash that will affect all
other containers and regular processes on the same host.
Thus, software containers can only be used if all containers
belong to the trusted codebase of an ecosystem. To alleviate
these limitations, cloud providers employ additional levels
of indirection. These include lightweight virtual machines
[23], where every container is executed inside a minimal
virtual machine and user space kernels [24], which latter
implement large amounts of kernel functionalities in user
space. Isolation is achieved as they only access a limited set of
system calls to realize the required functionalities. As latency
is not the most important property in the higher levels of
automation systems, management, planning, and supervisory
systems can easily be migrated to cloud systems. However,
the same does not apply to lower-level systems. The conver-
gence of automation technology and operation technology in,
e.g., the control level entails similar advantages as cloud com-
puting, such as optimized business processes and hardware
utilization. The decentralization is one major trend of Indus-
16 Control Architecture for Automation
App 1
Container
App 1 App 2 Bins/Libs
Bins/Libs Bins/Libs Guest OS
System calls Virtualized hardware
Container runtime Type 1 hypervisor
Host OS Host OS
Hardware Hardware
Fig. 16.2 OS-level virtualization, types of hypervisors, and paravirtualization
try 4.0 which includes a flattening of the classical communi-
cation hierarchies and the integration of higher-level func-
tionalities even in small automation devices. Because this
type of automation system is based on multiple, distributed
systems, which interact to achieve cohesive intelligence, the
technologies of cloud computing are an appealing basis to
realize the deployment. However, as latency is an important
factor in control systems, the flexible form of hypervisor-
based virtualization especially on cloud computing resources
is not suitable for all use cases. The main reason for this is that
the hypervisors, which are used in cloud systems, typically
employ hierarchical schedulers. For example, QEMU/KVM,
which makes Linux a hypervisor, uses the Linux scheduler
to schedule virtual CPUs (vCPUs). vCPUs are regular user
space threads that can be assigned to virtual machines. The
scheduler of the virtual machine, in turn, assigns the guests
threads to vCPUs. While hierarchical real-time scheduling
is theoretically proven [25–27], this approach suffers from
high scheduling overheads. Furthermore, there is a semantic
gap between the host scheduler and the guest scheduler that
comes with problems such as the lock holder preemption
problem [28]. While paravirtualized scheduling, in which
hosts and guests can communicate to overcome the semantic
gap, is possible, this approach violates the isolation paradigm
[25].
Lower latencies are achieved because interrupts do not
have to be received by the hypervisor and forwarded to a
virtual machine, as interrupt remapping enables the virtual
machines to directly receive interrupts [29]. This approach
is typically employed, if strong isolation and low latency
are needed by applications. Use cases include configura-
tions, where critical and noncritical software components
363
VM
VM
App 2
App 1 App 2 App 1
Bins/Libs
Bins/Libs Bins/Libs Bins/Libs
Guest OS
Guest OS Guest OS Guest OS
16
Virtualized hardware, hypercalls
Type 2 hypervisor with
paravirtualization
Hardware
are deployed on the same physical host system and strong
isolation is mandatory [29]. Every node runs a midlevel
container runtime which implements a standardized interface
such as the container runtime interface (CRI). The midlevel
runtimes in term delegates commands to low-level runtimes.
Low-level container runtimes compatible to the open contain
initiative (OCI) such as runc or crun set up necessary control
groups and namespaces and execute commands inside them.
These container tools are an appealing basis for modular,
distributed control applications. Containers are used as units
of deployment, which encapsulate functionalities, such as
services in service-oriented architectures (SOA) or, more
specifically, microservices.
The cloud-based control platform for cyber-physical pro-
duction systems pICASSO [30, 31] is an application example
for virtualization in industrial control, which provides ma-
chine controls as a service (MCaaS) from local/global pri-
vate/public clouds. The need for more flexible architectures
of production systems arises from the hierarchical separation
between the individual control levels. New setpoints for the
subordinate level are calculated based on the actual values
using static control algorithms. The architecture of today’s
production systems is thus top down. Individual control
systems have fixed functional scopes. Individual controllers
are self-contained units that use a large variety of commu-
nication interfaces to exchange mostly statically configured
information. This leads to a significantly restricted efficiency
of production systems.
To overcome these limitations of cloud-based control
platforms such as pICASSO enable increases in efficiency
through flexible provisioning of control systems for cyber-
physical production systems. The existing, monolithic
364
control architectures are broken up, modularized, and
extended with cloud-native technologies such as centralized
data processing and service-oriented architectures. In this
way, expert knowledge of plant manufacturers and plant
operators can be utilized optimally. Furthermore, cloud-
based control systems offer a suitable basis for the dynamic
provisioning of computing resources for cyber-physical
production systems. Cloud-based control architectures
enable a large variety of use cases, e.g., robot control as
a service [32], control of robots and machine tools with
superordinate factory clouds [33], cloud-based control of
partially automated manual workplaces, etc. While the issues
of dynamic scaling and dynamic provisioning of modularized
control systems can be solved by cloud computing, another
challenge arises. Physical parts of the machines, such as
sensors and actors, which are located on the shop floor, must
communicate with control algorithms, which in turn are
located in remote cloud-based systems. Among traditional
distributed industrial control networks, fieldbuses and real-
time Ethernet (RTE) are used to achieve deterministic,
reliable communication with low latencies. To overcome
the inherent nondeterministic behavior of standard Ethernet
and its TCP/UDP/IP protocols, modifications are applied
to different levels of the communication stack, starting
from the application level and ending at the hardware level.
Opportunity analysis for the communication of control data
between machines and cloud-based control systems based on
two application scenarios is presented as part of pICASSO.
The first use case is the control of a five-axis milling machine,
the second one the control of a three-axis milling machine.
Three types of two-way data streams could be identified
in the control system. Data is exchanged between a CNC
and spindle/axis drives. These include control and status
words, setpoints, actual positions, and additional settings
such as modes of operation. The second type of data streams
includes actual values and setpoints. These are exchanged
between PLCs and I/O terminals. The third stream includes
data of the human-machine interface (HMI) (Fig. 16.3).
Only the axis control loop is considered critically with
cycle times of 1 ms because extra delays in the PLC and
HMI communication path only decrease the machine’s per-
formance or the user’s satisfaction, but will not influence the
quality of the workpiece. It has been shown by benchmarks
that TCP is not applicable for control software as a service
(CSaaS), e.g., between a machine located in Germany and
the control system in New Zealand because of missing band-
width capabilities. Even though UDP provides the necessary
bandwidth, an average telegram loss of 3–4% with up to
10.000 consecutive missed packages makes additional mea-
sures necessary. Consecutive message loss is solved by using
buffers located in the communication modules. Furthermore,
they may interpolate single missing telegrams. The best
results in terms of the average round trip time were achieved
O. Riedel et al.
COM HMI PLC NC
Operating system
ETH HW 1 ... HW 1
Active
network
bridge
Lathe
PLC – programmable logic HW – hardware
controller HMI – human machine interface
NC – numerical control COM – communication module
ETH – Ethernet interface
Fig. 16.3 The cloud-based control platform for cyber-physical produc-
tion systems pICASSO [34]
by WebSockets. The WebSocket protocol is based on HTTP
and TCP, thus reliable and allows transmitting datagram-
based telegrams like UDP. The high average round trip time
and the nondeterministic jitter of WANs prevent cloud-based
control systems from being used universally. Nevertheless,
cloud-based control systems provide an appealing basis for
resource-efficient and scalable production systems, if these
drawbacks can be counteracted by suitable algorithms or high
latencies and jitter are acceptable for specific production pro-
cesses. Another source of latencies besides communication
is the virtualization overhead. Most virtual machine monitors
are designed to provide high throughput but not low latencies
and deterministic behavior. Low latencies are achieved by
adapting non-real-time hypervisors or by using dedicated
real-time hypervisors like XtratuM [35] and RT-Xen [36].
As the latter originates from the field of embedded systems,
these are not widely available in public cloud systems. One
approach to low latency cloud instances is QEMU/KVM in
combination with the PREEMPT_RT-patch. Both the host
system, e.g., the QEMU/KVM hypervisor, and the guest OS
are patched to provide real-time scheduling. One appealing
component of a real-time scheduler framework is the ear-
liest deadline first scheduler, which is combined with the
constant bandwidth server (CBS). This algorithm guarantees
that a task receives exactly runtime microseconds within its
deadline from the beginning of each period. Test frameworks
for hierarchical scheduling, such as multiprocessor periodic
resource models [27] and the parallel supply function [26],
are based on this property. Although schedulable configu-
rations are theoretically guaranteed to meet all temporal re-
quirements, hierarchical scheduling is not widely adopted in
real-time systems, where low latency is required. For this and
16 Control Architecture for Automation
the above reasons, partitioning hypervisors may be used in-
stead. Modularization entails a greater need for orchestration
between services, as the traditional centralistic components
of control technology are omitted. A service registry based
on the OPC UA standard is used to manage and coordinate
the individual components and to enable the exchange of
information between them. For this purpose, information
models are generated or existing models such as OPC UA
companion specifications are used. Other implementations
of cloud-based control systems have similar architectures
and differ mainly in the hypervisors and IP-based com-
munication protocols. These architectures leverage server-
based virtualization technologies such as hypervisor-based
virtual machines. Due to the nondeterministic components
and communication protocols and thus the high execution
jitters and communication delays, this solution is unsuitable
for time-critical and deterministic applications. To reduce the
communication delay between virtualized, server-based con-
trollers, and field devices and to minimize the execution jitter
of control programs, virtualization software is integrated into
embedded devices [37]. The overhead that comes along with
the hypervisor-based virtualization makes the implementa-
tion of hard real-time applications almost impossible. Most of
the existing literature on the virtualization of Soft PLCs fol-
lows hypervisor-based approaches [38–40]. Due to that fact
and the restricted modularity, these architectures still form
monolithic control systems characterized by nondeterminis-
tic behavior, which makes them unsuitable for applications
that require hard real-time capabilities, even though espe-
cially the cloud-based architectures provide non-negligible
advantages such as dynamic scaling and optimized resource
consumption. The reason for the restricted modularity is that
the PLC programs, written in the programming languages of
the IEC 61131-3 themselves form monolithic applications,
could benefit from further modularization. Besides the cyclic
execution of control programs on a PLC according to the
IEC 61131, the IEC 61499 specifies a generic model for
distributed automation systems. The execution of the control
logic is event based. The IEC 61499 allows for object-
oriented programming of systems consisting of several pro-
grammable devices connected via a network. The basis for
IEC 61499 applications is the basic function block, which
in contrast to the function blocks of IEC 61131 has both
inputs and outputs for data and events. The algorithms of the
basic function blocks are not executed cyclically, but when
an event is received by an event input. The behavior of a
basic function block is defined in the execution control chart.
States, transitions, and actions are defined. An action consists
of an algorithm, which is executed when changing to the
corresponding state, and the setting of an output event. Both
standards are considered as a basis for modular control appli-
cations. A similar concept for modularized control software
is specified by the proprietary TwinCAT Component Object
365
Model (TcCOM), which defines the properties and the be-
havior of software modules. There are many applications for
modules; all tasks of an automation system can be specified
in modules. Consequently, no distinction is made between
whether the module primarily represents the basic functions
of an automation system, such as real-time tasks, fieldbus
drivers, or a PLC runtime system, or whether it is a more
user- and application-specific algorithm for the open-loop or
closed-loop control of a machine unit. There are three types
of inter-module communication in TcCOM. I/O Mapping, 16
which copies the outputs of modules into the inputs of other
modules; I/O data pointer, which realizes communication
via shared memory, blocking remote procedure calls; and
the automation device specification (ADS), which provides
acyclic, event-based communication within a single device
and between modules on multiple devices via a network.
One major drawback of TcCOM is the limited isolation,
as real-time modules are executed directly in kernel mode.
Furthermore, every module must implement a specific state
machine, which might reduce the flexibility regarding the
module’s functionality. However, the main drawback is the
low portability of modules, as a TcCOM module will not run
directly on PLC hardware of a different vendor. In [41, 42],
an architecture for implementing the IEC 61499 is presented.
Software containers are used as deployment units for function
blocks. The authors identify a strong isolation mechanism as
a necessary basis for the architecture, but still utilize software
containers, due to the high overhead of virtual machines. For
orchestration and scheduling of the function blocks a central
component called the flexible control manager is used. This
combines the functionalities of a container image registry
and a service registry. Further publications which are based
on software containers for encapsulation of control software
are [43–47]. Tasci et al. propose an architecture for real-time
container runtime environments and real-time inter-process
communication between modules, e.g., microservices that
are written in IEC61131-3 or any other programming lan-
guage, encapsulated in containers [46] as shown in Fig. 16.4.
Real-time messaging is used for communication between
microservices. Compared to other communication technolo-
gies, such as representational state transfer (REST) or re-
mote procedure call (RPC), messaging offers the highest
degree of flexibility, scalability, and loose coupling. For
performance reasons, the messaging system must support
different protocols, which behave identically from the per-
spective of the application. Thus, an efficient inter-process
communication (IPC) method is used for communication
between microservices running on the same node and a
network protocol is used for communication across multi-
ple nodes. This approach is similar to the communication
infrastructure in TcCOM but differs in terms of loose cou-
pling and dependencies. Modules can be implemented in
any programming language and can differ completely in
366
<<component>>
Image
registry
<<component>>
High-level
container runtime
<<component>>
Service
registry
Fig. 16.4 Simplified architecture of a container-based control system [46]
behavior. The only dependency lays in the interfaces between
services, which are specified by common message structures.
For telegram exchange, protocols, such as UDP and TCP, or
real-time capable protocols are used. A basic technology for
implementing real-time-capable Ethernet protocols is time-
sensitive networking (TSN), which standardizes real-time
mechanisms on the data link level and the properties of the
hardware. Depending on the operating system, a variety of
different mechanisms can be used to implement IPC, such
as signals, shared memory, pipes, or Unix domain sock-
ets under Linux or I/O data pointer and I/O mapping in
TwinCAT. To avoid having to consider the peculiarities of
each transport mechanism within the applications, the API
of the messaging library abstracts these. The implementation
[47] leverages UDP/IP for inter-node communication and
Unix domain sockets for intra-node communication. Either
Linux with PREEMPT_RT patch or – for applications, which
require a particularly low latency – Xenomai is utilized as the
operating system. Container technologies are increasingly
finding their way into commercial control systems.
16.4.2 Components for Communication
The digitalization of production with its innovative solutions
like big data or AI-based approaches is the key trend in
the automation industry. Most solutions are based on IT
systems with a close link to real processes and their control
systems (e.g., operation technology). Some applications like
visualization or diagnostics only require access to the data,
O. Riedel et al.
<<subsystem>> Node
<<component>>
Low-level
container runtime
<<component>>
Sevice
e.g., IEC 61131-3
<<component>>
Sevice
e.g., IEC 61131-3
while others require a real-time integration, like a feedback
loop for challenges like vision-based control.
For efficient digitalization, converged networks are re-
quired that allow the interconnection of IT and OT sys-
tems while maintaining deterministic requirements. Con-
verged networks are already well established in other in-
dustries for large-scale networks. For instance, a unified
infrastructure is used for telephone, Internet, television, and
data services. Converged networks generally have two di-
mensions: a convergence of different traffic types (data with
different requirements) and applications on the one side and
a convergence of technologies on the other side.
For industrial communication and especially those work-
ing on the shop floor, converged networks are not well
established yet. They need to support the deterministic and
safety-critical real-time traffic, as well as typical IT traffic at
the same time with no interference. A successful transforma-
tion would allow the transition from a communication setup
according to the automation pyramid to a flat network as
depicted in Fig. 16.5 for cyber-physical production systems.
This transition requires significant changes and new tech-
nologies. Fieldbuses typically provide all-in-one solutions,
covering all layers of the OSI network layer model. In con-
trast, IT-based systems use a stack of protocols, combining
functions on different layers. Some of the existing IT and
OT technologies can be used in a more stack-based approach.
To fill the gaps, new key technologies are emerging, includ-
ing TSN, adding real-time capabilities to standard Ethernet
according to IEEE802.1, wireless technologies with real-
time capabilities including 5G and WiFi-6, and OPC UA,
providing a unified solution on the higher layers.
16 Control Architecture for Automation
Management
Planning
Supervisory
Control
Field
Automation pyramid
Fig. 16.5 Transformation from the automation pyramid to a CPPS-based production, according to [48]
Time-Sensitive Networking
A key enabling technology for converged networks is time-
sensitive networking (TSN), referring to a set of new stan-
dards in IEEE802.1, extending the well-established Ethernet
with real-time capabilities [49]. Ethernet, as the prevalent
standard for IT communication, has not been suitable for
industrial applications, however TSN Ethernet can poten-
tially be used from the cloud down to the field level. In
contrast to fieldbuses, TSN only covers the lower layers of
communication and therefore fits a layered approach.
The work of the IEEE802.1 TSN Task Group is based
on the IEEE Audio Video Broadcasting (AVB) standards.
To enhance Ethernet with deterministic capabilities, the new
standards cover time synchronization, scheduling, perfor-
mance optimization, and configuration. TSN is not a single
standard, but rather a collection of useful functions and tools
to guarantee determinism. Depending on the application and
specific requirements, different TSN standards can be com-
bined and must be supported by the network infrastructure
as well as by the endpoints. However, even endpoints that do
not support any TSN features are interoperable and can play
a useful role in a network.
TSN does not strictly prioritize one traffic type over
another as done by other real-time communication systems,
instead of allowing a parallel and individual allocation of
resources. TSN supports the topologies similar to standard
Ethernet, however, it adds capabilities for redundant paths to
improve reliability. Besides, the endpoints and network in-
frastructure, switched endpoints that are popular in industrial
automation are supported as well. From a TSN perspective,
these devices are a switch and an endpoint combined in a
single enclosure.
The most relevant TSN standards are introduced in the
following:
• Time synchronization of the devices in a TSN network is
essential and the base for other standards. IEEE 802.1AS
defines the synchronization mechanism and is derived
from the precision time protocol (PTP) IEEE 1588. The
common time base is used for TSN mechanisms like
367
Real-time
CPPS-based automation
16
traffic shaping, but also on the application layer, replacing
an event-based synchronization. In the newest revision,
new mechanisms for redundancy were introduced, thereby
fulfilling requirements from the automation industry.
• Traffic shaping is used to allow deterministic data trans-
mission. IEEE802.1Qbv specifies a time-aware shaper
that allows time-gated transmission of data of a certain
traffic type according to a cyclically recurring schedule.
By having well-designed time slots across the network,
minimal latencies can be guaranteed and collisions be
ruled out. Alternatively, guarantees regarding bandwidth
can be based on the credit base scheduler, standardized in
IEEE 802.1Qav.
• Redundancy is provided by the standard IEEE 802.1CB.
It allows sending data on two independent paths by mul-
tiplying the packet at one point and dropping copies of
a package at another. Thereby, a seamless redundancy is
guaranteed so that an application is not interfered at all by
a loss of a path.
• Frame preemption which is specified in IEEE 802.1Qbu
allows the interruption of the transmission of a frame
in order to transmit a frame with a higher priority. The
remainder of the preempted frame is then sent afterward.
This feature gives certain real-time guarantees based on
prioritized traffic, as well as a reduction of guard bands
for scheduled traffic.
• The configuration of a TSN network, including the in-
frastructure and the endpoints, is essential to guarantee a
deterministic behavior. In IEEE 802.1Qcc different con-
figuration models (centralized, distributed, and hybrid)
are introduced and further detailed by other subsequent
standards. Each model has specific advantages and disad-
vantages.
Wireless Technologies
Industrial real-time networks are almost exclusively based on
wired networks since wireless technologies do not provide
the required determinism. The changing requirements due
to the digital transformation cause an increasing need for
flexible and mobile connections. Two emerging wireless
368
technologies are potential future solutions, based on WLAN
and cellular networks.
Deterministic WLAN: Wi-Fi 6
Wireless LAN (WLAN) according to IEEE 802.11 is the
prevalent wireless standard for IT networks. With the stan-
dard IEEE 802.1ax, which is expected to be released in 2020,
new features will be integrated improving the performance
and for the first time enabling real-time communication
[50]. The Wi-Fi Alliance, the industrial consortium that is
guaranteeing interoperability between devices and provides
certification, refers to this standard as Wi-Fi 6. Key features
of Wi-Fi 6 are:
• Support for bands beyond 6 GHz (Wi-Fi 6E).
• The spatial multiplexing technique multiuser multiple
input multiple output (MIMO) that has been introduced in
Wi-Fi 5 (IEEE 802.11 ac) which allows the simultaneous
data transmission from an access point (AP) to multiple
client is extended in the upload direction.
• OFDMA (orthogonal frequency-division multiple access)
is multiplexing in the frequency domain. Channels are
split in so-called resource units (RU) that can be assigned
to different clients in the networks. This allows a collision-
free simultaneous transmission. The RUs are assigned
by a central management, thereby allowing deterministic
network access with latency guarantees.
• The target wake time (TWT) mechanism allows to wake
up devices only in specified periods to reduce energy
consumption.
Hardware with Wi-Fi 6 support is expected to be in
the market in 2020, first generic devices in 2021. Wi-Fi 6
provides – like TSN – base functions to build a real-time
network. How to combine and configure these functions and
how to integrate them with higher-layer protocols and wired
technologies is an ongoing development. A key advantage of
Wi-Fi 6 is that it is fully operating on license-exempt bands
and can be set up and maintained by local administrators.
Therefore, no network operators are required. The projected
performance numbers match many requirements of the au-
tomation industry.
5G: Fifth-Generation Cellular Networks
5G refers to the fifth generation of the standard for broadband
cellular networks specified by the third Generation Partner-
ship Project (3GPP) group. It is based on the long-term
evolution (LTE – 4G) standard and is released in multiple
stages, starting in 2018. Key features are a higher band-
width, new frequency bands, capabilities for large numbers
of devices, and real-time guarantees. Therefore, mechanisms
like OFDM (orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing) are
used to assign the resources to different devices.
O. Riedel et al.
5G is designed for three use cases:
• Enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) is focused on prov-
ing high data rates to end devices.
• Massive machine-type communication (mMTC) has the
goal to connect large numbers of devices as an enabler
of the Internet of Things (IoT), including mobility, smart
cities but also industrial applications.
• Ultra-reliable and low latency (uRLLC) has the goal to
support real-time communication with guaranteed laten-
cies and a high reliability, potentially usable for industrial
automation.
In the beginning, the focus was on eMBB and is now
shifting toward mMTC and uRLLC.
Even though the goal of 5G is to guarantee latencies of
less than 1 ms, the usability for industrial real-time com-
munication for control applications will be limited. This
number only refers to the latency of a single wireless link, not
from application to application. However, many applications
related to the digitalization of production have corresponding
requirements.
In order to be integrated into a larger real-time network,
5G should be transparently usable in a TSN network. The
goal is to manage a 5G link the same way than a cable-based
link, however with a higher latency and jitter. This approach
requires a close link to the configuration of the 5G and the
TSN network and is still under development.
OPC Unified Architecture (OPC UA)
To fulfill the increasing demand for interconnection between
OT and IT systems, a standardized protocol up to the applica-
tion layer was required. In the recent past, OPC UA is driven
by a large number of companies and managed by the OPC
Foundation.
OPC UA combines the technical specification of the trans-
port layer with a data model and associated modeling rules.
Based on these two basic layers, the OPC UA base services
are specified. They guarantee the communication setup, ses-
sion handling, and methods for signing and encryption. OPC
UA also specifies methods for data access (DA), alarms and
conditions (AC), historical access to information (HA), and
complete programs (Prog). Two additional layers allow de-
tailed modeling of devices, machines, processes, or services
based on information models. To ensure interoperability,
companion specifications can be defined for specific device
types across vendors. Single vendors can extend these and in-
tegrate additional vendor-specific specifications (Fig. 16.6).
The communication is based on a client server model in
standard OPC UA. Publisher subscriber mechanisms were
added in part 14 of the OPC UA standard, recently [51].
A current initiative running under the name of umati
(universal machinery technology interface) aims to gather
16 Control Architecture for Automation
Vendor specific specification
Companion specifications
DA AC HA Prog
OPC UA base services
Transport OPC UA data model
Fig. 16.6 OPC UA architecture
OPC UA specifications connected to the field of production
under a common roof. In the umati community, information
modeling for OPC UA relies on a base framework defined
by the OPC UA for machinery specification [9]. OPC UA
information models for specific technologies or production
equipment such as robotics [8], machine tools [7], plastics
and rubber machinery [52–55], and many more are based
on the common foundation and are in steady exchange to
harmonize elements and components with frequent use in
production information models. The goal of the initiative [56]
is to
• Simplify the effort for machine connection to customer-
specific IT infrastructures and ecosystems
• Simplify the effort for machine-to-machine and machine-
to-device communication
• Reduce costs through faster realization of customer-
specific projects
To achieve this, umati creates a community and an ecosys-
tem consisting of
1. OPC UA companion specification to define globally ap-
plicable semantics for machine tools
2. Communication default requirements for the implemen-
tation of an OPC UA environment (e.g., encryption, au-
thentication, and server settings [ports and protocols]) to
allow plug-and-play connectivity between machines and
software
3. Quality assurance through testing specifications and tools,
certification, and serving as ombudsman for supplier-
client disputes
4. Marketing and a label for visibility in the market through
a global community of machine builders, component sup-
pliers, and added value services
369
TSN-Based Converged Industrial Communication
TSN in combination with deterministic wireless technologies
is seen as the key enabler for converged real-time networks
for industrial applications. The performance of TSN regard-
ing synchronization and deterministic delivery guarantees is
comparable to established fieldbuses.
According to the stacked communication approach, other
protocols are required on the higher layers. Besides the
established IT protocols which will be used in the future as
well, specific industrial solutions are required. There are two 16
current trends:
• Fieldbus over TSN: Two approaches for transmitting field-
bus communication over TSN are used. Either the OSI lay-
ers 1 and 2 are fully replaced by standard TSN according
to IEEE 802.1. Another approach is using active network
gateways, to convert all fieldbus traffic to TSN-compatible
Ethernet frames [57–59].
• Unified OPC UA-based solution: Within the OPC Foun-
dation, the Field Level Communication (FLC) initiative
is working on a communication from the field to the
application level based on TSN networks [60, 61]. The
goal is to deliver an open approach to implement OPC
UA including TSN and associated application profiles.
Working groups within FLC align with the TSN profile
for industrial automation (TSN-IA-Profile) which is stan-
dardized by the IEC/IEEE 60802 joint working group, so
that OPC UA can share one common multivendor TSN
network infrastructure together with other applications.
16.4.3 Hardware-in-the-Loop Simulation
Hardware-in-the-loop (HiL) simulation is used as a virtual
environment for developing and testing automation software
of production systems. First, the motivation for a virtual test
environment is given. The second part outlines the setup
of HiL simulations. Next, real-time HiL simulation, as a
special subset of HiL, is motivated and explained. Finally,
the automation of the test procedure using HiL simulation is
regarded.
Motivation and Use of HiL Simulation
According to the “rule of ten” late changes during the life
cycle of a system or product result in exponentially increasing
costs [62]. Early fault detection and frontloading of changes
are therefore an important cost, time, and quality factor for
a system or product. The automation in production systems
running on logic, motion, robot, and numerical controllers
is realized as software components. Since the engineering
process of the overall production system is historically driven
by the mechanical discipline, the software engineers are more
often than not the last ones to try out and to test their solutions
370 O. Riedel et al.

on the assembled production system. This is an unacceptable
state in the engineering as this sequential and first-time-right
process leads to delays and late problem-solving.
To cope with the problems of a sequential engineering
process of production systems the idea is to give software
engineers a virtual environment to allowed frontloaded, par-
allelized software programming and testing. The frontloaded
testing allows for earlier bug identification and fixing in the
software. The use of HiL simulation allows these applications
[63]:
• A virtual environment for control hardware and software
• Test of the automation software and the HMI
• Optimizations of the automation software
• Training of operators for the real production system.
Figure 16.7 illustrates the allegory of a HiL simulation:
The HiL simulation allows switching between the real, phys-
ical production system and a virtual, simulated production
system. HiL simulation is applicable from single machine
tools to entire production plants.
Setup of a HiL Simulation
A HiL simulation consists of three components: a real control
system (any kind of automation software and hardware),
a simulation, and a communication route in between [63]
shows the setup of a HiL simulation and shows it is a closed-
loop approach.
The real control system consists of a controller (e.g.,
PLC, NC, or RC) running the automation software and pos-
sibly an HMI with push button panels and displays.
The simulation of the remaining production system is
running on a powerful PC and is coupled with the control
system. For the simulation, a simulation model is created
containing the components, the processes, and the commu-
nication interface of the production system [64]. Further
elements of the simulation model may include special (e.g.,
physics) behavior, workpieces, tools, and parts of the HMI.
The communication route between the control system
and simulation is the fieldbus as used in the real production
system. The fieldbus covers the forward and backward com-
munication between control system and simulation.
For simulating the production system, a powerful PC
and a simulation tool are necessary. Simulation tools are
available as commercial products (e.g., SIMIT, ISG-virtuos,
and Simulink with MATLAB), as well as open-source ap-
plications (e.g., OpenModelica and Scilab). Within the sim-
ulation tool, the user creates the simulation models which
map the production system. The simulation tools provide
two main components: First, a graphical user interface for
modeling the simulation model and providing a 3D view of
the production system. The second component is a solver for
calculation of the simulation steps. After each step, the results
are transferred via the fieldbus to other real and/or virtual
components.
Dependent on the industry division the simulation models
are created with a different width of the model and level
of detail. For example, within the simulation model of an
entire assembly line the material flow between the assembly
modules is very important, whereas a robot welding cell
has its scope on the kinematics of the robot and collision
detection. Figure 16.8, taken from [64], shows a classification
of different model types used in simulation models for HiL
simulation.
Virtual
commissioning
models

I/O Device Process

models model model

Model for Model for Network

continuous discrete models
processes processes

Cold
• PLC commissioning State machine
Real model
• NC
• MC Virtual
• RC Kinematic
models

Kinematic
Abbreviations models with
PLC – programmable logic controller 3D model
NC – numerical control
MC – motion control Dynamic
RC – robot control models

Fig. 16.7 Allegory of a hardware-in-the-loop simulation: switching

between real and virtual production system Fig. 16.8 Overview and classification of models for HiL simulation
[64]
16 Control Architecture for Automation
In addition, the created simulation models can be used in
model-in-the-loop (MiL) or software-in-the-loop (SiL) sim-
ulations which have their own advantages and disadvantages
over HiL simulations, see [64]. Between the three types MiL,
SiL, and HiL, the most realistic virtual environment for the
control system is the HiL simulation. Within HiL simulation
types a real-time hardware-in-the-loop (RT-HiL) simulation
allows the most accurate behavior for the control system.
Real-Time HiL Simulation
A RT-HiL simulation is capable of delivering simulation
results within the cycle time of the fieldbus communication
route. This leads to two advantages over a non-RT-HiL sim-
ulation:
• Components with a high update frequency close to the
cycle time of the fieldbus, like drives and material flow
elements, can be simulated realistically
• Every occurrence of signal change coming from the con-
trol system is detected and processed by the simulation
Non-RT HiL simulations need to emulate the communi-
cation with the fieldbus. This leads to missed signal changes
or late response behavior from the simulation. Real-time
capability for the HiL simulation is determined by the sim-
ulation tool and its environment on the PC. The solver, the
algorithms, and the communication within the simulation
tool as well as the scheduling and task management of the
underlying OS have special requirements to fulfill. For the
simulation tool there are three essentials for a real-time
capable simulation:
1. Simulation and control need to be synchronized in com-
munication.
2. A time-deterministic calculation of the simulation results
is necessary.
3. A loss-free communication via the fieldbus is needed.
Early work on real-time HiL simulations was done by
Pritschow and Röck [65]. According to them, the most
important requirement for a RT-HiL simulation is a time-
deterministic reaction to signal changes data from the control
system. The required time synchronicity between simulation
and control can only be guaranteed if the simulator is running
on a real-time operating system (RTOS). As commercial PC-
OS prioritize the interaction with the user they are not suitable
for RT-HiL applications. A dedicated RTOS is needed to
prioritize the two tasks of time-deterministic calculation and
a loss-free communication of the simulation results. The
decision to use RT-HiL simulation depends on the cycle
times of the controller and those of the processes within the
production system.
371
Usage of HiL Simulation
The most widely adopted application of HiL simulations
within the industry is its usage for virtual commissioning
of production systems. Virtual commissioning is intended
to test run the entire production system in a virtual en-
vironment before the system is delivered to the customer.
The goal is to fix errors and to optimize the output of the
machine tool or production plant before start of production.
HiL simulations serve as the virtual environment for the
tests. Besides acceptance tests, integration tests and overall 16
system tests can be carried out in the virtual environment as
well [64].
To guarantee a seamless porting from HiL simulation
onto the shop floor no changes to control system or fieldbus
configuration should be applied in the virtual environment.
Whereas the simulation model offers a new range of testing
possibilities through the following modifications [64]:
• Virtual push buttons panels and indicators can be inte-
grated into the simulation model and used to support the
test run carried out by the commissioning specialist.
• By parameterization of the simulation model before start-
ing the simulation, the virtual production system can start
in any desired state.
• Additionally, signals can be traced parallel to the test run
within the simulation tool.
• Any state of the production system can be reached by
overwriting signals in the running simulation.
Furthermore, the simulation model offers the possibility
to test failure and error situations realistically. Failure and
error situations of the production system can merely be
tested on the physical system as it leads to damages to the
production system and injuries to the personnel involved.
Erroneous behavior can be modeled in the simulation and will
be triggered within a test run.
The use of HiL simulation does not end with the start of
production of the production system. In today’s production,
more often changes from evolving product requirements,
legal changes and customer needs demand higher flexibility.
The changes in requirements lead to new engineering, opti-
mizations, and expansion of the production system to meet
the new requirements. To try out, test, and commission the
new version of the production system the HiL simulations
are reused.
Automating the Test Procedure for HiL
Testing automation software using a HiL simulation is a so-
called dynamic test process, as the automation software is
executed for the test. Dynamic test process is divided into
four phases [66]:
372
1. Design: The testing procedure is described explicitly, so-
called test cases, for the tester to test/try specific functions,
error cases, or requirements.
2. Setup: Activities to provide and maintain the test environ-
ment, e.g., HiL simulation.
3. Execution: The procedure described in the test cases is
executed operating and observing the HiL simulation.
Results and checks during the test execution are noted
down as a log.
4. Evaluation: Results and checks from the log are exam-
ined for further actions. A test report might be created to
share with third parties.
Automation of one or several of these steps is referred
to as test automation. A need for more awareness and thus
structured and automated testing in the engineering process
of production systems is outlined in [67, 68].
Once test cases are specified, their execution and evalu-
ation are a rather straightforward activity. This becomes es-
pecially true when minor changes in an automation software
during engineering lead to a retest of the entire automation to
cross-checking for errors, so-called regression testing. These
regression tests require less intellectual effort and are very
time consuming. To free capacities of test personnel and limit
errors during manual test execution, the automation of the
phases execution and evaluation is to be tackled first in test
automation and can be realized by introducing a computer-
aided software testing tool [67], see [63]. The automated
generation of test cases is a more difficult step as the source
for test case design (requirements, specifications, and other
descriptions of functions and behavior) and would need a for-
mal, complete, and consistent description. Thus, approaches
can mostly be found as of today in academia only [69–72].
16.4.4 Data Analytics and AI
It is interesting to note that artificial intelligence (AI) and
its subfield, machine learning from a historical perspective,
always had a tight relationship to control technology. Early
on, the cybernetics concept of Norbert Wiener, one of the
roots of AI as a field, addressed, among others, the issue of
a closed signal loop consisting of a sensor, a controller, and
an actuator [73]. One of the early successes in the field of
AI in the 1960s was the Stanford Research Institute Problem
Solver (STRIPS) planning system [74], used to control the
behavior of Shakey the Robot. More recently, the success of
reinforcement learning methods, among others, are fueling
AI research. Reinforcement learning has been established as
a common thread of three different research directions, one of
which was optimal control [75]. This historical relationship
is visible if we look at the academic examples and benchmark
problems for search and planning, often using robot-related
O. Riedel et al.
tasks as an example and reinforcement learning, often bench-
marked using well-known problems of control technology
[76]. AI in its short history of existence saw periods of rapid
growth and periods of near stagnation and recently became
a very powerful tool to solve a broad range of problems at
different hierarchical levels of the automation pyramid.
Closed Loop Control Problems
Many examples of solving classical control problems using
learning-based methods can be found in the scientific litera-
ture. Learning control systems are capable of learning from
their environment and their performance does not directly de-
pend on imprecise analytic models. Besides, solving similar
problems that other methods can also solve, reinforcement
learning methods, presented in Fig. 16.9, can offer an added
benefit of directly linking image processing tasks to control
tasks by using convolutional neural networks (CNN) as a pol-
icy [77]. These approaches suffer in many cases from sample
inefficiency. Improving this sample inefficiency is one of the
main concerns of the reinforcement learning community. To
address this, techniques like hindsight experience replay [78]
and the use of probabilistic models (like gaussian processes)
as policy have emerged [79]. Lately, a new approach called
differentiable programming has attracted attention [78]. Dif-
ferentiable programming requires algorithmic models (or
programs) that can be differentiated (using automatic differ-
entiation) and allows the direct chaining of the differentiable
algorithmic model with a deep neural network.
Machine Vision
Image processing cannot only be helpful as a part of the
closed-loop control system, but also independently. The de-
tection of obstacles for robot navigation, identifying grasping
points for manipulation [80] or bin picking [81], based on
camera information are valuable tasks that can be performed
using machine learning methods. With the help of transfer
learning [82], the technique to partially reuse already trained
networks has improved the training efficiency of such a
model and made their training suitable also for industrial use
cases.
Data-Driven Models
In many cases control architectures include analytical or
numerical models. An example for this is the inverse kine-
matics model of a robot controller or a friction model for
a positioning stage. In many cases, these analytical models
are only approximations and do not precisely reflect the real
situation, however, data-driven approaches models have been
developed to recreate these [83, 84]. Data-driven models are
created from data originating from the phenomenon being
modeled and can therefore better reflect reality. Furthermore,
data-driven models are also used in analytics applications, as
described below.
16 Control Architecture for Automation 373

Agent
Policy

and pendulum angle and angular velocity

Reinforcement
learning
algorithm

e.g., cart position and velocity

e.g., force to move cart

States or observations:
Reward:
16
e.g., inverted pendulum deviation
Actions:

Environment(s)
e.g., inverted pendulum

Fig. 16.9 General structure of a reinforcement learning algorithm applied to the well-known inverted pendulum problem

Planning Problems Data Analytics

Planning problems represent a deliberation process where a
sequence of actions is defined to reach an a priori known goal
[85]. One of the early successes of AI as a field was solving
planning problems, and methods have been continuously
improved and refined ever since. Planning problems in the
classical sense of the word refer to the creation of a sequence
of actions in a discrete state and action space in which
state and action are described symbolically. Problems are
highly relevant for automation in general planning, as these
provide the automated job dispatching ability of MES and/or
ERP systems [86]. Adding semantic states and actions and
continuous state and/or action spaces to the problem signif-
icantly increases its complexity [87]. A further increase in
complexity by embedding the planning problem in a physical
simulation reaches the limits of current solutions [88]. As the
world watched the Lee Se-dol defeated by DeepMind’s Al-
phaGo, many wondered why a robot did not move the bricks
on the Go board when AlphaGo made a move. This question
was answered recently in a publication from DeepMind [88],
in which physically embedded planning problems (e.g., a
robot playing a board game by physically moving the pieces
and reasoning about the game) have been identified as a limit
to current AI methods.
As modern control architecture become more capable of
facilitating data exchange with other systems and are less
closed, the use of data analysis and AI methods will become
more common. Data analytics has a close relationship to AI
and machine learning, but also to statistics.
Analytics have recently gained attention through the emer-
gence of industrial Internet of Things, which allow the ag-
gregation of data form multiple sources to an unprecedented
extend. As a result, analytics initially had to cope better with
a large amount of data, but later had to use this data more
intelligently. As shown in [63], three forms of analytics have
emerged [89]:
• Descriptive analytics is the simplest form of analytics,
which offers a correlation between past behavior and
past outcome (past successes and failures). It is a “post-
mortem” analytic.
• Predictive data analytics, build on descriptive analytics,
use data from the past to predict future events. In au-
tomation, a well-known example for this is predictive
maintenance. Based on historical data that describes the
past behavior of a certain component or equipment, using
statistical and/or machine learning models, a prediction is
made for future behavior or remaining useful life.
Prescriptive analytics build on both descriptive and pre-
dictive analytics not only predicts future behavior, but also
provides the reason for this prediction and offers decision op-
tion on how to take advantage/exploit or mitigate a predicted
situation. When applied to maintenance, prescriptive mainte-
nance would not report only predicted remaining useful life,
but also the reason for the predicted failure and a decision
to replace a soon-to-be-defective component to avoid the
failure.
374
16.5 Conclusion and Trends
In the future, it will be increasingly difficult to speak of
“typical” architectures in automation technology. The con-
vergence of operating technology (OT) and information tech-
nology (IT) is in full swing and cannot be reversed. The
traditional pyramid structure of automation technology and
its networking with “higher” levels of corporate functions is
dissolving – and this is in favor of any two networking instead
of pure horizontal or vertical communication. Along with
this goes the possibility of an almost arbitrary distribution
of functionalities in this flexible network.
The planners and operators of automation technology
have already learned that innovation and investment cycles
no longer follow the laws of production. The challenge
now is to develop both technologies asynchronously and
yet synchronously and to link them with each other. This
article has shown which basic architectural building blocks
help us today to lead automation technology into the future
with reliable investments. As explained in this chapter, cloud
computing, virtualization techniques, convergent networks,
and the first solutions using AI algorithms for processing
large amounts of data are already established on the market.
Many of these solutions come from the IT sector, consumer
electronics, or other application domains and are now being
adapted for use in production. The best example is the TSN,
which is based on the distribution of audio signals and is
now well on the way to replacing the classic field buses.
However, without a combination with higher-quality commu-
nication protocols such as OPC UA, its companion standards,
and umati, this will not establish itself and will happen
quickly.
It is worth taking a look at upcoming technologies, when
we talk about the disappearance of traditional architectures
and the pace of innovation in IT. Three topics stand out from
these trends, which will be briefly examined:
Advanced systems engineering (ASE): Today’s advanced
machine tool and production systems engineering uses
mechatronic, system-based modular kits to offer machines,
automation technology, and production systems in an
economical and customer-specific manner. The tools
developed in recent years for “virtual validation” and
“real-time-capable virtual commissioning” have not been
part of this engineering process yet. They are used in
special cases in between the engineering and the ramp-
up of the machine tool or production system. A further
development as well as a continuous virtual validation
is currently not taking place. The approach of model-
based systems engineering (MBSE) and advanced system
engineering (ASE) has been known in the automotive and
aerospace industry for product development for some time. It
promises digitization and model-based development across
all engineering disciplines for product development and
O. Riedel et al.
will be expanded to the field of production. In order to
meet the challenges of customer-specific production in a
dynamic environment, the established engineering process
has to be redesigned in engineering terms using MBSE
concepts. The new engineering methods must meet the
requirements of adaptability, communication, consistency,
and data integration to demonstrate efficiency.
Software-defined manufacturing (SDM): The share of
software R&D cost in production machines will continue
to rise to over 50%. A key aspect of Industry 4.0 is the
adaptability and reconfigurability to cope with new tasks.
Whereas the processing of information per se is flexible and
not limited to a specific hardware, factory objects of today are
not flexible and not automatically adaptable. However, the
modularization and reconfiguration of production systems
and their automation components are limited today because
there is no proper separation between the executing physical
part of the machine and the automation software part. This
software is firmly connected to the machine and a subsequent
upgrade of the functionality is almost impossible unless
the upgrade has been planned in advance and is already
implemented in the system. Therefore, the focus of software-
defined manufacturing (SDM), which has been derived from
IT and communication technology is: the so-called software-
defined anything (SDx). SDx represents concepts, which
permit the (re-)configuration of system functionality via soft-
ware only. SDM-based production would mean that the entire
manufacturing process is automatically configured by soft-
ware based on the desired properties of the final product. In
addition, the data generated during the product development
and during the manufacturing process is recorded and linked
together so that optimizations can be made.
Artificial intelligence: ASE, MBSE, and SDM generate
a lot of data in the operative production and its engineering
process. The amount of this data and its classification – the
so-called labeling – enables the application of AI technology
in the future of modern production systems. On the one
hand, algorithms and especially those for machine learning
are constantly evolving. On the other hand, the necessary
computing and storage capacity is being found in ever smaller
and thus production-ready embedded devices. The repeatedly
quoted credo “big data is the new oil of the industry” is
correct – it is only necessary to ensure that the large data
generated in production is linked to the correct and consistent
data models. Once this is achieved – which corresponds to a
continuous process – there is little to prevent the successful
use of neural networks and so-called deep learning.
The authors of this chapter are certain that the speed
of innovation in automation technology will increase even
further through the use of IT. It will be important to monitor
this trend carefully. Necessary and useful components of
these trends should be subjected to a critical analysis regard-
ing their applicability in automation technology. The most
16 Control Architecture for Automation
challenging task at the moment is certainly the continuous
integration/deployment of these new technologies into green-
field and brownfield production plants.
Acknowledgments The authors would like to acknowledge the help
of all colleagues involved in this chapter and especially the contributors
who could not be listed as authors: Dr. Akos Csiszar, Caren Dripke, Flo-
rian Frick, Karl Kübler, and Timur Tasci. Without their support and their
specific content, this chapter would not have become a reality. Also,
many thanks to the sponsors (German Research Foundation, Federal
Ministry of Education and Research, Federal Ministry for Economic
Affairs and Energy) of various projects through which the results could
be generated.
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Alexander W. Verl studied electrical engineering at Friedrich-

Alexander-University Erlangen-Nuernberg and earned his Dr.-Ing.
degree in control engineering at the Institute of Robotics and
Mechatronics (DLR). Since 2005 he is full professor and managing
director of the Institute for Control Technology of Machine Tools and
Manufacturing Units (ISW) at the University of Stuttgart. From 1992 to
1994 he worked as a development engineer at Siemens AG. During the
period 1997–2005 he was founder and managing director of AMATEC
Robotics GmbH (became part of KUKA Roboter GmbH in 2005);
and 2006–2014 he was also head of institute at Fraunhofer IPA as an
ancillary job. From 2014 to 2016 he was on leave from the University
during his time as executive vice president of Technology Marketing
and Business Models at the Fraunhofer Gesellschaft e.V. Alexander
Verl specializes in industrial control technology, machine tool control,
industrial robotics, and software-defined manufacturing.
 Cyber-Physical Automation
17
Cesar Martinez Spessot

Contents Today the potential impacts of cyber-physical automa-

17.1 Status of the Cyber-Physical Automation . . . . . . . . . . 380
17.1.1 Vertical Approach on Cyber-Physical Automation . . . . . 380
17.1.2 Horizontal Approach on Cyber-Physical
Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 380
17.2 Challenges in Implementing Cyber-Physical
Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
17.2.1 The Problems of the Vertical
Cyber-Physical Approach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
17.2.2 The Need for Edge Computing and Workload
Consolidation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
17.2.3 The Need for Services Unification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
17.3 Cyber-Physical Unified Services Framework . . . . . . .
17.3.1 Cyber-Physical Architecture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
17.3.2 Cyber-Physical Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
17.3.3 Communications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
17.3.4 Cyber-Physical Infrastructure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
17.3.5 Automation Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
17.3.6 Cyber-Physical Manageability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
17.3.7 Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
17.3.8 Data Management and Analytics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
17.3.9 Reliability and Safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
17.3.10 IT/OT Integration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
17.4 Conclusion, Emerging Trends, and Challenges . . . . . 401
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 403
Abstract
The digital transformation is already changing companies
and even entire industries. Over the past decade, a new
breed of digital companies has arisen, quickening the
tempo of business. These companies relied their core
business on cyber-physical automation, delivering more
convenient, cost-efficient, and engaging experiences for
their customers while disrupting the entire industry busi-
ness models.
tion extend beyond these disruptors and are a pressing
issue for organizations spanning almost every industry. As
more companies and people, systems, and things become
interconnected, so the scope to create new and novel
digital value chains rapidly increases.
381
At the same time, this rapid change is creating new
381 and complex challenges for many industries. Fragmented
solutions, limited standards, immature security models,
381 and inadequate approaches to the maintenance of digital
382
assets are among the barriers that may prevent organiza-
382 tions from scaling valuable cyber-physical solutions. C-
383 level executives cited several roadblocks that were driving
383
384 these facts, such as difficulties integrating with existing
385 infrastructure and processes and lack of overall security
389 posture.
390 Considering the growing number of cyber-physical
393
397 components, high increase of data volumes, and existing
399 infrastructure constraints, it is especially critical to reduce
400 complexity and simplify scaling requirements. Two key
concepts for achieving those goals are the unification of
services and workload consolidation. In this chapter, we
will review each of the constituent technologies for a
cyber-physical system, examine how each contributes to
the automation, and present a solution for the presented
roadblocks. This chapter provides a broad analysis of
cyber-physical systems’ past and present jointly with as-
sociated trends.
Keywords
Cyber-physical unified framework · Edge computing ·
Workload consolidation · Digital transformation ·
Cyber-physical security

C. Martinez Spessot ()

Intel Corporation, Hillsboro, OR, USA
e-mail: cesar.martinez@intel.com

© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 379

S. Y. Nof (ed.), Springer Handbook of Automation, Springer Handbooks,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-96729-1_17
380
17.1 Status of the Cyber-Physical
Automation
In the last five years, the cyber-physical automation [16]
has benefited from tremendous innovations driven by the
emergence of cloud-native and edge technologies. Collec-
tively, these approaches enable organizations to transform
their business in ways that are more scalable, flexible, and
data driven than previously possible. The cyber-physical
automation demonstrated the transformation of how opera-
tional technologies (OT) work, by scalability improvement,
connectivity openness, and cost reduction.
The initial implementations of cyber-physical automa-
tion [17] were done based on a cloud-centric architectural
approach, where sensors directly send the data gathered
(data acquisition) to the databases located in the cloud. This
approach allowed automation systems to cover everything
from field/environment equipment to services delivered in
the cloud. It also helped define a series of microservices that
establish the infrastructure to support any processing in the
cloud.
Any cyber-physical system (CPS) includes complex in-
teractions and interdependencies among a large group of
production and control facilities and organizations (legacy
systems). With rapid development in information technology
and cybernetics, intensive computing resources are used to
connect computerized physical devices to provide control,
communication, coordination, and collaboration [15].
The cyber-physical technologies have introduced new in-
frastructure layers, each with their own administration mea-
sures required for effective management. In response to these
changes, the broader industry at large has developed so-
lutions, services, and products that primarily fall into two
categories in terms of approach: (1) vertical or solution-based
technologies and (2) horizontal or platform-based technolo-
gies.
17.1.1 Vertical Approach on Cyber-Physical
Automation
A commonly observed trend is the emergence of a variety
of point solutions called vertical cyber-physical solutions.
A vertical cyber-physical solution is frequently based on a
cloud-centric architecture created to solve just one particular
automation use case. Some typical examples are industrial
chiller maintenance automation, light automation based on
workforce presence and behavior, parking automation based
on people’s demand, and computer vision to deal with the
industrial automation scenarios.
With this first cyber-physical automation wave, all the
solution deployments were end-to-end implementations.
With these systems, the organization rarely integrates its
C. Martinez Spessot
information technology/operational technology (IT/OT)
systems directly with the brownfield. It focuses on cloud-to-
cloud communication (typically using SOA), delegating the
deployment of analytical capacity to the cloud infrastructure.
These vertical cyber-physical automation solutions pro-
vided a similar bill of materials (such as data ingestion agents,
sensors, gateways, and databases). However, there was no
common understanding of the cyber-physical automation do-
main or attempt to standardize these solutions. Additionally,
the lack of standardization increased the cost of implemen-
tation, support, and maintenance, offered a higher likelihood
of failure, and provided limited or no interoperability. Fur-
thermore, many of these solutions are based on inappropriate
models of governance, which fundamentally neglect privacy
and security in their design and have challenges in terms of
scalability.
On the other hand, a new wave of a business model called
IoT-as-a-Service (IOTaaS) was generated, where companies
realized that they could reduce costs by accessing applica-
tions located in a third-party data center without investing on
infrastructure, software, and human resources. This business
model had demonstrated remarkable success in the consumer
market, where the principal factor is the monetization of data.
With this approach, the panorama ends up becoming a set of
value-added services that should be consumed continuously.
However, the customer cannot openly develop analytical
capacity and improve the knowledge of the business and
operation.
These solutions are still far from being inserted in the rapid
day-to-day operation of an organization. However, it begins
to manifest in insights for aspects such as maintenance, man-
agement of the workforce, or asset monitoring that previously
required the human in situ supervision.
17.1.2 Horizontal Approach on Cyber-Physical
Automation
After the first wave of implementations, which is usually
based on the vertical approach, organizations started to find
options to provide a holistic administration of all the cyber-
physical stack. Up until then, the implementations done
working with point solutions helped to demonstrate the fea-
sibility of cyber-physical automation but failed to be scalable
in the whole organization. Furthermore, a critical factor for
scalable automation is to have security across the entire
lifecycle from the time the automation is built to runtime. The
vertical approach failed to provide this critical requisite.
With this precedence, organizations started to work on
standardization and a generalist platform approach that offers
the components and the stack necessary to cover the inges-
tion, process, and analysis of the information, building the
solutions by themselves.
17 Cyber-Physical Automation
The horizontal approach generated a foundational plat-
form that is capable of acquiring, summarizing, normalizing,
and moving the data to where it will be consumed. At the
same time, it solved many of the challenges listed above,
creating a scalable infrastructure.
Both situations are mutually reinforced with each other
since most of the vertical solutions (except some born from
the beginning in specific niches) employ the leading cloud
providers in partnership with comprehensive ecosystems.
The mix of both situations complicated the technology man-
agement and challenged the IT/OT environments. With this,
many programs are immersed in several political issues im-
plementing new technologies and getting large deployments
to facilitate the production of value.
17.2 Challenges in Implementing
Cyber-Physical Automation
17.2.1 The Problems of the Vertical
Cyber-Physical Approach
The cyber-physical automation is transforming the way
companies and organizations work by increasing efficiency,
improving reliability, and reducing waste. The cloud is a
powerful tool for many IT/OT workloads, but it can fall
short at times for IoT use cases. Issues such as latency
for the control plane, massive volumes of remote data,
and data aggregation (while maintaining context) require
a complementing capability.
The cyber-physical paradigm based only on a vertical
approach is suffering six major problems [3]:
• Creates silos where every automation use case has its
building blocks from the device (sensor and actuator) to
the cloud.
• Generates inconsistent redundancy; many automation’s
use cases utilize the same building blocks, and for that
reason, they are repeated in the infrastructure, and cannot
benefit from the reusability software pattern. Also, the
configurations can differ in complexity in software con-
figuration management.
• Increases the deployment complexity based on the in-
consistent redundancy of building blocks; many of the
building block configurations differ, generating an intrin-
sic complexity in the software configuration management,
in the automation manageability, and the infrastructure
deployment.
• Demonstrates the limitation of the cloud-centric archi-
tecture due to the use of AI and computer vision; use
cases demand near real time to process decisions in the
automation environment. Hence, the principal bottleneck,
in this case, is the communication capability and cost.
381
• Increased total cost of ownership: The duplicated infras-
tructures need specific hardware (such as gateways and
telecommunication routers) for every solution, which con-
sequently incurs high capital and operating expenses. Fur-
thermore, the duplication of licenses and support increases
the cost of operating expenses.
• Incompatible protocol, interfaces, and radio frequencies:
Devices operate with different interface protocols and also
operate in similar radio frequencies that create collisions,
interference, and noise in the system.
Most of the organizations and companies that opted for
the rapid adoption of the first-generation cyber-physical au- 17
tomation solutions are now facing the problems as mentioned
earlier after starting a digital transformation program.
17.2.2 The Need for Edge Computing
and Workload Consolidation
The growth in cyber-physical automation and the vast amount
of new data produced opportunities and challenges that re-
quire more distributed compute performance and capabilities
[5]. System-wide collaboration with a holistic view of the
automation places new demands on existing infrastructure
where tightly coupled OS, firmware, and hardware make
adding/changing functions difficult and costly. More analyt-
ics and devices introduced into the cyber-physical networks
require more advanced and flexible ways of managing data to
ensure that organizations are extracting maximum and timely
value from them. Addressing regulatory compliance and
concerns on organizational policies means keeping more data
local and limiting data dispersion across multiple networks
and locations.
Technology advances in compute performance, security,
and AI are converging to transform the new data into ac-
tionable insights, driving faster, more informed decision-
making. Cyber-physical automation solutions based on these
capabilities are becoming an essential part of operational
performance and product/service delivery.
Nevertheless, these new technological advances face
many resource constraints and other concerns that sole
reliance on data center and cloud interactions presents,
including:
• Low latency
• Privacy and data security
• Lack of persistent/reliable connectivity
• Bandwidth cost and availability
The evolution of edge computing is coming to resolve
the aforementioned issues, including real-time analytics and
a high level of decentralization. Edge computing could be
382
defined as a “distributed processing where data processing is
placed closer to the people or things that produce and/or con-
sume information for fast service delivery.” Edge computing
applies the “divide and conquers” mantra to the algorithmic
resolution of complex problems, with its application to the
responsibility for process and data (a division of concern).
Edge computing not only divides the algorithms into more
straightforward elements but also stratifies responsibility in
the calculations to be performed in each layer. Additionally,
edge computing establishes a set of levels of data abstraction
that ranges from raw data (produced by cyber-physical com-
ponents) to business indicators for decision-making. With
edge computing, cheap direct access to raw data is possible,
and the application of analytics on this information is in the
hands of the end customer who exploits the asset in their
facilities.
The concept of edge computing should be understood not
only as a technical capability but as a key lever to accelerate
new software solutions for the organizational operations,
providing advanced distributed data analytics. Through this,
edge workload consolidation responds to the need to manage
and obtain value from the machine-generated data and to
support new operational use cases with the need for low
latency. Given this aim, edge workload consolidation offers a
unified way to distribute the computing, storage, and service
capacity among the different layers of the infrastructure. In
this sense, edge workload consolidation complements the
traditional IoT in facing the new challenges with its three
main characteristics:
• Distributed processing: high-speed and flexible compu-
tational intelligence to distribute workloads in a fast way,
allowing efficient management of different software and
device tools
• Distributed storage: scalable storage infrastructure to
manage different sources of data from legacy, business
tools, and operational/nonoperational data
• Fast delivery: fast data distribution for both machines and
operators, which allows the deployment of advanced use
cases to add value to the raw data
17.2.3 The Need for Services Unification
As discussed, the cloud is a powerful tool for many IT/OT
workloads, but it can fall short at times for IoT use cases.
Issues such as latency for the control plane, massive volumes
of remote data, and data aggregation (while maintaining
context) require a complementing capability. As mentioned
earlier, the continuing evolution of edge computing provides
solutions to many of these issues.
To realize the true benefit of IoT, enterprises should
adopt a platform-based approach that provides the
C. Martinez Spessot
common ground for building cyber-physical automation
implementations. This approach must be supported by a
reference architecture that describes the essential building
blocks and defines several technologies such as security,
privacy, and performance. Interfaces should be standardized;
best practices in terms of functionality and information usage
need to be provided.
17.3 Cyber-Physical Unified Services
Framework
The cyber-physical unified services framework is composed
of the ten disciplines (aspects) that any organization or com-
pany should consider in order to have a scalable and man-
ageable cyber-physical implementation that provides real
business value.
Ultimately, this framework helps the entire organization
to gain a clear understanding of the value of standardization
in each of the disciplines it includes and the options available
to them, so they can make informed decisions about what is
best for their business.
As is shown in Fig. 17.1, the disciplines and their defini-
tions are as follows:
1. Cyber-physical architecture: defines how the cyber-
physical systems, work, and infrastructure should be
designed based on microservices, with the objective of
having highly flexible, scalable, responsive, reliable, and
available solutions
2. Cyber-physical components: define cyber elements
(like digital twins and software agents) and the physical
elements (like sensors and actuators) to be used for
industrial automation
3. Communications: defines the technologies based on
industrial use cases and environmental constraints (such
as wired/wireless, distance, noise, and used bands), in-
tending to provide the base for intelligent collaboration
4. Cyber-physical infrastructure: defines how workloads
are processed and orchestrated on the edge and on the
cloud to efficiently distribute loads across the different
architecture tiers while optimizing scalability, availabil-
ity, and performance
5. Automation software: defines the cyber-physical appli-
cations (workload) to perform advanced control in the
standardized infrastructure and identifies the standard
services that support them
6. Cyber-physical manageability: defines functions re-
quired to manage edge devices at scale, including fea-
tures such as secure device provisioning, over-the-air
(OTA) updates, and physical components decommis-
sioning
17 Cyber-Physical Automation
Cyber physical Autonomous
components infrastructure
2 4
1 3
Cyber physical Communications Automation
architecture software
Fig. 17.1 Cyber-physical unified service framework
7. Security: provides requirements for keeping the com-
plete infrastructure secure, including physical and log-
ical integrity, bootstrapping and provisioning, intrusion
prevention, and protection of data at rest and in transit
8. Data management and analytics: defines a set of poli-
cies, procedures, practices, and tools to guarantee the
quality and availability of data, which includes the def-
inition of conventional infrastructure data brokers (per
tier) that allow data enrichment and aggregation
9. Reliability and safety: defines physical and logical re-
liability, such as health indication, remote power cy-
cle, and remote diagnosis, and safety considerations
aligned to industrial government policies and organiza-
tional guidelines
10. IT/OT integration: defines the integration of IT and
OT for a unified infrastructure, allowing the generation
of synergies required to make the infrastructure more
efficient
The cyber-physical unified framework provides a foun-
dation for building end-to-end IoT solutions. It includes
guidance for selecting the right building blocks to support
business needs and providing consistency, scalability, and
completeness of IoT solution architectures across the enter-
prise. The framework also includes a reference architecture
that customers may implement using their preferred building
blocks.
17.3.1 Cyber-Physical Architecture
The first step in working through a cyber-physical solution
is to define a base architecture that can be used by various
internal and external stakeholders to build their solutions
383
Cyber physical Data management IT/OT
manageability and analytics integration
6 8 10
5 7 9
17
Security Reliability
and safety
in the company. This reference architecture will provide a
framework on the basis of the construction of architectures
to support specific use cases as well as guidance on selecting
and leveraging components to realize the company’s needs.
By nature, the reference architecture is more abstract than
system architectures that have been designed for a particular
application. At the same time, understanding system con-
straints better can provide input to the architectural design,
which will then identify future opportunities.
System architects can use this document as an architec-
tural template to define their unique cyber-physical system
requirements and design concrete architectures to address
them. Using this common approach to architectural design
builds consistent implementation across different use cases.
Equally important, it will help in achieving a common under-
standing of the overall system both internally and externally
among its diverse stakeholders, which will aid in system de-
ployment and significantly enhance system interoperability
across the company.
17.3.2 Cyber-Physical Components
In the context of the cyber-physical system, components (also
referred to as things, smart devices, or embedded devices) is
comprised of the sensors or actuators used as environmental
instruments. These components use communications to fa-
cilitate the exchange of data or actuate in the environment.
The hardware that the sensors interface with has varying
degrees of capability concerning connectivity, computation,
and security that determines the best way to connect the
hardware to network to monitor event data and makes de-
cisions based on that data. This type of hardware is generally
384
characterized by low power consumption and usage of a low-
power microprocessor or a microcontroller. As a hardware
counterpart, the software executed on the components is task
specific.
In general, the cyber-physical components have the fol-
lowing bill of materials (BoM) to be considered on an imple-
mentation:
• Firmware and operating system
• Input/Output interfaces to connect to sensors and other
devices
• Storage
• Memory
• Compute/Processing capability
• Communication hardware and software (like digital twin’s
edge layers and management agents)
17.3.3 Communications
In support of the cyber-physical tenet of seamless data in-
gestion and device control, the architecture should consider
the implementation of a broad protocol normalization and
closed-loop control systems. A key aspect is enabling multi-
protocol data communication among the devices at the edge
as well as among the endpoint devices/gateways, network,
and data center. Figure 17.2 depicts the three types of net-
works involved in this process.
Proximity networks (PAN) and local area networks (LAN)
connect to sensors, actuators, devices, control systems, and
assets, which are collectively called “edge nodes.” PANs are
usually wireless and more constrained by antenna distance
(and sometimes battery life) than LANs.
Wide area networks (WAN) provide connectivity for data
and control flows between the endpoint devices and the
remote data center services. They may be corporate networks,
overlays of private networks over the public Internet, 4/5G
mobile networks, or even satellite networks.
The gateways in the middle of Fig. 17.2 are the primary
on-premises devices of the reference architecture. They per-
form protocol normalization, ingest data from things, and
control things based on their own application software or
commands from the data center or cloud. Since the gateways
both ingest data and execute commands, they are ideal for
implementing closed-loop control systems. Gateways unify
the broad range of endpoint things, which are characterized
by low-cost, low-power, purpose-built, limited, and disjoint
features.
The architecture of the automation and deployment should
consider the following nonfunctional requirements:
• RF coverage and range: The required range of the tech-
nology given a particular link budget can help provide
C. Martinez Spessot
essential propagation models taking operating frequency,
transmit power, receive sensitivity, identify gains/losses,
and antenna placements. Certain deployments can pose
additional RF propagation challenges, including different
degrees of slow and multipath fading.
• Density and scale: A sufficient level of planning around
the scale of the system is necessary to identify the right
wireless communication technology and design the sys-
tem correctly. Many contentions-based communication
protocols start to add much overhead reducing the over-
the-air efficiency (% useful data) due to the very na-
ture of the on-air access methodology (e.g., CSMA/CA).
Contention-free and semi-contention-free solutions exist
(such as IEEE 802.15.4/TSCH and ZigBee). The former
(and derivatives of it) exists where a more significant
degree of scale/density can be offered through time syn-
chronization, effectively limiting or eliminating interfer-
ence/collisions due to a larger degree of nodes otherwise
contending over-air access.
• Spectrum: Most IoT wireless solutions today operate in
unlicensed spectrums (e.g., 868 MHz, 902 MHz, 2.4 GHz,
and 5.2 GHz), which are attractive due to their cost-
effectiveness compared to the technologies in the licensed
spectrum (e.g., LTE-NB). This operation usually creates
very crowded spaces subject to interference from other
sources.
• Quality of service: It is essential to understand the differ-
ent traffic models in the network and to identify if some
must be treated differently due to their QoS (e.g., on-air
priority), retransmissions, in-order delivery, etc. Different
options exist with support for a higher degree of QoS,
service guarantee/reliability, and contracts.
• Traffic: Understanding the traffic patterns, models, and
flows and associated bandwidth requirements for the sys-
tem such as asymmetry between uplink versus downlink
and communication methodology (such as RESTful in-
teractions, and public/subscription) is essential. Addition-
ally, understanding other boundaries such as maximum
tolerated latencies and jitter (i.e., the variance of latency)
is also essential.
• Resilience and fail-over: Several wireless solutions offer
a different type of mesh solutions that can help increase
the effective range of coverage through intermediate rout-
ing nodes. These solutions come with the expense of
additional latency as well as increased power consump-
tion. Additionally, several solutions provide a layer of
resilience without a single point of failure and fail-over
that allows the network to be functional even if a routing
node stops working. This implies that proper network
planning with redundancy is built into the design and
deployment phase of the system.
17 Cyber-Physical Automation 385

Proximity WAN
• Wired/wireless • Location
• Plug & play • Embedded SIM
• Optional data security • Dynamic access Add mapping between capability,
Proximity • Peer-to-peer network selection communications and protocols
802.15.4, 6LoWPAN,
BT-LE, THREADz, ZigBee,
Z-wave, RFID, ... Data center/cloud
• Device management
Intelligent things HUB
• Data management
HUB
1. Cheap/smart • Analytics
HUB
2. Wired/wireless
3. Powered/low powered/PoE
4. Headless
5. Plug & play edge device Access network
17
• Discovery
IoT WAN
• Athenticate Wired (RS-232, ...) Fixed (Wi-Fi, Ethernet)
• Pairing (connection established) HUB Mobile (2G, 3G, LTE)
USB, BACNET ModBus,
• Update configuration Other (LTE-M, unlicensed
6. Streaming Profibus access technology, satellite...)
7. Optional data security
8. Peer-to-peer/mesh • Connectivity & access management
9. Open/interoperable
LAN
WLAN 802.11 • Policy controls (deterministic)
Ethernet • Simple provisioning management,
usage reporting
• Secure (TLS, DNS DANE)

Fig. 17.2 Detailed view of communication

Additionally, the automation infrastructure requires
the integration of many protocols. Some of them are
directly related to the IoT infrastructure like MQTT, CoAP,
XMPP, and other related to the industrial environment
like CAN bus (ISO 11898-2/ ISO 11898-3), Modbus, or
Profibus.
To unify industrial automation, the cyber-physical func-
tions should apply to different resources, and they cannot rely
on specific communication functions directly. This presents
the need for generic communication services that will de-
fine the middle layer [25]. An example of this is OPC
UA (open platform communications unified architecture), a
service-oriented machine-to-machine communication proto-
col widely used in industrial automation and defined in the
IEC 62541 specification. It has use cases across the oil and
gas, utilities, and transportation. It is platform independent
and thus can run on various operating systems and hardware
platforms. OPC UA can scale down to embedded controllers
or mobile devices up to powerful servers controlling a collec-
tion of machines. Furthermore, it can also be integrated into
cloud platforms [26].
The various features and components of OPC UA are de-
scribed in different specification parts released and publicly
available by the OPC Foundation [27]. The major strength
of OPC UA is the semantic description of the address space
model together with various companion specifications, which
extend the basic semantic descriptions for many domains
such as computer vision, openPLC, or robotics.
Another data functional middle layer used for the automa-
tion is the DDS (data distribution service), a data-centric
publish/subscribe middleware for highly dynamic distributed
systems using either TCP/IP or UDP/IP. It is standardized
by the OMG (Object Management Group). It can be used
to link multiple processes together in a publisher/subscriber
relationship. Unlike a server-client relationship like basic
TCP, DDS can operate with multiple publishers and sub-
scribers together, allowing for much more seamless integra-
tion between multiple modules. Another advantage of DDS
is that it can use RTPS discovery, allowing the system to
automatically handle any new connections to an existing
network and reconnections [28].
These communication middle layers are evolving to
bridge the gaps and unify the DSPS (data stream processing
strategy) required to measure the automation project [18, 19].
The next stage to cover is the cyber-physical infrastructure in
charge of the metrics validation, processing, and automation
execution.
17.3.4 Cyber-Physical Infrastructure
The industry automation infrastructures are complex and are
getting even more complex and heterogeneous. The instru-
mentation of the environment (such as a manufacturing plant
or a building) generated inconsistent deployments creating a
roadblock to scaling [24].
386
The fundamental requirements always remained un-
changed: to execute industrial processes in a timely, reliable,
and uniform way. The absence of an optimum technology
to meet these goals established the critical need for unified
approaches.
To organically scale the automation in the industry, the
companies need to unify the cyber-physical infrastructure.
Workload Consolidation
In the previous section, the need for edge computing and
workload consolidation was described as an overview of
the cyber-physical systems, where an essential aspect of
the autonomous infrastructure is workload consolidation.
Consolidating new and legacy systems in edge computing
environments can serve multiple purposes and lower the total
cost of ownership in several ways.
The benefits of workload consolidation are the follow-
ing:
• Decreases system equipment footprint: Instead of having
a dedicated edge compute device for each point solution,
a single, more resourceful device can host several IoT
solutions/components.
• Eases deployment and management: By reducing the
number of devices used by point solutions, organizations
can considerably reduce the number of devices they need
to manage, which means less operational work.
• Increases security: Organizations have the potential to
minimize the attack surface of their network by reducing
their hardware, firmware, and software.
• Reduces system integration complexity and access to data:
A framework is required to allow different workloads to
coexist in the same device. This simplifies solution de-
ployment and integration. The enterprise data bus receives
data provided by different solutions.
• Improves reliability of underlying process control sys-
tems: Duplication of data requests is minimized, and the
load on critical (but aging) control systems is reduced.
• Ensures no vendor lock-in: Customers can get their data
from each solution, and vendors have to adapt to hardware
defined by the customer.
• Optimizes utilization of the aggregated computation at the
edge: The inefficient use of edge device resources, which
only run a few services per device, is eliminated.
• Accelerates the adoption of cyber-physical technologies
and helping enterprises with digital transformation.
Infrastructure Anatomy
A cyber-physical system must support the execution of mul-
tiple types of workloads to provide flexibility, allow legacy
solutions to run on top of the platform, and administer opti-
mal use of the installed technologies.
C. Martinez Spessot
With the goal of supporting the requisite mentioned ear-
lier, the autonomous infrastructure should be based in a
multitier system schema (see Fig. 17.3) with four main com-
ponents:
• Edge compute devices: These are the devices commonly
referred to as IoT gateways or edge compute devices, hav-
ing enough processing power to host several IoT solutions.
They are deployed close to sensors, receiving data directly
from them, and interacting with actuators.
• Edge compute server: On-premise server clusters (usu-
ally high available and reliable servers) required for con-
solidating data coming from many edge nodes. These
local servers provide independence from cloud providers,
allowing higher availability, low latency, and reduction of
data transmission.
• Core: Server clusters used to deploy the fundamental
management tools to orchestrate the edge devices and
edge server devices. This tier provides the necessary
agility and speed to face real-time use cases and manage
an extensive amount of data efficiently.
• Cloud: Group of elements reserved to deploy cloud tools,
allowing cloud operation in plant like ingest, digital twin,
or cluster oversizing. This architecture makes possible the
deployment of solutions without compromising the data
security within the facility.
Edge Compute Device Tier Anatomy
The implementation of the edge compute device tier (see
Fig. 17.4) should be architected considering the following
building blocks:
1. Computer hardware: processor-based devices,
including hardware security features, networking,
memory/storage, I/O for communications, virtualization,
and accelerators (such as FPGA, vision processing unit,
or graphics processing unit).
2. Host OS: base operating system required to run the full
stack.
3. Hypervisor: a computer software that creates and runs
virtual machines. This is an optional component on the
edge compute device.
4. Workload orchestrator/AEP: management and orches-
tration of workloads to reach efficiency on resource uti-
lization, including VMs and containers; workload trans-
fers across tiers.
5. Guest OS: This component is only present when the
edge compute device includes a hypervisor and refers to
the operating system specifically required by workloads.
6. Containerization: flexible and lightweight way run iso-
lated workloads.
7. Applications: workloads coming from solution
providers.
17 Cyber-Physical Automation 387

New field compute (on premises)

Edge device Edge server

Microservices

Microservices

Microservices

Microservices

Microservices

Microservices

Microservices

Microservices

Microservices

Microservices

Microservices

Microservices
Use case N

Use case N
Use case 1

Use case 2

Use case 3

Use case 4

Use case 5

Use case 1

Use case 2

Use case 3

Use case 4

Use case 5
Things (sensors / actuators)

Data Data
Rule engine processing Data UX Profile exten. Rule engine processing Data UX Profile exten.

MQTT broker Influx DB Distributed fieldbus MQTT broker Influx DB Image registry

Pods / containers Pods / containers

17
Workload orchestration Compose | Kubernetes Artificial intelligence / framework OpenVINO

Containerization Docker Workload orchestration Kubernetes

Core services Network | Security | Dev. Mgmt. Containerization Docker

Host operating system Ubuntu | Fedora Core services Network | Security | Dev. Mgmt.

Ubuntu server | Fedora server

Hardware
Secure boot / TXT | TPM 2.0 | Networking | Memory / Storage Guest operating system Red Hat | Windows
| Movidius FPGA GNA | Accelerators

Hypervisor / virtualization ESXi | Open | Nebula | KVM

TXT | Optane | Movidius | FPGA | GNA

Hardware TPM 2.0 | Networking | Memory / Storage | Accelerators

Current data center (on premises)

Edge core Cloud

Microservices

Microservices

Microservices

Data ingestion
Others (ERP, Big data, etc.)
Use case N
Use case 1

Use case 2

AWS | IOT
SCADA (centre)

Onesait things | IoT hub

OSIPI (central)
Things (sensors / actuators)

Rule engine Data Data UX Profile exten.

processing
Digital twins
GIS

MQTT broker Influx DB Image registry

AWS green grass

Azure | Edge
Onesait things | Digital twin

Cluster over sizing

Workload orchestration Kubernetes

Containerization Docker AWS | Azure ACI

Core services Network | Security | Dev. Mgmt.

Legend
Ubuntu server | Fedora server
Guest operating system Red Hat | Windows Container

Hypervisor / virtualization ESXi | Open | Nebula | KVM Common core container

Common optional container

TXT | Optane | Movidius | FPGA | GNA
Hardware TPM 2.0 | Networking | Memory/Storage | Accelerators VM

Fig. 17.3 Multitier architecture: edge to cloud

388 C. Martinez Spessot

Data visualization 9

Data processing tools 8

Use case 1 Use case 2 7 Use case 3

Workload Workload Workload

Data management
Communications

Manageability
Security

Containerization 6

Guest operating system 5

Workload orchestrator 4
13
12 Hypervisor 3

11
Host operating system 2
10
Computing hardware (Interl®Core™ processor) 1
HW security Networking Memory / storage Device IO Visualization

Fig. 17.4 Edge compute device

8. Data processing: tools for converting, transforming, utilization, including VMs and containers; workload
enriching, and cleansing data. transfers across tiers
9. Data visualization: required for presenting the data. 4. Guest OS: operating system specifically required by
10. Security: cross-item enforcing enterprise security poli- workloads
cies. 5. Containerization: flexible and lightweight method for
11. Communications and connectivity: cross-item defin- running isolated workloads
ing communication technologies and protocols defined 6. Applications: workloads coming from solution
to ingest and exchange data. providers
12. Manageability: cross-component for remote manage- 7. Plant historian: short-term data storage
ment of the infrastructure. 8. Plant data lake: data storage and all type of databases,
13. Data management: cross-item for managing data, in- including more prominent data retention policies, includ-
cluding data brokers and data schemas. ing structured data and nonstructured data
9. Data processing: tools for converting, transforming,
Edge Server Tier Anatomy enriching, and cleansing data
The implementation of the edge server tier (see Fig. 17.5) 10. Data visualization: presenting the data in an easy-to-
should be architected considering the following building interpret manner
blocks: 11. Security: cross-item enforcing enterprise security poli-
cies
1. Computer hardware: on-premise server clusters, in- 12. Communications and connectivity: cross-item capa-
cluding hardware security features, networking, mem- bility defining communication technologies and proto-
ory/storage, I/O for communications, virtualization, and cols defined to ingest and exchange data
accelerators 13. Manageability: cross-item capability for remote man-
2. Hypervisor: bare metal-type hypervisor agement of the infrastructure
3. Workload orchestrator/AEP: management and or- 14. Data management: cross-item capability for managing
chestration of workloads to reach efficiency on resource data, including data brokers and data schemas
17 Cyber-Physical Automation 389

Data visualization 10

Data processing tools 9

Data lake 8

Historian 7

Data management
Communications

Manageability
App A App B 6 App Z
Security

17
Containerization 5

Guest operating system 4

14
Workload orchestrator 3
13

12 Hypervisor 2

11 Computing hardware (Intel®Core™ processor) 1

HW security Networking Memory / storage Device IO Visualization

Fig. 17.5 Edge server

17.3.5 Automation Software ubiquitous computing, allowing a workload to be migrated

A critical part of the automation is the software that resides
on a cyber-physical infrastructure described in the last point.
Commonly known as “applications,” the automation soft-
ware has the goal of satisfying the business and technical
requirements of executing a behavior in a particular aspect
of the environment. From an organization standpoint, the
software should achieve systemic cost reduction (compared
to the activity executed before) or create a new revenue
stream (new product of or services).
As presented in Sect. 17.2.2, the new wave of automation
software requires the deployment on the edge by using work-
load consolidation.
One of the critical advantages of having an automation
software workload consolidable is the feasibility of moving
the application from one hardware to another. This allows the
capability of having ubiquitous computing [11], very useful
in cyber-physical automation in case that an HW cannot
process the workload due their limitation (like memory,
processor, networking, and/or hard disk) and the software
needs to be moved to a most capable HW.
The workload consolidation architecture is genuinely the
foundational element to have the benefits of cyber-physical
through the infrastructure.
In every architecture, the technical requirements will iden-
tify the bill of materials (BOM) where the application can be
executed. Based on the workload consolidation strategy, the
application can be classified as agnostic, adapted, or specific
(see Fig. 17.6) by where the code can be executed.
An agnostic automation software can be executed in any
standard hardware and support (or can be ported) to a virtual
execution. This class represents all the applications that typi-
cally can be found in the cloud or on-premises working from
small processing units to servers.
The adapted class refers to the applications which
some part of the whole code is executed on particular
programmable processing units, like vision processing units
(VPUs) or field programmable gate arrays (FPGA). This
software is optimized to be executed in specific hardware,
which is a mandatory prerequisite if we need to move from
one HW service unit to another.
There is a particular type of code that only can be executed
in connection to the edge sensor or actuators (such as drivers,
protocol conversion, video compression for communication,
or servo-motor applications) and/or require real-time opera-
tions. These applications usually are fixed to the hardware
390
Agnostic
• Runs in commoditized HW/SW
• Low complexity on workload deployment
• Supports virtual execution (virtual machines, containers, etc.)
Adapted
• Uses specialized functions with low/medium variability
• Optimized to run on a specific platform, SW and/or HW
• Benefits from using accelerators (FPGA, movidius, etc.)
Specific
• Uses unique and fixed function in a particular HW
• Requires real-time operations and results
• Requires direct connection with the edge sensors/actuators
• Too expensive to port/move it
Fig. 17.6 Automation software classification
and have a low probability of changing. This automation
software is classified as specific, due to the low chances to
be moved to other hardware. Usually, this software needs to
be executed in “bare-metal” that means without the virtual
machine or containerization layers.
To make an application workload consolidable, the data,
configuration, and code should accomplish the following
criteria:
• Security: provides security on communications, allows
certificate management and use of HW features (such as
TPM), and provides encryption (data at rest) and secure
update/migration.
• Prioritization between workloads: The application should
provide a manifest declaring the performance character-
istics like traffic/network consumption and processing
prioritization.
• Packaging: The application should support virtualization
or containerization.
• Parametrizable workloads: Every application should
present their parameters like OS/container/VM envi-
ronment variables to configure ports, APIs, etc. This
is important to avoid collisions with other apps.
• Data messaging and protocols: The application should
declare the protocols and messaging to ensure collision
avoidance with other solutions.
• Well-defined resource utilization metrics: In the automa-
tion software’s manifest, it should declare the HW/SW
constraints (where the application can be executed) and
the use of specific HW such as accelerators.
C. Martinez Spessot
Every automation software will change during the time,
and is indispensable to count with the right component to
manage the change of the code and the data. The component,
as mentioned earlier, is part of the cyber-physical manage-
ability.
17.3.6 Cyber-Physical Manageability
The management of a device is a fundamental component that
provides the control plane of cyber-physical architecture. It
is vital that the selected platform is secure and that it covers
all types of devices and connectivity options required for
the infrastructure. There are two main lifecycles to cover
with such platforms: “device lifecycle” and “software and
firmware deployment lifecycle.”
Manageability is available to an IoT infrastructure to
manage and maintain edge devices, edge servers, and cyber-
physical components. Ability to perform updates and see the
device’s health, properties, and metrics and ease of use to
securely onboard, provision, and decommission devices are
the basic requirements that are put forth by all cyber-physical
infrastructure.
Stages and Functions Required by a Device
Management Component
Cyber-physical devices will have different stages throughout
their life (see Fig. 17.7). These stages are:
• Early life, in which the devices are prepared for being
used
• Useful life, in which the devices are deployed and used in
the field
• End of life, in which the devices are planned to be re-
moved or replaced
• Reuse life, in which the devices are still usable, but they
are repurposed
• Decommission, in which the devices are discarded by
following a set of clearing and invalidating procedures
Each of the stages includes device lifecycle and/or soft-
ware lifecycle functions.
Functions of Device Manageability
During the commissioning phase, the device enrollment
process is leveraging the trusted platform module (TPM)
identity function, where devices can be preregistered based
on their immutable public endorsement key, which is tied
to the physical instance of the TPM. During the registration
phase, the device is challenged to prove that it is a legitimate
device that holds the private part of the endorsement key. One
approach to prove this is to have the management backend
generate a random nonce and encrypt with the endorsement
17 Cyber-Physical Automation
Stages
Decommission
Decommission
Migration
Rollback &
recovery
Functions
End of life
reuse-life
Boundaries
Fig. 17.7 Device manageability – stages and functions
key. The device can meet the challenge by decrypting the
nonce and signing it before returning the response back to
the device management backend.
The registration and enrollment flow used here is not
necessarily explicitly coupled to TPM but could be used with
other hardware security modules (HSMs) such as the device
identity composition engine (DICE). Ideally, this function is
fully automated and instrumented as zero touch to allow to
scale IoT device deployment.
Configuration activity is used to customize the device in
order to create a specific behavior. This activity can be part
of the early life. This can be performed before or after de-
ployment (specifically during useful life) through manual in-
tervention (not ideal for scalability from the operations point
of view) or through an automated way (by triggering scripts
from the manageability solution). This function allows the
configuration of things, such as device parameters, that are
required to set communication mode, security, logging, etc.
Remote access and diagnosis are critical activities used
to monitor, troubleshoot, and solve issues from a remote
location without the need to send a technician to the device.
During its standard operational lifetime, the device
must meet the compliance requirements, which include
the integrity verification of the platform state. The remote
391
Pre-life
Early-life
Commission
Configuration
Device
lifecycle Remote access
& diagnosis
17
Provisioning
Activation
Uninstall Software
lifecycle
Deactivation Updates
Configuration
Useful-life
attestation feature provides means for the device to measure
and collect integrity measurements emanating from a
variety of sources on the platform, such as BIOS firmware,
bootloader, kernel, filesystem, etc. TPM 2.0 is used to get
signed quotes from the underlying platform configuration
register (PCR) banks along with data from the TPM event
log. The verifier then uses this information to determine the
compliance state of the device in order to take appropriate
action (e.g., alarm, log, etc.).
During the useful life stage, the software/firmware life-
cycle management is vital since it allows the device to have
different behavior. Activities on this lifecycle include:
• Provisioning: This is one of the main activities since it
allows the installation of software/firmware.
• Activation/Deactivation: Software under subscription
models can be enabled or disabled using the available
digital rights management (DRM) mechanism.
• Updates: This is the primary function required by any
software component. Without the update mechanism, the
solution will not be improved or fixed (business logic
functionality, general bug, or, more importantly, security
issue such as zero-day attacks).
392
• Configuration: This is required to remotely modify the
software and firmware for changing behavior, improving
performance for a specific use case, etc.
• Uninstall: It is always convenient to remove the software
that is no longer required in the device, considering stor-
age limitations and possible security issues.
Rollback and recovery activities are essential after a
failed deployment (provisioning, update, configuration, etc.)
as they help in reverting the changes to the previous stable
configuration.
Migration can happen when a device is on the end-of-
life stage (planned to be replaced). All the configurations
(software, firmware, data, and configurations) are gathered
and made available to a new device. Migration can also
happen on the reuse life stage when a device is still usable
but is requiring some maintenance. After this, the previous
configuration can be redeployed.
In the decommissioning phase, a device may be removed,
deleted, blacklisted, and unregistered. This process includes
securely sanitizing any sensitive data from the device. This
may be particularly important if the device ends up missing.
The device management component can trigger the data
sanitization process, but this requires the device to be online
and connected. There is also a set of locally enforced triggers
in offline scenarios that are important to support.
During a data sanitization process, sensitive data is ren-
dered inaccessible so that it becomes infeasible for an ad-
versary to recover the data with a significant level of effort.
There are different levels of data sanitization concerning
how difficult it is for an adversary to gain access to the
data. Cryptographic erase (CE), which is a process that will
effectively destroy the passphrase to the entire volume from
its storage (in this case, the TPM nonvolatile memory), is
considered here. There are several prerequisites and guid-
ing principles to ensure the effectiveness of this approach,
such as:
• Local backups of the partition
• Length and entropy of the passphrase protecting the vol-
ume
• Cryptographic algorithms used and associated key lengths
• Configuration of hibernation and swap partitions
Device Management: Features
and Functionalities
Many characteristics go into choosing a device manageability
component. Customer requirements for each solution are
unique, and a device management component should provide
a range of functionalities to enable the maximum capabil-
ity. However, to select a device management component
that meets the customer needs, offerings of all the device
management components must be reviewed and understood.
C. Martinez Spessot
It is also important to note that these features are subjective
and are based on what the customer considers to be a priority.
For a baseline standard to efficiently and safely manage
IoT devices, the following are considered to be of utmost
importance:
Automatic Device Onboarding
It should be as close to zero-touch provisioning as possible.
Device onboarding is simplified to avoid manual interven-
tion. This includes automated key/certs provisioning.
For example, an OS image is built with the device man-
agement agent. This implementation enables the device to
automatically onboard when it is turned on and connected
to a network source.
Device Manageability Dashboard
Most device management components come with preexisting
dashboard availability for default methods and properties
of devices. Device’s health can be monitored using device
status (online/offline), location, CPU utilization, memory
availability, etc. These are very important for operation teams
in improving user experience and in simplifying adoption, as
opposed to having to develop custom dashboards based on
APIs.
Remote Login
This characteristic is intended for troubleshooting and diag-
nosis of devices that are not physically accessible. Device
management components usually offer a secure shell (SSH)
capability. A device that is connected in the same network
can SSH into another device that has SSH enabled. Other
vendors directly offer remote desktop or terminal capability
that allows looking into the device.
Device Grouping/Hierarchy Management
Batch device management and support maintain different
levels of organization/department. In some components, they
are referred to as tenants. The ability of a component to
maintain a hierarchical structure of devices allows servicing
of more than one customer/project and allows customers to
organize their devices into multiple tenants.
Device grouping can also be performed by filtering or
searching devices based on a feature called “Tags.” It is
the ability to give one or more descriptive tags to a group
of devices so they can be filtered accordingly for search-
ing/performing updates, etc.
Remote Script Execution
A script or a command can be run directly from the device
management portal. Most vendors offer ways to configure the
parameters, choose an executable, etc.
17 Cyber-Physical Automation
OTA
The over-the-air update is a popular feature among device
management components, where a package is deployed onto
a device along with instructions to perform any action like
updating, installation, and uninstallation. OTA is used for
firmware, BIOS, or software updates. In some platforms, this
may be based on the previously mentioned remote script ex-
ecution, although it is preferred as a separate feature showing
the progress of package deployment.
Campaigns
The campaign is a functionality that allows multiple devices
(even under multiple tenants) to be updated as a batch remote
execution and not just an over-the-air update.
Device Configuration Provisioning
Device management components offer commands to provi-
sion device properties, OS configuration files, network files,
etc.
Rule Engine
A rule engine is required for operational data processing.
Users can create rules from the dashboard that react to events
and triggers and execute actions like sending notifications,
alerts, etc.
Deployment Model Support
Device management components offer a variety of support –
on premise, cloud (SaaS), or hybrid.
Manageability Standards Support
A versatile device management component includes support
for widely used standards like LWM2M, TR069, and OMA-
DM. This allows a simple deployment process for devices.
Cyber-Physical Components Management
This is the administration of components, such as sensors
and actuators, that need to be paired with edge devices
or gateways. Device management components offer things
management; the same way edge devices are managed.
Certificate Management
Most device management vendors include features to manage
certificates (generation, renovation, and revocation), includ-
ing custom CA.
Protocols Supported
In any industrial environment, there are often many different
devices in use, with each having its own protocol. This means
that organizations typically need to handle several different
protocols to gather data. The ability to provide protocol
conversion in a human-machine interface (HMI), like Red
Lion’s Graphite HMIs, or any other automation product, is
393
a mandatory requirement to connect several different devices
with different protocols, and aggregate overall data collec-
tion. The device management components include support
for the protocols described on the (Sect. 17.3.3) communi-
cations such as HTTP/S, MQTT, DSS, OPC UA, ROS and
CoAP. It is required for seamless integration with enterprise
data infrastructure.
The support and administration of protocols conversion
components, like translating from MQTT to CoAP [23],
are required to integrate every device with the automation
infrastructure.
Scalability 17
Scalability is the characteristic that allows IoT solutions to
scale, include a large number of edge devices, and connect
devices like sensors and actuators. Device management com-
ponents need to provide support for scalability to manage and
maintain thousands of devices without restricting them.
17.3.7 Security
Historically, production and manufacturing deployments are
implemented in separated networks and based on client-
server communication, for example: A gas tank level sensor
sends information to the industrial control system to adapt
its processes. The typical SCADA systems periodically re-
quest the state of connected programmable logic controllers
(PLCs) or remote terminal units (RTUs) and respond with
control commands or updates of setpoints [20].
With the cyber-physical automation, this communication
model changed completely, with the massively increment of
sensors and actuators required to deploy the Industry 4.0. As
a result, a vast exchange of devices data emerged, generat-
ing dynamic communication relationships between various
endpoints and moving from “one-to-one” to “machine-to-
machine” (M2M) communication [21].
This complex communication relationships render tradi-
tional end-to-end security futile for sufficiently protecting
the sensitive and safety-critical data transmitted in industrial
systems [22].
Additionally, to the communication issue and as discussed
in the previous points, one of the critical areas to define in
the cyber-physical architecture is the edge compute. While
the primary goal of edge computing is to provide more
efficient, performant, and lightweight computing, a security-
by-design approach should be taken [4]. This approach will
help not directly to expose the edge computing infrastructures
to broader attack surfaces.
On the basis of the security-by-design approach, the con-
sideration of hardware is fundamental to protect the trust-
worthiness of all the compute chain. The hardware root of
trust (HRT) is mandatory to have a highly secure device on
394
Table 17.1 Edge security capabilities and implementation
Capabilities Implementation
Trustworthiness Secure boot, credential storage
Protection of data at rest Disk encryption, data sanitization
Protection of data in transit Data encryption, credential
storage
Protection of data in use Credential storage
the edge [6]. It protects the device secrets on the hardware
in addition to providing physical countermeasures against
side channel attacks. As opposed to software-only-based
approaches, hardware security provides two important prop-
erties that may be used to establish device security:
• First, the hardware has a specific purpose, and an attacker
cannot reuse it for unintended actions.
• Second, the hardware can detect and mitigate against
physical attacks.
When used to protect secrets and device’s correctness, the
hardware provides a robust root of trust upon which addi-
tional software functionality can be implemented securely
and safely.
The fourth cornerstones of cyber-physical automation se-
curity are confidentiality, integrity, and availability, which
relate directly to the capabilities shown in Table 17.1.
The following points demonstrate how the capabilities can
be achieved:
Secure Boot
Secure boot is a technology that became an industry standard,
where the “firmware verifies that the system’s bootloader,
kernel, and, potentially, user space, are signed with a crypto-
graphic key authorized by a database stored in the firmware.”
The unified extensible firmware interface (UEFI) spec-
ification defines the above process as secure boot, which
is “based on the Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) process
to authenticate modules before they are allowed to execute.
These modules can include firmware drivers, option ROMs,
UEFI drivers on disk, UEFI applications, or UEFI boot load-
ers. Through image authentication before execution, Secure
Boot reduces the risk of pre-boot malware attacks such as
rootkits.”
Secure boot relies on cryptographic signatures that are
embedded into files using the authenticode file format. The
integrity of the executable is verified by checking the hash.
Authenticity and trust are established by checking the sig-
nature. The signature is based on X.509 certificates, and the
platform must trust it.
The system’s firmware has four different sets of keys:
C. Martinez Spessot
Platform key (PK) UEFI secure boot supports a single PK
that establishes a trust relationship between the platform
owner and the platform firmware, by controlling access to
the Key Exchange Key (KEK) database. Each platform has
a unique key. The public portion of the key is installed
into the system, likely at production or manufacturing time.
Therefore, this key is:
• The highest-level key in secure boot
• Usually provided by the motherboard manufacturer
• Owned by the manufacturer
Key Exchange Key (KEK) These keys establish a trust
relationship between the firmware and the operating system.
Typically, there are multiple KEKs on a platform; it is their
private portion that is required to authorize and make changes
to the “DB” or “DBX.”
Authorized signatures/Whitelist database (DB) This
database contains a list of public keys used to verify the
authenticity of digital signatures of certificates and hashes
on any given firmware or software object. For example, an
image, either signed with a certificate enrolled in DB, or that
has a hash stored in DB, will be allowed to boot.
The forbidden signatures/Blacklist database (DBX) This
database contains a list of public keys that correspond to
unauthorized or malicious software or firmware. It is used
to invalidate EFI binaries and loadable ROMs when the
platform is operating in a secure mode. It is stored in the
DBX variable. The DBX variable may contain either keys,
signatures, or hashes. In the secure boot mode, the signature
stored in the EFI binary (or computed using SHA-256 if the
binary is unsigned) is compared against the entries in the
database.
Data Encryption
Data encryption protects the private data stored on each of the
hosts in the IoT infrastructure. The Linux Unified Key Setup
(LUKS) is the standard for Linux hard disk encryption. By
providing a standard on-disk format, it facilitates compati-
bility among different distributions and secure management
of multiple encryption keys. Using TPM 2.0 as credential
storage for disk encryption keys mitigates the security risk of
having disk encryption keys stored in plain text on the device
disk. Additionally, it removes the need to distribute keys
through an insecure channel where they can be disclosed.
Moreover, a platform integrity requirement can be estab-
lished by using TPM 2.0 Platform Configuration Registries
(PCR) policies, where the TPM will provide the disk en-
cryption key only if the PCR values are the expected ones
configured at the time of the key creation. Combining PCR
policies with secure/measured boot prevents unsealing of
17 Cyber-Physical Automation 395

Static • Volume passphrase is stored on filesystem

passphrase • How is the passphrase protected?

TPM static • Key is securely stored in TPM

passphrase • Decoupled from physical drive

TPM passphrase • Passphrase released only if system is in an authorized state

w/ static policy • Attacker cannot boot into alternative OS and mount the volume

Static
• Adress PCR brittleness concern
passphrase
flexible policy
• Support updates of system through use of signed policy 17

Fig. 17.8 TPM static passphrase

secrets if an unexpected boot binary or boot configuration

is used in the platform.
One of the benefits of the TPM 2.0 is the availability of
Measure
the authorized policies, which update the authorized boot File
binaries and boot configuration values in the event of a plat- IMA- measurement Update measurement list
form update. In this case, a policy is signed by an authorized
principal. It can be verified using TPM primitives, allowing Extend PCR List
the contents of the PCRs to be different at the moment to
unseal the disk encryption keys. This implementation solves TPM 2.0
the “PCR Fragility” problem associated with the TPM 1.2
family, which was considered a scale barrier for the TPM-
based security adoption (see Fig. 17.8). PCR Hash-attributes Hash-data Path
From the operative system, TPM-based disk encryption 10 91f34b5c671d73 91f34b5c671d73 /etc/xyc
can be configured and automated using the Clevis open- 504b274a9196 504b274a9196
61cf80dable127 61cf80dable127
source tool. Clevis is a framework for automated encryp-
tion/decryption operations, with support for different key
management techniques based on “Pins” (Tang, SSS, and
Fig. 17.9 TPM 2.0 and IMA
TPM2). The TPM2 pin uses Intel’s TPM2 software stack
to interact with the TPM and automate the cryptographic
operations used in the disk encryption operations.

As is schematized in Fig. 17.9, the following modules

Execution Policies and Integrity Protection
The goal of the integrity measurement architecture (IMA) is
to:
1. Detect if files have been accidentally or maliciously al-
tered (both remotely and locally)
2. Appraise a file’s measurement against a “good” value
stored as an extended attribute
3. To enforce local file integrity
These goals are complementary to the mandatory access
control (MAC) protections provided by LSM modules, such
as SELinux and Smack, which can protect the file integrity
depending on their policies.
provide several integrity functions:
• Collect – measures a file before it is accessed
• Store – adds the measurement to a kernel resident list and,
if the hardware TPM is present, extends the IMA PCR
• Attest – if present uses the TPM to sign the IMA PCR
value in order to allow a remote attestation of the mea-
surement list
• Appraise – enforces local validation of a measurement
against a “good” value stored in an extended attribute of
the file
• Protect – protects a file’s security extended attributes
(including appraisal hash) against offline attack
• Audit – audits file hashes
396
Components
IMA-measurement is part of the overall IMA based
on the trusted computing group’s open standards. IMA-
measurement maintains a runtime measurement list and,
if anchored in the hardware TPM, an aggregate integrity
value over this list. The benefit of anchoring the aggregate
integrity value in the TPM is that any software attack cannot
compromise the measurement list without being detectable.
IMA-measurement can be used to attest to the system’s
runtime integrity. Based on these measurements, a remote
party can detect whether critical system files have been
modified or if malicious software has been executed.
IMA-appraisal extends the “secure boot” concept of
verifying a file’s integrity before transferring control or al-
lowing the file to be accessed by the OS. The IMA-appraisal
extension adds local integrity validation and enforcement of
the measurement against a “good” value stored as extended
security.ima attribute. The primary method for validating se-
curity.ima is hashed based, which provides file data integrity,
and digital signature based, which provides authenticity in
addition to providing file data integrity.
IMA-audit includes file hashes in the system audit logs,
which can be used to augment existing system security ana-
lytics/forensics.
The IMA-measurement , IMA-appraisal, and IMA-audit
aspects of the kernel’s integrity subsystem complement one
another but can be configured and used independently. IMA-
measurement and IMA-appraisal allow the extension of the
hardware root of trust model into user space applications and
configuration files, including the container system.
IMA-appraisal benefits are similar to the ones provided by
secure boot, in the sense that the Linux Kernel first appraises
each file in the trusted computing base against a known good
value before passing control to it. For example, the dockerd
binary will only be executed if the actual digest of the dockerd
file matches the approved digest stored in the security.ima
attribute. In the digital signature case, the binary will only
be executed if the signature can be validated against a public
signing key stored in the machine owner’s key infrastructure.
On the other hand, IMA-measurement benefits are similar
to the ones provided by the measured boot process, where the
Linux Kernel will first measure each file in the trusted com-
puting base before passing control to it. These measurements
are stored in a particular file in the Linux security file system,
which can later be used in a remote attestation scenario.
Credential Storage
TPM generates strong, secure cryptographic keys. They are
strong in the sense that the keys are derived from true random
source and large keyspace, and they are secure in the sense
that the private key material never leaves the TPM secure
boundary in plain form. The TPM stores keys in one of four
hierarchies:
C. Martinez Spessot
1. Endorsement hierarchy
2. Platform hierarchy
3. Owner hierarchy, also known as storage hierarchy
4. Null hierarchy
A hierarchy is a logical collection of entities: keys and NV
data blobs. Each hierarchy has a different seed and different
authorization policies. Hierarchies differ as to when their
seeds are created and who certifies their primary keys. The
owner hierarchy is reserved for the final user of the platform,
and it can be used as a secure symmetric/asymmetric critical
storage facility for any user space application or service that
requires them.
An example of symmetric key storage is presented in the
disk encryption section, where a random key is stored in the
TPM, and a TPM PCR policy is used to enforce integrity state
validation before unsealing the key.
An example of asymmetric key storage is the use case for
VPN credentials. VPN clients, like OpenVPN, use a combi-
nation of public and private keys and certify (in addition to
other security mechanisms as Diffie Hellman parameters and
TLS authentication keys) to establish identity and authoriza-
tion against the VPN server. By using the TPM, a private key
is created internally in the NVRAM, and a certificate signing
request is derived from the private key using the Intel’s TPM
2.0 software stack. The certificate signing request is then
signed by the organization PKI, and a certificate is provided
to the VPN client to establish authentication with the VPN
server. At the moment of establishing the connection, the
VPN client needs to prove that it owns the private part, having
to interact directly with the TPM or indirectly using the
PKCS#11 cryptographic token interface.
Another example of asymmetric key storage is Docker
Enterprise. To allow the host to pull and run Docker con-
tainers from a Docker Trusted Registry, it is required to
use a Docker client bundle, which consists of a public and
private key pair signed by the Docker Enterprise Certificate
Authority. Similarly, to the VPN client case, a private key can
be securely generated in the TPM, and a certificate signing
request can be derived from the private key to be signed by
the Docker Enterprise CA. Once a certificate is issued to the
client, the Docker Daemon will need to interact with the TPM
to prove that it has accessed the private key at the moment
to establish a TLS connection with the Docker Enterprise
Service.
Data Sanitization
Data sanitization is a process to render access to target data on
the media that is infeasible for a given level of recovery effort.
The level of effort applied when attempting to retrieve data
may range widely. For example, a party might attempt simple
keyboard attacks without the use of specialized tools, skills,
17 Cyber-Physical Automation
or knowledge of the medium’s characteristics. On the other
end of the spectrum, the party might have extensive capa-
bilities and might be able to apply state-of-the-art laboratory
techniques in their attempts to retrieve the data.
To implement an effective data sanitization process, we
rely on the cryptographic erase (CE) process. This technique,
used widely in self-encrypting drives, leverages the encryp-
tion of target data by enabling the sanitization of the target
data’s encryption key. This leaves only the ciphertext remain-
ing on the media, effectively sanitizing the data by preventing
read access. Without the encryption key used to encrypt the
target data, the data is unrecoverable. The level of effort
needed to decrypt this information without the encryption
key then is less than the strength of the cryptographic key
or the strength of the cryptographic algorithm and mode of
operation used to encrypt the data. If strong cryptography
is used, the sanitization of the target data is reduced to
sanitization of the encryption key(s) used to encrypt the
target data. Thus, with CE, sanitization may be performed
with high assurance much faster than with other sanitization
techniques. The encryption itself acts to sanitize the data.
By storing all the sensitive data in encrypted partitions
and using the TPM 2.0 to store the disk encryption key,
the cryptographic erase process can be applied by issuing a
TPM2_CC_Clear command that will erase the content of the
TPM NV RAM. After the precise operation, any attempt to
unlock the encrypted partition by requesting the key to the
TPM will result in an error, based on the fact the TPM does
not hold the disk encryption key anymore. It has to be noted
that the sanitization process relies on the fact that the key
needs to be securely stored in the TPM, and the key should
not be stored in plain text on the device disk at any time.
Additionally, to prevent disclosing the key while being in the
device memory, an encrypted swap partition is used.
17.3.8 Data Management and Analytics
Section 17.3.3 presented how to transmit the information
and middle layers’ requirements to define the automation
protocols. Additionally, in Sect. 17.3.4, the infrastructure
anatomy was presented to support the execution of multiple
workloads to process the metrics and execute the decision
engine to produce the automation. The data management and
analytics present how to create the decision algorithms based
on artificial intelligence.
There is no doubt that AI, including machine learning
and deep learning algorithms, as well as the hardware to
accelerate them, is a transformative technology. AI is already
providing profound capabilities and benefits that were not
achievable a few years ago. Looking to the future, AI has
the potential to help solve some of humanity’s biggest chal-
lenges.
397
While AI algorithms have existed for many years, rapid
expansion in AI-based capabilities across the organizations
has been observed recently. This is because the processing
and data storage costs have fallen at similarly dramatic rates.
In parallel, computer scientists have advanced AI algorithm
design, including neural networks, leading to greater accu-
racy in training models.
Despite this clear potential, many organizations are yet
to get started with AI, and adoption is often not necessar-
ily happening as fast as many reports from the media and
academia might suggest [7]. As enterprises look to begin their
AI journeys, the more common use cases exist around pre-
dictive maintenance, computer vision, and natural language 17
processing (NLP).
Example opportunities for deep and machine learning
include:
• Vertical: Many organizations are looking to solve chal-
lenges specific to their industries, e.g., manufacturing
process and spares management, retail inventory manage-
ment, and patient outcomes in health care.
• Line of business: Across industries, corporations have
similar needs depending on individual lines of businesses.
For example, natural language processing has applications
in customer service departments, and image recognition
and predictive maintenance have relevance to supply chain
applications.
• Technology architecture: Many examples of AI that we
come across have similar architectures, even if they use
different data pools and deliver different results. For
example, the image processing and anomaly detection
used by one customer to detect solar panel defects can
be based on a similar platform to that which conser-
vationists might use to “listen” for behavioral changes
in bats.
• IT related: Some applications of AI can exist across ap-
plications and services because they are about managing
data flows, preempting bottlenecks, predicting faults, and
responding quickly to failures and breaches.
To take advantage of the new and exciting AI opportuni-
ties, one of the first considerations is a suitable infrastructure.
AI solutions frequently demand new hardware and software,
like those around collation and annotation of data sources and
scalable processing or creating and fine-tuning of models as
new data becomes available. For any given AI solution, the
options include:
• Repurpose existing hardware to deliver the AI solution at
a minimal cost
• Buy a one-off AI solution to address the needs of the use
case only
398
• Build a broader platform that can support the needs of
multiple AI solutions
• Outsource AI solution delivery to a third-party resource,
including cloud
AI and the opportunities it represents are evolving rapidly,
so budget holders may be reluctant to invest too heavily.
A lack of in-house expertise, for example, can undermine
solution delivery, creating the potential for reputational risk
if mistakes or delays occur. Meanwhile, a lack of trust in
the effectiveness of AI can create a substantial barrier to
realizing its full value. One of the most common problems
organizations face is the lack of a process to implement a
solution, specifically from the proof of concept (PoC) to
production release.
Stage 1: Confirm the Opportunities and Business Value
It is vital to be clear from the outset on the goals to be
achieved with AI, their importance in the organization, and
the respective prioritization of the use cases. To identify the
opportunities, the organization should assess where AI can
make the most immediate difference. Steps that could be
taken are as follows:
• Identify areas of the business with an apparent problem to
be solved or value to be gained from AI
• Work with existing pools of expertise, using the skills and
experience available in house
• Benchmark what the other organizations are doing in the
same industry
Stage 2: Characterize the Problem and Profile the Data
After the AI use case selection and prioritization, the next
step is to gather the requirements in more detail, mapping it to
broad categories such as reasoning, perception, or computer
vision.
Additionally, several nonfunctional requirements need to
be analyzed, such as:
• Hardware to be executed, data center capacity, and use of
accelerators based on data and benchmark
• Data security, privacy, and regulatory factors
• Forecast and sizing of the new data/information; size of
the training model
Stage 3: Architecture and Solution Deployment Infras-
tructure
The next stage of designing and deploying the AI solution is
to identify the technologies to be used, including:
• Underlying products and systems infrastructure
• AI-specific software to drive the infrastructure
C. Martinez Spessot
• Enabling AI frameworks to support the planned solution
• Visualization and front-end software and/or hardware
One of the critical goals of this definition is to identify
which components need to be built, bought or reused, and/or
make use of cloud services.
Stage 4: Pilot Implementation
As part of the AI project execution, it is recommended to
perform a pilot deployment. The goal of this effort is to
train the personnel, understand the organization’s implica-
tions, validate the approach, and confirm/evaluate the right
resources to be applied in the final implementation.
Also, it serves as a “lighthouse” to understand the political
needs to be satisfied in a specific organization.
Stage 5: Solution Tuning and Optimization
The result of the pilot provides a clear identification where
the algorithms and processes need to be optimized. Addi-
tionally, the engineering team is more prepared based on
the learning provided by the environment instrumentation
produced in the pilot deployment. The next step is to optimize
software around areas, such as data curation and labeling, and
to experiment with, train, and deploy new models that may
give better results.
Figure 17.10 presents the optimization possibilities to im-
prove the algorithms and processes’ execution performance.
It demonstrates that AI execution usually does not scale
linearly. For instance, scaling a single-node configuration to a
cluster of 50 nodes will not necessarily result in 50 times im-
provement of the performance. The engineering team needs
to test and optimize a multinode configuration in much the
same way as it is done in a single-node configuration.
Stage 6: Solution Scale-Up
Once the implementation is built, tested, and deployed in the
environment, the next step is to analyze the experiences of
the users. Positive experiences among the consumers of the
solution can lead to greater demand and, therefore, higher
levels of success.
A scalability analysis is needed in order to understand the
capabilities, satisfy future demands, and support future users
technically. The recommended steps are the following:
• Scale-up broader infrastructure: AI success requires
examination of every link in the chain of inference and
review of existing technology platforms, networks, and
storage to increase the amount of data available and to
improve timeliness and latency. This will minimize the
potential for future bottlenecks while maximizing the
value that can be derived from the data sources.
• Scale-out to other business scenarios: The solution may
have applications in other parts of the business. For in-
17 Cyber-Physical Automation
Hierarchical parallelism
Coarse-grained /
multi-node
Sub-domain: 1) Multi-level domain decomposition (ex. across layers)
Domain decomposition
2) Data decomposition (layer parallelism)
Scaling Utilize all the
cores
Improve load balancing
OpenMP, MPI, TBB...
Reduce synchronization
Reduce synchronization
events, all-to-all comms
events, serial code
Improve load balancing
Fig. 17.10 Performance optimization
stance, a predictive maintenance solution may have been
deployed for one area of the manufacturing operation and
now needs to be broadened. The goal here is to adopt a
portfolio approach to manage the extension of solutions
across a more extensive user base.
• Plan for management and operations: By their nature,
many AI use cases require the systems to perform infer-
ence real time rather than offline or batch mode. Also,
models may need to be retrained and updated over time.
17.3.9 Reliability and Safety
The primary intent of having a functional safety cyber-
physical automation system is to prevent the risk of death
or injury as a result of systematic, random, or common-cause
failures in safety-relevant systems. So-called random failures
are caused by a malfunction of the safety system’s parts or
components in contrast to systematic failures that are a result
of a wrong or inadequate specification of a safety function.
The necessary motivation for deploying functional safety
systems is to ensure safe operation as well as safe behavior
in cases of failure.
Due to the great environment’s impact (humans, infras-
tructure, and ecosystem), cyber-physical systems deserve
proof as safety evidence [8]. The correctness of the solution
needs to be verified from a systemic standpoint, because
testing of only the automation behavior may miss important
399
Fine-grained parallelism / within node
17
Vectorize / SIMD Efficient memory /
cache use
Unit strited access per
SMID lane
Blocking
High vector efficiency Data reuse
Data alignment Prefetching
Memory allocation
issues. Consequently, the need for a standard is imperative to
evaluate the components and their execution as a whole.
The International Electrotechnical Commission’s
standard, IEC 61508: “Functional safety of electri-
cal/electronic/programmable electronic safety-related
systems” [9] is understood as the standard for designing
safety systems for electrical, electronic, and programmable
electronic (E/E/PE) equipment. This standard was developed
in the mid-1980s and has been revised several times to cover
the technical advances in various industries. Also, derivative
standards have been developed for specific markets and
applications that prescribe the particular requirements on
functional safety systems in these industry applications.
Example applications include process automation (IEC
61511), machine automation (IEC 62061), transportation
(railway EN 50128), medical (IEC 62304), automotive (ISO
26262), power generation, distribution, and transportation.
Cyber-physical automation solutions must follow interna-
tionally accepted safety standards. Solutions’ designs first
need approval from certification bodies or trade associations
that testify that these designs comply with their appropriate
safety standards and legislations. To provide the certification
body with a complete picture of the system concerning safety,
the owners or operators must have all available information
and documentation for the components used to build the
cyber-physical automation. Since the HW and SW develop-
ers typically source automation components, such as sensors,
actuators, and processing units (like PLCs), from automation
400
Table 17.2 Safety integrity levels
SIL PFH
1 0.00001–0.000001
2 0.000001–0.0000001
3 0.0000001–0.00000001
4 0.00000001–0.000000001
component manufacturers, these components consequently
must also be designed to the applicable standards. This also
means that the component suppliers must provide the rele-
vant safety documentation (safety manuals) to the solution
designers.
The functional safety consideration of a system, there-
fore, covers all aspects of components, both software and
hardware, that have high integrity, self-test mechanisms,
and a fail-safe state. In the end, the designers will reach a
compound or average certainty level of failure probability
(probability of a failure per hour of operation that introduces
“danger”) and RRF (risk reduction factor) for a design, which
is categorized in Table 17.2.
IEC 61508 describes a methodology to design, deploy,
operate, and decommission safety devices. Every company
that follows this standard can testify to and document the
fitness for the safety of their designs or machines and sell the
device as IEC 61508 compliant. Cyber-physical automation
providers and factory owners are used to relying on certifica-
tions from third-party certification bodies that state a neutral
individual has reviewed the component’s development pro-
cesses and confirms its compliance with safety concepts, the
specifications meet the standards and the correctness of its
failure calculations.
Automation component manufacturers are particularly af-
fected when designing functional safety devices because
these devices are considered to be sophisticated electrical and
electronic devices. For these components, such as software,
hardware, tools, mechanical parts, etc., safety has implica-
tions for the complete system design and across all stages of
life, from concept to inception to decommissioning. Safety
can only be assured by looking at all aspects of a system, in-
cluding both hardware and software. As an example, software
alone cannot provide safety assurance, as its correct operation
is dependent on the system hardware. Similarly, hardware
alone cannot satisfy the safety requirements. Therefore, an
integrated approach to safety is essential.
Also, functional safety designs are not guaranteed simply
by good design. The correct or incorrect behavior of any
system is influenced by many factors, including failure rates,
production, programming, and use.
To simplify and speed up the safety certification process,
®
Intel worked closely with TÜV Rheinland (product certifi-
cation company) to provide an IEC61508 certified Functional
Safety Data Package, which includes:
C. Martinez Spessot
PFH (power) RRF
10−5 – 10−6 100,000–1,000,000
10−6 – 10−7 1,000,000–10,000,000
10−7 – 10−8 10,000,000–100,000,000
10−8 – 10−9 100,000,000–1,000,000,000
® ® ®
• Safety Manuals for Intel FPGAs and Intel Quartus
Prime Design Software
• Diagnostic and standard intellectual property (IP) such as
®
the Nios II processor
• FPGA design flows including a safety separation design
flow
® ®
• Development tools, including the Intel Quartus Prime
Design Software
Having immediate access to qualified semiconductor data,
intellectual property (IP), development flows, and design
®
tools from a vendor like Intel can help you significantly
shorten your overall project timeline by 1 and 1/2 years to
2 years [10].
By reusing a system concept for a drive that followed a
preapproved implementation and following a qualified de-
sign methodology, a qualified design flow, tools/IP, and typi-
cal application development can be significantly accelerated.
The certification is accelerated as reliability data for the com-
ponents is immediately available and provided in a format
that can be easily integrated into the overall documentation
for the safety qualification. Designers can take advantage
of flexible design integration using FPGAs for both safety
and system design. As the safety aspect is considered as a
critical requirement for the application, it is integrated into
the overall concept and can be realized by meeting cost and
time to implementation tar gets.
17.3.10 IT/OT Integration
With the rise of Industry 4.0 and cyber-physical automation,
the integration between operational technology (OT) systems
and informational technology (IT) systems is becoming a ne-
cessity. As discussed in the previous points, edge computing
instrumented the environment where previously was only a
space for the OT. Table 17.3 describes the difference between
IT and OT infrastructures.
The challenge that organizations face at the time of imple-
menting cyber-physical automation are:
• Current data management infrastructure between IT/OT
are separated. It generates redundancy and fragmentation
in the infrastructure, increasing the total cost of ownership.
17 Cyber-Physical Automation
Table 17.3 IT/OT ownership: infrastructure
IT OT
IT can provide IaaS, PaaS, and OT equipment usually works as
SaaS usually in a hybrid cloud an individual unit or in a close
architecture vendor network with limited or
without access to the Internet
Confidentiality: data is protected, Confidentiality: operational data
usually confidential. In this case, is highly protected. Usually,
the privacy vector enters into the operational data is seen as top
equation, and IT has the tools to secret
implement the right level of
access and protection
IT infrastructure in most cases OT equipment was usually not
designed to have some level of designed for remote access. It
access to the Internet with the makes them insecure about
appropriate layers of security exposing to the Internet
Data integration and insights: IT Data integration and insights: OT
has the infrastructure to collect, usually keeps the solution (by
integrate, and analyze data design) isolated and does not
coming from the entire company have the infrastructure to
and generate useful information integrate and analyze the data
for the decision-makers generated. Each solution may
have its own mechanism to
analyze the data generated but
usually does not have an
interface to integrate with other
solutions
• Operational requirements are not meet for all the IT tech-
nologies. It generates barriers for adoption in the lower
level of the OT models.
• Legacy OT infrastructure was not designed to expose to
IT environments without compromise security. The same
is true in data access management.
• OT infrastructure is usually proprietary and does not ex-
pose a standard interface for integration.
As the cyber-physical solutions were implemented, many
organizations moved their enterprise-grade IT out of the data
center, putting it on the edge. With the need for workload con-
solidation, the OT functions are integrated into the HW (edge
device and/or edge servers) previously uniquely managed by
IT. In sum, several IT components such as systems manage-
ment, scalable storage, and high-performance processors are
combined with OT components such as control systems, data
acquisition systems, and industrial networks.
Cyber-physical workload consolidation integrates old
legacy systems with multiple purposes local edge compute
devices by using virtualization/containerization (see
Fig. 17.11). There are researches [12] demonstrating the
advantages of running OT functionalities on a VM, like
virtual RTUs [13] or virtual PLCs [14]. As an example of
cyber-physical automation in the industry, Fig. 17.11 presents
the evolution of OT infrastructure in a printed circuit board
(PCB) manufacturing space. In this evolution, many of the
401
standard OT functions are executed in one single device
following the architecture presented on Sect. 17.3.4.
Additionally, industrial control systems can benefit from
many decades of security research and development by lever-
aging, as an example, real-time monitoring for intrusion
detections [14].
The expected adoption of workload consolidation will
increase the level of automation in the provisioning and deliv-
ery of IT/OT services. Each of the constituent infrastructures
brings a unique automation capability into the mix.
17.4 Conclusion, Emerging Trends, 17
and Challenges
The first wave of cyber-physical deployments proved that
digital transformation was feasible in many organizations.
These efforts generated automation to improve safety and
efficiency in numerous application domains. Examples in-
clude autonomous drones, self-driving cars, air quality mon-
itoring systems for smart cities, home health care devices,
and safety systems for humans on manufacturing. At the
same, these implementations generated a significant issue
for organizations and consumers: technology fragmentation.
The lack of standardization created silos in the implemen-
tation; many solutions use the same HW/SW components
(duplicated infrastructure) that cannot be integrated and, in
extreme cases, generated incompatibilities. Of even greater
importance, they do not have a holistic approach to security,
creating vulnerabilities and threats to the system.
With the second wave of digital transformation, the or-
ganization focused on generating cyber-physical automation
systems that can be integrated with their infrastructure (posi-
tioning every deployment on a systemic standpoint). Compa-
nies worked on controlling the data through any permutation
of on-premises or cloud data integration, compared to just
sending data into a cloud and then having no choice but to
pay to access and use it throughout their applications.
It is essential to decouple industry-specific domain knowl-
edge from the underlying technology. Many cyber-physical
automation platform providers tout the ability to do, as an
example, predictive maintenance. However, their developers
do not have the necessary years of hands-on experience and
know-how to define data failure patterns of any particular
type of machine.
Many companies, like Minsait [3] and Intel, are joining
efforts to standardize the implementation of cyber-physical
systems. The base ground of all the effort is to decouple
infrastructure from applications creating a unified open plat-
form to host all the automation use cases.
The cyber-physical unified framework allows the disas-
sociation of the infrastructure from automation use cases by
using the workload consolidation principles (virtual machine
402 C. Martinez Spessot

VM: PLC VM: VM:

virtualized digital twin predictive
monitoring maintenance
Edge server

Edge devices

Chip inserter Reflow oven Punch printer

Soft PLCs or
virtual PLC

Machines

Fig. 17.11 OT evolution

and containerization). The execution of this framework is
implemented as close as possible to the point of data cre-
ation. Additionally, it defines a clear separation between the
transport from protocols, application frameworks, virtualiza-
tion/containerization engines, operating systems, and HW
firmware.
Holistic security is increasingly crucial in light of develop-
ing cyber-physical automation. The integration of automation
solutions, from a security perspective, is complicated by the
enormous numbers of noncomputing devices, edge devices,
and edge servers being outfitted with networking and data
transfer capabilities. Because these systems often commu-
nicate over the external parties (public or hybrid cloud)
and/or interface with other networks, they and their extended
environments must be secured. The hardware-based root of
trust, implemented with the trusted platform module (TPM),
and the support in many software layers demonstrated to be
the solution for the security issues.
The foundational cyber-physical automation platform
presented in this document provides an enterprise-grade
architecture to enable digital transformation at scale, with
emphasis on meeting the security requirements for the
protection of sensitive data at rest, in transit, in use, and
the trustworthiness of the overall system. ExxonMobil [1]
and Intel have contributed with key ecosystem players in the
IoT technology space to pave the road for better and more
secure cyber-physical implementations.
Based on the increasing availability and commoditiza-
tion of high-bandwidth networks (such as 5G) architectures
based on workload consolidation will allow the realization
of ubiquitous cyber-physical automation. The execution of
the automation will not be hosted in one particular dedi-
cated computation node of the infrastructure. Conversely, the
workload will be divided into many different nodes of the
infrastructure, depending on dynamic requirements and user
consumption.
The subsequent development of the high-speed network
will permit the cyber-physical components (sensor and
actuators) to reduce their hardware and software footprint.
Consequently, the computation power and memory size will
be remarkably reduced. The cyber-physical components
will rely on the next processor in the infrastructure chain to
compute the data. These efforts will result in the creation
of thin cyber-physical component (TCC), lightweight
devices optimized for establishing a remote connection
with an autonomous workload consolidation infrastructure.
The processing will be done in the infrastructure without
a clear division between edge computing or cloud/core
computing. The cyber-physical software will be executed
indistinctly.
AI and computer vision technologies need to be democra-
tized in order to enable subject matter experts to apply their
knowledge to create cyber-physical automation that delivers
excellent outcomes with easy-to-use hardware and software
applications. Workload based on artificial intelligence and
computer vision will be commonly adopted. The inference
and learning processes will use the advantages of a cyber-
physical unified framework to gather all the integrated infor-
mation of the organization.
The cyber-physical unified framework provides the dis-
ciplines and guidance that organizations need to create and
efficiently scale end-to-end automation solutions. By using
this framework to consolidate and orchestrate workloads at
the edge rather than continuing to support an increasingly
complex and costly array of disparate cyber-physical solu-
tions, organizations can improve security, performance, and
reliability while reducing capital expenses and lowering their
total cost of ownership. This platform proved by ExxonMobil
17 Cyber-Physical Automation
[1] and Georgia Pacific [2] to be the right approach to deliver
cyber-physical automation in the industry.
Edge computing and workload consolidation represent a
massive opportunity for organizations to move digitalization
to a new global scale and accelerate the generation of impact
on both their business and operations. However, there are
still multiple technological and operational challenges, such
as the generation and management of a broad ecosystem of
partners, the generalization and dissemination of the concept,
and its transfer to use cases and projects with a quantifiable
impact on the company’s profit and loss.
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404 C. Martinez Spessot

Cesar Martinez Spessot is the general manager of services and senior

AI architect with Intel Corporation. He leads an organization chartered
to guide the Fortune 100 companies on their digital transformation, gen-
erating billion-dollar businesses. Cesar is the strategic technical advisor
to C-level executives implementing automation as part of their core
business. He has many international patents in the digital transformation
and AI domains. Cesar previously worked as AI and HPC researcher
and professor in many universities. He holds MS degrees in information
systems and computer science (UTN), business administration (MBA),
PMP PMI® Certification, and many executive certifications from MIT
Sloan.
 Collaborative Control and E-work Automation
18
Mohsen Moghaddam and Shimon Y. Nof

Contents of collaborative e-Work and Collaborative Control Theory

18.1 Background and Definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 405 (CCT) are reviewed. The “four-wheels” of collaborative
e-Work along with their respective e-Dimensions and
18.2 Theoretical Foundations for e-Work and CCT . . . . . 408
18.2.1 e-Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 409
their role in e-Business and e-Service are explained and
18.2.2 Integration and Communication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 410 illustrated. The architectural enablers for collaborative
18.2.3 Distributed Decision Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 411 e-Work, which are based on recent developments in cyber
18.2.4 Active Middleware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 411 technologies, Internet-of-Things (IoT), and Internet-of-
18.3 Architectural Enablers for Collaborative e-Work . . . 412 Services (IoS), are discussed as blueprints for designing
18.3.1 Internet-of-Things (Physical Architecture) . . . . . . . . . . . 413 smart agents, functions and services, and their integration.
18.3.2 Internet-of-Services (Functional Architecture) . . . . . . . . 413
The design principles of CCT for effectiveness in the
18.3.3 IoT-IoS Integration (Allocated Architecture) . . . . . . . . . 415
design and operation of e-Work automation solutions
18.4 Design Principles for Collaborative e-Work, are presented, along with case studies of e-Work,
Collaborative Automation, and CCT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 417
18.4.1 Generic Framework . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 417 e-Manufacturing, e-Logistics, e-Business, and e-Service
18.4.2 Design Principles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 418 to enable readers to get a glimpse into the depth and
18.4.3 Emerging Thrusts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 426 breadth of ongoing efforts to revolutionize collaboration
18.5 Conclusions and Challenges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 428 in such e-Systems. Challenges and emerging thrusts are
discussed to stimulate future discoveries in CCT and
18.6 Further Reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 429
e-Work automation.
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 430
Keywords

Collaborative Control Theory (CCT) · Collaborative

Abstract
automation · Collaborative intelligence · Cyber-physical
A major requirement for automation of complex and systems · Internet-of-Things · Internet-of-Services
distributed industrial control systems is represented by
collaborative e-Work, e-Business, and e-Service. The po-
tential benefits, opportunities, and sustainability of emerg-
ing electronic activities, such as virtual manufacturing,
18.1 Background and Definitions
e-Healthcare, e-Commerce, e-Production, e-Collaboration,
e-Logistics, and other e-Activities, cannot be realized
Collaboration is a fundamental phenomenon inherent in ev-
without the design of effective collaborative e-Work. In
ery stage and every aspect of our lives. Increasingly, so is
this chapter, the theoretical and technological foundations
collaborative automation. We learn to collaborate with our
parents and then our family and friends early in life. As goal-
M. Moghaddam () oriented beings, we are “pre-programmed” to communicate
Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Northeastern
University, Boston, MA, USA
our needs and opinions and support, complement, and oc-
e-mail: mohsen@northeastern.edu casionally compete with other people to achieve our goals.
S. Y. Nof
Collaboration is not limited to humans and encompasses
PRISM Center and School of Industrial Engineering, Purdue any biological or artificial system, where entities are bound
University, West Lafayette, IN, USA to using shared information and resources and committing
e-mail: nof@purdue.edu to shared responsibilities for a common agenda. Examples

© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 405

S. Y. Nof (ed.), Springer Handbook of Automation, Springer Handbooks,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-96729-1_18
406
of biological systems range from colonies of ants to flocks
of bird, schools of fish, and packs of wolves, all depend-
ing upon each other’s signals and actions to survive and
succeed. Examples of artificial systems include collabora-
tion among humans and machines (e.g., drivers-vehicles,
pilots-aircraft), humans and computers (e.g., designers-CAD
software, children-computer games), computers and comput-
ers (e.g., clients-servers), and machines and machines (e.g.,
multi-robot manufacturing cells).
Collaboration has always been around and has evolved
along with our daily lives. With the growth and abundance of
information and communication technologies (e.g., Internet,
smartphones, social media, videoconferencing), we collab-
orate more frequently and easily. Yet, although there is no
question about the necessity of collaboration, a key funda-
mental question remains to be answered: How can a better
collaboration process be achieved and validated to produce
better outcomes, and is there collaboration intelligence?
This chapter addresses these questions by explaining how
collaborative e-Work (“e”: electronic, as opposed to man-
ual) as the foundation of collaborative automation, such as
e-Business, e-Service, e-Commerce, and other e-Activities,
can be enabled and optimized and how effective, efficient,
and sustainable collaboration can be designed and guided
through recent advances in Collaborative Control Theory
(CCT) [1–4] (Fig. 18.1). The remainder of this section pro-
vides the background and fundamental definitions for e-Work
and collaboration, followed by the motivation and objectives
of this chapter.
e-Work plays a transformative role in enabling and aug-
menting collaboration among humans and agents:
As power fields, such as magnetic fields and gravitation, in-
fluence bodies to organize and stabilize, so does the sphere
of computing and information technologies. It envelops us and
influences us to organize our work systems in a different way,
and purposefully, to stabilize work while effectively producing
the desired outcomes [1].
The transformation of work through e-Work in turn in-
fluences and transforms its various aspects such as business,
commerce, and service (Fig. 18.2):
• e-Business. It refers to the integration of the products,
procedures, and services of an enterprise using the In-
ternet and information and communication technologies.
e-Business allows to automate internal and external busi-
ness transactions by electronic means, including internal
business processes and external collaboration with suppli-
ers, stakeholders, and business partners [5].
• e-Commerce. It refers to the integration of purchas-
ing/sales transactions for products and services, including
business-to-business and business-to-customer, using
the Internet and information and communication
technologies. Besides facilitating online purchases (e.g.,
Amazon, e-Bay, online travel agencies), e-Commerce
M. Moghaddam and S. Y. Nof
continues to play a disruptive role in the way companies
interact with their customers and identify their needs to
better tailor the design of their products, services, and
systems to what customers desire. Google reports over
600% increase over the past 5 years in the amount of time
people spend exploring others’ experiences before making
a decision on a product or a service [6]. Specifically,
recent studies shows that 91% of 18–34 year-olds trust e-
Commerce reviews as much as personal recommendations
and that e-Commerce platform reviews influence the
purchase decisions for 93% of customers [7].
• e-Service. It refers to the provision of services by means
of the Internet and information and communication tech-
nologies. The three elements of an e-Service system in-
clude service provider, service consumer, and channels
of provision. It goes beyond service organizations and
encompasses all enterprises including manufacturers of
goods which provide support throughout the life cycle of
their products, either through direct communication with
customers or through automated performance monitoring
of smart products with built-in sensing and communica-
tion capabilities.
The activities enabled by e-Work are not necessarily lim-
ited to e-Business, e-Commerce, and e-Service and include
e-Healthcare, e-Training, e-Logistics, v-Factories (“v”: vir-
tual), and v-Enterprises, among others (Fig. 18.3). These
e-Activities are enabled by information and communication
technologies and augmented and optimized through collabo-
ration algorithms and protocols that support the interactions
between humans, computers, and machines. “e-Activities,”
in this context, refer to the activities enabled by and executed
through electronic information and communication systems,
supported by the Internet.
The terms coordination, cooperation, and collaboration
are often used interchangeably despite their subtle and key
differences. Highlighting and understanding the distinctions
between these terms and their implications are critical for the
design of e-Work systems:
• Coordination. The dictionary definitions for coordination
are “the process of organizing people or groups so that
they work together properly and well” and “the harmo-
nious functioning of parts for effective results” (Merriam-
Webster). Coordination in the context of e-Work involves
the use of information and communication technologies to
reach mutual benefits among entities and enable them to
work harmoniously.
• Cooperation. The dictionary definitions for cooperation
are “the actions of someone who is being helpful by doing
what is wanted or asked for: common effort” and “associ-
ation of persons for common benefit” (Merriam-Webster).
Cooperation in the context of e-Work involves all as-
pects of coordination, in addition to a resource-sharing
18 Collaborative Control and E-work Automation
a) Machines Computers Internet
Humans plan and guide
the collaboration process
and are full participants in
it Human
b) Machines Computers Internet
Humans guide the
collaboration process
plan and participate
in it Human
Fig. 18.1 (a) Collaboration: humans and other entities use cyber tech-
nologies to collaborate. (b) Optimized collaboration: humans and other
entities use cyber technologies to collaborate, while the collaboration
dimension to support the achievement of individual and
common goals. Cooperation requires the division of labor,
among the participating entities, and the aggregate result
of individual efforts.
• Collaboration. The dictionary definitions for collabora-
tion are “to work jointly with others or together, espe-
cially in an intellectual endeavor” and “to cooperate with
an agency or instrumentality with which one is not im-
mediately connected” (Merriam-Webster). Collaboration
is the most complex among these processes, where all
involved entities must share information, resources, and
responsibilities to jointly plan, execute, and assess actions
and create values that can exceed the aggregate result of
individual efforts.
Collaborative control through e-Work and CCT thus refers
to the joint planning, execution, and assessment of the actions
and decisions taken by distributed and autonomous agents,
enabled by effective sharing of information, resources, and
responsibilities. It augments the performance of individu-
als and organizations of humans, machines, robots, soft-
ware, and services and enables better results with physical
tools and infrastructure by cyber-support for collaborative
intelligence (Fig. 18.4). Collaborative intelligence, in gen-
eral, means the combined intelligence from multiple sources
of intelligence, for instance, multiple distributed agents and
knowledge sources. It has also been defined as:
a measure of an agent’s capability in perceiving and compre-
hending new information, sharing required resources, informa-
tion, and responsibilities with other peers to resolve new lo-
cal and global problems in a dynamic environment. In brief,
collaborative intelligence is a combined measure of an agent’s
407
Cell phones Other humans
Cell phones Other humans
Software agents use
algorithms and
protocols to optimize 18
Agents collaboration
process itself is augmented by cyber collaboration algorithms and
protocols. (After [4])
‘collaboration-ability’ and ‘adaptability’ in dealing with emer-
gence. [8]
In advanced collaborative automation systems, hubs of
collaborative intelligence, called HUB-CIs, enable the ex-
change and streamlining of combined intelligence (signals,
information, know-how, etc.) from multiple agents, systems,
and sources, thus further improving timely decisions about
collaborative tasks and actions [89]. What makes the control
of such distributed and collaborative systems challenging,
however, is the fact that:
1. The level of collaboration between agents and with each
agent may vary, and agents may even compete for limited
resources (e.g., space, equipment, time, knowledge) in
certain situations despite being members of a collabora-
tive system [1, 2, 4]. Otherwise, the system could always
be controlled as a single entity [10].
2. Collaboration between the agents must be optimized
based on the CCT design principles, algorithms,
protocols, and criteria (Table 18.1) to ensure the best
matching of collaborating entities; minimize unnecessary,
costly, and potentially harmful collaboration [11]; allow
resilience in dealing with dynamic and unexpected
changes in the environment [12]; and enable effective
and proactive handling of conflicts and disruptions [13].
This chapter first provides an overview of the theoretical
foundations for e-Work and CCT [3, 14] in Sect. 18.2,
including the fundamentals of e-Work, integration and
communication technologies, distributed decision support
systems, and active middleware technologies. Section 18.3
408 M. Moghaddam and S. Y. Nof

e-Business/
e-Work e-Commerce
e-Service

e-Work features Factories, Customers,

and functions plants services
• e-Operations • e-Design • Online orders
• Human-computer • e-Manufacturing • Online sales
interaction • ERP • Sales force
• Human-robot • e-Logistics automation
interaction • Robotic facilities • e-Procurement
• Integration • Process • Design
• Collaboration automation customization
• Coordination • Financial
• Networking transactions
• e-Learning Offices, services
• e-Training • Team projects
• Telework
• CRM
• Scheduling Our enterprise
e-Work models
and tools
• Agents
• Protocols Alliances Suppliers,
• Workflow • Joint projects services
• Middleware • Outsourcing • Online
• Parallelism • Joint marketing purchasing
• Teamwork • e-Supply • Supply chain
• Groupware management
• Decision support • Funds transfer
systems

Other e-Activities:
Examples: Telemedicine, e-Charities, e-Explorations

Fig. 18.2 e-Work as the foundation for e-Business, e-Service, e-Commerce, and other e-Activities. (After [1])

e-Business e-Service e-Mfg e-Logistics v-Factory v-Design ...

Enables Require
e-Work

Fig. 18.3 The scope of e-Work as the enabler of e-Activities. (After [1])

discusses the architectural and technological enablers
of collaborative e-Work, including the emerging cyber
technologies, Internet-of-Things (IoT) and Internet-of-
Services (IoS), and the blueprints for describing smart
objects, functions, and their allocation for collaborative
control in e-Work systems. Section 18.4 discusses the CCT
design principles, algorithms, and protocols [4] addressing
the aforementioned challenges associated with controlling
and optimizing the interactions and decision-making
processes of distributed and autonomous agents. Section 18.5
provides concluding remarks and directions for future
research and discoveries in CCT and e-Work automation.
18.2 Theoretical Foundations for e-Work
and CCT
Collaborative e-Work, also known as cyber-collaborative
work, is a key enabler for the collaborative control of agents
through CCT [3, 4]. CCT has been developed over the last
18 Collaborative Control and E-work Automation 409

Fig. 18.4 The collaborative

factory of the future [9], where
humans, robots, machines, IoT, Internet of things & IoS, Internet of services
products, processes, and systems
with augmented e-Work
capabilities harmoniously share
information, resources, and
responsibilities and optimize
Control
their collaborative workflow
actions and decisions through Feedback
CCT principles, algorithms, and

Physical execution
protocols. (Extended illustration

Communication
from [89])

Feedback
18
Control

Augmented collaboration Mfg., assembly, &

& AR (augmented reality) Warehouse with
intelligent agents Operating agents data fusion agents

Table 18.1 Criteria for assessment of collaborative e-Work systems, augmented and optimized through CCT [4]
Criterion Definition
Agility The ability of a network of agents to respond and adapt to changes in real time
Autonomy The level of delegation of authority, task assignments, and decentralization in a distributed system
Dependability The probability of a task being successfully executed, which requires availability (readiness of the system for
service), reliability (continuity of service), sustainability (avoiding catastrophic consequences), and integrity
(avoiding improper alterations of information)
Integration-ability The ability to integrate data from distributed agents, thus increasing its usefulness
Reachability The feasibility and quality of interconnections and interactions between individual agents in a distributed system
Resilience The ability to survive unforeseen circumstances, risks, disruptions, and high impact events
Scalability The ability of a process, system, network, or organization to handle the increasing amount of work and
accommodate that growth
Viability The trade-off between the cost of operating and sustaining a distributed system of agents and the reward gained
from their service

three decades to augment and optimize collaborations in
distributed e-Work, e-Business, and e-Service systems. The
“e” in collaborative e-Work is supported by the continuous
creation of knowledge across the four dimensions described
in this section (Fig. 18.5).
18.2.1 e-Work
The concepts, models, and theories that support collabora-
tion among agents and the fundamental building-blocks of
e-Work include:
• Reference models and architectures. The blueprints that
describe the agents, their relationships, and interaction
rules, intended to augment (1) human abilities and capa-
bilities at work, (2) organizational abilities to accomplish
their goals, and (3) the abilities of all organizational agents
(e.g., human, computers, robots) for collaboration. Sec-
tion 18.3 provides an overview of the emerging industry
reference models and architectures for e-Work and collab-
orative control.
• Agents. Independently operating and executing programs,
capable of responding autonomously to expected or un-
expected events. Activities, resources, and tasks in an e-
Work system can be automated and integrated by agents.
An agent is an independent and autonomous entity with
agency—the ability to execute a set of functions in an
environment shared with other agents and governed by a
set of rules. An agent must be independent, sociable, and
410 M. Moghaddam and S. Y. Nof

Agents
Protocols
Reference models &
architectures Workflow

e-Work
Communication
protocols
Decision models

Smart objects
Distributed Distributed
Integration &
decision control systems
Human-machine communication
support
interaction

Collaborative
Connected decision-making
value chain
Active
middleware

Middleware Knowledge-based
technology systems
Cloud
computing

Fig. 18.5 The foundations and dimensions of collaborative e-Work. (Adapted from [3])

able to respond to observed environment states and take
initiative.
• Protocols. Rules and platforms for autonomous agents to
interact, make decision, and fulfill their individual and
collective goals. The protocols of interest in e-Work are
those that function at the application level and determine
workflow control. Protocols at this level enable effective
collaboration by coordinating information exchange and
decisions such as resource allocation among production
tasks. Section 18.4.1 discusses a generic collaboration
control protocol for formalizing, structuring, and admin-
istering agent interactions.
• Workflows. The systematic assignment and processing
of activities in dynamic, distributed environments by
enabling process scalability, availability, and performance
reliability. The dynamics of e-Work systems lead
to different entities continuously joining, leaving, or
remaining (reconfiguring) in a collaborative network
[15, 16]. Regardless of the decision of a given entity
to join/leave/remain, all scenarios require that existing
data resources, processes, and services be integrated via
workflow models.
18.2.2 Integration and Communication
The technologies that support seamless communication and
information sharing among agents, including:
• Communication protocols. The system of rules and lan-
guages that allow heterogeneous agents to exchange infor-
mation. They provide a platform for interaction and col-
laboration among autonomous agents, in order to achieve
higher productivity. The emerging status of smart CPS
in industrial control systems (e.g., the I4.0 components)
are connected via IoT and communicate through standard
protocols such as OPC-UA [17], AutomationML [18], and
MTConnect [19].
• Smart objects. Embedded sensing and communication
technologies that allow tracing the digital thread of a
product or a system. The I4.0 components are a formalism
of smart objects (e.g., hardware, software, products, ideas,
or concepts) that enable identifiability and communication
capabilities through OPC-UA, Fieldbus, or TCP/IP. Smart
products/equipment with I4.0 component capabilities can
also communicate their status to the manufacturer and
other stakeholders throughout their life cycle.
• Human-Machine Interaction (HMI). The technologies
that enable interactions between humans and machines,
from simple interfaces to augmented, virtual, and mixed
reality. HMI enables the development of systems,
platforms, and interfaces that support humans in their
roles as learners, workers, and researchers in computer
environments. HMI technologies are increasingly gaining
a different degree of importance, because social distancing
and tele-work may become necessary in post-COVID-
19 economy to avoid the detrimental effects of future
epidemics on public health.
18 Collaborative Control and E-work Automation
24 Teleservice remote expert
Cloud
Secure
WLAN
WLAN NFC
Supply chain Logistics and Intra logistics
distribution CP factory local facility
Fig. 18.6 Global networking through horizontal integration of supply chain, external and internal logistics, manufacturing processes, shipping
and delivery, and customer service. (Courtesy of Festo)
• Connected value chains. The digital channels that allow to
integrate insights and analytics throughout a product’s or
system’s life cycle. They enable the creation of models,
architectures, and methodologies that integrate e-Work
processes beyond the boundaries of a single enterprise.
For example, the RAMI4.0 standard refers to them as hor-
izontal integration across value chains, enabled through
communication, data management, intelligent logistics,
secure IT, and cloud services (as illustrated in Fig. 18.6).
18.2.3 Distributed Decision Support
The theories, models, and technologies that enable collabo-
rative decision-making by agents, including:
• Decision models. The generic knowledge representation
languages with normative status and computational prop-
erties of decision-modeling formalisms and algorithms.
Decision models integrate computer tools and methodolo-
gies to provide more effective and better quality decisions.
• Distributed control systems. Computerized control sys-
tems for industrial processes with no centralized or su-
pervisory control function that empower systems with
a greater degree of autonomy by enabling all agents to
negotiate for the assignment/allocation of tasks and their
respective individual and group reward (incentives). What
differentiates distributed control from centralized control
is that the level of collaboration between the agents may
vary, and agents may choose to compete in certain situ-
ations despite being members of a collaborative system.
411
24 Remote services
Intranet
VPN
ERP MES
CP factory partner facility
Router
Switch Automation
network
RFID Internet
18
Fieldbus/DeviceNet Intra logistics Shipping Customers
and delivery
Section 18.4 discusses the design principles and analytical
models for distributed control in collaborative e-Work
systems.
• Collaborative decision-making. The methods and
frameworks that support the collaborative actions of
autonomous agents to avoid conflicts and achieve
harmonized decisions. The distributed decisions in multi-
agent systems may have different relationships in terms
of hierarchy, from fully hierarchical control, where the
decision of one agent is fully controlled by higher-level
agents, to fully heterarchical, where no hierarchy can be
identified and the decision-making relationship graph of
the agents is strongly connected [20].
18.2.4 Active Middleware
The platforms and technologies that enable interoperability
among distributed, heterogeneous agents, which include:
• Middleware technology. Layer of software residing be-
tween application and network layer of heterogeneous
platforms that enable interoperable activities. Middleware
is a layer of services or applications that provides the
connectivity between the operating systems, network lay-
ers, and the application layer. Active middleware consists
of six major components classified into two categories
(Fig. 18.7):
– Active: (1) multi-agent systems (enhance proactivity
and adaptability), (2) workflow management systems
(integrate and automate process execution), and (3)
412
a)
Internet
Distributed ERP databases
e.g., CORBA, DCOM/COM
Middleware technology
Intranet
Fig. 18.7 The active middleware architecture. Supports (a) the formu-
lation, description, decomposition, and allocation of problems; (b) the
synthesis of the actions and decisions of distributed and autonomous
protocols (provide platforms for the agents to interact
and automate the workflow).
– Supportive: (4) decision support systems, (5) modeling
tools, and (6) databases. These components support
the active components through providing information,
rules, and specifications.
• Cloud computing. The on-demand accessibility of com-
puting and storage services provided by public or pri-
vate platforms. The National Institute of Standards and
Technology (NIST) defines cloud computing as “a model
for enabling ubiquitous, convenient, on-demand network
access to a shared pool of configurable computing re-
sources (e.g., networks, servers, storage, applications, and
services) that can be rapidly provisioned and released with
minimal management effort or service provider interac-
tion” [21].
• Knowledge-based systems. Systems that provide the capa-
bilities to mine, construct, and extract information from
a variety of sources and transform it into knowledge
capital. Distributed knowledge systems are a collection
of autonomous knowledge-based objects, also referred to
as knowledge agents, which interact with each other to
evolve the knowledge needed to improve their individual
and collective decisions.
18.3 Architectural Enablers for
Collaborative e-Work
The evolution of the industry has always been driven by
new technology that facilitates improvements such as in-
creased throughput, lower costs, and reduced environmental
M. Moghaddam and S. Y. Nof
b) c)
Active middleware
Decision support systems
Multi-agent Workflow
system mgmt. systems
Modeling User
Databases Protocols interface
tools
agents; (c) interoperability among applications, conflict resolution, and
group decision-making. (Courtesy of IBM)
impact. To enable these changes, new reference models and
architectures are required to allow cyber collaboration within
complex networks of smart objects and services, referred to
as IoT (Internet-of-Things) and IoS (Internet-of-Services),
respectively. The vision is to enable seamless connectivity
and interoperability between isolated systems and integrate
the computational and physical elements of industrial ma-
chines and equipment, bridging the gap between the “cyber”
and “physical” worlds [4]. Cyber technologies enable the
integration of physical processes with computation through
embedded computers and feedback control loops [22, 23].
Building on these capabilities, IoT and IoS offer access to
a full-fledged Internet of smart CPS objects [24], ranging
from machines to systems, products, and humans. The con-
vergence of industrial control systems with the CPS and
IoT technologies [25] creates new possibilities for more
dependable, resilient, and intelligent industrial automation.
The emerging reference models and architectures such
as the Industrial Internet Reference Architecture (United
States), Reference Architecture Model for Industry 4.0 (Ger-
many), Alliance Industrie du Futur (France), Piano Impresa
4.0 (Italy), Industrial Value-Chain Initiative (Japan), and
Made in China 2025 are some pioneering international ef-
forts for building next-generation industrial control systems.
These architectures aim to reimagine the hierarchical Pur-
due Enterprise Reference Architecture (PERA) [26], or the
automation hierarchy [27], as networks of cyber-augmented
agents that enable adaptive control of industrial processes
through advanced information and communication technolo-
gies [28–30]. The control capabilities envisioned by these
architectures align with the traditional control paradigms
such as holonic systems [31–34] introduced in the late 1990s.
18 Collaborative Control and E-work Automation
The fundamental challenge, as elaborated in Sect. 18.1, is to
enable these IoT and IoS agents to autonomously function as
a system and fulfill their individual and collective goals.
As a prerequisite for designing, optimizing, and aug-
menting a collaborative system through CCT, a reference
architecture is defined as
a “blueprint” that provides current or future descriptions of a
domain composed of components and their interconnections,
actions or activities those components perform, and the rules or
constraints for those activities. [35]
In the context of e-Work, a reference architecture is com-
prised of three fundamental architectural elements including
the following [36]: (1) Physical architecture describes the
components, interconnections, and activities associated with
the IoT. (2) Functional architecture describes the compo-
nents, interconnections, and activities associated with the
IoS. (3) Allocated architecture integrates the physical and
functional architectures (i.e., IoT-IoS integration). This sec-
tion provides an overview of IoT and IoS architectures and
discusses the integration and optimization challenges ad-
dressed by the CCT design principles, algorithms, and proto-
cols (descried in Sect. 18.4).
18.3.1 Internet-of-Things (Physical
Architecture)
Collaborative e-Work is based on inter-networking of agents,
or in the IoT terminology, “things” (e.g., sensors, comput-
ing devices, robots, machines, systems) supporting a wide
range of interaction, communication, and computing ser-
vices. These agents are meant to perform various actions
or activities following certain rules and constraints. ISA-
95 [27], the international standard for enterprise control
system integration based on PERA [26], defines the physical
architecture of an industrial system as a hierarchical model
starting from top-level components such as enterprise and
sites and progressing down to areas, work centers, work units,
equipment, and physical processes (Fig. 18.8a).
ISA-95 suggests a monolithic and hierarchical model for
the systematic representation of physical architectures of an
industrial control system. The complex and dynamic nature
of modern industrial control systems, however, calls for a
higher “agility quotient” [37]: the ability to effectively ac-
commodate time pressure, recover from errors/conflicts, han-
dle inadequate options, invent innovative solutions, handle
disruptions, and self-configure (see Table 18.1, the collabo-
rative e-Work criteria). These requirements in turn call for
a modular design of the physical architecture—a transition
from the automation hierarchy to a network of distributed,
self-contained, and autonomous entities with integrated local
collaborative autonomy and global orchestration.
413
RAMI4.0 formalizes the physical objects and resources
as I4.0 components (Fig. 18.8b), which may refer to a group
of hardware, software, products, ideas, or concepts, config-
ured on a dynamic basis to carry out different functions on
demand. It defines a set of characteristics for a physical to
be considered an I4.0 component, including identifiability,
communication ability (e.g., via OPC-UA [17]), compliant
services, states and semantics, virtual description, safety,
security, quality of service, nestability, and separability (DIN
2016). RAMI4.0 proposes an administration shell as the
logical unit of an I4.0 component responsible for virtual
representation, interaction with the system, and resource
management. Built upon the hierarchical model of PERA, an
I4.0 component may represent a smart product, a field device
to a controller, a station, or a work center, as long as they
fulfill two key requirements: (1) communication capability, 18
the ability of digital communication (e.g., via Fieldbus or
TCP/IP), and (2) presentation, the “publicity” of a compo-
nent in the information system [38].
18.3.2 Internet-of-Services (Functional
Architecture)
The purpose of any smart device, controller, machine, robot,
software, or simply any other agent is to accomplish a set
of functions. Thus, parallel to the physical architecture of an
e-Work system characterized by IoT, there must be a
functional architecture characterized as an IoS (Internet-
of-Services). In this context, a service refers to:
a logical representation of a set of activities that has specified
outcomes, is self-contained, may be composed of other services,
and is a “black box” to consumers of the service. [39]
ISA-95 [27] defines a functional hierarchy model (known
as the automation hierarchy or “pyramid”) that classifies
those functions into five hierarchical levels (Fig. 18.9a). Un-
like the hierarchical ISA-95/PERA model where each func-
tional level is directly mapped onto their corresponding phys-
ical level (Fig. 18.8), emerging functional architectures aim
to allow the tasks specified under each layer to be directly
assigned to different distributed and autonomous agents, thus
transitioning from a hierarchical model to a network model
(Fig. 18.9b).
The IBM reference architecture [41], for example, pro-
poses a functional architecture for industrial control systems
with two layers (Fig. 18.10):
1. Platform/hybrid cloud layer. Functions for plant-wide
data processing and analytics are performed. Data is sent
to the Enterprise level, and commands are sent back down
to the Edge. The Enterprise layer provides similar func-
tions but with a broader scope and with data from multiple
414 M. Moghaddam and S. Y. Nof

a) External world b)

Enterprise

Site

Area

Administration shell Manifest

Process Production Production Storage
Virtual representation
cell unit line zone Resource
technical functionality

Unit Unit Work cell Storage module

Lower level Lower level Lower level Lower level Object

resources in resources in resources in resources in
batch ops. continuous ops. discrete ops. handling ops.
Object

Smart devices & products

ISA-95 (PERA) physical architecture I4.0 component

Fig. 18.8 The ISA-95/PERA role-based equipment hierarchy (a) and the I4.0 component (b). RAMI4.0 incorporates three additional elements in
the original ISA-95 hierarchy including smart devices, smart products, and external world

Internet of services

Level 4: enterprise
resource planning
Level 3: plant/site
management

Level 2: process
control
Level 1: control
(e.g., PLCs)
Real-time
Level 0: field
critical
devices

The automation pyramid Internet of things

(ISA-95/PERA)

Fig. 18.9 Transition from the hierarchical functional architecture of ISA-95/PERA to interconnected networks of agents (IoT) and services (IoS).
(Adapted from [40])

plants. These functions are supported by the overlaying
functions of device management, configuration manage-
ment, security, visualization, development support, man-
agement, and cognitive services.
2. Equipment/device layer. The IBM architecture utilizes the
Edge as a middle-agent between smart devices and tools
and the plant and enterprise layers. The Edge is responsi-
ble for receiving data from these devices, providing basic
analytics, and determining which information gets sent to
the higher levels. It also sends commands to the smart
devices.
The NIST architecture [42] is another example of service-
oriented functional architectures for industrial control sys-
tems (Fig. 18.11). Designed specifically for manufacturing
control, the NIST architecture utilizes a manufacturing ser-
vice bus to connect various types of services in the system
including the operational technology (OT) and information
technology (IT) domains, the virtual domain, and manage-
ment. A service bus then connects the enterprise to exter-
nal collaborators through business intelligence services. The
OT domain services include functions provided by physical
components such as machines, robots, and production lines
18 Collaborative Control and E-work Automation 415

Edge Plant Enterprise

Equipment/device layer Platform (hybrid cloud)

OT/IT gateway

2 Enterprise IT
Plant IT
7 6
Analytics-based Enterprise Composite
insights & actions Shop-floor
applications
workflow
Enterprise
Plant system of
Production Plant service bus records (e.g., MES, Enterprise user directory
machines Transformation
7 line scheduler)

4 Enterprise
data store
Transformation Data Enterprise
3 & connectivity integration system of
Rule-based records
1 Plant data store
analytics (e.g., ERP,
Smart devices
Enterprise
CRM, PLM)
18
& tools Rule-based
Transformation information
analytics model Partner IT
Edge data store
Plant information
5 model

Rule-based
analytics Partner
Edge information Shop-floor systems
Supply chain
model analytics
Composite integration &
applications provenance

Application component
Infrastructure service
API management
Data store
User
Security
DevOps
Analytics Device Rules, config. mgmt. Security Visualization Development Management Cognitive
Edge plant flow management & composition support service

Fig. 18.10 The IBM reference architecture for IoS. (Courtesy of IBM [41])

(i.e., IoT). The IT domain services are services provided
by the enterprise IT and include manufacturing operations
management, enterprise resource planning, and supply chain
management services. The virtual domain services are pro-
vided by the digital factory, digital twin, or virtual model of
the enterprise and include queries and simulation services.
The management or common services include all other ser-
vices required by the enterprise including management of
life cycle, data, security, knowledge, devices, service quality,
and network configuration. All of the above enable effective
collaborative automation and collaborative e-Work.
18.3.3 IoT-IoS Integration (Allocated
Architecture)
With the IoT and IoS architectures defined (in the previous
section), the third architectural element is allocated archi-
tecture that aims at integrating IoT with IoS. An allocated
architecture is defined as:
a complete description of the system design, including the func-
tional architecture allocated to the physical architecture, de-
rived input/output, technology and system-wide trade off and
qualification requirements for each component, an interface ar-
chitecture that has been integrated as one of the components,
and complete documentation of the design and major design
decisions. [36]
The best matching of the IoT and IoS components is
enabled by forming a collaborative network of organizations
(CNO) [15, 16], where the organizations share their respec-
tive resources and services to accomplish their individual and
collective goals (Fig. 18.12).
Due to the dynamic variations in demand and capacity,
organizations may encounter capacity shortage/surplus over
time and thus collaborate by sharing their shareable services
to balance the overall workload of the network and minimize
idle resources, congestion, and delays. These decisions deal
416 M. Moghaddam and S. Y. Nof

Digital factory

Connected
Modeling and simulation services enterprises

MOM ERP PLM SCM Order CRM

management

Manufacturing service bus

Network Security Knowledge Data Device Business

management management management management management intelligence

Manufacturing service bus Consumers

SMS APC DCS PLC Edge

compute Gateway

Smart
assets
Real-time & safety critical Connected
logistics
Real factory

Real-time services Control apps OT domain

Data/modeling services Data analytics apps Database
Operation services Operations apps IT domain knowledge base
Enterprise services Enterprise apps
IT services Configuration apps Virtual domain

Fig. 18.11 The NIST reference architecture. (Adapted from [42])

Enterprise Internet of ‘services’ (IoS) Service

service bus
A
B
Service-
component
integration
A
B
Edge
connectivity
Internet of ‘things’ (IoT) Component

Fig. 18.12 IoT-IoS integration in a collaborative network of organizations composed of two organizations, A and B. (After [43])

with intra-/inter-organization matching of services and com-
ponents. Best matching for collaborative service-component
integration can be done such that the overall fulfillment of
the requested services is maximized while unnecessary col-
laboration is avoided to minimize its associated costs [43]. In
other words, the collaboration can be optimized. Experiments
show that best matching of components and services in a
CNO can significantly improve the fulfillment of requested
services while avoiding unnecessary collaboration and that
the impact of best matching grows with the size of the CNO
network. That is, as the number and diversity of components
and services increase, the capabilities of the organizations
and the CNO as a whole in fulfilling their allocated services
increase, which is due to having access to a larger and
18 Collaborative Control and E-work Automation
more diverse pool of components and thus higher likelihood
of finding the best match for each individual component
and service. The allocated architecture, in essence, can help
define the allocation of functions to physical objects and
the execution of functions by distributed and autonomous
agents. Advanced analytical models and tools are required for
controlling this dynamic composition and execution process,
as described next.
18.4 Design Principles for Collaborative
e-Work, Collaborative Automation,
and CCT
The “networked” nature of the emerging e-Work systems
demands the participating entities (e.g., machines, devices,
robots, humans) to be more autonomous, self- and
environment-aware, and intelligent. They also have to share
distributed and decentralized control of tasks and resources.
That introduces new problems related to optimizing the
interactions in an ecosystem of agents [44]. Hence, rigorous
analytical methods and mechanisms must be and have
been developed for guiding, optimizing, and governing the
interactions between the agents—from simple data exchange
to high-level cognitive collaborations [4]. This section
first presents a consolidated framework for collaborative
e-Work based on Task Administration Protocols (TAP) to
demonstrate potential scenarios handled by various CCT
design principles. Next, the basic and emerging CCT
design principles are discussed and illustrated based on
years of research and discovery, experimental, and practice
validations, rooted in successful, proven principles and
models of heterogeneous, autonomous, distributed, and
parallel computing and communication.
18.4.1 Generic Framework
TAP [45] is a generic framework for effective task allocation
and administration in collaborative e-Work systems. TAP
enables efficient processing of several tasks (e.g., service
requests, intermediate processes) through interaction and
collaboration among distributed agents. The fulfillment of in-
dividual tasks depends on how individual agents collaborate
with each other. TAP supports efficient control, coordination,
and harmonization of tasks by enabling the exchange of
information and decisions between the participating agents.
ISO 14258:1998 [46] formalizes a task data model with
three main data elements: primary (e.g., product, shop floor,
planning and control), secondary (e.g., responsibility), and
tertiary (e.g., resource). TAP allows agents to handle two
types of situations, where the dependencies between the
tasks and agents are dynamic (a function of time) and where
417
p1 p2
t1 t3 t3
p3 p4
t4
p5 p6 p7 p8 p9
t5 t6 t7
p10 p11 p12 p13
18
Fig. 18.13 A generic Petri net representation of Task Administration
Protocols. (After [9])
complex decisions beyond simple coordination need to be
made (e.g., tasks close to the deadline, dynamic priorities,
or preemption).
Figure 18.13 shows a generic Petri net associated with
an e-Work system, where a set of agents must process a
set of tasks. The Petri net is composed of a set of places
P = p1 , . . . , p13 and a set of transitions T = t1 , . . . , t7 ,
which respectively represent the possible states of the system
and the actions that change the states. The following steps
indicate how TAP enable the system of agents transitions
between different places:
1. Arrival of tasks (t1 ): Upon arrival, the collaboration re-
quirements and dependencies of the tasks must be iden-
tified. This transition is made before the tasks are ready
to be processed by the agents (i.e., p1 ). The task that
has higher priority should be served first. The arriving
tasks may be new or returning. The returning tasks can
be classified as in two categories:
• Timed-out tasks. Some tasks may be returned due to un-
resolved conflicts or errors (i.e., p11 ), excessive agent
occupation, preemption, adaptation, or relaxation of
their requirements (i.e., p12 ).
• Tasks with unavailable agents. Some agents may tem-
porarily or permanently become unavailable (i.e., p7 ).
As a result, their associated task is returned to the
queue.
Transition t1 is supported by the Collaboration Re-
quirement Planning and Parallelism principles of CCT
discussed in Sect. 18.4.2.
2. Arrival of resources (t2 ): Similar to t1 , this transition is
made before the agents are ready to process the tasks
(i.e., p2 ). The agents available in the system could be new
418
agents, agents freed after a successful operation (i.e., p9 ),
agents with timed-out tasks (i.e., p13 ), or agents with can-
celled tasks (i.e., p8 ). Through this transition, the optimal
configuration and assignment of agents are identified with
respect to the current requirements of the system. Tran-
sition t2 is supported by the Parallelism, Resilience by
Teaming, Error and Conflict Prognostics, Association-
Dissociation, and Dynamic Lines of Collaboration prin-
ciples of CCT discussed in Sect. 18.4.2.
3. Task-resource matching (t3 ): Upon identifying available
tasks and agents in the system, this transition is per-
formed to match and synchronize the best agents (i.e., p4 )
and tasks (i.e., p3 ). As explained earlier, the Collabora-
tion Requirement Planning is the key principle applied
for dynamic matching of tasks and agents, determining
“who does what and when.” Transition t3 is supported by
the Collaboration Requirement Planning, Parallelism,
Association-Dissociation, Dynamic Lines of Collabo-
ration, and Best Matching principles of CCT discussed
in Sect. 18.4.2.
4. Real-time execution (t4 ): This transition allows real-time
modification of collaboration plans and provision of feed-
back on each individual task and agent. This transition
may lead to the following potential states in the system: er-
rors/conflicts in the process (i.e., p5 ), abnormal processes
with time-out conditions (i.e., p6 ); unavailability of agents
(i.e., p7 ), cancellation of tasks (i.e., p8 ), or successful com-
pletion of the process (i.e., p9 ). Transition t4 is supported
by the Collaboration Requirement Planning principle
of CCT discussed in Sect. 18.4.2.
5. Resolution of errors/conflicts (t5 ): This transition is ac-
tivated once an error or a conflict is detected (i.e., p5 ).
Supported by the Error and Conflict Prognostics prin-
ciple of collaborative e-Work, this transition allows to
identify and isolate the error/conflict and prevent future
occurrences. The outcome, however, is not necessarily
an error-/conflict-free system. Thus, the potential states
of the system after this transition may include recov-
ered/resolved (i.e., p10 ) or unrecovered/unresolved (i.e.,
p11 ) error/conflict. If p10 occurs, the system will return
to normal execution (i.e., t4 ), while under p11 , the system
will undergo the t6 transition. Transition t5 is supported
by the Error and Conflict Prognostics principle of CCT
discussed in Sect. 18.4.2.
6. Timed-out task & resource release (t6 ): This transition
follows abnormal processes with time-out conditions (i.e.,
p6 ) and/or unrecovered/unresolved errors/conflicts (i.e.,
p11 ). The time-out condition occurs when a task uses an
agent more than certain time-out threshold. Following this
transition, the respective agent and task are released and
returned to the set of available agents (see t2 ) and available
tasks (see t1 ), respectively. Transition t6 is supported by
M. Moghaddam and S. Y. Nof
the Parallelism and Error and Conflict Prognostics
principles of CCT discussed in Sect. 18.4.2.
7. Re-synchronization and emergence handling (t7 ): This
transition is triggered once an agent becomes unavailable
(i.e., p7 ), a task is cancelled (i.e., p8 ), or both. The con-
figuration and assignment of the agents and tasks are then
updated and optimized in real-time, and then the excessive
tasks (i.e., p12 ) are returned to their corresponding queues
and the freed agents (i.e., p13 ) become available. Tran-
sition t7 is supported by the Association-Dissociation,
Dynamic Lines of Collaboration, and Best Matching
principles of CCT discussed in Sect. 18.4.2.
TAP provides a foundational framework for developing
analytical methods, algorithms, and protocols that enable and
optimize agent interactions and behaviors in collaborative e-
Work systems based on the CCT design principles discussed
next.
18.4.2 Design Principles
Over the years, several principles have been developed at
the PRISM (Production, Robotics, and Integration Software
for Manufacturing and Management) Center at Purdue Uni-
versity for the design and engineering of collaborative con-
trol and e-Work automation. These principles address many
of the collaborative e-Work dimensions (Fig. 18.5) in vari-
ous manufacturing, production, and service application do-
mains. This research has been rooted in successful, proven
principles and models of heterogeneous, autonomous, dis-
tributed, and parallel computing and communication for ef-
fective task administration in collaborative e-Work systems.
The remainder of this section elaborates on various design
principles for collaborative e-Work and CCT (see [4] for
details).
Principle of Collaboration Requirement Planning This
principle specifies that effective collaboration can only be
achieved through advanced planning and feedback loops,
generally in two phases: (1) Plan generation, where a binary
collaboration requirement matrix is developed to determine
the tasks and collaborators of each agent. The entries of
this matrix signify whether a resource (one or a group of
multiple agents) is capable of performing a task or not.
(2) Plan execution & revision, where the plan generated in
the first phase is revised and executed in real-time. This
phase is intended to resolve any potential conflicts in the
plan that were overlooked in the first phase. In essence, this
principle involves solving a problem of dynamic matching
[11] between agents and tasks, as required by the allocated
architecture described in Sect. 18.3.3.
18 Collaborative Control and E-work Automation 419

Principle of Parallelism In any distributed network of
agents, some tasks must be performed in parallel. Thus,
task dependencies and their types must be considered before
they are assigned to agents. Two tasks can be identical,
complementary, or unrelated, which determines whether
they can be performed in parallel or not. The economic
aspect of performing tasks should also be considered. This
principle states that agents must be enabled to communicate
and interact to collaboratively perform their assigned
tasks. This comes with a trade-off between the operation
cost and the communication cost—the higher/lower the
communicate rate, the higher/lower the communication cost,
the lower/higher the operation cost. Obtaining an optimal
degree of parallelism is key to minimizing the total cost.
This principle is built upon the Distributed Planning of
Integrated Execution Method (DPIEM) [47] and includes five
guidelines to enable e-Work support systems (Fig. 18.14):
The parallelism principle is highly relevant to the KISS:
Keep It Simple System! principle. Some e-Work systems
either are too complicated and confusing for human workers
or change drastically over time with updates. Such systems
are not cost-effective from the training standpoint. This is
an additional workload and cost that ought to be mini-
mized. Building on traditional human-computer and human-
automation usability design principles, KISS states that e-
Work systems must be as complicated as necessary and as
simple as possible.
Principle of Error and Conflict Prognostics Any e-Work
system, regardless of it size and distribution degree, is prone
to errors and/or conflicts. This principle states that errors
and conflicts must be predicted and prevented early and with
minimum cost, in order to avoid the eventual collapse of the 18
system (Fig. 18.15).

1. Formulate, decompose, and allocate problems • Error. An error occurs when an agent’s goal, result, or
2. Enable applications to communicate and interact under state is different from the expectation by a value larger
TAP than a margin of error. An error is defined as follows:
3. Trigger and resynchronize independent agents to coher-
dissatisfy
ently and cohesively take actions and make decisions ∃E[ωa (t)], if sωa −−−−→ κr (t), (18.1)
4. Enable agents to reason, interact, and coordinate with each
other and with their environment where E is error, ωa (t) is agent a at time t, sωa is the state
5. Develop conflict resolution, error recovery, and diagnostic of agent a at time t, and κr (t) is system constraint r at
and recovery strategies based on the Error and Conflict time t.
Prognostics principle

Organizations at
the same location

w1 w6 w 6⬘
w 1⬘
w8

w4
Logical w 4⬘
integrated
w2 Integration organization Dist. assignment w 2⬘
W
w 7⬘
w7 (Y *, F)
w3 Stage 3: w 3⬘
Stage 1:
w5
1. Measurement of K w 5⬘
Tasks being
Integration when assigning
executed in the Operational to distributed sites
organization: (w 1,...,w r) 2. Comparison of K Communication
optimization
Yi, Fi Distributed oW and savings from F
Optimized links among
distributed tasks
organizations 3. Repeat DPIEM
integrated
(Y, F d) Stage 2: distributed
K > Fd – F
organizations
Min F
(F should include
server cost)

Fig. 18.14 The operational stages of the Distributed Planning of Inte- operational cost, K: the costs of distributed assignment of integrated
grated Execution Method (DPIEM). (After [47]). : degree of paral- tasks, : integrated organization of agents, ω: individual agents
lelism, : operational cost of an integrated task graph, d : distributed
420 M. Moghaddam and S. Y. Nof

Consider, for example, a clustered network of sensors,

Propagate Propagate where sensors in each cluster transmit signals to their re-
CEs E[wa(t)] CEs spective cluster head, and the sensors continually associate
with or dissociate from the network when recharged or run

Predicted
detected
out of power, respectively (Fig. 18.16). The three aforemen-
tioned questions become critical in this case, because the
Diagnosed Predicted
Association-Dissociation decisions are subject to the topol-
wa(t)
ogy of each cluster as well as the status of each sensor,
Detection Detect Predict Prediction
thus requiring dynamic matching conditioned on the interde-
logic diagnose logic pendent preferences and rewards of distributed agents [49].
:(t) Experiments on distributed systems like this example prove
the critical role of the Association-Dissociation principle
Diagnosed Predicted in rapid adjustment of the overall performance and opti-
Predicted
detected

mization of the system performance through best matching

Propagate Propagate
CEs C[:(t)] CEs
Activity Result
Fig. 18.15 The error and conflict prognostics framework in a collabo-
ration network. (After [48])
• Conflict. A conflict occurs between two or more agents,
when an agent’s goal or error hinders another agent’s
actions. A conflict is defined as follows:
dissatisfy
∃C[(t)], if s −−−−→ κr (t), (18.2)
where C is conflict, (t) is the integrated agent network
at time t, s is the state of the integrated agent network at
time t, and κr (t) is system constraint r at time t.
As the system becomes more distributed, the rate of in-
teractions among agents increases, and as a consequence,
the probability of error or conflict occurrence increases. See
Chapter 22 for detailed discussions on automated error and
conflict prognostics.
Principle of Association-Dissociation This principle states
that the dynamic variations in the topology, size, and opera-
tions of collaborative networks of agents must be optimized
with regard to three key questions:
1. When and why should an agent be associated with or
dissociated from a network of agents [16]?
2. What are the expected rewards and costs for an individual
agent to participate or opt to remain in a network [15]?
3. What are the impacts of the interdependencies between
the agents’ preferences and goals on the overall perfor-
mance of the network [49]?
(Fig. 18.17).
Other application examples of this principle include net-
worked organizations, swarm robotics, machine scheduling,
and storage assignment, among others [11]. The Association-
Dissociation principle analyzes the conditions and timing for
individual agents or networks of agents to associate with or
dissociate from a collaborative network. The decisions are
made at different levels in the entire network—by individual
agents, subnetworks, or clusters of agents, or among multiple
networks. The analysis includes several phases, from creation
and execution to dissolution and support.
Principle of Resilience by Teaming This principle states
that a network of weak agents is more efficient and reliable
than a single strong agent [50]. An argument supporting
this premise is that a monolithic system will be at risk of
shutting down in case of an unexpected incident or error in
its single agent. On the other hand, a distributed network
of agents will still continue to function, if not as optimal
as before, when an agent fails. Exploration and research
of the mechanisms behind the failure of e-Work networks
have revealed that those capable of surviving are not only
robust, but resilient [12]. In a given network of distributed and
autonomous agents that interact to enable the flow of tasks,
physical goods, and/or information, each agent contains a
set of internal resources Ra for transforming the input flow
into output flow, following a set of control protocols CPa . A
communication link cli→j represents the connection between
the control protocols of agents i and j (from i to j). A flow link
fli→j , on the other hand, represents the flow of tasks, physical
goods, and/or information from agent i to agent j (Fig. 18.18).
Each individual agent is responsible for controlling its own
internal resource network, to enable intra-agent flow, and
defining sourcing and distribution networks, to enable inter-
agent flow.
The Resilience by Teaming principle, based on the agent
network formalism in Fig. 18.18, defines a two-level frame-
18 Collaborative Control and E-work Automation
Cluster head sensor
Regular sensor
Communication
ω5
ω2
ω3 ω4
:2
:1
ω1
ω8
ω6
:3 ω7
Associating sensor
(e.g., recharged)
Fig. 18.16 The Association-Dissociation principle in a sensor network
with single- and multi-hop clusters. Sensor ω13 is dissociating from
cluster 5 and sensor ω0 is joining the network. Two key questions
work to ensure the global and local resilience of the network
(Fig. 18.19) [52]:
• Network-level requirements for global resilience:
– Situation awareness. Agents are required to partici-
pate in secure and privacy-preserving transactions with
other agents and with the network regulators to collab-
oratively detect and resolve potential vulnerabilities in
network topology or agent interactions.
– Negotiation. Agents are required to follow certain ne-
gotiation mechanisms and protocols for all strategic de-
cisions to be made collaboratively, including topolog-
ical requirements, demand and capacity sharing, and
defining service-level agreement. The purpose of these
negotiations is to enhance individual and collective
resilience of agents.
• Agent-level requirements for local resilience:
– Design. Agents are required to follow two team
design protocols, Sourcing Team Formation/Re-
configuration Protocol (STF/RP) and Distribution Net-
work Formation/Re-configuration Protocol (DNF/RP),
to dynamically make sourcing and distribution
network decisions, respectively. This is done through
communication links cli→j , by making or breaking
flow links fli→j .
– Operation. Agents are required to operationalize the
design decisions by following three protocols to man-
421
Base station
ω 18 ω 16
ω 12
ω 15
ω 11
ω 17
ω9 ω 14
ω 10 :5
:4
18
ω 13
Dissociating sensor
(e.g., no power)
ω0
must be answered: (a) What cluster should ω0 associate with? (b) Will
the association of ω0 and dissociation of ω13 impact the overall, optimal
topology of the network? (After [11], Ch. 6)
age sourcing from predecessors (SFCP), control flow
through internal resources (IFCP), and enable the dis-
tribution of flow to successors of an agent (DFCP).
According to the Resilience by Teaming principle, re-
silience is an inherent ability of agents and an emergent
ability of agent networks and involves restoring/maintaining
quality of service (QoS) through the active prognosis of
errors and conflicts that potentially lead to disruptions [53].
Principle of Dynamic Lines of Collaboration Due to the
interconnected nature of CPS agents, disruptions that initially
affect only a small part of any network tend to escalate and
cascade throughout the entire system. This principle states
that intelligent technologies for interaction, communication,
sharing, and collaboration must support first responders and
emergency handlers and enhance their responsiveness and
ability to collaborate with one another in controlling dis-
ruptions and preventing their escalation [13]. This principle
is particularly critical for disruptions with cascade failure
effect, where, depending on the local network structure, an
initial failure fades away quickly or propagates to a system
collapse (Fig. 18.20a). In such situations, the failure can be
prevented by deployment of a response team, if at least two
responders are available that are connected to each vertex
of the failed link and the responders are able to collaborate
within a limited response time (Fig. 18.20b).
422 M. Moghaddam and S. Y. Nof

Association/dissociation of agents Arrangement/dissolution of networks

(e.g., sensors) (e.g., sensor clusters)
A D A D A D A D A D A D A D A D A D A D
0.9 1
0.88
0.95
0.86
Small network
Fitness value

Fitness value
0.84 0.9
0.82 0.85
0.8 0.8
0.78
0.75
0.76
0.74 0.7
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500
Iterations Iterations

A D A D A D A D A D A D A D A D A D A D
0.98 1.1
0.96
1.05
0.94
Large network
Fitness value

Fitness value
0.92 1
0.9 0.95
0.88
0.9
0.86
0.84 0.85
0.82 0.8
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500
Iterations Iterations

Fig. 18.17 The impact of best matching with interdependent prefer- value in two different problem sets with small and large number of
ences and rewards on the ability of a network of agents (e.g., Fig. 18.16) agents/networks. (After [49]). Solid/no-fill line: best-match consider-
to rapidly adapt to the association/dissociation of individual agents or to ing/without considering interdependent preferences and rewards
the arrangement/dissolution of networks, and optimize its overall fitness

Network
Comm. w/ other agent
agents Control protocols
CPa

clioj

clioj Input Output

i j

flioj fljoi flioj

Internal resources Ra

Supply network

Communication link

Flow link

Fig. 18.18 Intra- and inter-agent communication and flow networks. (After [51])
18 Collaborative Control and E-work Automation 423

Situation awareness N Agent-agent negotiation

Network level

SN topology awareness via collaboration Y

Vulnerability SN topology requirements for resilience
among agents and SN regulators
detected? Lateral collaboration; DCS
Collaborative SN vulnerability detection
SLA definition
Effective communication networks

TO[Pa1] SLAaoj
Pa Pa1Pa2 Sa

Š
GO[Pa1] (dmin
GEO ) SLAjoa

Sourcing network Internal resource network Distribution network

formation

Sourcing team formation/re- Resource parallelism Distribution network formation/ 18

Design
Team

configuration protocol Storage design for predictive re-configuration protocol

STF/RP management DNF/RP
Agent level

Pa Pa1Pa2 Haoj

Š

IRN topology
q(|Pa1|, 0, 'tr) N
J [r], r Ra
'tr ra
Collaboration
for resilience
Operation

Sourcing flow control protocol Internal flow control protocol Distribution flow control protocol
SFCP IFCP DFCP
TL[r S ]

Fig. 18.19 Formalism and framework for the Resilience by Teaming
principle in a network of distributed and autonomous agents depicted
in Fig. 18.18. (After [52]). SN: supply network, DCS: demand-capacity
sharing, SLA: service-level agreement, IRN: internal resource network,
GO: topographical overlap, TO: topological overlap, TL: target level of
storage, Pa : predecessors of agent a, Sa : successors of agent a, ν[r]:
design capacity of resource r ∈ Ra , rs : storage type resource in Ra ,
Hi→j : set of intermediaries between i and j, t: time, θ(x, w, tr ): fraction
of sourcing requests that can be served by x agents (out of w) within tr ,
GEO : minimum distance between agents to avoid proximity-correlated
dmin
disruptions, ρ, κ: model parameters

Dynamic Lines of Collaboration is an emerging CCT
principle, which still requires extensive, multidisciplinary
investigations in several directions [13]. Two crucial require-
ments for emergency response and disruption handling and
prevention in distributed networks are reducing the response
time and controlling the spread of disruptions. Strategies
observed in biological systems (e.g., immune system) can
inspire the control of collaborating responders to achieve
this end. Furthermore, new mechanisms are required to tailor
the advanced response strategies to the unique features and
requirements of each particular domain. Dynamic teaming
and resource reinforcement functions are also required for
effective and proactive response to both random disruptions
and targeted attacks, errors, or conflicts (Fig. 18.21).
Principle of Best Matching This principle states that best
matching of distributed and autonomous entities in an e-Work
system, either natural or artificial, is essential to ensure their
smooth conduct and successful competitiveness [55]. The
principle is motivated by the need for optimizing agent in-
teractions through best matching in planning and scheduling,
enterprise network design, transportation and construction
planning, recruitment, problem-solving, selective assembly,
team formation, and sensor network design, among others
[56–61]. The PRISM taxonomy of best matching [11] de-
picted in Fig. 18.22 is a standardized framework for synthe-
sizing best matching problems in different domains across
3 + 1 dimensions representing the sets of entities and their
relationships (D1), the conditions that govern the matching
processes (D2), the criteria for finding the best match (D3),
and the dynamics of the matching process over time (D+).
Best matching plays a key role in optimizing collaborative
activities and transactions in distributed e-Work systems.
In collaborative supply networks, for instance, demand-
capacity sharing between individual firms has become
a common practice and an attractive strategy for both
competing and non-competing suppliers (e.g., airlines, test
424 M. Moghaddam and S. Y. Nof

a) 0 0 1
0 0 0
0 0 1

0 0 0

1 1 1
0 0 0
0 0 0

t = 0, the highlighted node fails. t = 1, the dashed links fail. t = 2, nodes fail according to j.

b)

1 1 0

0 0 0

1 1 0

G R

t = 0, the dashed link t = tD, one highlighted t = tD+tR. Link is

fails; two highlighted responder disconnects from its restored. All responders
responders start to respond. original node (depot) and are back to idle state.
connects with a desired node to
repair the failed link.

Fig. 18.20 Cascade failure (a) and link repair (b) with the Dynamic timespan, G: a network representation of the cyber-physical system, R:
Lines of Collaboration disruption handling and prevention models (after a network representation of the response team
[13]). ϕ: cascading threshold, t: time tD : responder travel time, tR : repair

Fig. 18.21 Emergency disruption handling in Hetch Hetchy water [54]). Hetch Hetchy serves 2.6 million residential, commercial, and
system based on the principle of Dynamic Lines of Collaboration. (After industrial customers in San Francisco bay area from 11 reservoirs. (Map
source: San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, 2014)
18 Collaborative Control and E-work Automation 425

D1 Number of sets D2 - Resource constraints

Pairwise relationships - Precedence relations
- One-to-one (1-to-1) - Resource sharing

Co
- One-to-many (1-to-many) - Interdependent preferences

nd
ts
- Many-to-many (many-to-many) - Sequential matching

Se

it i o
- ...

ns
e
m
Ti
Criteria

D3 Number & type of criteria D+ Dynamic system parameters

Objective function Emergent sets of entities
- Overall satisfaction
- Bottleneck 18
- Minimum deviation
- Goal programming
- Multi-objective
- ...

Fig. 18.22 The PRISM taxonomy of best matching in dynamic and distributed e-Work systems. (After [11])

Demand fulfillment Capacity utilization Network stability Total cost

45
40
35
Improvement (%)

30
25
20
15
10
5
0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
Experiments

Fig. 18.23 Improvements in demand fulfillment, capacity utilization, suppliers-customers—baseline: collaboration with fixed pre-matching
stability, and total cost of a collaborative supply network through of suppliers and customers and under the demand-capacity sharing
dynamic best matching of capacity-/demand-sharing proposals and protocol. (After [59])

and assembly factories, outsourced maintenance/logistics
providers). Demand-capacity sharing decisions are intended
to maximize profit and improve resource utilization,
customer satisfaction, and the overall stability of the supply
network, by allowing suppliers with capacity shortage
to utilize the excessive capacities of other suppliers in
fulfilling their excessive demand [62–64]. However, high
frequency of “unoptimized” collaboration may impose
additional costs associated with transactions, negotiations,
and lateral transshipment of stocks. Best matching can
play a key role in minimizing the collaboration costs and
improving demand fulfillment, capacity utilization, and
network stability, through dynamic matching of suppliers
and customers based on the capacity-demand gap for
each supplier, and improving the collaboration process by
matching the demand-/capacity-sharing proposals associated
with different suppliers (Fig. 18.23) [56].
Another application example of the best matching
principle is in collaborative assembly systems [60], where
manufacturing resources or “tools” are dynamically shared
between busy and idle workstations to alleviate bottlenecks
(Fig. 18.24). This process can be accomplished through two
426
Hierarchical control
Mediator agent
Work- Work-
station 1 station 2
WA TA WA TA
Cyber layer
Physical layer
Workstations
Fig. 18.24 Collaborative assembly architecture. Workstation agents
(WAs) monitor the processes and calculate the estimated workload in
each cycle. Tool agents (TAs) negotiate with WAs to identify their best
integrated best matching mechanisms: (1) dynamic tool
sharing between fully loaded (i.e., bottleneck) and partially
loaded workstations and (2) dynamic matching of tasks and
workstations. This dynamic matching process accomplished
through distributed multi-agent negotiation mechanisms [61]
are proven to enhance the overall balanceability of assembly
lines (i.e., the overall workload evenly distributed between
all active workstations) and minimize the deviation of the
assembly system from the planned cycle time in case of
dynamic and unexpected changes in processing times and/or
system performance (Fig. 18.25).
The CCT design principles, protocols, and tools described
above have been validated experimentally and have been
proven to be successful in industrial, service, and government
applications. Examples are described in [4] and in [12,16,47,
51–53,53,56,59,62,63,65,66] for manufacturing and supply
chains, [57, 60, 61] for assembly, [13, 67], for disruption
handling, and [68–70] for greenhouse automation.
18.4.3 Emerging Thrusts
Bioinspired Collaborative Control The knowledge and
discoveries in biological sciences have recently begun
M. Moghaddam and S. Y. Nof
Collaborative control Feedback control
Work-
station N
WA TA
Busy
Idle
Tool
match(es) during each cycle and establish their viability (survivability)
and autonomy (independence). (Adapted from [11])
influencing collaborative control in e-Work, e-Business,
and e-Service. Animal-to-animal interactions such as those
observed among ants, bees, fish, and birds have provided
a source of inspiration for devising collaborative control
mechanisms. The autocatalytic behavior [71] of these
insects/animals creates a positive feedback loop that over
time enables them to collectively make decisions that
optimize their overall performance (e.g., detect the shortest
path to a food source or find the best navigation trajectory
that minimizes energy consumption). In a similar fashion, the
need to reduce the complexity of decisions in a collaborative
e-Work system can be accomplished by sharing appropriate
hints between the agents to make decisions with local
information, thus minimizing communication overload
(Fig. 18.26). Applications in e-Work, e-Business, and e-
Service include distributed decision-making by mobile
software agents, message-based interactions among agents
and robots, and measures such as viability (survivability) and
autonomy (independence).
Learning and Adaptation in Collaborative Control The
negotiation-based methods for collaborative control are often
capable of modeling a generic and limited set of states
and actions and depend upon hand-engineered policies that
18 Collaborative Control and E-work Automation 427

70

Deviation from planned

60
50

cycle time (%)

40
30
20
10
0
–10
–20
Experiments

Tool sharing with best matching Tool sharing without best matching

Fig. 18.25 Improvements in the deviation from the planned cycle approach with no matching, it also is able to improve the optimal plan
time through the collaborative assembly architecture in Fig. 18.24. Best by responding to the dynamic changes in the system during execution. 18
matching not only reduces the deviation compared to the baseline (After [61])

Nominated Nominated Nominated

solution 1 solution 2 solution 3
R6 R6 R6
R5 R5 R5
R3 R3 R3
R1 R1 R1
Time Time Time
{R1-R3-R4-R6}

Ra2 Ra4
{R1-R3-R5-R6}
{R1-R2-R4-R6} Ra1
Ra6

Oa1 Ra3 Ra5

Time
t0 t1 t2 t3

R2 R4
Arrival of *Op2 *Op3
order 1 at R1 R6
time t0 *Op1 *Op4
R3 R5
*Op2 *Op3

Fig. 18.26 Exploring mechanism of an ant agent in multi-agent manufacturing control systems. (After [72]). R: resource, Ra : resource agent, t:
time

are difficult to build, are domain-specific, and unable to
capture the complex nature of agent interactions in collab-
orative e-Work, e-Business, and e-Service systems. One of
the established approaches that tackles this limitation is the
dynamical systems theory [73–76], which mathematically
describes the behavior of complex, collaborative dynamical
systems through advanced differential equations. Although
these methods allow to develop precise mathematical models
for actions, states, state transitions, and policies, they are
not the best platform for building collaborative e-Work sys-
tem for one main reason: They are “model-based” and thus
domain-specific and require a significant amount of time and
effort to build and maintain.
Recent advances in artificial intelligence and deep learn-
ing [77] have enabled new possibilities for collaborative con-
trol of distributed and autonomous agents in e-Work systems
through deep reinforcement learning (DRL) [78]. This setup
is ideal for industrial applications where, for example, an
industrial robot has to take several steps to finish an operation
(e.g., assembly, welding, pick-and-place), a mobile robot has
to navigate through various points in a warehouse to complete
428
Environment
Aggregate Reward State Reward State Reward State
action rk(1) sk(1) rk(2) sk(2) rk(n) sk(n)
ak
Agent 1 Agent 2
Action Action Action
ak(1) ak(2) ak(n)
(i)
Fig. 18.27 The stochastic game for multi-agent RL. sk : state of agent
i at step k, a(i) (i)
k : action of agent i at step k, rk : reward of agent i at step k
a delivery, or a smart product has to go through a series
of processing equipment to be finished. The resurgence of
artificial neural networks after the multi-decade long “AI
winter” and the rise of deep learning allowed DRL to boom
and reach superhuman performance in playing both single-
and multi-agent Atari games just a few years ago [79–82].
These recent remarkable achievements by DRL signify its
potentials for solving more complex and practical problems,
including the collaborative control and automation of multi-
agent, industrial systems.
Multi-agent DRL [83–86] involves multiple agents that
learn by dynamically interacting with a shared environment
(Fig. 18.27). At the intersection of DRL, game theory, and
direct policy search techniques, multi-agent RL is formally
defined as a stochastic game: a dynamic game with proba-
bilistic transitions played in a sequence of stages, where the
outcomes of each stage depend on (1) the previous stage of
the game played and (2) the actions of the agents in that game
[84]. Notwithstanding its potentials, application of multi-
agent DRL for intelligent control of distributed and collabo-
rative e-Work, e-Business, and e-Service systems require sev-
eral theoretical and technological challenges to be addressed:
1. The first and foremost is the curse of dimensionality.
The state-action space of agents exponentially grows as
a function of the number of states, actions, and agents in
the system.
2. Specifying the agents’ learning goals in the general
stochastic game is a challenging task as the agents’ returns
are correlated and cannot be maximized independently.
3. All agents in the system are learning simultaneously, and
thus, each agent is faced with a moving-target learning
problem, known as non-stationarity. That is, the best over-
all policy changes as the other agents’ policies change.
4. The agents’ actions must be mutually consistent in order
to achieve their individual and collective goals.
5. Application of multi-agent RL to practical e-Work settings
requires precise and detailed digital replicas of the phys-
M. Moghaddam and S. Y. Nof
ical environments for the agents to experience different
policies and master their respective complex tasks through
trial-and-error.
Further research will address and overcome the above
Agent n
limitations. As a result, learning and adaptive collaborative
control will enable better collaboration engineering of col-
laborative automation and collaborative e-Work.
18.5 Conclusions and Challenges
Collaboration must be automated in distributed and com-
plex systems of machines, humans, and organizations that
must be automated to augment the abilities of individual
entities and entire e-Work systems to accomplish their mis-
sions. The benefits of e-Work, e-Business, and e-Service
and any collaborative automation, in general, are the direct
results of automating collaborative processes, the integration
of physical processes with computation through embedded
computers and feedback control loops, and the access to
a full-fledged Internet of smart agents, machines, systems,
products, and humans. Collaborative e-Work and CCT enable
the cyber-based automation of processes and strategies for
error/conflict/disruption mitigation and prevention that are
proven to guarantee better service, faster response, and more
profit. The adaptability and autonomy of e-Work systems and
enterprises enabled by CCT allow the automation of business
processes 24/7 with decreasing need for human interven-
tion, from factory floors to transportation systems, hospitals,
agricultural fields, trade markets, and offices. Moreover, the
abundance of and immediate access to business and oper-
ational data from anywhere, and anytime, enable workers
and enterprises to collaborate more efficiently and more
effectively toward their individual and shared goals.
The methods by which distributed agents, from micro- and
nano-sensors to computers, machines, humans, and enter-
prises, interact and collaborate are being rapidly transformed.
Future research and discovery must advance the theoretical
foundations of e-Work and the principles of CCT in various
theoretical and technological directions [4, 87, 88], among
them:
1. Computer and communication security. Emerging
collaborative automation systems demand higher levels
of dependability and security, and effective structured
backup and recovery mechanisms for information,
computer, and communication systems. New theories,
methods, and technologies are required for preventing and
eliminating any conceivable errors, failures, and conflicts,
and sustaining critical continuity of operations.
2. Information assurance. A key requirement for next-
generation e-Work systems is to manage the risks associ-
18 Collaborative Control and E-work Automation
ated with the use, processing, storage, and transmission
of information among distributed entities. Information
assurance is critical for ensuring confidentiality, integrity,
and availability of information and knowledge-based
systems.
3. Ethics. The design of collaborative automation systems
must be cognizant of potential ethical issues and chal-
lenges. Examples include privacy violation, anonymous
access to individual property, recording conversations and
proprietary knowledge, cybercrime, cyberterrorism, and
information hiding or obscuring.
4. Sustainability. Sustainable design of collaborative
automation systems require new technical and organi-
zational solutions surrounding business processes, supply
networks, product design and life cycle management,
process innovation, and technology advancements. Major
sustainability challenges are:
• Environmental: Strategic reduction of waste, reduc-
tion of industrial pollution, energy consumption and
hazards, and environmental disasters caused by the
industry
• Social: Employee satisfaction, quality of life, expendi-
ture on peripheral development, and workplace safety
and health
• Economic: Sustaining profitability and viability, trans-
portation and civil activities, turnover ratio, gross mar-
gin, and capital investment
5. Ability to collaborate more effectively. The ubiquitous and
real-time access to abundant business and operational data
and platforms through collaborative automation systems
(e.g., mobile commerce, tele-medicine, fee-based infor-
mation delivery, ubiquitous computing) must enhance the
ability of enterprises to collaborate internally and with
the external world. This requires new communication
technologies, and collaborative control mechanisms pro-
vide all entities with the information and decision-making
capabilities they need to work toward their individual and
collective goals.
6. Incentive-based collaboration. Collaborative automation
systems must always be designed and administered
around a fundamental question: Why share and not
compete, and what are the role and optimal level
of collaboration to ensure the competitiveness of an
individual entity? Collaboration by itself may not always
lead to success—it must be balanced by a certain
degree of competition to ensure both sustainability and
growth.
7. Multicultural interactions. With trends toward globaliza-
tion, the design of collaborative automation systems must
incorporate cross-cultural communications, interactions,
and collaborations among individuals from a variety of
cultural backgrounds working together to achieve com-
mon goals. The challenge is to integrate and harmonize
429
the knowledge and expertise dispersed among several
disciplines and research areas to avoid potential cultural
conflicts.
8. Leveraging recent advances in artificial intelligence. The
rise of deep learning after the decades-long AI winter must
be leveraged to invent methods and algorithms that enable
agents to directly learn from abundant real-time sensory
data to optimize the performance of distributed e-Work
systems in a distributed, synchronous, and autonomous
fashion. Future research must focus on the development
of the digital tools and analytical methods and algo-
rithms that can augment CCT and e-Work automation by
bringing this vision to life. That includes defining and
developing the foundations for collaborative control to
create synergies between existing CCT design principles
and AI methods such as reinforcement learning, expand- 18
ing the breadth of investigation and implementation of
collaborative e-Work principles and methodologies, and
defining and assessing new measures for productivity,
efficiency, resilience, and adaptability to better understand
and improve the emerging e-Work systems and collabora-
tive automation environments.
See more on collaborative robots automation in Chap-
ter 15, and on interoperability in Chapter 33.
18.6 Further Reading
• X.W. Chen: Network Science Models for Data Analytics
Automation: Theories and Applications (Springer ACES
Series, Cham, Switzerland 2022) vol. 9.
• L.N. de Castro: Fundamentals of Natural Computing:
Basic Concepts, Algorithms, and Applications (Chapman
Hall/CRC, New York 2006).
• H.M. Deitel, P.J. Deitel, K. Steinbuhler: e-Business and
e-Commerce for Managers (Prentice-Hall, New Jersey
2001).
• V.G. Duffy, S.J. Landry, J.D. Lee, N. Stanton (Eds.):
Human-Automation Interaction: Transportation (Springer
ACES Series, Cham, Switzerland 2023).
• V.G. Duffy, M. Lehto, Y. Yih, R.W. Proctor (Eds.):
Human-Automation Interaction: Manufacturing, Services
and User Experience (Springer ACES Series, Cham,
Switzerland 2023).
• V.G. Duffy, M. Ziefle, P-L.P. Rau, M.M. Tseng (Eds.):
Human-Automation Interaction: Mobile Computing
(Springer ACES Series, Cham, Switzerland 2023).
• P.O. Dusadeerungsikul, X. He, M. Sreeram, S.Y. Nof:
Multi-agent system optimisation in factories of the future:
cyber collaborative warehouse study. International journal
of production research. 60(20), 6072–6086 (2022).
• P. Harmon, M. Rosen, M. Guttman: Developing
e-Business Systems and Architectures: A Manager’s
Guide (Academic, San Diego 2001).
430
• S. Johnson: Emergence: The Connected Lives of Ants,
Brains, Cities and Software (Scribner, New York 2002).
• M. Kevin, K.M. Passino: Biomimicry for Optimization,
Control, and Automation (Springer, London 2005).
• P.B. Lowry, J.O. Cherrington, R.R. Watson (Eds.): The e-
Business Handbook (St. Lucie, New York 2002).
• C. Ma, A. Concepcion: A security evaluation model for
multi-agent distributed systems. In: Technologies for
Business Information Systems, ed. by W. Abramowicz,
H.C. Mayr (Springer, New York 2007) pp. 403–415.
• S. McKie: e-Business Best Practices Leveraging Technol-
ogy for Business Advantage (Wiley, New York 2001).
• M. Moghaddam, S.Y., Nof: Best Matching Theory &
Applications (Springer International Publishing, 2017).
• F. Munoz, A. Nayak, S.C. Lee: Engineering Applications
of Social Welfare Functions: Generic Framework of Dy-
namic Resource Allocation (Springer ACES Series 2023).
• W.P.V. Nguyen, O.P. Dusadeerungsikul, S.Y. Nof: Collab-
orative Control, Task Administration, and Fault Tolerance
for Supply Network. In: Supply Network Dynamics and
Control, ed. by A. Dolgui, D. Ivanov, B. Sokolov (Springer
Series in Supply Chain Management 2022).
• S.Y. Nof, J., Ceroni, W., Jeong, M., Moghaddam: Revolu-
tionizing Collaboration through e-Work, e-Business, and
e-Service (Springer International Publishing, 2015).
• R. Reyes Levalle: Resilience by Teaming in Supply
Chains and Networks (Springer International Publishing,
2018).
• R.T. Rust, P.K. Kannan (Eds.): e-Service: New Directions
in Theory and Practice (Sharpe, New York 2002).
• H. Zhong, S.Y., Nof: Dynamic Lines of Collaboration –
Disruption Handling & Control (Springer International
Publishing, 2020).
• I. Tkach, Y. Edan: Distributed Heterogeneous Multi
Sensor Task Allocation Systems (Springer ACES Series,
Cham, Switzerland 2020) vol. 7.
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A.S., Leblond, R., Pohlen, T., Dalibard, V., Budden, D., Sulsky, by the US National Science Foundation and industry.
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Shimon Y. Nof, Ph.D., D.H.C., is a Professor of Industrial Engineering
86. Egorov, M.: Multi-agent deep reinforcement learning. In: CS231n:
and the director of the NSF-industry supported PRISM Center, Purdue
Convolutional Neural Networks for Visual Recognition (2016)
University. Has held visiting positions at MIT and universities in Chile,
87. Nof, S.Y., Morel, G., Monostori, L., Molina, A., Filip, F.: From
EU, Hong Kong, Israel, Japan, Mexico, Philippines, and Taiwan. Re-
plant and logistics control to multi-enterprise collaboration. Ann.
ceived his B.Sc. and M.Sc. in Industrial Engineering and Management
Rev. Control 30(1), 55–68 (2006)
(Human-Machine Systems), Technion, Haifa, Israel; Ph.D. in Industrial
88. Morel, G., Pereira, C.E., Nof, S.Y.: Historical survey and emerging
and Operations Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. In
challenges of manufacturing automation modeling and control:
2002, he was awarded with the Engellerger Medal for Robotics Edu-
a systems architecting perspective. Ann. Rev. Control 47, 21–34
cation. Fellow of IISE; Fellow, President and former Secretary General
(2019)
of IFPR; former Chair of IFAC CC-Mfg. and Logistics systems, Dr.
89. Dusadeerungsikul, P. O., Nof, S. Y.: Cyber collaborative warehouse
Nof has published over 550 articles on production engineering and
with dual-cycle operations design, Int. J. of Prod. Res., 1–13 (2022)
cyber technology and is the author/editor of sixteen books, including
the Handbook of Industrial Robotics (Wiley, 1985) and the International
Encyclopedia of Robotics (Wiley, 1988), both winners of the “Most Out-
standing Book in Science and Engineering” award by the Association of
American Publishers; Industrial Assembly; the Handbook of Industrial
Robotics (2nd Edition) (Wiley, 1999); the Handbook of Automation
(Springer, 2009); Cultural Factors in Systems Design: Decision Making
and Action (CRC press, 2012); Laser and Photonic Systems: Design and
Integration (CRC Press, 2014); Revolutionizing Collaboration through
e-Work, e-Business, and e-Service in the Automation, Collaboration,
and E-Services (ACES) Book Series (Springer, 2015); and Best Match-
ing Theory and Applications (ACES, Springer 2017).
 Design for Human-Automation
and Human-Autonomous Systems 19
John D. Lee and Bobbie D. Seppelt

Contents more, not less, important as automation becomes more

19.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 433 powerful and prevalent. More powerful automation
demands greater attention to its design, supervisory
19.2 The Variety of Automation and Increasingly
Autonomous Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 434 responsibilities, system maintenance, software upgrades,
and automation coordination. Developing automation
19.3 Challenges with Automation and Autonomy . . . . . . . 435
19.3.1 Changes in Feedback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 436
without consideration of the human operator can lead to
19.3.2 Changes in Tasks and Task Structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 437 new and more catastrophic failures. For automation to
19.3.3 Operators’ Cognitive and Emotional Response . . . . . . . . 438 fulfill its promise, designers must avoid a technology-
19.4 Automation and System Characteristics . . . . . . . . . . . 439 centered approach that often yields strong but silent
19.4.1 Authority and Autonomy at Information Processing forms of automation, and instead adopt an approach
Stages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 440 that considers the joint operator-automation system
19.4.2 Complexity, Observability, and Directability . . . . . . . . . 440 that yields more collaborative, communicative forms of
19.4.3 Timescale and Multitasking Demands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 441
19.4.4 Agent Interdependencies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 441 automation. Automation-related problems arise because
19.4.5 Environment Interactions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 442 introducing automation changes the type and extent of
19.5 Automation Design Methods and Application
feedback that operators receive, as well as the nature and
Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 442 structure of tasks. Also, operators’ behavioral, cognitive,
19.5.1 Human-Centered Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 442 and emotional responses to these changes can leave the
19.5.2 Fitts’ List and Function Allocation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 444 system vulnerable to failure. No single approach can
19.5.3 Operator-Automation Simulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 445
19.5.4 Enhanced Feedback and Representation Aiding . . . . . . . 446
address all of these challenges because automation is
19.5.5 Expectation Matching and Simplification . . . . . . . . . . . . 447 a heterogeneous technology. There are many types and
forms of automation and each poses different design
19.6 Future Challenges in Automation Design . . . . . . . . . . 449
19.6.1 Swarm Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 449 challenges. This chapter describes how different types
19.6.2 Operator–Automation Networks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 449 of automation place different demands on operators. It
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 450 also presents strategies that can help designers achieve
promised benefits of automation. The chapter concludes
with future challenges in automation design and human
Abstract interaction with increasingly autonomous systems.

Designers frequently look toward automation as a way Keywords

to increase system efficiency and safety by reducing
human involvement. This approach can disappoint Automation design · Vehicle automation · Mental
because the contribution of people often becomes models · Supply chains · Trust

J. D. Lee ()
Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, University of
Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WA, USA 19.1 Introduction
e-mail: jdlee@engr.wisc.edu
B. D. Seppelt () Designers often view automation as the path toward greater
Autonomous Vehicles, Ford Motor Company, Dearborn, MI, USA efficiency and safety. In many cases, automation does deliver
e-mail: bseppelt@ford.com
these benefits. In the case of the control of cargo ships
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 433
S. Y. Nof (ed.), Springer Handbook of Automation, Springer Handbooks,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-96729-1_19
434
and oil tankers, automation has made it possible to operate
a vessel with as few as 8–12 crew members, compared
with the 30–40 that were required 50 years ago [1]. In the
case of aviation, automation has reduced flight times and
increased fuel efficiency [2]. Similarly, automation in the
form of decision-support systems has been credited with
saving millions of dollars in guiding policy and production
decisions [3]. Machine learning and artificial intelligence
(AI) have become a central part of many businesses, such
as the algorithms that manage Facebook news feeds and
the algorithms that help stylists select clothing at StitchFix.
Automation promises greater efficiency, lower workload, and
fewer human errors; however, these promises are not always
fulfilled.
A common fallacy is that automation can improve system
performance by eliminating human variability and errors.
This fallacy often leads to mishaps that surprise operators,
managers, and designers. As an example, the cruise ship
Royal Majesty ran aground because the global positioning
system (GPS) signal was lost and the position estimation
reverted to position extrapolation based on speed and head-
ing (dead reckoning). For over 24 h the crew followed the
compelling electronic chart display and did not notice that
the GPS signal had been lost or that the position error had
been accumulating. The crew failed to heed indications from
boats in the area, lights on the shore, and even salient changes
in water color that signal shoals. The surprise of the GPS
failure was only discovered when the ship ran aground [4,
5]. As this example shows, automation does not guarantee
improved efficiency and error-free performance.
For automation to fulfill its promise, we must focus not
on the design of the automation, but on designing the joint
human-automation system. A study of 3000 organizations
in 29 industries found that only 11% had seen a sizable
return on their investment in artificial intelligence (AI). In
contrast, 73% of those organizations that blended AI and
human capabilities into a team that learns reported a sizable
return on their investment [6]. Automation often fails to
provide expected benefits because it does not simply replace
the human in performing a task, but also transforms the
job and introduces a new set of tasks and organizational
requirements [7].
One way to view the automation failure that led to the
grounding of the Royal Majesty is that it was simply a mal-
function of an otherwise well-designed system – a problem
with the technical implementation. Another view is that the
grounding occurred because the interface design failed to
support the new navigation task and failed to counteract a
general tendency for people to over-rely on generally reliable
automation – a problem with human-technology integration.
Although it is often easiest to blame automation failures on
technical problems or human errors, many problems result
J. D Lee and B. D Seppelt
from a failure to consider the challenges of designing not just
the automation, but a joint human-automation system.
Automation fails because the role of the person perform-
ing the task is often underestimated, particularly the need for
people to compensate for the unexpected. Although automa-
tion can handle typical cases it often lacks the flexibility of
humans to handle unanticipated situations. In most applica-
tions, neither the human nor the automation can accommo-
date all situations – each has limits. Avoiding these failures
requires a design process with a focus on the joint human-
automation team. Automation design itself can be viewed
as people controlling a system at a distance. In automation
design, developers must anticipate, understand, and define
the roles of human operators and automation. Complex set-
tings make it difficult for designers to anticipate how their
automation design choices will perform, particularly how
people will work with it. Successful automation design must
empower the operator to compensate for the limits of the
automation as well as capitalize on its capabilities.
This chapter describes automation and increasingly au-
tonomous systems and some of the problems they frequently
encounter. It then describes how these problems relate to
types of automation and what design strategies can help
designers achieve the promise of automation. The chap-
ter concludes with future challenges in automation design.
Figure 19.1 provides an overview of the chapter and a general
approach for achieving the promise of automation. This
approach begins by understanding the challenges posed by
automation and recognizing the diversity of automation. This
then leads to applying design methods suited to the charac-
teristics of a particular instance of automation.
19.2 The Variety of Automation
and Increasingly Autonomous
Systems
Automation and increasingly autonomous systems encom-
pass an expanding variety of technologies. Unlike the au-
tomation and telerobotics of 50 years ago, which was rel-
egated to technical domains, such as process control and
aviation, today automation in its various forms is moving
into daily life. Algorithms govern the news we see, guide the
cars we drive, and even inform parole and policing decisions
[8, 9]. Factory automation that was once separated from
people is moving into closer relationships, like robots that
collaborate with people or as exoskeletons that people wear
[10, 11]. Some automation even physically melds with our
bodies and senses, such as prostheses that are coupled to
the brain or as augmented and virtual reality that allows you
to see and hear a different world [12–14]. Automation can
extend human capabilities profoundly.
19 Design for Human-Automation and Human-Autonomous Systems 435

Challenges Characteristics Methods

Human-centered design
Changes in feedback
Authority and autonomy Fitts’ list and function allocation
Changes in task structure
Complexity, observability, and Operator-automation simulation
Cognitive and directability
emotional response Enhanced feedback and
Timescale and multitasking representation aiding
demands
Expectation matching and
Agent interdependencies simplification
Environment interactions

Fig. 19.1 Automation challenges, characteristics, and design method

Some forms of automation act not as extensions of our ca-
pability, but as supervisors or coaches. Such automation can
monitor drivers to detect indications of distraction drowsi-
ness, or other impairments [15, 16]. Wearable technology
can detect falls and call for aid, and even remind people to
wash their hands. As work and teaching move out of the
office and classroom to the home, such automation can coach
and police behavior by tracking productivity and cheating
[14, 17]. Such automation raises concerns about ethics of
privacy and fairness that go beyond the more typical focus
on performance and safety.
In all of these instances, automation does not eliminate
the person, it amplifies and extends human influence. This
increasing influence reflects the greater span of control that
automation gives operators, as well as the greater influence
developers’ decisions have on how automation acts in the
world. Increasingly autonomous automation increases the de-
gree to which developers can directly contribute to mishaps.
Consequently, automation can amplify “human errors” of
both developers and operators. The role of “human error” in
mishaps shifts from the traditional focus on “operator error”
to “automation designer error”. The balance of this chapter
describes potential problems and design strategies to ensure
automation provides the benefits designers expect.
19.3 Challenges with Automation
and Autonomy
Automation is often designed and implemented with a focus
on the technical aspects of sensors, algorithms, and actu-
ators. These are necessary but not sufficient design con-
siderations to ensure that automation enhances system per-
formance. Such a technology-centered design approach of-
ten confronts the human operator with challenges that lead
to system failures. Because automation often dramatically 19
extends operators’ influence on systems (e.g., automation
makes it possible for one person to do the work of ten),
the consequences of these failures can be catastrophic. The
factors underlying these failures are complex and interacting.
Failures arise because introducing automation changes the
type and extent of feedback that operators receive, as well as
the nature and structure of tasks. Also, operators’ behavioral,
cognitive, and emotional responses to these changes can
leave the system vulnerable to failure. A technology-centered
approach to automation design often ignores these chal-
lenges, and as a consequence, fails to realize the promise of
automation.
The quest for “autonomous systems” often accentuates the
problems of a technology-centered approach. Autonomy is
often framed in terms of the ability of a system to operate
without the need for human involvement. In this context,
autonomy is pursued to eliminate human error, variability,
and costs; however, autonomous systems do not eliminate
people, they simply change the roles of people. Ironically,
these new roles often make the occasional human error more
consequential. Demonstrations of autonomy often neglect
the network of sensors, algorithms, and people needed to
support autonomous systems, particularly when such systems
confront situations that violate the developers’ assumptions
[18]. Rather than considering autonomy as an aspirational
endpoint, it may be more useful to consider systems as
“increasingly autonomous” with a realization that increasing
autonomy makes the reduced human input more, not less,
consequential [19]. In the case of algorithmic trading in
financial markets, an entry error, a spreadsheet typo, or a
poorly specified algorithm can now do billions of dollars
of damage where a single person’s influence without al-
gorithmic trading is much more limited. In addition, au-
tonomy suggests a system that is self-governing and free
436
to act independently of people. Such independence brings
new challenges associated with aligning the goals and in-
tentions of the technology with those of the people that it
affects [20–22]. Many of these challenges can be grouped
into three areas: changes in feedback, changes in the task
structure, and the cognitive and emotional response to these
changes.
Greater autonomy is needed in some situations, such as in
Ch.  51 which considers the need for autonomy in space
exploration where distance precludes direct control. The
need for autonomy in space exploration helps to clarify the
tradeoffs associated with increasing autonomy. Specifically,
autonomy can be considered autonomy from whom? This im-
plies that some degree of control will be lost for some people.
Communication delays, communication bandwidth, and con-
trol delays may all require greater autonomy and associated
loss of some control by some people. Also, autonomy can be
considered in terms of autonomy to do what? As with people
in an organization, autonomy is granted with limits and with
people deciding the purpose of the increasingly autonomous
automation. Chapter  51 discusses issues of autonomy and
space exploration in more detail. Here we consider how
increasingly autonomous systems can be crafted so they
enhance rather than diminish human agency, avoiding the
false dichotomy of automation autonomy necessarily reduces
human autonomy.
19.3.1 Changes in Feedback
Feedback is central to control. One reason why automation
fails is that automation often dramatically changes the type
and extent of the feedback the operator receives. In the
context of driving a car, the driver keeps the car in the center
of the lane by adjusting the steering wheel according to
visual feedback regarding the position of the car on the road
and haptic feedback from the forces on the steering wheel.
Emerging vehicle technology may automate lane keeping,
but in doing so, it might remove haptic cues, thereby leaving
the driver with only visual cues. Diminished or eliminated
feedback is a common occurrence with automation and it
can leave people less prepared to intervene if manual control
is required [23, 24]. Automation can eliminate and change
feedback in a way that can undermine the ability of people to
work with automation to control the system.
Automation often replaces the feedback available in man-
ual control with qualitatively different feedback. As an exam-
ple, introducing automation into paper-making plants moved
operators from the plant floor and placed them in control
rooms. This move distanced them from the physical process
and eliminated the informal feedback associated with vibra-
tions, sounds, and smells that many operators relied upon
[25]. At best, this change in cues requires operators to relearn
J. D Lee and B. D Seppelt
how to control the plant. At worst, the instrumentation and
associated displays may not have the information needed
for operators to diagnose automation failures and intervene
appropriately. Automation can also qualitatively shift the
feedback from raw system data to processed, integrated in-
formation. Although such integrated data can be simple and
easily understood, particularly during routine situations, it
may also lack the detail necessary to detect and understand
system failures. As an example, the bridge of the cruise
ship Royal Majesty had an electronic chart that automatically
integrated inertial and GPS navigation data to show operators
their position relative to their intended path. This high-level
representation of the ship’s position remained on the intended
course even when the underlying GPS data were no longer
used and the ship’s actual position drifted many miles off the
intended route. In this case, the lack of low-level data and
any indication of the integrated data quality left operators
without the feedback they needed to diagnose and respond
to the failures of the automation.
The diminished feedback that accompanies automation
often has a direct influence on a mishap, as in the case of the
Royal Majesty. However, diminished feedback can also act
over a longer period to undermine operator’ ability to perform
tasks. In situations in which the automation takes on the
tasks previously assigned to the operator, the operator’s skills
may atrophy as they go unexercised [26]. Operators with
substantial previous experience and well-developed men-
tal models detect disturbances more rapidly than operators
without this experience, but extended periods of monitoring
automatic control may undermine skills and diminish op-
erators’ ability to generate expectations of correct behavior
[24]. Such deskilling leaves operators without the skills to
accommodate the demands of the job if they need to assume
manual control. This is a particular concern in aviation, where
pilots’ aircraft handling skills may degrade when they rely on
the autopilot. In response, some pilots disengage the autopilot
and fly the aircraft manually to maintain their skills [27, 28].
One approach to combat the potential for disengagement and
deskilling is to amplify rather than mask indications that the
automation is approaching its operating boundary [29, 30].
More generally, designers need to consider how to design
feedback that communicates what the automation is doing
and what it will do next to help operators decide if and when
to intervene [31].
Automation design requires the specification of sensor,
algorithm, and actuator characteristics and their interactions.
A technology-centered approach might stop there; however,
automation that works effectively requires specification of
the feedback provided to its operators. Without careful con-
sideration of feedback mechanisms, implementing automa-
tion can eliminate and change feedback operators receive in a
way that can undermine the ability of automation to enhance
overall task performance.
19 Design for Human-Automation and Human-Autonomous Systems
19.3.2 Changes in Tasks and Task Structure
One reason for automation is that it can relieve operators of
repetitive, labor-intensive, and error-prone tasks. Frequently,
however, the situation becomes more complex because au-
tomation does not simply relieve the operator of tasks, it
changes the nature of tasks and adds new tasks. This often
means that automation requires new skills of operators. Of-
ten, automation eliminates simple physical tasks and leaves
complex cognitive tasks that may appear easy. These super-
ficially easy, yet complex, tasks often lead organizations to
place less emphasis on training. On ships, training and certifi-
cation unmatched to the demands of the automation have led
to accidents because of the operators’ misunderstanding of
new radar and collision avoidance systems [32]. For example,
on the exam used by the US Coast Guard to certify radar
operators, 75% of the items assess skills that have been
automated and are not required by the new technology [33].
The new technology makes it possible to monitor a greater
number of ships, thereby enhancing the need for interpretive
skills such as understanding the rules of the road that govern
maritime navigation and automation. These are the very skills
that are underrepresented on the Coast Guard exam. Though
automation may relieve the operator of some tasks, it often
leads to new and more complex tasks that require more, not
less, training.
Automation can also change the nature and structure of
tasks so that easy tasks are made easier and hard tasks
harder – a phenomenon referred to as clumsy automation
[34]. As Bainbridge [35] notes, one of the ironies of automa-
tion is that designers often leave the operator with the most
difficult tasks because the designers found them difficult to
automate. Because the easy tasks have been automated, the
operator has less experience and an impoverished context for
responding to the difficult tasks. In this situation, automation
has the effect of both reducing workload during already low-
workload periods and increasing it during high-workload
periods; for example, a flight management system tends to
make the low-workload phases of flight (e.g., straight and
level flight or a routine climb) easier, but high-workload
phases (e.g., the maneuvers in preparation for landing) more
difficult as pilots have to share their time between land-
ing procedures, communication, and programming the flight
management system. Such effects are seen not only in avia-
tion but in many other domains, such as the operating room
[36, 37].
The effects of clumsy automation often occur at the micro
level of individual operators and over several minutes, but
such effects can also occur across teams of operators over
hours or days of operation. Such macro-level clumsy automa-
tion is evident in maritime operations, where automation used
for open-ocean sailing reduces the task requirements of the
crew, prompting reductions in the crew size. In this situation,
437
automation can have the consequence of making the easy
part of the voyage (e.g., open-ocean sailing) easier and the
hard part (e.g., port activities) harder [38]. Avoiding clumsy
automation requires a broad consideration of how automation
affects both the micro and macro task structure of operators.
Because automation changes the task structure, new forms
of human error often emerge. Ironically, managers and sys-
tem designers introduce automation to eliminate human er-
ror, but new and more disastrous errors often result, in part
because automation extends the scope of and reduces the
redundancy of human actions. As a consequence, human
errors may be more likely to go undetected and do more
damage; for example, a flight-planning system for pilots can
induce dramatically poor decisions because the automation
assumes weather forecasts represent reality and lacks the
flexibility to consider situations in which the actual weather
might deviate from the forecast [39]. This designer-induced
automation fragility becomes a more prominent threat as 19
systems become increasingly autonomous.
Automation-induced errors also occur because the task
structure changes in a way that undermines collaboration
between operators. Effective system performance involves
performing both formal and informal tasks. Informal tasks
enable operators to compensate for the limits of the formal
task structure; for example, with paper charts mariners will
check each others’ work, share uncertainties, and informally
train each other as positions are plotted [40]. Eliminating
these informal tasks can make it more difficult to detect
and recover from errors, such as the one that led to the
grounding of the Royal Majesty. Automation can also disrupt
the cooperation between operators reflected in these informal
tasks. Cooperation occurs when a person acts in a way that is
in the best interests of the group even when it is contrary to his
or her own best interests. Most complex, multiperson systems
depend on cooperation. Automation can disrupt interactions
between people and undermine the ability and willingness of
one operator to compensate for another. Because automation
also acts on behalf of people, it can undermine cooperation
by giving one operator the impression that another operator is
acting competitively, such as when the automation’s behavior
is due to a malfunction rather than the operator’s intent [41].
Automation does not simply eliminate tasks once per-
formed by the operator: it changes the task structure and cre-
ates new tasks that need to be supported, thereby opening the
door to new types of errors. When automation is introduced
into a dynamic task environment (e.g., driving, aviation, ship
navigation, etc.), additional tasks are introduced that the
person must perform [24, 35, 36]. Still part of the overall
system, the person cannot simply or complacently relegate
tasks to automation: they must supervise the automation.
New skills are required in the role of supervisor. Supervision
of automation in a dynamic, uncertain environment involves
information integration and analysis, system expertise, an-
438
alytical decision-making, sustained attention, and mainte-
nance of manual skill [27, 42]. Contrary to the expectations of
a technology-centered approach to automation design, intro-
ducing automation makes it more rather than less important
to consider the operators’ tasks and added roles.
19.3.3 Operators’ Cognitive and Emotional
Response
Automation sometimes causes problems because it changes
operators’ feedback and tasks. Operators’ cognitive and emo-
tional responses to these changes can amplify these prob-
lems; for example, as automation changes the operator’s task
from direct control to monitoring, the operator may be more
prone to direct attention away from the monitoring task,
further diminishing the feedback the operator receives from
the system. The tendency to overtrust and complacently rely
on automation, particularly during multitasking situations,
may underlie this tendency to disengage from the monitoring
task [43–45].
People are not passive recipients of the changes to the
task structure that automation makes. Instead, people adapt to
automation and this adaptation leads to a new task structure.
One element of this adaptation is captured by the ideas of
reliance and compliance [46]. Reliance refers to the degree to
which operators depend on automation to perform a function.
Compliance refers to the degree to which automation changes
the operators’ response to a situation. Inappropriate reliance
and compliance are common automation problems that occur
when people rely on or comply with automation in situations
where it performs poorly, or when people fail to capitalize on
its capabilities [47].
Maladaptive adaptation generally, and inappropriate re-
liance specifically, depends, in part, on operators’ attitudes,
such as trust and self-confidence [48, 49]. In the context
of operator reliance on automation, trust has been defined
as an attitude that the automation will help achieve an op-
erator’s goals in a situation characterized by uncertainty
and vulnerability [50]. Trust is relevant to describing the
relationship between people and automation because people
respond socially to technology in a way that is similar to
how they respond to other people [51]. Just as trust mediates
relationships between people, it may also mediate relation-
ships between people and automation [52, 53, 54–58]. Many
studies have shown that trust is a useful concept in describing
human-automation interaction, both in naturalistic [25] and
in laboratory settings [59–61]. As an example, the difference
in operators’ trust in a route-planning aid and their self-
confidence in their ability was highly predictive of reliance
on the aid [62]. This and other studies show that people tend
to rely on automation they trust and to reject automation they
do not trust [50].
J. D Lee and B. D Seppelt
Inappropriate reliance often stems from a failure of trust
to match the true capabilities of the automation. Trust cali-
bration refers to the correspondence between a person’s trust
in the automation and the automation’s capabilities [50].
Overtrust is poor calibration in which trust exceeds system
capabilities; with distrust, trust falls short of automation
capabilities. Trust often responds to automation as one might
expect; it increases over time as automation performs well
and declines when automation fails. Importantly, however,
trust does not always follow the changes in automation
performance. Often, it is poorly calibrated. Trust displays in-
ertia and changes gradually over time rather than responding
immediately to changes in (automation) performance. After
a period of unreliable performance, trust is often slow to
recover, remaining low even when the automation performs
well [60]. More surprisingly, trust sometimes depends on
surface features of the system that seem unrelated to its
capabilities, such as the colors and layout of the interface
[63–65].
Attitudes such as trust and the associated influence
on reliance can exacerbate automation problems such as
clumsy automation. As noted earlier, clumsy automation
occurs when automation makes easy tasks easier and hard
tasks harder. Inappropriate trust can make automation more
clumsy because it leads operators to be more willing to
delegate tasks to the automation during periods of low
workload, compared with periods of high workload [35].
This observation demonstrates that clumsy automation is
not simply a problem of task structure, but one that depends
on operator adaptation that is mediated by attitudes, as with
trust.
The automation-related problems associated with inap-
propriate trust often stem from operators’ shifts from being
a direct controller to a monitor of the automation. This shift
also changes how operators perceive feedback. Automation
shifts people from direct involvement in the perception–
action loop to supervisory control [66, 67]. Passive observa-
tion that is associated with supervisory control is qualitatively
different than active monitoring associated with manual con-
trol [68, 69]. In manual control, perception directly supports
control, and control actions guide perception [70]. Moni-
toring automation disconnects the operators’ actions from
actions on the system. Such disconnects can undermine the
operator’s mental model (i.e., their working knowledge of
system dynamics, structure, and causal relationships between
components), leaving the mental model inadequate to guide
expectations and control [71, 72].
The shift from being a direct controller to a supervisory
controller can also have subtle, but important, effects on
behavior as operators adapt to the automation. Over time au-
tomation can unexpectedly shift operators’ safety norms and
behavior relative to safety boundaries. Behavioral adaptation
describes this effect and refers to the tendency of operators
19 Design for Human-Automation and Human-Autonomous Systems
to adapt to the new capabilities of automation, in which they
change their behavior so that the potential safety benefits
of the technology are not realized. Automation intended by
designers to enhance safety may instead lead operators to
reduce effort and leave safety unaffected or even diminished.
Behavioral adaptation can occur at the individual [73–75],
organizational [76], and societal levels [77].
Antilock brake systems (ABS) for cars demonstrate
behavioral adaptation. ABS automatically modulates brake
pressure to maintain maximum brake force without skidding.
This automation makes it possible for drivers to maintain
control in extreme crash avoidance maneuvers, which should
enhance safety. However, ABS has not produced expected
safety benefits. One reason is that drivers of cars with ABS
tend to drive less conservatively, adopting higher speeds
and shorter following distances [78]. Vision enhancement
systems provide another example of behavioral adaption.
These systems make it possible for drivers to see more at
night – a potential safety enhancement; however, drivers
tend to adapt to the vision systems by increasing their
speed [79].
A related form of behavioral adaptation that undermines
the benefits of automation is the phenomenon in which the
presence of automation causes diffusion of responsibility
and a tendency to exert less effort when the automation is
available [80, 81]. As a result, people tend to commit more
omission errors (failing to detect events not detected by the
automation) and more commission errors (incorrectly con-
curring with erroneous detection of events by the automation)
when they work with automation. This effect parallels the
adaptation of people when they work in groups; diffusion of
responsibility leads people to perform more poorly when they
are part of a group compared to individually [82].
The issues noted above have primarily addressed the di-
rect performance problems associated with automation. Job
satisfaction is another human–automation interaction issue
that goes well beyond performance to consider the morale
of workers whose job is being changed by automation [83].
Automation that is introduced merely because it increases the
profit of the company may not necessarily be well received.
Automation often has the effect of deskilling a job, making
skills that operators worked for years to perfect suddenly
obsolete. Properly implemented, automation should reskill
workers and make it possible for them to leverage their
old skills into new ones that are extended by its presence.
Many operators are highly skilled and proud of their craft;
automation can either empower or demoralize them [25].
Demoralized operators may fail to capitalize on the potential
of an automated system.
The cognitive and emotional response of operators to
automation can also compromise their health. If automation
creates an environment in which the demands of the work
increase, but the decision latitude decreases, it may then lead
439
to problems ranging from increased heart disease to increased
incidents of depression [84]. However, if automation extends
the capability of the operator and gives them greater agency
and decision latitude, then job satisfaction and health can
improve. As an example of improved satisfaction, night-shift
operators, who had greater decision latitude than day-shift
operators, leveraged their increased latitude to learn how to
manage the automation more effectively [25]. Increasingly
autonomous automation can undermine or enhance users’
autonomy. Automation that enhances the autonomy of people
brings benefits of greater system performance as well as
health and satisfaction of operators.
Automation problems can be described independently,
but they often reflect an interacting and dynamic process
[85]. One problem can lead to another through positive feed-
back and vicious cycles. As an example, inadequate training
may lead the operator to disengage from the monitoring
task. This disengagement leads to poorly calibrated trust and 19
overreliance, which in turn leads to skill loss and further
disengagement. A similar dynamic exists between clumsy
automation and automation-induced errors. Clumsy automa-
tion produces workload peaks, which increase the chance of
mode and configuration errors. Recovering from these errors
can further increase workload, and so on. Designing and im-
plementing automation without regard for human capabilities
and defining the human role as a byproduct is likely to initiate
these negative dynamics.
19.4 Automation and System
Characteristics
The likelihood and consequences of automation-related
problems depend on the characteristics of the automation
and the system being controlled. Automation is not a
homogenous technology. Instead, there are many types of
automation and each poses different design challenges. As
an example, automation can highlight, alert, filter, interpret,
decide, and act for the operator. It can assume different
degrees of control and can operate over timescales that range
from milliseconds to months. The type of automation and the
operating environment interact with the human to produce
the problems just discussed. As an example, if only a single
person manages the system then diminished cooperation and
collaboration are not a concern. Some important system and
automation characteristics include:
• Authority and autonomy of information processing stages
• Complexity, observability, and directability
• Time-scale and multitasking demands
• Agent interdependencies
• Interaction with environment
440
19.4.1 Authority and Autonomy
at Information Processing Stages
Defining automation in terms of information processing
stages describes it according to the information processing
functions of the person that it supports or replaces.
Automation can sense the world, analyze information,
identify appropriate responses to states of the world, or
control actuators to change those states [86, 87]. Information
acquisition automation refers to technology that replaces the
process of human perception. Such automation highlights
targets [88, 89], provides alerts and warnings [90, 91],
organizes, prioritizes, and filters information. Information
analysis automation refers to technology that supplants the
interpretation of a situation. An example of this type of
automation is a system that critiques a diagnosis generated
by the operator [92]. Action selection automation refers to
technology that combines information to make decisions on
behalf of the operator. Unlike information acquisition and
analysis, action selection automation suggests or decides on
actions using assumptions about the state of the world and
the costs and values of the possible options [87]. Action
implementation automation supplants the operators’ activity
in executing a response. The types of automation at each
of these four stages of information processing can differ
according to the degree of authority and autonomy.
Automation authority and autonomy concern the degree to
which automation can influence the system [93]. Authority
reflects the extent to which the automation amplifies the
influence of operators’ actions and overrides the actions
of other agents. High-authority automation has the power
to control. One facet of authority concerns whether or not
operators interact with automation by switching between
manual and automatic control. With some automation, such
as adaptive cruise control in cars, drivers simply engage
or disengage the automation, whereas automation on the
flight deck involves managing a complex network of modes
that are appropriate for some situations and not for others.
Interacting with such flight-deck automation requires the
operator to coordinate multiple goals and strategies to select
the mode of operation that fits the situation [94]. With such
multilevel automation, the idea of manual control may not be
relevant, and so the issues of skill loss and other challenges
with manual intervention may be of less concern. In these
situations, the concern becomes whether the design supports
automation management. The problems with high-authority,
multilevel automation are more likely to be those associated
with mode confusion and configuration errors.
Autonomy reflects the degree to which automation acts
without operator input or the opportunity to intervene.
Billings [28] describes two levels of autonomy: management
by consent, in which the automation acts only with the
consent of the operator, and management by exception,
J. D Lee and B. D Seppelt
in which automation initiates activities autonomously. As
another example, automation can either highlight targets
[89], filter information, or provide alerts and warnings [90].
Highlighting targets exemplifies a relatively low degree
of autonomy because it preserves the underlying data and
allows operators to guide their attention to the information
they believe to be most critical. Filtering exemplifies a higher
degree of automation autonomy because operators are forced
to attend to the information the automation deems relevant.
Alerts and warnings similarly exemplify a relatively high
level of autonomy because they guide the operator’s attention
to automation-dictated information and environmental states.
High levels of authority and autonomy can make automation
appear to act as an independent agent, even if the designers
had not intended operators to perceive it as such [95].
High levels of these two automation characteristics are an
important cause of clumsy automation and mode error and
can also undermine cooperation between people [96].
19.4.2 Complexity, Observability,
and Directability
Complexity, observability, and directability refer to the de-
grees of freedom resolved by the automation, how that com-
plexity is revealed to the operator, and the degree to which
the operator can influence how the automation resolves de-
grees of freedom [93]. As automation becomes increasingly
complex, it can transition from what operators might consider
a tool that they use to act on the environment to an agent
that acts as a semiautonomous partner. According to the
agent metaphor, the operator no longer acts directly on the
environment but acts through an intermediary agent [97] or
intelligent associate [98]. As an agent, automation initiates
actions that are not in direct response to operators’ com-
mands.
Automation that acts as an agent is typically very complex
and may or may not be observable. Observable automation
reveals what it is doing, what it is planning, and why it is
acting as it is. One of the greatest challenges with automated
agents is that of mutual intelligibility. Instructing the agent to
perform even simple tasks can be onerous, and agents that try
to infer operators’ intent and act autonomously can surprise
operators, who might lack accurate mental models of agent
behavior. One approach is for the agents to learn and adapt
to the characteristics of the operator through a process of
remembering what they have been being told to do in similar
situations [99]. After the agent completes a task, it can be
equally challenging to make the results observable and mean-
ingful to the operator [97]. Because of these characteristics,
agents are most useful for highly repetitive and simple, low-
risk activities, where the cost of failure is limited. In high-risk
situations, constructing effective management strategies and
19 Design for Human-Automation and Human-Autonomous Systems
providing feedback to clarify agent intent and communicate
behavior becomes critical [100]. The challenges associated
with agents reflect a general tradeoff with automation de-
sign: more complex automation is often more capable, but
less understandable. As a consequence, even though more
complex automation may appear superior, the performance
of the resulting human-automation system may be inferior to
that of a simpler, less capable version of the automation.
Directability concerns the degree to which the operator
can influence the behavior of the automation. At a high level,
this involves empowering people to align the intent, or more
technically, the cost function, of the automation with their in-
tent and goals. Directable automation operates on a hierarchy
of goals, subgoals, intents, and trajectories that are consistent
with how people think about the activity, and can be adjusted
at each level by people. For example, spell check is directable
in that it can be easily overridden either at the level of the
immediate intent (rejecting a suggested change) or at the level
of the overall goal (e.g., changing the dictionary). Directable
automation makes it possible for people to actively explore
its boundaries, not passively receive an explanation.
In machine learning (ML) and Artificial Intelligence (AI),
which underlies much automation, substantial effort has been
devoted to explaining the output of ML models [101]. The
emerging field of explainable AI can be thought of as mak-
ing it more observable. Beyond explanation, the concept of
directability merits consideration as a way of helping people
not just understand the automation but to enable people to
guide it toward more robust behavior. Another approach is
to create a simpler, inherently interpretable model. Most
data analytic problems include several models (e.g., a deep
learning neural net and a simple decision tree) that can
produce predictions that are close to optimal – they are part
of a Rashomon set [102]. Of the members of this set, the
interpretable model might have slightly lower predictive ac-
curacy. However, this simpler, more interpretable model will
help people detect assumption violations and detect when
the situation drifts away from the situation that produced the
training data. For this reason, it is often better to search for a
simple ML solution rather than try to explain a complex one
[102]. AI, machine learning, and automation more generally,
often benefit by reducing complexity and by making it more
observable and directable.
19.4.3 Timescale and Multitasking Demands
Timescale concerns the tempo of the interactions with au-
tomation. The timescale of automation varies dramatically,
from decision-support systems that guide corporate strategies
over months and years to antilock brake systems that modu-
late brake pressure over milliseconds. These distinctions can
be described in terms of strategic, tactical, and operational
441
automation. Strategic automation concerns balancing values
and costs, as well as defining goals; tactical automation,
on the other hand, involves setting priorities and coordinat-
ing tasks. Operational automation concerns the moment-to-
moment perception of system state and adjustment. With
operational automation, operators can experience substantial
time pressure when the tempo of activity, on the order of
milliseconds to seconds, exceeds their capacity to monitor
the automation and respond promptly to its limits [103, 104].
The timing of driver intervention with vehicle automation
that maintains both the distances to the vehicle ahead and
position within the lane is another example of a timescale
that can challenge human capabilities. As vehicle automation
becomes more capable drivers may be able to disengage for
many minutes to perform other tasks, but then they may need
to intervene within seconds when the automation encounters
a situation that it cannot accommodate, such as a stopped
vehicle or a tight curve [30, 105]. Monitoring automation for 19
long periods with the requirement for a rapid intervention is
a well-known design problem that has contributed to fatal
crashes [106]. The timescale of automation also limits the
opportunity to explain the behavior of automation. Complex
displays that convey nuanced explanations may be useful
for tactical and strategic automation, but simple peripheral
displays that don’t require operators’ focused attention may
be more appropriate for operational automation.
19.4.4 Agent Interdependencies
Agent interdependencies describe how tightly coupled the
work of one operator or element of automation is with
another [7, 76]. In some situations, automation might di-
rectly support the work of a team of people; and, in other
situations, automation might support the activity of a person
that has little interaction with others. An important source
of automation-related problems is the assumption that au-
tomation affects only one person or one set of tasks, causing
interactions with other operators to be neglected. Seemingly
independent tasks may be coupled, and automation tends to
tighten this coupling. As an example, on the surface, adaptive
cruise control affects only the individual driver who is using
the system. Because adaptive cruise control responds to the
behavior of the vehicle ahead, however, its behavior cannot
be considered without taking into account the surrounding
traffic dynamics. Failing to consider these interactions of
inter-vehicle velocity changes can lead to oscillations and
instabilities in the traffic speed, potentially compromising
driver safety and highway capacity [107, 108]. Similar fail-
ures occur in supply chains, as well as in petrochemical
processes where people and automation sometimes fail to
coordinate their activities [109]. Designing for such situa-
tions requires a change in perspective from one centered on
442
a single operator and a single element of automation to one
that considers a network of multi-operator–multi-automation
interactions [110, 111].
19.4.5 Environment Interactions
Interaction with the environment refers to the degree to
which the automation system is isolated from or interacts
with the surrounding environment. Closed systems do not
interact with an external environment, whereas open systems
require that the automation consider the environmental con-
text. The environmental context can affect the reliability and
behavior of the automation, the operator’s perception of the
automation, and thus the overall effectiveness of the human–
automation partnership [112–115]. An explicit environmen-
tal representation improves understanding of joint human-
automation performance [114].
More broadly, some types of automation and machine
learning can dramatically outperform people in closed sys-
tems. Closed systems, such as board games are complex
but bounded. In contrast, open systems often involve un-
knowable interactions with other agents, sensor failures, and
variability of meaning in sensed objects. Current machine
learning, AI, and automation tend to perform well in closed
systems, but struggles in open systems that demand error-
free performance. More concretely, AI can easily beat a
person in a computer-based chess game, but might lose
badly when playing on a physical chessboard selected by the
person.
Some open systems present particular challenges to AI
and are sometimes called wicked domains [116]. Wicked
domains have a set of characteristics that makes learning
difficult for people and for ML and AI. In contrast with
kind domains, in wicked domains the information available
for learning poorly matches information available when that
learning is applied to make choices and predictions. In hu-
man learning, wicked domains fuel decision biases when
the environment eliminates failures and people learn only
from successes (i.e., survivorship bias) and people focus on
an unrepresentative sample (i.e., selection bias). Considered
from the perspective of machine learning, characteristics of
wicked domains include [21, 117]:
• High-hazard low-risk: Challenging situations occur in-
frequently, but when they do, failure has catastrophic
consequences.
• A long tail of edge cases: Available data does not cover the
range of situations that will be encountered occasionally.
• Non-stationary systems: The statistical patterns to be
learned change over time.
• Aleatoric uncertainty: Uncertainty that reflects the inher-
ent unpredictability of the system, rather than epistemic
J. D Lee and B. D Seppelt
uncertainty that reflects a lack of knowledge that can be
rectified with more data.
• Interdependent dynamics: Feedback loops where the pre-
dictions and actions of the algorithm can influence the
behavior it tries to predict.
19.5 Automation Design Methods
and Application Examples
The previous section described some important characteris-
tics of automation and systems that contribute to automation-
related problems; these distinctions help to identify design
approaches to minimize them. This section describes spe-
cific strategies for designing effective automation, which
include:
• Human-centered design
• Function allocation with Fitts’ list
• Operator-automation simulation and analysis
• Representation aiding and enhanced feedback
• Expectation matching and automation simplification
19.5.1 Human-Centered Design
Human-centered design maintains a focus on the people the
automation is meant to support. Such a focus can address
many of the issues discussed in the preceding sections. The
human-centered design process can be simplified into three
phases: understand users, create a design concept, and eval-
uate the design concept [118, 119]. Understanding users
involves careful observations of people and the tasks they
perform, as well as principles of human behavior. With au-
tomation design, this also involves understanding the system,
such as whether it is open or closed, wicked or kind. Creating
involves using this understanding to produce initial design
concepts. These concepts are then evaluated with heuristic
evaluations and usability tests. Evaluation completes the
cycle and helps designers better understand the users and
their needs, providing input to the next cycle to create an
improved design concept.
Figure 19.2 shows iterative cycles of understand, create,
evaluate moving outward as the design concept evolves. The
cycles vary in how long they take to complete, with the
outer cycles taking months or years and inner cycles taking
minutes. An informal review of a paper prototype might take
minutes, but the in-service monitoring of released products
might extend over years.
The human-centered design process in Fig. 19.2 applies
to many aspects of automation design from the details of the
interface layout to the interaction architecture. Automation
design sometimes focuses on interface design and broader
19 Design for Human-Automation and Human-Autonomous Systems 443

aspects of automation design get neglected because designers
assume that automation can substitute for the person. How-
ever as discussed previously, automation often fundamen-
tally changes the role of the person. Job design provides a
framework for considering the broader aspects of automation
design.
At the dawn of the Industrial Revolution, the pioneering
work of Fredrick Taylor revolutionized work through job
design. He minimized waste by identifying the most efficient
method to perform the job. His analysis showed that proce-
Product released
Create
Pre-production model
Create Paper prototype
C chological states of the person, which in turn affect work
Un
duralizing and standardizing tasks enabled people to become
very good at a narrowly defined job [118]. This approach to
proceduralizing and standardizing work and to specializing
workers, known as Taylorism, often underlies automation
design. Automation that follows Taylorism can leave workers
with little latitude for dealing with unexpected events. Tay-
lorism can leave people performing highly repetitive tasks
with little autonomy. This can make them vulnerable to repet-
itive motion disorders, poor job satisfaction, and a variety of
stress-related health problems [120, 121].
In response to the limits of Taylorism, other approaches
to job design have been developed [122]. These approaches
question some of the fundamental assumptions of Taylor
and automation design: the idea that proceduralizing and
standardization improve performance.
Figure 19.3 integrates elements of job design that might
also help guide automation design [123–125]. The core of
this approach is that job characteristics influence the psy- 19
outcomes. Automation that supports rather than constrains
human autonomy and provides good feedback about the sit-
uation can help workers improvise solutions that go beyond
the capability of automation.

U E
ate
der

At the center of Fig. 19.2 is the idea of task load and

alu
sta
Un

Ev

balance, which describes how people respond and adapt to

nd

ate
der

alu

job demands [125]. Balance guides job design because giving

sta

Ev
nd

workers autonomy and variety can eliminate boredom and

increase job satisfaction, but can also overwhelm workers
with new responsibilities. Properly designed automation can
Fig. 19.2 A human-centered design process that applies to automation help people balance this load. Unfortunately, automation
design. It is an iterative cycle that repeats at multiple time scales [118] is not always designed to support balancing. As discussed

Job design
Psychological and physical state
Job characteristics
Task load and balance Experienced meaningfulness
Significance Short-term outcomes
Cognitive Experienced responsibility
Identity Safety
Physical Knowledge of results
Variety Performance
Social
Autonomy Satisfaction
Technical Fatigue
Feedback
Stress

Long-term outcomes
Team characteristics Individual characteristics
Health
Composition Knowledge Innovation
Teamwork skills Skills Engagement
Psychological safety Abilities Retention

Training and selection

Fig. 19.3 Job design provides a broad perspective for design automation and increasingly autonomous systems [118]
444
above, clumsy automation may reduce the pilots’ load during
straight and level flight, but increases pilots’ load during the
already demanding periods surrounding takeoff and landing.
To make automation less clumsy, balance can be supported
by enabling people to perform tasks ahead of time, as well as
delay and delegate tasks.
Balance can go beyond making automation less clumsy.
The three feedback loops in Fig. 19.3 show how people bal-
ance load at a range of timescales [118]. The innermost loop
connects the psychological state to task load and balance.
Here people adjust what tasks they perform, as well as when
and how they perform them based on their physical and psy-
chological state. This innermost loop operates over minutes
to days. The next loop connects the short-term outcomes,
particularly satisfaction, to show how people adjust their
behavior over the space of days and weeks. The outermost
loop describes how long-term effects influence the people
and the characteristics of the people performing the job. This
loop shows how long-term outcomes, such as retention, can
impose demands on training new workers to replace those
that have left because of a poorly designed job. A well-
designed job enhances health, engagement, retention, as well
as the accumulation of knowledge and skills of the workers.
In many organizations, introducing automation often ac-
companies other changes, such as a shift from well-defined
jobs to work being defined by contributions to multiple teams
performing activities not part of their core job: a shift from
hierarchical to lateral control [20, 126]. For this reason,
automation design should go beyond a focus on individual
tasks to consider broader issues of teamwork and lateral
control. Lateral control places emphasis on teams in job
design, highlighted in the lower left of Fig. 19.3. Automation
design can be considered as adding a team member, with
the expectation that the automated team member enters with
certain teamwork skills, including [127]:
• Agree to work together
• Be mutually predictable in their actions
• Be mutually directable
• Maintain common ground – knowledge, assumptions, ca-
pabilities, and intentions regarding the joint work
A user-centered approach to automation design must con-
sider such teamwork skills in addition to the interface and
interaction design elements of automation. AI teaming is an
increasingly important consideration in automation design as
automation becomes more capable.
19.5.2 Fitts’ List and Function Allocation
Function allocation with the Fitts’ list is a long-standing tech-
nique for identifying the role of operators and automation.
J. D Lee and B. D Seppelt
This approach assesses each function and whether a person or
automation might be best suited to perform it [113, 128, 129].
Functions better performed by automation are automated
and the operator remains responsible for the rest, and for
compensating for the limits of the automation. The relative
capability of the automation and the human depends on the
stage of automation [87].
Applying a Fitts’ list to determine an appropriate alloca-
tion of function has, however, substantial weaknesses. One
weakness is that any description of functions is a some-
what arbitrary decomposition of activities that can mask
complex interdependencies. As a consequence, automating
functions as if they were independent tends to fractionate
the operator’s role, leaving the operator with an incoherent
collection of functions that were too difficult to automate
[35]. Another weakness is that this approach neglects the
tendency for operators to use automation in unanticipated
ways because automation often makes new functions pos-
sible [130]. Another challenge with this general approach
is that it often carries the implicit assumption that automa-
tion can substitute for functions previously performed by
operators and that operators do not need to be supported
in performing functions allocated to the automation – the
substitution myth [131]. This substitution-based allocation of
functions fails to consider the qualitative change automation
can bring to the operators’ work and the adaptive nature of the
operator.
As a consequence of these challenges, the Fitts’ list pro-
vides only general guidance for automation design and has
been widely recognized as problematic [131, 132]. Ideally,
the function allocation process should not focus on what
functions should be allocated to the automation or the human
but should identify how the human and the automation can
complement each other in jointly satisfying the functions
required for system success [117, 133].
Although imperfect, the Fitts’ list approach has some
general considerations that can improve the design. People
tend to be effective in perceiving patterns and relationships
amongst data and less so with tasks requiring precise repe-
tition [83]. Human memory tends to organize large amounts
of related information in a network of associations that can
support effective judgments. Based on a deep well of expe-
rience people can also reframe situations and adjust when
the situation fundamentally changes. Reframing is beyond
the capacity of even the most advanced artificial intelligence.
People adapt, improvise, and accommodate unexpected vari-
ability – they provide adaptive capacity to accommodate the
unexpected that automation cannot. For these reasons, it is
important to leave the big picture to the human and the details
to the automation [83].
19 Design for Human-Automation and Human-Autonomous Systems
19.5.3 Operator-Automation Simulation
Operator-automation simulation refers to computer-based
techniques that explore the space of operator–automation
interaction to identify potential problems. Discrete event
simulation tools commonly used to evaluate manufacturing
processes are well-suited to operator-automation analysis.
Such techniques provide a rough estimate of some
of the consequences of introducing automation into
complex dynamic systems. As an example, simulation of
a supervisory control situation made it possible to assess
how characteristics of the automation interacted with the
operating environment to govern system performance [134].
This analysis showed that the time taken to engage the
automation interacted with the dynamics of the environment
to undermine the value of the automation such that
manual control was more appropriate than engaging the
automation.
Although discrete event simulation tools can incorporate
cognitive mechanisms and performance constraints, develop-
ing this capacity requires substantial effort. For automation
analysis that requires a detailed cognitive representation,
cognitive architectures, such as adaptive control of thought-
rational (ACT-R), offer a promising approach [135]. ACT-R
is a useful tool for estimating the costs and benefits of various
automation alternatives when a simple discrete event simula-
ACC active Press Accel or
Coast button
Initialize brake or
throttle actuators
ACC
speed
control
Initialize throttle actuator
Press Set speed or
Resume button
Press Off
button
Depress
brake pedal
ACC system
fault detected
Press Off button
ACC
off
Press On button
Press Off button
ACC system fault detected
Fig. 19.4 ACC states and transitions. Dashed lines represent driver-triggered transitions. Solid lines represent ACC-triggered transitions [139]
445
tion does not provide a sufficiently detailed representation of
the operator [136].
Simulation tools can be used to explore the potential
behavior of the joint human–automation system, but may not
be the most efficient way of identifying potential human–
automation mismatches associated with inadequate men-
tal models and automation-related errors. Network analysis
techniques offer an alternative. State-transition networks can
describe operator–automation behavior in terms of a finite
number of states, transitions between those states, and ac-
tions. Figure 19.4 provides an example presentation, defin-
ing at a high level the behavior of adaptive cruise control
(ACC). This formal modeling language makes it possible to
identify automation problems that occur when the interface
or the operator’s mental model is inadequate to manage
the automation [137]. Combining the concurrent processes
of the ACC model with the associated driver model of the
ACC’s behavior reveals mismatches. These mismatches can 19
cause automation-related errors and surprises to occur. More
specifically, when the automation model enters a particular
state and the operator’s model does not include this state,
then the analysis predicts that the associated ambiguity will
surprise operators and lead to errors [138]. Such ambiguities
have been discovered in actual aircraft autopilot systems,
and network analysis can identify how to avoid them with
improvements to the interface and training materials [138].
Press Time gap + or
Time gap – button
ACC
distance
(following)
control
Depress Press Set
brake speed or
pedal Resume
button
ACC deceleration
required > 0.2g or
ACC
standby Current ACC vehicle
speed < 20 mph
446
19.5.4 Enhanced Feedback
and Representation Aiding
Enhanced feedback and representation aiding can help
prevent problems associated with inadequate feedback
that range from developing appropriate trust and clumsy
automation to the out-of-the-loop phenomenon. Automation
often lacks adequate feedback [140]. Providing sufficient
feedback without overwhelming the operator is a critical
design challenge. Insufficient feedback can leave the operator
unaware that the automation has reached its limit, but
poorly presented or excessive feedback can increase operator
workload and undermine the benefits of automation [141].
A promising approach to avoid overloading the operator
is to provide feedback through sensory channels that are
not otherwise used (e.g., haptic, tactile, and auditory) to
prevent overload of the more commonly used visual channel.
Haptic feedback (i.e., vibration on the wrist) has proven
more effective in alerting pilots to mode changes of cockpit
automation than visual cues [142]. Pilots receiving visual
alerts only detected 83% of the mode changes, but those with
haptic warnings detected 100% of the changes. Importantly,
the haptic warnings did not interfere with performance of
concurrent visual tasks. Even within the visual modality,
presenting feedback in the periphery helped pilots detect
uncommanded mode transitions and such feedback did not
interfere with concurrent visual tasks any more than currently
available automation feedback [143]. Similarly, Seppelt and
Lee [144] combined a more complex array of variables in
a peripheral visual display for ACC. Fig. 19.5 shows how
this display includes relevant variables for headway control
(i.e., time headway, time-to-collision, and range rate) relative
to the operating limits of the ACC. This display promoted
faster failure detection and more appropriate engagement
strategies compared with a standard ACC interface. Although
promising, haptic, auditory, and peripheral visual displays
cannot convey the detail possible in visual displays, making it
difficult to convey the complex relationships that sometimes
govern automation behavior. An important design tradeoff
emerges: provide sufficient detail regarding automation be-
havior, but avoid overloading and distracting the operator.
Simply enhancing the feedback operators receive
regarding automation is insufficient. Without the proper
context, abstraction, and integration, feedback may not be
understandable. Representation aiding capitalizes on the
power of visual perception to convey complex information;
for example, graphical representations for pilots can augment
the traditional airspeed indicator with target airspeeds and
acceleration indicators. Integrating this information into
a traditional flight instrument allows pilots to assimilate
automation-related information with little additional effort
[111]. Using a display that combines pitch, roll, altitude,
airspeed, and heading can directly specify task-relevant
J. D Lee and B. D Seppelt
information such as what is too low as opposed to operators
being required to infer such relationships from the set of
variables [145]. Integrating automation-related information
with traditional displays and combining low-level data
into meaningful information can help operators understand
automation behavior.
In the context of process control, Guerlain and colleagues
[146] identified three specific strategies for visual represen-
tation of complex process control algorithms. First, create
visual forms whose emergent features correspond to higher-
order relationships. Emergent features are salient symmetries
or patterns that depend on the interaction of the individual
data elements. A simple emergent feature is parallelism that
can occur with a pair of lines. Higher-order relationships
are combinations of the individual data elements that govern
system behavior. The boiling point of water is a higher-
order relationship that depends on temperature and pressure.
Second, use appropriate visual features to represent the di-
mensional properties of the data; for example, magnitude
is a dimensional property that should be displayed using
position or size on a visual display, not color or texture, which
are ambiguous ways to represent an increase or decrease in
amount. Third, place data in a meaningful context. The mean-
ingful context for any variable depends on what comparisons
need to be made. For automation, this includes the allowable
ranges relative to the current control variable setting, and
the output relative to its desired level. Similarly, Dekker and
Woods [131] suggest event-based representations that high-
light changes, historical representations that help operators
project future states, and pattern-based representations that
allow operators to synthesize complex relationships percep-
tually rather than through arduous mental transformations.
Representation aiding helps operators trust automation
appropriately. However, trust also depends on more subtle
elements of the interface [50]. In many cases, trust and
credibility depend on surface features of the interface that
have no obvious link to the true capabilities of the automation
[147, 148]. An online survey of over 1400 people found that
for websites, credibility depends heavily on real-world feel,
which is defined by factors such as response speed, a physical
address, and photos of the organization [149]. Similarly, a
formal photograph of the author enhanced trustworthiness of
a research article, whereas an informal photograph decreased
trust [150]. These results show that trust tends to increase
when information is displayed in a way that provides concrete
details that are consistent and clearly organized.
Representation aiding might take too long for operators
to process when managing automation that operates at a
timescale of seconds. Such automation may require integra-
tion of input to the automation and feedback from the au-
tomation that is very tightly coupled. One such approach has
been termed haptic shared control [151, 152]. Haptic shared
control allows people to feel the operation of the automation
19 Design for Human-Automation and Human-Autonomous Systems 447

Enhanced feedback display

Set speed – LV speed

Range rate Braking

capacity
(0.2 g)

LV position within

TTC–1
sensor field *

THW Set THW 19

Note: Image color (bright
yellow) and shape texture/fill
degraded with increasing
* Shape trajectories
uncertainty of sensor signal

Fig. 19.5 A peripheral display to help drivers understand adaptive ries. (Note: labels on the images were not present on the display but are
cruise control [144]. (TTC – time-to-collision; THW – time headway). provided here for reference)
The outset image shows an expanded view of potential shape trajecto-

through a control surface, such as a steering wheel. It goes
beyond simply enhancing feedback, by allowing people to
influence the automation through the same control surface.
Drivers can override and guide the automation controlling the
vehicle steering by exerting force on the steering wheel. The
automation can influence the person by resisting movement
of the control surface when such input might jeopardize
system safety, with the resistance proportional to the certainty
and severity associated with a deviation from the automa-
tion’s planned trajectory. Drivers might feel mild resistance
to moving slightly left to give a bicycle more space, but
might encounter substantial resistance to changing lanes into
a vehicle that the driver had not noticed. A major limitation
of haptic shared control is that it requires the operator to be
physically engaged with the automation and controlled pro-
cess, which is infeasible for many applications of automation.
19.5.5 Expectation Matching
and Simplification
Expectation matching and simplification help operators un-
derstand automation by using algorithms that are more com-
prehensible. One strategy is to simplify the automation by
reducing the number of functions, modes, and contingencies
[153]. Another is to match its algorithms to the operators’
mental model [154]. Automation designed to perform in
a manner consistent with operators’ mental model, prefer-
448
ences, and expectations can make it easier for operators to
recognize failures and intervene. Expectation matching and
simplification are particularly effective when a technology-
centered approach has created an overly complex array of
modes and features.
ACC is a specific example of where matching the mental
model of an operator to the automation’s algorithms may be
quite effective. Because ACC can only apply moderate levels
of braking, drivers must intervene if the car ahead brakes
heavily. If drivers must intervene, they must quickly enter
the control loop because fractions of a second can make the
difference in avoiding a collision. If the automation behaves
in a manner consistent with drivers’ expectations, drivers
will be more likely to detect and respond to the operational
limits of the automation quickly. Goodrich and Boer [154]
designed an ACC algorithm consistent with drivers’ mental
models such that ACC behavior was partitioned according
to perceptually relevant variables of inverse time-to-collision
and time headway. Inverse time-to-collision is the relative
velocity divided by the distance between the vehicles. Time
headway is the distance between the vehicles divided by
the velocity of the driver’s vehicle. Using these variables it
is possible to identify a perceptually salient boundary that
separates routine speed regulation and headway maintenance
from active braking associated with collision avoidance.
A general property of human cognition is the tendency to
organize information and activities into hierarchical chunks
[155, 156]. These hierarchical structures also form the basis
for delegation in human organizations [157]. Automation
that replicates this hierarchical organization will likely be
more observable and directable, making it possible for the
operator to delegate and intervene or direct as the situation
demands [21]. A concrete example of such an approach is the
automation playbook [158]. Playbooks take the name from
how sports teams draw on a book of pre-defined plays. These
plays provide a common language for organizing activities
across the team. Automation playbooks provide a similar
function by creating a common language between operators
and the automation. This language defines a hierarchical
goal decomposition that enables an operator to delegate
coherent sets of activities to the automation and to direct
the automation at any level of the hierarchy. Organizing the
automation behavior in a hierarchical fashion that matches
how people think about an activity can make the automation
more observable and directable.
For situations in which the metaphor for automation is an
agent, the mental model people may adopt to understand au-
tomation is that of a human collaborator. Specifically, Miller
[159] suggests that computer etiquette may have an important
influence on human–automation interaction. Etiquette may
influence trust because category membership associated with
adherence to a particular etiquette helps people to infer how
J. D Lee and B. D Seppelt
the automation will perform. Some examples of automation
etiquette are for the automation to make it easy for operators
to override and recover from errors, to enable interactive
features only when and if necessary, to explain what is being
done and why, to interrupt operators only in emergencies, and
to provide information that the operators do not already know
about.
Developing automation etiquette could promote appropri-
ate trust, but also has the potential to lead to inappropriate
trust if people infer inappropriate category memberships and
develop distorted expectations regarding the capability of
the automation. Even in simple interactions with technol-
ogy, people often respond as they would to another person
[51, 160]. If anticipated, this tendency could help operators
develop appropriate expectations regarding the behavior of
the automation; however, unanticipated anthropomorphism
could lead to surprising misunderstandings.
Beyond automation etiquette, another approach is to de-
sign to support the process of trusting by creating collegial
automation [161]. Collegiality includes the capacity to align
goals. Goal alignment can be achieved by the automation
adjusting to meet the person’s goals, through negotiation to
arrive at new goals, or by nudging the person to adopt new
goals. It involves monitoring the trust of the partner and
repairing, dampening, and tempering trust [162]. Collegiality
implies the automation can take initiative to build, repair,
or temper trust, but that the person can also take initiative.
For example, the automation can offer an apology after a
period of poor performance or the person can ask for an
explanation.
An important prerequisite for designing automation ac-
cording to the mental model of the operator is the existence
of a consistent mental model. Individual differences may lead
to many different mental models and expectations. This is
particularly true for automation that acts as an agent, in which
a mental-model-based design must conform to complex so-
cial and cultural expectations. Also, the mental model must
be consistent with the physical constraints of the system if
the automation is to work properly [163]. Mental models
often contain misconceptions that could lead to serious mis-
understandings and automation failures. Even if an opera-
tor’s mental model is consistent with the system constraints,
automation based on such a mental model may not achieve
the same benefits as automation based on more sophisticated
algorithms. In this case, designers must consider the tradeoff
between the benefits of a complex control algorithm and
the costs of an operator not understanding that algorithm.
Enhanced feedback and representation aiding can mitigate
this tradeoff. If the operator’s mental model is inaccurate the
transparency and feedback from the automation can help the
operator understand not only the automation but the overall
system operation.
19 Design for Human-Automation and Human-Autonomous Systems
19.6 Future Challenges in Automation
Design
The previous section outlined strategies that can make the
operator–automation partnership more effective. The chal-
lenges in applying the Fitts’ list show that the application
of these strategies, either individually or collectively, does
not guarantee effective automation. The rapid advances in
software and hardware development, combined with an ever-
expanding range of applications, make future problems with
automation likely. The following sections highlight some of
these emerging challenges. The first concerns the demands
of managing swarm automation, in which many semiau-
tonomous agents work together. The second concerns in-
terconnected networks of people and automation, in which
issues of cooperation and competition become critical.
19.6.1 Swarm Automation
Swarm automation consists of many simple, semiau-
tonomous entities whose emergent behavior provides a robust
response to environmental variability. Swarm automation
has important applications in a wide range of domains,
including planetary exploration, unmanned aerial vehicle
reconnaissance, land-mine neutralization, and intelligence
gathering; in short, it is applicable in any situation in which
hundreds of simple agents might be more effective than a
single, complex agent. Biology-inspired robotics provides
a specific example of swarm automation. Instead of the
traditional approach of relying on one or two larger robots,
system designers employ swarms of insect robots [164, 165].
The swarm robot concept assumes that small robots with
simple behaviors can perform important functions more
reliably and with lower power and mass requirements than
can larger robots [166–168]. Typically, the simple algorithms
controlling the individual entity can elicit desirable emergent
behaviors in the swarm [169, 170]. As an example, the
collective foraging behavior of honeybees shows that agents
can act as a coordinated group to locate and exploit resources
without a complex central controller.
In addition to physical examples of swarm automation,
swarm automation has potential in searching large com-
plex data sets for useful information. Current approaches to
searching such data sources are limited. People miss impor-
tant documents, disregard data that is a significant depar-
ture from initial assumptions, misinterpret data that conflicts
with an emerging understanding, and disregard more recent
data that could revise an initial interpretation [171]. The
parameters that govern the discovery and exploitation of food
sources for ants might also apply to the control of software
agents in their discovery and exploitation of information. Just
449
as swarm automation might help explore physical spaces, it
might also help explore information spaces [172].
The concept of hortatory control describes some of the
challenges of controlling swarm automation. Hortatory con-
trol describes situations where the system being controlled
retains a high degree of autonomy and operators must exert
indirect rather than direct control [173]. Interacting with
swarm automation requires people to consider swarm dy-
namics and not just the behavior of the individual agents.
In these situations, it is most useful for the operator to
control parameters affecting the group rather than individual
agents and to receive feedback about the group rather than
individual behavior. Parameters for control might include
the degree to which each agent tends to follow successful
agents (positive feedback), the degree to which they follow
the emergent structure of their own behavior (stigmergy), and
the amount of random variation that guides their paths [174].
In exploration, a greater amount of random variation will lead 19
to a more complete search, and a greater tendency to follow
successful agents will speed search and exploitation [175].
Although swarms are often intentionally designed, they
may also emerge when many automated systems are de-
ployed in an environment where they interact with each other.
Such scenarios include internet infrastructure and algorith-
mic securities trading. In recent years both of these systems
have failed due to emergent properties of the interaction
of an interconnected swarm of algorithms. Full self-driving
automated vehicles may form similar swarms that may also
be vulnerable to fleet failures that emerge from the inter-
actions of the many vehicles on the road. Already traffic is
vulnerable to waves of congestion and gridlock that emerge
from interactions across many vehicles. How automated ve-
hicles exacerbate or mitigate such problems remains an open
question. Swarm automation, either designed or not, has great
potential to extend human capabilities, but only if a thorough
empirical and analytic investigation identifies the display
requirements, viable control mechanisms, and the range of
swarm dynamics that can be comprehended and controlled
by humans [176].
19.6.2 Operator–Automation Networks
Complex operator–automation networks emerge as automa-
tion becomes more pervasive. With networked automation,
the appropriate unit of analysis shifts from a single opera-
tor interacting with a single element of automation to that
of multiple operators interacting with multiple elements of
automation. Important dynamics can only be explained with
this more complex unit of analysis. The factors affecting
micro-level behavior may have unexpected effects on macro-
level behavior [177]. As the degree of coupling increases,
450
poor coordination between operators and inappropriate re-
liance on automation has greater consequences for system
performance [7].
Supply chains can represent an important example of
multi-operator–multi-automation systems. A supply chain
is composed of a network of suppliers, transporters, and
purchasers who work together, usually as a decentralized
virtual company, to convert raw materials into products. The
growing popularity of supply chains reflects the general
trend of companies to move away from vertical integration,
where a single company converts raw materials into products.
Increasingly, manufacturers rely on supply chains [178] and
attempt to manage them with automation [109].
Supply chains can suffer from serious problems that erode
their promised benefits. One is the bullwhip effect, in which
small variations in end-item demand induce large-order os-
cillations, excess inventory, and back-orders [179]. The bull-
whip effect can undermine a company’s efficiency and value.
Automation that forecasts demands can moderate these os-
cillations [180, 181]. However, people must trust and rely on
that automation, and substantial cooperation between supply-
chain members must exist to share such information.
Vicious cycles also undermine supply-chain performance,
through an escalating series of conflicts between members
[182]. Vicious cycles can have dramatic negative conse-
quences for supply chains; for example, a strategic alliance
between Office Max and Ryder International Logistics de-
volved into a legal fight in which Office Max sued Ryder for
US $21.4 million, and then Ryder sued Office Max for US
$75 million [183]. Beyond the legal costs, these breakdowns
undermine the market value of the companies involved [178].
Vicious cycles also undermine information sharing, which
can exacerbate the bullwhip effect. Even with the substantial
benefits of cooperation, supply chains can fall into a vicious
cycle of diminishing cooperation.
Inappropriate use of automation can contribute to both
vicious cycles and the bullwhip effect. A recent study used
a simulation model to examine how reliance on automa-
tion influences cooperation and how sharing two types of
automation-related information influences cooperation be-
tween operators in the context of a two-manufacturer one-
retailer supply chain [41]. This study used a decision field-
theoretic model of the human operator [184–186] to assess
the effects of automation failures on cooperation and the
benefit of sharing automation-related information in promot-
ing cooperation. Sharing information regarding automation
performance improved operators’ reliance on automation,
and the more appropriate reliance promoted cooperation by
avoiding unintended competitive behaviors caused by inap-
propriate use of automation. Sharing information regarding
the reliance on automation increased willingness to coop-
erate even when the other operator occasionally engaged
in competitive behavior. Sharing information regarding the
J. D Lee and B. D Seppelt
operators’ reliance on automation led to a more charitable
interpretation of the other’s intent and therefore increased
trust in the other operator. The consequence of enhanced
trust is an increased chance of cooperation. Cooperation
depends on the appropriate use of automation and sharing
automation-related information can have a profound effect
on cooperation [20, 41, 161].
The interaction between automation, cooperation, and
performance seen with supply-chain management also ap-
ply to other domains; for example, power-grid management
involves a decentralized network that makes it possible to
efficiently supply power, but it can fail catastrophically when
cooperation and information sharing breaks down [187].
Similarly, datalink-enabled air-traffic control makes it pos-
sible for pilots to negotiate flight paths efficiently, but it can
fail when pilots do not cooperate or have trouble anticipating
the complex dynamics of the system [188, 189].
Overall, technology creates many highly interconnected
networks that have great potential, but that also raises
important concerns. Resolving these concerns partially
depends on designing effective multi-operator–multi-
automation interactions. Swarm automation and complex
operator–automation networks pose challenges beyond
those of traditional systems and require new design
strategies. The automation design strategies described
earlier, such as function allocation, operator–automation
simulation, representation aiding, and expectation matching
are somewhat limited in addressing these challenges. New
approaches to automation design involve developing analytic
tools, interface designs, and interaction concepts that
consider issues of cooperation and coordination in operator–
automation interactions [190, 191].
See additional details about design of human-automation
systems communication and collaboration in Chapters 15,
18, and 20.
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 Teleoperation and Level of Automation
20
Luis Basañez, Emmanuel Nuño, and Carlos I. Aldana

Contents automation. Next, as a representative example, an up-to-

20.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 457
date specific bilateral teleoperation scheme is described in
order to illustrate the typical components and functional
20.2 Historical Background and Motivation . . . . . . . . . . . . 458
modules of this kind of systems. As a natural extension of
20.3 Levels of Automation and General Schemes . . . . . . . . 459 the bilateral teleoperators, the cooperative teleoperation
20.3.1 Levels of Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 459 systems are introduced. Some specific topics in the field
20.3.2 Bilateral Teleoperation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 460
20.3.3 Cooperative Teleoperation Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 463 are particularly discussed, for instance, the control objec-
tives and algorithms for both bilateral teleoperators and
20.4 Challenges and Solutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 464
20.4.1 Control Objectives and Algorithms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 464
cooperative teleoperation systems, the communication
20.4.2 Communication Channels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 466 channels, the use of graphical simulation and task plan-
20.4.3 Situation Awareness and Immersion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 467 ning, and the usefulness of virtual and augmented reality.
20.4.4 Teleoperation Aids . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 469 The last part of the chapter includes a description of the
20.4.5 Teleoperation of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles/Drones . . . 472
most typical application fields, such as industry and con-
20.5 Application Fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 473 struction, agriculture, mining, underwater, space, health-
20.5.1 Industry and Construction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 473
care and surgery, assistance, humanitarian demining, and
20.5.2 Agriculture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 474
20.5.3 Mining . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 474 education, where some of the pioneering, significant, and
20.5.4 Underwater . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 474 latest contributions are briefly presented. Finally, some
20.5.5 Space . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 475 conclusions and the trends in the field close the chapter.
20.5.6 Healthcare and Surgery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 476
20.5.7 Assistance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 477
20.5.8 Humanitarian Demining . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 477 Keywords
20.5.9 Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 477
Teleoperation systems · Cooperative teleoperation ·
20.6 Conclusions and Trends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 478 Levels of automation · Teleoperation control ·
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 478 Augmented reality · Relational positioning

Abstract
20.1 Introduction
This chapter presents an overview of the teleoperation of
robotics systems, starting with a historical background
A bilateral teleoperator, in which two robots, called local and
and positioning these systems in a scale of levels of
remote, are connected through a communication channel and
one of them, the local robot, is handled by a human operator,
L. Basañez () constitutes an interesting type of collaborative framework
Institute of Industrial and Control Engineering (IOC), Universitat between humans and robots. The remote robot has to track the
Politècnica de Catalunya, BarcelonaTech (UPC), Barcelona, Spain local robot motion, and its interaction with the environment
e-mail: luis.basanez@upc.edu
is reflected back to the human operator via the local robot.
E. Nuño () · C. I. Aldana () The teleoperation of robots can also be considered as an
Department of Computer Science, University of Guadalajara,
Guadalajara, Mexico extension of the human sensory and acting capabilities since
e-mail: emmanuel.nuno@cucei.udg.mx; it allows the human getting information and performing tasks
ivan.aldana@academicos.udg.mx at distance, in a remote environment. The teleoperation also

© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 457

S. Y. Nof (ed.), Springer Handbook of Automation, Springer Handbooks,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-96729-1_20
458
allows to improve the accuracy of the human movements, like
in robotics surgery, and it deals with dangerous tasks and
environments, like explosive deactivation and nuclear plant
accident recovery. In this respect, teleoperation combines the
best of human and robot characteristics [1, 2].
A natural extension of the teleoperators is the cooperative
teleoperation systems in which several robots and humans
collaborate in order to perform more complex and difficult
tasks that cannot be accomplished by one robot. In both cases,
teleoperators and cooperative systems, the interconnection
between the different agents is a crucial issue, and the Internet
and the wireless links open new and exciting possibilities in
this field.
A crucial aspect of these systems is their control that must
guarantee both stability and performance, taking into account
different drawbacks like communication delays and loss of
information in the communication channels. An exposition
of the main proposed control strategies and algorithms, both
in the robot joint space and in the operational space, is one of
the objectives of this chapter.
In Sect. 20.2 the chapter presents the beginnings of teleop-
eration and the main steps in its development. Section 20.3
briefly introduces the levels of automation concept and some
of its more recognized scales in the human-automation in-
teraction (HAI) context in which the robot teleoperation fits.
Then, a general scheme of a bilateral teleoperator is described
together with its typical components and functional modules.
Section 20.4 discusses important challenges in the field and
their current solutions, specifically, control objectives and
algorithms for both bilateral teleoperators and cooperative
teleoperation systems, communication channels, situation
awareness and immersion, aids for the human operators, and
teleoperation of unmanned aerial vehicles/drones.
The main application fields, such as industry and construc-
tion, agriculture, mining, underwater, space, healthcare and
surgery, assistance, humanitarian demining, and education,
are the object of Sect. 20.5. Finally, some conclusions and
the trends in the field close the chapter.
20.2 Historical Background and Motivation
The term teleoperation comes as combination of the Greek
word τ ηλ- (tele-), i.e., off-site or remote, and the Latin word
operatı̆o, -ōnis (operation), i.e., something done. So, teleop-
eration means performing some work or action from some
distance away. Although, in this sense, teleoperation could
be applied to any operation performed remotely, this term is
most commonly associated with robotics and indicates the
driving of manipulators and mobile robots from a place far
from these machines’ location.
L. Basañez et al.
There are of lot of topics involved in a teleoperated robotic
system, including human-machine interaction, distributed
control laws, communications, graphic simulation, task plan-
ning, virtual and augmented reality, and dexterous grasping
and manipulation. Also the fields of application of these
systems are very wide, and teleoperation offers great possi-
bilities of profitable uses.
Since a long time ago, human beings have used a range
of tools to increase their manipulation capabilities. In the be-
ginning these tools were simple tree branches, which evolved
to long poles with tweezers, such as blacksmith’s tools that
help to handle hot pieces of iron. These developments were
the ancestors of the local-remote robotic systems, where the
remote robot reproduces the local robot motions controlled
by a human operator [3]. Teleoperated robotic systems allow
humans to interact with robotic manipulators and vehicles
and to handle objects located in a remote environment, ex-
tending human manipulation capabilities to far-off locations,
allowing the execution of quite complex tasks and avoiding
dangerous situations.
The beginnings of teleoperation can be traced back to
the beginnings of radio communication when Nikola Tesla
developed what can be considered the first teleoperated appa-
ratus, dated November 8, 1898. This development has been
reported under the US patent No. 613 809, Method of and
Apparatus for Controlling Mechanism of Moving Vessels or
Vehicles. However, the bilateral teleoperation systems did not
appear until the late 1940s.
The first bilateral manipulators were developed for
handling radioactive materials. Outstanding pioneers were
Raymond Goertz and his colleagues at the Argonne
National Laboratory outside of Chicago and Jean Vertut
at a counterpart nuclear engineering laboratory near Paris.
These first devices were mechanically coupled, and the slave
manipulator mimicked the master motions, both being very
similar mechanisms. It was not until the mid-1950s that
Goertz presented the first electrically coupled master-slave
manipulator [4].
In the 1960s the applications were extended to underwater
teleoperation, where the submersible devices carried cameras
and the operator could watch the remote robot and its in-
teraction with the submerged environment. The beginnings
of the space teleoperation date from the 1970s, and in this
application the presence of time-delays brought instability
problems.
Technology has evolved with giant steps, resulting in
better robotic manipulators and, in particular, increasing the
communication means, from mechanical to electrical trans-
mission, using optic wires, radio signals, and the Internet
which practically removes any distance limitation.
Today, the applications of teleoperation systems are found
in a large number of fields. The most illustrative are space,
20 Teleoperation and Level of Automation
Humans surpass machines in the:
Detection Perception
Judgment
Induction
Improvisation
Longterm
memory
• Ability to detect small amounts of visual or acoustic energy
• Ability to perceive patterns of light or sound
• Ability to improvise and use flexible procedures
• Ability to store very large amounts of information for long
periods and to recall relevant facts at the appropriate time
• Ability to reason inductively
• Ability to exercise judgment
Fig. 20.1 Fitts List of things humans can do better than machines and vice versa [6]. (Courtesy of the National Academy Press)
underwater, medicine, and hazardous environments, among
others, which are commented in Sect. 20.5.
20.3 Levels of Automation and General
Schemes
In order to illustrate the typical components and functional
modules of a teleoperation system, this section describes an
up-to-date specific bilateral teleoperation scheme and intro-
duces the cooperative teleoperation systems. Both kinds of
systems are representative cases of human-robot interaction
(HRI), and, for that reason, it is useful to previously introduce
the Levels of Automation concept and to present some of its
more recognized taxonomies.
20.3.1 Levels of Automation
One of the key aspects to be considered in a robotic tele-
operation system is the sharing out of the decision-making
and control authority between the human and the machine
[5]. In general, leaving aside the completely autonomous
systems, a range of situations can be envisaged, covering
from plain teleoperation, where every action of the local
manipulator conducted by the human operator is mimicked
by the remote robot, to supervisory control, corresponding
to schemes in which the system generates options, selects
the option to implement, and carries out that action and the
human monitors the process and only intervenes if necessary.
Function allocation is then one of the critical issues in HRI
in which the robot teleoperation fits. The question whether
tasks should be performed by humans or by machines has
been a research object for more than a half a century. One
459
Machines surpass humans in the:
Speed
Power
Computation
Replication
Simultaneous
operations
Short term
memory
• Ability to respond quickly to control signals, and to apply
great force smoothly and precisely
• Ability to perform repetitive, routine tasks
• Ability to store information briefly and then to erase it completely
• Ability to reason deductively, including computational ability
• Ability to handle highly complex operations, i.e., to do many
different things at once.
Table 20.1 Scale of degrees of automation [4]
20
1. The computer offers no assistance; human must do it all
2. The computer offers a complete set of action alternatives and
3. narrows the selection down to a few or
4. suggests one, and
5. executes that suggestion if the human approves or
6. allows the human a restricted time to veto before automatic
execution or
7. executes automatically, then necessarily informs the
human, or
8. informs him after execution only if he asks or
9. informs him after execution if it, the computer, decides to
10. The computer decides everything and acts autonomously,
ignoring the human
Each succeeding level of the scale below assumes some previous ones
(when ANDed) or imposes more restrictive constraints (when ORed).
early example is Paul Fitts [6], who, together with some
fellow founding fathers of the Human Factors discipline,
proposed in 1951 the famous Fitts List (Fig. 20.1) compiling
the kinds of things men can do better than machines at that
time and vice versa, the so-called MABA-MABA lists (Men
Are Better At-Machines Are Better At) [7].
Fitts’s work was followed by several seminal studies
on how HRI could be specified for complex systems for
which fully autonomous capability was not yet possible. In
1978 Sheridan and Verplanck [8] described different ways
in which a decision could be made and implemented by the
coordinated actions of a human operator and a computer,
constituting different Levels of Automation (LOA), and they
developed a LOA taxonomy which incorporates ten levels.
A later refinement of this scale [4] is shown in Table 20.1.
460
Table 20.2 Endsley and Kaber Levels of Automation [9]
Level of automation Description
1. Manual control The human performs all tasks: monitoring the
state, generating options, selecting the option
to perform (decision-making), and physically
implementing it
2. Action support The system assists the operator with
performance of the selected action, although
some human control actions are required
3. Batch processing The human generates and selects the options to
be performed. Then they are turned over to the
system to be carried out automatically
4. Shared control Both the human and the system generate
possible decision options. The human still
retains full control over the selection of which
option to implement; however, carrying out the
actions is a shared task
5. Decision support The system generates a list of decision options
that the human can select from or may generate
own options. Once the human has selected an
option, the system implements it
6. Blended The system generates a list of options that it
decision-making selects from and carries out if the human
consents, but the human may select another
option generated by the system or by
herself/himself, to be carried by the system
7. Rigid system The system presents a set of actions to the
human whose role is to select from among this
set. The system implements the selected action
8. Automated The system selects the best option and carries it
decision-making out, based upon a list it generates (augmented
by alternatives suggested by the human)
9. Supervisory The system generates options, selects, and
control carries out a desired option. The human
monitors the system and intervenes if
necessary (shifting, in this case, to the decision
support LOA)
10. Full automation The system carries out all actions
This work served as the foundation for several subse-
quent LOA taxonomies [9–11], including reformulations of
levels based on broader types of information processing
automation. For instance, Endsley and Kaber [9], in order
to represent general and pervasive stages of information
processing in HRI, considered four functions: monitoring
system status, generating strategy options, selecting a partic-
ular option or strategy, and implementing the chosen strategy.
By assigning these functions to the human or the computer
or a combination of the two, they formulated ten levels of
automation (Table 20.2). Additionally, intermediary levels
of automation have also been proposed in order to maintain
operator involvement in system performance, improving in
this way the situation awareness and reducing the out-of-the-
loop performance problems [9].
Some authors [11] have addressed criticisms on the util-
ity or appropriateness of the Levels of Automation tax-
onomies, but, in general, they agree that these taxonomies
L. Basañez et al.
have been highly useful in both informing research on human
-automation interaction (HAI) and in providing guidance for
the design of automated and autonomous systems [10]. The
benefits of LOA taxonomies have been realized on several
practical and theoretical grounds.
An interesting taxonomy of Levels of Robot Autonomy
(LORA), in the context of teleoperation systems, has been
suggested by Beer, Fisk, and Rogers [12]. Each level is
specified from the perspective of the interaction between the
human and the robot and the roles each play (Table 20.3). The
function allocation between robot and human is expressed
using the primitives sense, plan, act into which any task, no
matter how simple or complex, can be divided [13]. Level
Manual represents a situation where no robot is involved in
performing the task, and in level Full Automation, the human
has no role.
The teleoperation system described in Sect. 20.3.2 could
be classified in level 4. Shared Control of the Endsley and
Kaber Levels of Automation Taxonomy (Table 20.2) and in
level Shared Control with Human Initiative of the Beer,
Fisk, and Rogers Taxonomy of Levels of Robot Autonomy
for HRI (Table 20.3).
20.3.2 Bilateral Teleoperation
A modern teleoperation system is composed of several func-
tional modules according to the aim of the system. As a
paradigm of an up-to-date teleoperated robotic system, the
one developed at the Robotics Laboratory of the Institute
of Industrial and Control Engineering (IOC), Universitat
Politècnica de Catalunya - BarcelonaTech (UPC), Spain [14,
15], is described below.
The outline of the IOC teleoperation system is represented
in Fig. 20.2. The diagram contains two large blocks that
correspond to the local station, where the human operator
and the local robot (haptic device) are located, and the remote
station, which includes one or more industrial manipulators
as remote robots. There is also an intermediate block repre-
senting the communication channel.
Although this system has been originally designed for a
robot manipulator, this could be replaced by a mobile robot
or by a mobile manipulator (a manipulator mounted on a
mobile platform) as long as its mobility does not exhibit
nonholonomic restrictions.
Local Station
In the local station (Fig. 20.2), the human operator physically
interacts with a haptic device and with the teleoperation aids
modules by means of a graphical user interface. The modules
of this station are described below.
20 Teleoperation and Level of Automation 461

Table 20.3 Beer, Fisk, and Rogers taxonomy of Levels of Robot Autonomy for HRI [12]
LORA Sense Plan Act Description
Manual H H H The human performs all aspects of the task including sensing the environment, generating
plans/options/goals, and implementing processes
Teleoperation H/R H H/R The robot assists the human with action implementation. However, sensing and planning
is allocated to the human. For example, a human may teleoperate a robot, but the human
may choose to prompt the robot to assist with some aspects of a task (e.g., gripping
objects)
Assisted teleoperation H/R H H/R The human assists with all aspects of the task. However, the robot senses the environment
and chooses to intervene with the task. For example, if the user navigates the robot too
close to an obstacle, the robot will automatically steer to avoid collision
Batch processing H/R H R Both the human and robot monitor and sense the environment. The human, however,
determines the goals and plans of the task. The robot then implements the task
Decision support H/R H/R R Both the human and robot sense the environment and generate a task plan. However, the
human chooses the task plan and commands the robot to implement actions
Shared control with human initiative H/R H/R R The robot autonomously senses the environment, develops plans and goals, and imple-
ments actions. However, the human monitors the robot’s progress and may intervene and
influence the robot with new goals and plans if the robot is having difficulty
Shared control with robot initiative H/R H/R R The robot performs all aspects of the task (sense, plan, act). If the robot encounters
difficulty, it can prompt the human for assistance in setting new goals and plans
Executive control R H/R R The human may give an abstract high-level goal (e.g., navigate in environment to a
specified location). The robot autonomously senses environment, sets the plan, and
implements action
Supervisory control H/R R R The robot performs all aspects of the task, but the human continuously monitors the robot, 20
the environment, and the task. The human has override capability and may set a new goal
and plan. In this case, the autonomy would shift to executive control, shared control, or
decision support
Full automation R R R The robot performs all aspects of a task autonomously without human intervention with
sensing, planning, or implementing action
H = Human, R = Robot

Local Teleoperation Control Modules Geometric Conversion module It is in charge of the con-
Haptic Rendering module This is responsible for calcu- version between the coordinates of the haptic devices and
lating the torque τ *l , in the joint space, to be fed back to those of the remote robots.
the operator as a combination of the following forces: State Determination module It updates the system state
variables that are used by the teleoperation control and the
• Constraint force f c , in the operational space, computed Teleoperation Aids modules.
by the Relational Positioning module in order to restrict
the movements to a submanifold of free space, during
the manipulation of the haptic device by the operator
Local Teleoperation Aids Modules
• Virtual force f v , in the operational space, computed
Relational Positioning module The operator makes use of
by the Virtual Contacts module as a response to the
this module to define geometric relationships between the
detection of potential collision situations
part manipulated by the remote robot and the parts in the
• Guiding force f g , in the operational space, computed
environment. These relationships can completely define
by the Guiding module to swept the operator along a
the position of the manipulated part and then fix all the
collision-free path toward the goal
robots’ degrees of freedom (DOFs), or they can partially
• Control torque τ l , in the joint space, produced by the
determine the part position and orientation and therefore
controller as a result of tracking errors between the
fix only some DOFs. In the latter case, the remaining
local haptic and the remote robot manipulator
degrees of freedom are those that the operator will be able
to control by means of the haptic device (local robot).
The total torque is given by τ ∗l = J l (ql )[f c +f g +f v ]+τ l ,
The output of this module is the solution submanifold
where Jl (q l ) is the transpose of the Jacobian matrix of the
in which the constraints imposed by the relationships are
haptic device, evaluated at the configuration ql .
satisfied.
Control Algorithms module It executes the motion and
Virtual Contacts module It detects possible collisions of
force control algorithms that allow position tracking while
the manipulated part with the environment and gener-
maintaining stability despite the communication delays
ates the corresponding repulsion forces for helping the
between stations.
462 L. Basañez et al.

by the Sensing modules and transmitted to the local station.

Its modules are the following.
Local station
Remote Teleoperation Control Modules
Human Haptic
operator device Control Algorithms module It receives motion commands
from the local station and sends the corresponding torque
references to the joint actuators of the remote robot ma-
Teleoperation aids Teleoperation control nipulator.
Relational Virtual Haptic Control
positioning contacts rendering algorithms Planning module It computes how the part manipulated
Augmented Geometric State
by the robot must follow the trajectory specified by the
Guiding
reality conversion determination
operator with the haptic device, avoiding, at the same time,
collisions between the robot and the environment.

Communications management
Remote Sensing Modules
Communication channel
State Determination module It gathers and processes the
remote system state variables that are fed back to the local
Communications management station.
Audio/Video module This module is responsible of the
capture and transmission of sounds and images of the
Sensing Teleoperation control remote environment.
State Control
determination algorithms

Audio / video Planning

Robot
Environment manipulator
Remote station
Fig. 20.2 General scheme of the IOC teleoperation system
operator to react as soon as possible when virtual contacts
situations occur.
Guiding module It computes, by means of motion plan-
ning techniques, forces that guide the operator during task
execution.
Augmented Reality module This module is in charge of
enhancing the view of the remote station with the addition
of useful information like motion restrictions imposed by
the operator or by the Teleoperation Aids modules and
graphical models of the remote robot using simulated
configurations provided by the operator or received from
the remote station.
Remote Station
In the remote station, the robot is controlled by the Remote
Teleoperation Control modules, connected with the Local
Teleoperation Control modules through the communication
channel. The information generated at this station is captured
Communications
In both local and remote stations, there exists a Communica-
tions Management module that takes in charge of commu-
nications between these stations through the used channel
(e.g., Internet). It consists of the following submodules for
the information processing in the local and remote stations:
• Command codification/decodification. These submodules
are responsible for the codification and decodification
of the motion commands exchanged between the local
and the remote stations. These commands should contain
the information of the degrees of freedom constrained to
satisfy the geometric relationships and the motion vari-
ables on the unrestricted ones, following the movements
specified by the operator by means of the haptic device.
The following three qualitatively different situations are
possible:
– The motion subspace satisfying the constraints defined
by the relationships fixed by the operator has dimen-
sion zero. This means that the constraints completely
determine the position and orientation (pose) of the
manipulated object. In this case the command is this
pose.
– The motion subspace has dimension six, i.e., the oper-
ator does not have any relationship fixed. In this case
the operator can manipulate the six degrees of freedom
of the haptic device, and the command sent to the
remote station is composed of the values of the six joint
variables.
– The motion subspace has dimension from one to five.
In this case the commands are composed of the in-
formation of this subspace and the variables that de-
20 Teleoperation and Level of Automation
6
p
Communication
channel
6w,
Local robot T
controller To
Fig. 20.3 Example of application of a cooperative teleoperation system
scribe the motion inside it calculated from the coor-
dinates introduced by the operator through the haptic
device.
• State codification/decodification. These submodules gen-
erate and interpret the messages between the remote and
the local stations. The robot state is coded as the combi-
nation of the position and force information.
• Network monitoring system. This submodule analyzes in
real time the Quality of Service (QoS) of the communica-
tion channel in order to properly adapt the teleoperation
parameters and the sensorial feedback.
Operation Principle
The performing of a teleoperated task using the teleoperation
framework just described is done as follows. The opera-
tor first determines the goal configurations of the task and
sets the motion constraints that must be maintained during
the task execution, by specifying the relative positions of
the part or tool manipulated by the robot with respect to the
environment. Then, in order to remotely control the robot
performing the task, he/she moves the haptic device with the
help of the following feedback forces:
1. Forces that restrain her/him within the task submanifold
defined by the constraints set, letting her/him concentrate
on the commanding of motions relevant to the task
2. Forces resulting from collisions predicted in the virtual en-
vironment, which allow her/him to react on time because
they prevent her/him of imminent collisions in the remote
station
3. Guiding forces that, from any point within the task sub-
manifold, swept her/him along a collision-free path to-
ward the goal configuration, resulting in a faster task
commanding
463
d1 d2
61 6o 62
po
Robot 1 Robot 2
controller controller
6w,r
4. Forces generated by the controller as a result of tracking
errors that occur due to real interactions on the remote 20
station
Position and force correspondence between the haptic
device and the robot is guaranteed, including the possibility
to perform mouse jumps required when the size of their
workspaces differs substantially. The performance of the task
being teleoperated is continually monitored by the operator
using the 3D image of the scene augmented with extra
relevant information, like the graphical representation of the
motion subspace, the graphical model of the robot updated
with the last received data, and other outstanding information
for the good and easy performance of the task.
20.3.3 Cooperative Teleoperation Systems
Cooperative robot systems have advantages over single
robots, such as increased dexterity and improved handling
and loading capacity. Moreover, the execution of some
robotic tasks requires two or more robots, and, in such a
case, a cooperative strategy with several robot manipulators
becomes necessary to perform the tasks that cannot be
executed by a single manipulator (Fig. 20.3). Typical
cooperation examples include tasks such as handling large
and heavy rigid and non-rigid objects and assembly and
mating of mechanical parts and space robotics applications
[16, 17].
In spite of the potential benefits achievable with multiple
robot manipulators, the analysis and the control of these
systems become more complex due to the kinematic and
the dynamic interactions imposed by the cooperation. This
means that, in all those tasks requiring effective cooperation,
464
one cannot extend the well-known results for the kinemat-
ics, dynamics, and control of a single arm. The difficulty
increases if the cooperating robots have different kinematic
structures [18].
20.4 Challenges and Solutions
When designing a bilateral teleoperation system or a coop-
erative teleoperation system, different challenges must be
faced. On the one hand, the robot controller has to be de-
signed considering the special characteristics of the commu-
nication channels like the possible time-varying delays. On
the other hand, it is necessary a high feeling of immersion of
the operator on the remote site that can be obtained by using
different sensors together with augmented reality techniques.
Teleoperation aids must be also considered in order to help
the operator performing a teleoperated task in an easy and
efficient way. Another interesting recent challenge is the
teleoperation of unmanned aerial vehicles/drones. All these
challenges are analyzed in the following subsections.
20.4.1 Control Objectives and Algorithms
A control algorithm for a teleoperation system has two main
objectives: telepresence and stability. Obviously, the mini-
mum requirement for a control scheme is to preserve stability
despite the existence of time-delays and the behavior of the
operator and the environment.
Telepresence means that the information about the remote
environment is displayed to the operator in a natural man-
ner, which implies a feeling of presence at the remote site
(immersion). Good telepresence increases the feasibility of
the remote manipulation task. The degree of telepresence
associated to a teleoperation system is called transparency
[19]. However, due to time-delays, complete transparency
and Lyapunov stability cannot be, sometimes, achieved si-
multaneously [20]. The same control objectives apply for the
teleoperation of cooperative systems.
Bilateral Teleoperation Control
In order to ensure stability when delays appear in the com-
munication channel, different control approaches have been
proposed. Although scattering-based control has dominated
this field, other schemes like passivity-based, adaptive, and
sliding controllers have also been proved to provide position
tracking capabilities under constant or variable time-delays,
even when velocities cannot be measured.
Scattering-based control has dominated the control field
in teleoperation systems since it was first proposed by Ander-
son and Spong [21], creating the basis of modern teleopera-
tion system control. Their approach was to render passive the
L. Basañez et al.
communications using the analogy of a lossless transmission
line with scattering theory. They showed that the scattering
transformation ensures passivity of the communications de-
spite any constant time-delay. Following the former scat-
tering approach, it was proved [22] that, by matching the
impedances of the local and remote robot controllers with the
impedance of the virtual transmission line, wave reflections
are avoided. For a historical survey along this line, the reader
may refer to [1].
Passivity is the basic property behind the scattering-based
schemes to ensure stability, and it has also been used to show
that simple Proportional plus damping (P+d) schemes can
provide the teleoperator with position tracking capabilities
for the constant delay case [23], as well as for the variable
delay case [24]. Moreover passivity has been also employed
to increase transparency as the scheme reported in [25]. A
passivity-based control tutorial for bilateral teleoperators can
be found in [26].
Most of the passivity-based schemes rely on gravity can-
cellation to ensure position tracking. However, they require
the exact knowledge of the system physical parameters [24,
27]. To deal with parameter uncertainty, adaptive control
schemes have been proposed both for the constant delay
case [28] and for variable delays [29]. These results have
been latter extended, for example, to deal with parameter
estimation convergence [30] and input saturation [31].
Many of the reported control schemes have tackled the
control problem assuming that velocities are measurable.
However, most of the commercially available devices are not
equipped with velocity sensors, and those with them are often
prone to noise that cannot be easily filtered [32]. Among
the works that treat the output-feedback case, i.e., without
velocity sensors, can be cited [33–36] and, more recent,
[37–39].
In [33] a sliding control technique is used to control a
linearized version of the local and remote manipulators, mak-
ing use of measurements of the human and the environment
forces. An adaptive control scheme, in order to render the
teleoperator Input-to-State stable, is provided in [34]. The
work of [35] proves boundedness of the position error using a
high-gain velocity observer. For the undelayed case, the work
reported in [36] proposes the use of a velocity filter to achieve
position tracking.
A Immersion and Invariance (I&I) velocity observer [40],
together with a proportional plus damping scheme, is re-
ported in [37], but this approach has the practical drawback
that the observer design requires the exact knowledge of the
system dynamics. This drawback has been obviated either
using a dynamic controller based on the energy shaping
methodology that back-propagates damping to the plant [38]
or using a sliding-mode velocity observer [39].
Figure 20.4 shows a control diagram of a common teleop-
eration system in the Cartesian/task space for which velocity
20 Teleoperation and Level of Automation
Forward
+ JT kinematics
fh – t q
∫ y·
Filter
Controller
f
xr
Fig. 20.4 Teleoperation control scheme in the Cartesian/task space
measurements are not available [41]. In this scheme the joint
position vectors qi of the local and remote robots (sub-index
i =  for the local robot and i = r for the remote robot) are
measured, and, via a Forward Kinematics module, they are
translated into Cartesian poses xi . Then, using a dirty velocity
filter, the filtered velocities ẏi are employed to inject damping
through the controllers to the robots. Both controllers are
simple P+d schemes implemented in the Cartesian space, and
their output control signals f i are translated to the joint space
control signals τ i using the transpose of the robot Jacobians
Ji (qi ). The forces injected by the human and the environment
are f h and f e , respectively.
Cooperative Teleoperation Control
The bilateral teleoperation of multiple remote robots with
one or multiple local robots is becoming increasingly pop-
ular. Among the first works on the control of cooperative
teleoperation systems that can be mentioned are those of
Sirouspour [16] and Lee and Spong [42]. In the latter, the
authors report a formation of multiple manipulators being
teleoperated by a single local manipulator using a passive
decomposition that is robust to constant time-delays, by sep-
arating the teleoperation system into two decoupled systems:
the shape system describing the cooperative grasping aspect
and the locked system representing the overall behavior of
the multiple remotes. In [16], multiple local manipulators
command multiple remote manipulators, and each local one
is coupled to one of the remote robots. The proposed control
scheme uses linearized dynamics of the elements of the
teleoperation system, and no time-delays are considered.
These two mentioned works were the beginnings of a
series of control proposals along this line, for example, [43]
where a PD controller is designed to enforce motion tracking
and formation control of local and remote vehicles under
constant time-delays; [44] that proposes a Lyapunov-based
adaptive control approach for two types of asymmetrical
teleoperation systems, the first one composed of two local
465
x
fr
x Controller
y· r
Filter ∫
xr qr tr + fe
Forward
JrT –
kinematics
manipulators and one redundant remote robot and the second
one composed of one local robot and one remote robot with
less DOFs than the local and using a control scheme that
does not consider time-delays; [45] that proposes a control
framework based on the small-gain arguments for teleopera-
tion systems composed of multiple Single Local and Single 20
Remote (SL-SR) pairs that interact through an environment;
and [46] where two (master) local devices teleoperate a
remote manipulator for the undelayed case.
Recently, Pliego-Jiménez et al. [18] treat the dexterous
cooperative telemanipulation of an object being manipulated
by two robots. The proposed controller is able to estimate the
mass and the inertia of the object being manipulated. Yang
et al. [47] propose a neural network approach together with
an integral terminal sliding mode to ensure fixed-time stabil-
ity for an uncertain cooperative teleoperation system.
Using the joint space adaptive controller of [48], Aldana
et al. [17] present an adaptive controller in the task space
for a cooperative teleoperation system that is capable of
controlling the internal forces over the manipulated object.
Extending the consensus idea in [48,49], a leaderless con-
sensus algorithm that can be employed in the teleoperation of
multiple remote manipulators in the task space, when veloci-
ties are not available for measurement, has been proposed in
[50]. However, this solution is not robust to communication
delays. Recently, Montaño et al. [51], making use of the
energy shaping methodology described in [52], present a
bilateral telemanipulation scheme for the dexterous in-hand
manipulation of unknown objects that is robust to time-delays
and that does not need velocity measurements.
Figure 20.5 shows an adaptive control scheme for a
cooperative teleoperation system [17]. This scheme is a
possible implementation of the application represented
in Fig. 20.3. The key idea in this scheme is that the
human operator, through a single local robot, teleoperates
a remote object using a cooperative robotic system while
the internal forces over the object are under control. In the
466 L. Basañez et al.

ˆ f· + Cˆ f – gˆ + k
M
Forward
x(t – To(t)) o o o o o o o
fh q
+ JT kinematics
x · , , f· , f
 t o o o o · qˆDo
q·
J u qˆDo ³

(W†)1

q qˆD1 ·
Aux. ³ qˆ
f q·

D1
· signals uo f1
³ qˆD · f d,int
qˆD f xo(t – To(t))
1
Controller
WT1
xo q1

f q Object u1 q· 1
J1 t1
Controller q·  forward
kinematics q1 J1T

(W†)J
·
qˆJ ³ qˆJ
fJ
WJT Controller
fJd,int

q·J
tJ T
qJ JJ

Fig. 20.5 Adaptive control scheme for a cooperative teleoperation system in the Cartesian/task space

following description, sub-index i =  stands for local,
and i = {1, 2, . . . , N} stands for each robot in the remote
collaboration system. The adaptive controllers dynamically
estimate the robots’ physical parameters θ̂ Di along with the
object parameters θ̂ Do . The controllers are implemented in
the Cartesian space, and their output control signals f i are
translated, using the robots’ Jacobians Ji (qi ), to the joint
space, resulting in τ i . By measuring the robots’ joint space
positions qi and velocities q̇i , some auxiliary error signals
 i and φ i are computed to ensure that position tracking is
achieved while maintaining a desired value of the internal
forces f di, int . The robot force/motion contribution reflected to
the object is determined using matrices Wi .
20.4.2 Communication Channels
Communication channels can be classified in terms of two
aspects: their physical nature and their mode of operation.
According to the first aspect, two groups can be defined:
physically connected (mechanically, electrically, optically
wired, pneumatically, and hydraulically) and physically dis-
connected (radiofrequency and optically coupled such as
via infrared). The second aspect entails the following three
groups:
Time-delay free. The communication channel connecting
the local and the remote stations does not affect the stabil-
ity of the overall teleoperation system. In general this is
the kind of channel present when the two stations are near
to each other. Examples of these communication channels
are some surgical systems, where the master and slave are
located in the same room and connected through wires or
radio.
Constant time-delay. These are often associated with
communications in space, underwater teleoperation using
sound signals, and systems with dedicated wires across
large distances.
Variable time-delay. This is the case, for instance, of
packet-switched networks where variable time-delays
are caused by many reasons such as routing, acknowledge
response, and packing and unpacking data.
One of the most promising teleoperation communication
channels is the Internet, which is a packet-switched network,
i.e., it uses protocols that divide the messages into packets
before transmission. Each packet is then transmitted indi-
vidually and can follow a different route to its destination.
Once all packets forming a message have arrived at the
20 Teleoperation and Level of Automation
destination, they are recompiled into the original message.
When using packet-switched networks for real-time teleop-
eration systems, besides bandwidth, three effects can result
in decreased performance of the communication channel:
packet loss, variable time-delays, and, in some cases, loss of
order in packet arrival.
Among the transport protocols, there are in the litera-
ture three standard protocols, Transmission Control Proto-
col (TCP), User Datagram Protocol (UDP), and Real-Time
Transport Protocol (RTP), and three modified protocols for
teleoperation systems, Real-Time Network Protocol (RTNP),
Interactive Real-Time Protocol (IRTP), and Efficient Trans-
port Protocol (ETP). In order to achieve relatively faster
transmission of the local robot data and to maintain lower
variations in delay, UDP is widely used for many real-time
applications over the network [53]. However, since UDP
provides an unreliable and connectionless service, packet
loss, packet replication, and out-of-order delivery problems
are more significant with this protocol. Then, some modifi-
cations of the packet structure of UDP have been proposed
to supply additional information about unreliable network
conditions to the application layer [54].
In order to improve the performance of teleoperation
systems, Quality of Service (QoS)-based schemes have been
used to provide priorities on the communication channel.
The main drawback of today’s best-effort Internet service is
due to network congestion. The use of high-speed networks
with recently created protocols, such as the Internet Protocol
version 6 (IPv6), improves the performance of the whole
teleoperation system [55].
Besides QoS, IPv6 presents other important improve-
ments. The current 32 bit address space of IPv4 is not
able to satisfy the increasing number of Internet users. IPv6
quadruples this address space to 128 bits, which provides
more than enough globally unique IP addresses for every
network device on the planet.
Teleoperation has been largely relegated to fixed commu-
nication connections, but with the new enhancements in the
wireless technologies, this will change. 5G is the 5th gen-
eration mobile network. It is a new global wireless standard
after 1G, 2G, 3G, and 4G networks. 5G enables a new kind
of network that is designed to connect virtually everyone and
everything together including machines, objects, and devices.
5G wireless technology is meant to deliver higher multi-Gbps
peak data speeds, ultra low latency, more reliability, massive
network capacity, increased availability, and a more uniform
user experience [56].
The ITU (International Telecommunication Union) and
the whole community of 5G stakeholders have collaborated
in developing the standards for IMT-2020 (International Mo-
bile Telecommunications) [57]. These standards outline eight
criteria for mobile networks, which should be fulfilled in
order to qualify them as 5G [58]:
467
• 10 Gbps maximum achievable data rate
• 10 (Mbit/s)/m2 traffic capacity across coverage area
• 1 ms latency
• 106 /km2 total number of connected devices
• 3 times higher spectrum efficiency compared to 4G
• Full (100%) network coverage
• Mobility of the connected device up to 500 km/h with
acceptable Quality of Service
• 10 times lower network energy usage compared to 4G
A major design challenge of 5G is to provide ultra-low
delay communication over the network which would enable
real-time interactions across wireless networks. This, in turn,
will empower people to wirelessly control both real and
virtual objects. 5G will add a new dimension to human-
machine interaction and will lead to a revolution in almost
every segment of society with applications and use cases like
mobile augmented video content, road traffic/autonomous
driving, healthcare, smart grid, remote education, remote
immersion/interaction, Internet of Things (IoT), and tactile
Internet, among others [58, 59]. 20
Several 5G implementations have already been reported,
like [60], in which a tonne crawler excavator located over
8500 km away from the operator is commanded, 5G being
essential to deliver live video streaming at the operator’s
station in a reliable way, minimizing the time lag in the
system for the operator. This teleoperation system is used
for operating excavators in dangerous applications such as
industrial waste disposal, involving hazardous, toxic, or ra-
dioactive substances. In [61] advances in remote surgery are
reported. In one of them, a doctor in Fujian, a province in
southeastern China, removed the liver of a test animal about
30 miles away. It was reportedly the world’s first remote
surgery over 5G, which kept the lag time to 0.1 s.
But progress does not stop, and, although service
providers around the world are only now rolling out their
mobile 5G networks, some researchers are contemplating
the use of terahertz waves for the next generation of wireless
networks, 6G, that would occupy the 300 gigahertz to 3
terahertz band of the electromagnetic spectrum [62]. These
frequencies are higher than the highest frequencies used by
5G, which are known as millimeter waves and fall between
30 and 300 gigahertz. It is expected that terahertz waves
should be able to carry more data more quickly with even
lower latency, though they will not be able to propagate as
far. In any case, it remains to be seen.
20.4.3 Situation Awareness and Immersion
Human beings are able to perceive information from the real
world in order to interact with it. However, sometimes, for
engineering purposes, there is a need to interact with systems
468
that are difficult to actually build or that, due to their physical
behavior, present unknown features or limitations. Then, in
order to allow better human interaction with such systems, as
well as their evaluation and understanding, it is necessary the
use of sensory systems that provide the required information
to improve human situation awareness.
In this context, situation awareness can be defined as the
ability to perceive elements within a volume of space, be able
to comprehend the meaning of these elements, and be able to
predict the status of these elements in the future [63]. It is the
perception, comprehension, and projection of information
relevant to the user regarding their immediate environment,
which plays an important role in teleoperation tasks. It is also
a primary basis for operator’s performance [64].
In the teleoperation case, besides the force feedback orig-
inated from the contact of the remote robot with other ob-
jects, the visual feedback of the remote environment is of
capital importance, because it provides the operator with
information that will help her/him navigate through the re-
mote workspace. This is especially true for task operations
that take place in free space, where there is no force feed-
back. Depth perception also improves the operator’s situ-
ation awareness and can be achieved, for example, with a
stereoscopic visual feedback system that combines images
gathered from two remotely actuated video cameras. In such
a system, the stereoscopic effect is achieved by alternatively
displaying the image corresponding to the left and right eyes
on a computer monitor or wall projector, switching between
them at a frequency of 100–120Hz or higher. Many people
can visualize the 3D scene at the same time by wearing pairs
of shutter glasses that are synchronized with the switching of
the video display [15]. Graphical and vibro-tactile feedback
are used in [65] to increase situation awareness.
Immersion is the sensation of being in an environment that
actually does not exist and that can be a purely mental state or
can be accomplished through physical elements. In order to
improve the operator immersion in the remote environment
of a teleoperation system, two important techniques are of
great helpfulness: virtual reality and augmented reality. In
virtual reality a nonexistent world can be simulated with a
compelling sense of realism for a specific environment. So,
the real world is replaced by a computer-generated world
that uses input devices to obtain information from the user
and capture data from the real world (e.g., using trackers
and transducers) and uses output devices to represent the
responses of the virtual world by means of visual, touch,
aural, or taste displays, like haptic devices, head-mounted
displays (HMD), and headphones, in order to be perceived
by any of the human senses [66, 67].
Augmented reality is a form of Human-Computer Inter-
action (HCI) that superimposes information created by com-
puters over a real environment. Augmented reality enriches
the surrounding environment instead of replacing it as in
L. Basañez et al.
the case of virtual reality, and it can also be applied to any
of the human senses. Although some authors put attention
on hearing and touching, the main augmentation route is
through visual data addition. Furthermore augmented reality
can remove real objects or change their appearance [68],
operations known as diminished or mediated reality. In this
case, the information that is shown and superposed depends
on the context, i.e., on the observed objects.
Augmented reality can improve task performance by in-
creasing the degree of reliability and speed of the operator
due to the addition or reduction of specific information. Re-
ality augmentation can be of two types: modal or multimodal.
In the modal type, augmentation is referred to the enrichment
of a particular sense (normally sight), whereas, in the multi-
modal type, augmentation includes several senses. Research
done to date has faced other important challenges [69].
In teleoperation environments, augmented reality has been
used to complement human sensorial perception in order to
help the operator to perform teleoperated tasks [70]. In this
context, augmented reality can reduce or eliminate the factors
that break true perception of the remote station, such as time-
delays in the communication channel, poor visibility of the
remote scene, and poor perception of the interaction with the
remote environment. For instance, the operator experience
can be enhanced at the local station by overlaying a co-
located virtual scene on the video streams corresponding
to each eye. This virtual scene can contain visual cues and
annotations that are not present in the real world, but can
improve task performance. Examples of graphical entities
that can be rendered are geometric constraints the movement
of an object is subject to, virtual objects an operator may be
haptically interacting with, guidance paths, magnitude and
direction of interaction forces, and boundaries of the robot
workspace.
Limited-bandwidth communications may reduce the
frame rate of the live video streams below acceptable levels.
In such cases a virtual version of the remote robot can be
displayed and refreshed at a higher frequency while using
very little bandwidth, since it only requires updating the
current joint variables.
The appearance of an augmented environment with both
real and virtual objects must be visually compelling and, for
this, must obey overlay and occlusion visibility rules. That
is, the parts of a virtual object that are in the foreground
are rendered and block the real objects that lie behind (if
the virtual object is semitransparent, a blending effect oc-
curs), and the parts of a virtual object that are behind a real
one are not rendered. Occlusions are achieved by rendering
transparent models of the real objects in the virtual scene.
Unmodeled real objects are unable to produce occlusion
effects. Figure 20.6 shows the left and right eye views of a
scene augmented with three visible virtual entities: a planar
surface that represents the geometric constraints acting on the
20 Teleoperation and Level of Automation
a)
Fig. 20.6 (a) and (b) parts of the stereographic view of a remote scene with augmented reality aids
robot end-effector, the end-effector coordinate frame, and a
semitransparent rendering of the robot in a different configu-
ration. Notice the overlay and occlusion effects between the
real robot and the virtual entities.
Among the applications of augmented reality, it is worth-
while to mention interaction between the operator and the re-
mote site for better visualization [71,72], better collaboration
capacity [73], better path or motion planning for robots [74],
addition of specific virtual tools [75], and multisensorial
perception enrichment [76].
20.4.4 Teleoperation Aids
Some of the problems arising in teleoperated systems, such as
an unstructured environment, communication delays, human
operator uncertainty, and safety at the remote site, among
others, can be reduced using teleoperation aids.
Among the teleoperation aids aimed to diminish the uncer-
tainty of the human operator, improve his repeatability, and
reduce his fatigue, one can highlight Relational Positioning,
Virtual Contacts, and Guiding.
Relational Positioning
Tasks where an object has to be positioned with respect to
its surroundings are ubiquitous in robotics and often can be
decomposed into a series of constrained movements which
do not require using the six DOFs an object has in free
space. For example, the spray-painting of a flat surface takes
place in a two-DOFs planar space, and the insertion of a
prismatic peg in a hole also requires two DOFs, translation
469
b)
and rotation around the hole axis, provided that the axes of
20
the two elements are aligned.
Although operator skills are needed for the successful
execution of many teleoperated tasks, maintaining both the
tool and the manipulated object inside a specific space region
can be both challenging and tiring. Such region can be
easily described in terms of geometric constraints that, when
satisfied, define a submanifold of the Special Euclidean space
of dimension three, denoted SE(3), of allowed movements.
Haptic feedback can be used to assist the operator by re-
stricting his/her movements to the submanifold of interest,
lowering the mental burden needed to execute the task.
A Relational Positioning module explicitly addresses
these issues. Its core consists of a geometric constraint solver
that, given a set of constraints between various objects, finds
the positions that each object should have in order to comply
with this set.
There exist many methods for solving geometric con-
straint problems [77], most of which can be classified as
graph-based, logic-based, algebraic, or a combination of
these approaches.
Graph-based methods construct a (hyper)graph in which
the nodes represent geometric elements and the arcs con-
straints. Topological features like cyclic dependencies and
open chains can be easily detected. Graph analysis identi-
fies simpler and solvable subproblems whose solutions are
combined while maintaining compatibility with the initial
problem. There exist algorithms with O(n2 ) [78] and O(nm)
[79] time complexity, where n is the number of geometric
elements and m is the number of constraints.
Logic-based methods represent the geometric elements
and constraints using a set of axioms and assertions. The
470 L. Basañez et al.

solution is obtained following general logic reasoning and

constraint rewriting techniques [80]. CI

Input constraint
Constraint combination decomposition
Algebraic methods translate the problem into a set of
Input constraint decomposition
nonlinear equations, which can be solved using a variety
of numeric and symbolic methods. Numeric methods range CR CT
from the Newton-Raphson method [81] that is simple but
does not guarantee convergence nor finding all possible
CT combination
solutions to more sophisticated ones like Homotopy [82]
CRimpl CTⴕ
that guarantee both. They tend to have O(n2 ) - O(n3 ) time ‰
complexity. Symbolic methods use elimination techniques CRⴕ = CR ‰ CRimpl
such as Gröbner basis to find an exact generic solution to
CRⴕ combination
the problem, which can be evaluated with numerical values to
CRⴖ
obtain particular solutions [83]. These methods are extremely
slow, since they have O(cn ), c > 1, time complexity.
Rotational component
Hybrid methods combine more than one solution tech- solution

Solution synthesis
nique in order to compensate for the shortfalls of a specific R
approach and thus to create faster and more capable solvers. R CTⴕ
For example, a graph can be used to represent the problem,
Translational component
and the identified subproblems can be solved using a logic- solution
based method for the cases with known closed-form solution
R T
and a numeric-algebraic method for the unhandled ones.
A computationally efficient logic-based geometric con-
straint solver for assisting the execution of teleoperated tasks
is the PMF (Positioning Mobile with respect to Fixed) that Fig. 20.7 PMF solver solution process. CI represents the input con-
finds the map between constraint sets and parameterized straint set; CR and CT , the rotational and translational fundamental
solution submanifolds [84]. Constraints are defined between constraint sets, respectively (CRimpl contains the implicit rotational con-
elements of the manipulated object and elements of its (fixed) straints); and R and T, the rotational and translational components of
solution, respectively. Prime symbols indicate that the elements of a
environment. The solver accepts, as input constraints, dis- constraint set may have changed
tance and angle relations between points, lines, and planes
and exploits the fact that, in a set of geometric constraints,
the rotational component can often be separated from the Table 20.4 Translational and rotational submanifolds
translational one and solved independently. By means of Translational submanifold DOFs Rotational submanifold DOFs
logic reasoning and constraint rewriting, the solver is able R3 3 SO(3) * –
to map a broad family of input problems to a few rotational Plane 2 Vectors at an angle 2
and translational scenarios with known closed-form solution. Sphere 2 Parallel vectors 1
The PMF solution process is represented in Fig. 20.7. Cylinder 2 Fixed rotation 0
The solver can handle under-, well-, and over-constrained Line 1
(redundant or incompatible) problems with multiple solu- Ellipse 1
tions and is computationally very efficient, so it can be Point 0
included in high-frequency loops that require response times *Special Orthogonal Rotation group of order 3
within the millisecond order of magnitude (e.g., update so-
lutions when the geometry of the problem changes, as in the
case of moving obstacles). operational space coordinates: el = xl − xld , where xld
In teleoperation systems making use of impedance-type represents the projection of xl on the current solution sub-
haptic devices (force/torque input, velocity output), the gen- manifolds, e.g., the expression of the force f c = KP el + KD ėl
eration of virtual constraint forces and torques requires trans- (a PD-like controller) is analogous to attaching a virtual
lating the kinematic information provided by the geometric spring and a virtual damper between xl and xld . A similar
constraint solver into a dynamic model. These systems take scheme is used by the Virtual Contacts and the Guiding
advantage of the high backdrivability and low inertia/friction modules (Sects. 20.4.4 and 20.4.4, respectively). Table 20.4
of the haptic device: it leaves the dynamics of the uncon- shows the translational and rotational submanifolds to which
strained directions unchanged and generates forces in the the haptic device end-effector can be constrained. All com-
constrained directions based on the difference el between binations between rotational and translational submanifolds
the actual xl and desired xld positions of the end-effector in are possible.
20 Teleoperation and Level of Automation
Virtual Contacts
Haptic devices allow the operator to interact with a virtual
world and to feel the reaction forces that arise when the
manipulated virtual object collides with the objects in the
virtual environment [15]. The haptic rendering of virtual
contacts can be a useful teleoperation aid because virtual
contacts can make the user react on time since they may occur
before the real ones (if bounding volumes are considered for
the models and because no time-delay exists).
Simple and efficient procedures have been developed for
punctual haptic interaction. Nevertheless, the haptic render-
ing of virtual contacts forces between 3D objects requires the
use of collision detection algorithms and the approximation
of the reaction force and torque by the interpolation or the
sum of the forces computed at each contact point. Consid-
ering the task composed of convex polyhedra representing
the bounding volumes of the objects, face-face contacts or
edge-face contacts are not uncommon (these types of contact
may also occur with virtual fixtures defined by the operator).
Approaches based on collision detection algorithms do not
provide, in these situations, a good haptic rendering. This can
be solved if the knowledge of the current type of contacts
taking place is used. In this line, a method based on the
task configuration space (C-space T ) can be very efficient.
Since in the C-space T the manipulated object is represented
by a point, the method becomes similar to punctual haptic
interaction methods. The procedure, illustrated in Fig. 20.8,
is based on the following three steps [85]:
(1) C-space T modeling: Assuming objects modelled with
convex polyhedra, their interference is represented by
(convex) C-obstacles. Each C-obstacle can be modelled
with a graph G whose nodes represent basic contacts.
The node whose C-face is closest to the current position
Fig. 20.8 Rendering of virtual contacts forces between 3D objects
using the task configuration space
471
of the manipulated object, together with those neighbor
nodes that satisfy the applicability condition for the cur-
rent orientation θ, constitutes a subgraph, Gnear (θ ), that
represents the local C-space T .
(2) C-space updating: Each time the user changes the orien-
tation θ of the manipulated object, Gnear (θ ) is updated
(note that G(θ ) remains unchanged whenever the user
does a pure translation motion).
(3) Haptic rendering: The collision detection between the
manipulated object and the obstacles is done by evaluat-
ing whether the object position lies inside a C-obstacle.
This is done only considering the nodes of Gnear (θ ) by
verifying if the object position is below the plane that
contains the C-face of the basic contact for the current
orientation. The reaction force is computed proportional
to the penetration depth. The reaction torque is computed
as a function of the point where the reaction force is
applied.
Guiding
Haptic devices can also provide guiding forces to assist the 20
user to safely teleoperate a robot or to train him in the
performance of a task. Some simple guiding forces may
constrain the user motions along a line or curve or over a
given working plane or surface, e.g., for a peg-in-hole task,
a line can be defined along the axis of the hole, and the
user may feel an increasing force as he moves the peg away
from that line. Although these simple guides can already be a
good help, some tasks may require more demanding guiding
forces to aid the user all along the task execution. Motion
planning strategies based on potential fields can cope with
these guiding requirements, by defining trajectories that fol-
low the gradient descent. One promising approach following
this line is the use of harmonic functions that guarantee the
existence of a single minimum at the goal configuration [86].
This approach, illustrated in Fig. 20.9 for the teleoperation
of a bent-corridor planar task, relies on the following three
points:
(1) Task configuration space modeling: A 2n -tree hierarchi-
cal cell decomposition of the C-space T is build based
on an iterative procedure that samples configurations
(using a deterministic sampling sequence), evaluates and
classifies them, and updates the cell partition when nec-
essary. The cells are characterized by a transparency
parameter computed as a function of the number of free
and collision samples they contain. The transparency
parameter is used for both evaluating the necessity of
performing collision checks (i.e., as a lazy-evaluation
control) and controlling the partitioning procedure of the
cell decomposition.
(2) Harmonic functions computation: Two harmonic func-
tions, H1 and H2 , are computed interspersed with the
472
C-spaceT guiding
H2
Channel guiding
H1
Fig. 20.9 Teleoperation of a bent-corridor task using guiding forces
configuration space modeling. They permit to globally
capture the current knowledge of the C-space T : H1 is
used to find a solution channel from the initial cell to
the goal cell on the current cell decomposition, and H2
is used to propagate the information of the channel in
order to bias the sampling toward the regions around it.
The harmonic functions are computed not only over the
free cells (fixing the obstacle cells at a high value) but
over the whole set of cells (using the transparency as a
weighting parameter).
(3) Generation of haptic guiding forces: Guiding forces are
generated from the harmonic functions. A guiding force
generated from H2 pushes the user toward the solu-
tion channel, and a guiding force generated from H1
guides the user within the channel toward the goal cell.
The forces are computed using a simple point-attraction
primitive of a haptic programming toolkit [87]. From
the current cell, the user is attracted to the next one
(following the negated gradient) by a force directed to
its center. This force is felt until the user is located at
a given distance threshold from the cell center. Then the
current cell is updated and the procedure is repeated until
the goal cell is reached.
L. Basañez et al.
20.4.5 Teleoperation of Unmanned Aerial
Vehicles/Drones
Bilateral teleoperation can be used to ensure a precise and
safe remote piloting of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs),
which is the name commonly used to describe an airborne
vehicle without any pilot on-board, which operates under
either remote or autonomous control. UAVs are also referred
to as remotely piloted vehicles (RPVs), remotely operated
aircrafts (ROAs), unmanned vehicles systems (UVSs), or
simply drones [88].
There are three methods to remotely operate UAVs. The
Level of Robot Autonomy (LORA) of the first method is
Supervisory Control (Table 20.3), that is, the UAV operates
in full autonomy while moving from one place to another and
the human only sets the initial and final destinations. In this
mode, human operators are not responsible for the intermedi-
ated flying decisions between two consecutive waypoints. In
the second method, the UAV is piloted by an operator who is
monitoring and controlling its course from a fixed base on
ground with a direct line of sight (LORA: Teleoperation).
Finally, the third method consists of piloting the UAV as
if the operator was onboard (no direct line of sight); this
mode requires sensory equipment such as cameras to explore
20 Teleoperation and Level of Automation
the environment (LORA: Manual). In the last two cases
the human operator typically has to perceive the remote
environment using only two-dimensional visual feedback.
The limited field of view often leads to low levels of situ-
ational awareness, which can make it difficult to safely and
accurately control the UAV. Several works in the literature
[89–91] propose to provide the human operator with force-
based haptic feedback about the robot’s environment. This
last has proven to help reduce collisions between a human-
controlled UAV and the environment and improve operator
situational awareness [91].
The small size and agility of many UAVs make such
robotic platforms a great fit for a wide range of applications
in both military and civilian domains. In the first domain,
UAVs are used for surveillance and launching of military
operations. Also, UAVs are used for search and rescue op-
erations or in assessing harsh locations. For instance, The
Florida State Emergency Response Team deployed the first
documented use of small UAVs for disaster response follow-
ing hurricane Katrina in 2005 [92]. Flights were carried out
to determine whether people were stranded in unreachable
areas and if the river was posing immediate threats or to
examine structural damage at different buildings. Following
that, UAVs have also been deployed in several earthquake
scenarios such as L’Aquila in 2009 [89].
Aerial robots have been also used to survey the state of
buildings or to measure radiation. The research field on ra-
diation detection using robotic systems comprises two main
topics, i.e., localization and mapping. In particular, radiation
mapping is focused on the problem of generating a complete
map of an area, and localization addresses the problem of
finding a point source of radiation using the perceived radia-
tion distribution as a guide in the search behavior of the robot.
20.5 Application Fields
The following subsections present several application fields
where teleoperation plays a significant role, describing their
main particular aspects and some relevant works.
20.5.1 Industry and Construction
Teleoperation in industry-related applications covers a wide
range of branches. One of them is mostly oriented toward
inspection, repair, and maintenance operations in places with
difficult or dangerous access, particularly in power plants
[93], as well as to manage toxic wastes [94]. In the nuclear
industry, the main reason to avoid the presence of human
workers is the existence of a continuous radioactive environ-
ment, which results in international regulations to limit the
number of hours that humans can work in these conditions.
473
Fig. 20.10 Robot ROBTET for maintenance of electrical power lines.
(Courtesy of DISAM, Technical University of Madrid – UPM)
This application was actually the motivation for early real 20
telemanipulation developments, as stated in Sect. 20.2. Some
habitual teleoperated actions in nuclear plants are the main-
tenance of nuclear reactors, decommissioning and disman-
tling of nuclear facilities, and emergency interventions. The
challenges in these tasks include operation in confined areas
with high radiation levels, risk of contamination, unforeseen
accidents, and manipulation of materials that can be liquid or
solid or have a muddy consistency.
Another kind of application is the maintenance of elec-
trical power lines, which require operations such as replace-
ment of ceramic insulators or opening and reclosing bridges,
which are very risky for human operators due to the height of
the lines and the possibility of electric shocks, specially under
poor weather conditions [95]. That is why electric power
companies are interested in the use of robotic teleoperated
systems for live-line power maintenance. Examples of these
robots are the TOMCAT [96] and the ROBTET (Fig. 20.10)
[97].
An interesting application field is construction, where
teleoperation can improve productivity, reliability, and safety.
Typical tasks in this field are earth-moving, compaction, road
construction and maintenance, and trenchless technologies
[98]. In general, applications in this field are based on direct
visual feedback. One example is radio operation of con-
struction machinery, such as bulldozers, hydraulic shovels,
and crawler dump trucks, to build contention barriers against
volcanic eruptions [99]. Another example is the use of an ex-
perimental robotized crane with a six-DOF parallel kinematic
structure, to study techniques and technologies to reduce the
time required to erect steel structures [100].
Since the tasks to be done are quite different according to
the particular application, the specific hardware and devices
474
used in each case can vary a lot, ranging from a fixed remote
station in the dangerous area of a nuclear plant to a mobile
remote station assembled on a truck that has to move along
an electrical power line or a heavy vehicle in construction.
20.5.2 Agriculture
Agriculture is another application field that can be benefited
with the use of teleoperation technologies. However, there
are several challenges in this application field like that the
agricultural environment is not structured [101]; the agricul-
tural production is composed of live produce whose physical
characteristics change from one to another species [102];
and the terrain, landscape, and atmospheric conditions vary
continuously and this variation might be unpredictable [103].
Robots in agriculture can be used for fruit harvesting,
monitoring, irrigation, fumigation, and fertilization, among
others. In particular, ground and aerial mobile robots are well
suited for these tasks due to their extended workspace capa-
bilities [104,105]. Examples of teleoperated robots include a
bilateral haptic teleoperation architecture, reported in [106],
for controlling a swarm of agricultural UAVs. The proposed
scheme is composed of a velocity controller together with
a connectivity preservation term and a collision avoidance
algorithm. The work [107] reports an analysis on the usability
of different human-machine interaction modes for the teleop-
eration of an agricultural mobile robot designed for spray-
ing tasks. Another example is a teleoperated manipulator,
mounted on a conveyor belt, employed to monitor and take
care of urban crops [108].
20.5.3 Mining
Mining is another interesting field of application for tele-
operation. The reason is quite clear: operation of a drill
underground is very dangerous, and sometimes mines them-
selves are almost inaccessible. One of the first applications
started in 1985, when the thin-seam continuous mining Jef-
frey model 102HP was extensively modified by the US
Bureau of Mines to be adapted for teleoperation. Commu-
nication was achieved using 0.6 inch wires, and the desired
entry orientation was controlled using a laser beam [109].
Later, in 1991, a semiautomated haulage truck was used
underground and since then has hauled 1.5 million tons of ore
without failure. The truck has an on-board personal computer
(PC) and video cameras, and the operator can stay on the
surface and teleoperate the vehicle using an interface that
simulates the dashboard of the truck [110]. The most com-
mon devices used for teleoperation in mining are Load-Haul-
Dump (LHD) machines and Thin-Seam Continuous Mining
L. Basañez et al.
(TSCM) machines, which can work in a semiautonomous and
teleoperated way.
Position measurement, needed for control, is not easy to
obtain when the vehicle is beneath the surface, and inter-
ference can be a problem, depending on the mine material.
Moreover, for the same reason, video feedback has very poor
quality. In order to overcome these problems, the use of
gyroscopes, magnetic electronic compasses, and radars to
locate the position of vehicles while underground has been
considered [111]. The problems with visual feedback could
be solved by integrating, for instance, data from live video,
computer-aided design (CAD) mine models, and process
control parameters, and presenting the operator a view of the
environment with augmented reality [112]. In this field, in ad-
dition to information directly related to the teleoperation, the
operator has to know other measurements for safety reasons,
for instance, the volatile gas (like methane) concentration,
to avoid explosions produced due to sparks generated by the
drilling action.
Teleoperated mining is not only considered on Earth. If it
is too expensive and dangerous to have a man underground
operating a mining system, it is much more so for the perfor-
mance of mining tasks on the Moon. As stated in Sect. 20.5.5,
for space applications, in addition to the particularities of
mining, the long transmission delay between the local and
remote stations is a significant problem. So, the degree of
autonomy has to be increased to perform the simplest tasks
locally while allowing a human teleoperator to perform the
complex tasks at a higher level [113]. When the machines
in the remote station are performing automated actions, the
operator can teleoperate some other machinery; thus produc-
tivity can be improved by using a multiuser schema at the
local station to operate multiple mining systems at the remote
station [114].
20.5.4 Underwater
Underwater teleoperation is motivated by the abundance of
living and nonliving resources in the oceans, combined with
the difficulty for human beings to operate in this environ-
ment. The most common applications are related to rescue
missions and underwater engineering works, among other
scientific and military applications. Typical tasks are pipeline
welding, seafloor mapping, inspection and reparation of un-
derwater structures, collection of underwater objects, ship
hull inspection, laying of submarine cables, sample collec-
tion from the ocean bed, and study of marine creatures.
A pioneering application was the Cable-Controlled Un-
dersea Recovery Vehicle (CURV) used by the US Army in
1966 to recover, in the Mediterranean sea south of Spain,
the bombs lost due to a bomber accident [115]. More recent
relevant applications are related to the inspection and object
20 Teleoperation and Level of Automation
Fig. 20.11 Underwater robot Garbi III AUV. (Courtesy of University
of Girona – UdG)
collection from famous sunken vessels, such as the Titanic
with the ARGO robot [116], and to ecological disasters, such
as the sealing of crevices in the hull of the oil tanker Prestige,
which sank in the Atlantic in 2002 [117].
Specific problems in deep underwater environments are
the high pressure, quite frequently poor visibility, and cor-
rosion. Technological issues that must be considered include
robust underwater communication, power source, and sen-
sors for navigation. A particular problem in several underwa-
ter applications is the position and force control of the remote
actuator when it is floating without a fixed holding point.
Most common unmanned underwater robots are remotely
operated vehicles (ROVs) (Fig. 20.11), which are typically
commanded from a ship by an operator using joysticks.
Communication between the local and remote stations is
frequently achieved using an umbilical cable with coaxial
cables or optical fiber, and also the power is supplied by
cables. Most of these underwater vehicles carry a robotic arm
manipulator (sometimes with hydraulic actuators), which
effect may be negligible on a large vehicle but that introduce
significant perturbation on the system dynamics of a small
one.
Moreover, there are several sources of uncertainties,
mainly due to buoyancy, inertial effects, hydrodynamic
effects (of waves and currents), and drag forces [118], which
have motivated the development of several specific control
schemes to deal with these effects [119]. The operational cost
of these vehicles is very high, and their performance largely
depends on the skills of the operator, because it is difficult
to operate them accurately as they are always subject to
undesired motion. In the oil industry, for instance, it is
common to use two arms: one to provide stability by gripping
a nearby structure and another to perform the assigned task.
A new use of underwater robots is as a practice tool to
prepare and test exploration robots for remote planets and
moons [120].
475
Fig. 20.12 Canadarm 2. (Courtesy of NASA)
20.5.5 Space
The main motivation for the development of space teleop-
eration is that, nowadays, sending a human into the space 20
is difficult, risky, and quite expensive, while the interest
in having some devices in space is continuously growing,
from the practical (communications satellites) as well as the
scientific point of view.
The first explorations of space were carried out by robotic
spacecrafts, such as the Surveyor probes that landed on the
lunar surface between 1966 and 1968. The probes transmitted
to Earth images and analysis data of soil samples gathered
with an extensible claw. Since then, several other ROVs
have been used in space exploration, such as in the Voyager
missions [121].
Various manipulation systems have been used in space
missions. The remote manipulator system, named Canadarm
after the country that built it, was installed aboard the space
shuttle Columbia in 1981 and since then has been employed
in a variety of tasks, mainly focused on the capture and re-
deployment of defective satellites, besides providing support
for other crew activities. In 2001, the Canadarm 2 (Fig. 20.12)
was added to the International Space Station (ISS), with
more load capacity and maneuverability, to help in more
sensitive tasks such as inspection and fault detection of the
ISS structure itself. In 2021, the European Robotic Arm
(ERA) is expected to be attached to the Russian segment of
the ISS, primarily to be used outside the ISS in service tasks
requiring precise handling of components [122].
Control algorithms are among the main issues in this type
of applications, basically due to the significant delay between
the transmission of information from the local station on
the Earth and the reception of the response from the remote
station in space (Sect. 20.4.1). A number of experimental
ground-based platforms for telemanipulation such as the
Ranger [123], the Robonaut [124], and the space experiment
476
ROTEX [125] have demonstrated sufficient dexterity in a
variety of operations such as plug/unplug tasks and tools
manipulation. Another interesting experiment under devel-
opment is the Autonomous Extravehicular Activity Robotic
Camera Sprint (AERCam) [126], a teleoperated free-flying
sphere to be used for remote inspection tasks. An experiment
in bilateral teleoperation was developed by the National
Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA) [127] with
the Engineering Test Satellite (ETS-VII), overcoming the
significant time-delay (up to 7s was reported) in the com-
munication channel between the robot and the ground-based
control station.
Currently, most effort in planetary surface exploration
is focused on Mars, and several remotely operated rovers
have been sent to this planet [128]. In these experiments the
long time-delays in the control signals between Earth-based
commands and Mars-based rovers are especially relevant.
The aim is to avoid the effect of these delays by providing
more autonomy to the rovers. So, only high-level control
signals are provided by the controllers on Earth, while the
rover solves low-level planning of the commanded tasks
(Supervisory Control in the taxonomy of Levels of Robot Au-
tonomy of Table 20.2). NASA’s last-generation Perseverance
rover – the largest, most advanced rover NASA has so far sent
to another world – follows this function allocation scheme.
Perseverance rover touched down on Mars on February 18,
2021 [129]. Another possible scenario to minimize the effect
of delays is teleoperation of the rovers with humans closer
to them (perhaps in orbit around Mars) to guarantee a short
time-delay that will allow the operator to have real-time
control of the rover, allowing more efficient exploration of
the surface of the planet [130].
20.5.6 Healthcare and Surgery
There are two main reasons for using robot teleoperation in
the surgical field. The first is the improvement or extension
of the surgeon’s abilities when his/her actions are mapped
to the remote station, increasing, for instance, the range of
position and motion of the surgical tool (motion scaling) or
applying very precise small forces without oscillations; this
has greatly contributed to the development of major advances
in the field of microsurgery, as well as in the development
of minimally invasive surgery (MIS) techniques. Using tele-
operated systems, surgeries are quicker, and patients suffer
less than with the conventional approach, also allowing faster
recovery. The second reason is to exploit the expertise of very
good surgeons around the world without requiring them to
travel, which could waste time and fatigue these surgeons.
A basic initial step preceding teleoperation in surgical
applications was telediagnosis, i.e., the motion of a device,
acting as the remote station, to obtain information without
L. Basañez et al.
working on the patient. A simple endoscope could be con-
sidered as a basic initial application in this regard, since the
position of a camera is teleoperated to obtain an appropriate
view inside the human body. Telediagnosis also eliminates
the possibility of transmitting infectious diseases between
patients and healthcare professionals, what can be of great
importance in pandemic situations such as the one caused
by COVID-19 [131]. Apart from medically isolated areas,
telemedicine will also play a key role in areas of natural disas-
ters and war zones where consistent healthcare is unavailable
or there is no time to transport a patient to a hospital [132].
It is worth to highlight the first real remote telesurgery
performed successfully on September 7, 2001 [133]. The
scenario was as follows: the local station, i.e., the surgeon,
was located in New York City, USA, and the remote station,
i.e., the patient, was in Strasbourg, France. The performed
surgery was a laparoscopic cholecystectomy done to a 68-
year-old female, and it was called operation Lindbergh, name
derived from the American aviator Charles Lindbergh, be-
cause he was the first person to make a solo, nonstop flight
across the Atlantic Ocean. This surgery was possible thanks
to the availability of a very secure high-speed communication
line, allowing a mean total time-delay between the local
and remote stations of 155 ms. The time needed to set up
the robotic system, in this case the Zeus system [134], was
16 min., and the operation was done in 54 min. without
complications. The patient was discharged 48 h later without
any particular postoperative problems.
A key problem in this application field is that someone’s
life is at risk, and this affects the way in which information
is processed, how the system is designed, the amount of
redundancy used, and any other factors that may increase
safety. Also, the surgical tool design must integrate sensing
and actuation on the millimeter scale.
Some instruments used in MIS have only four degrees of
freedom, losing therefore the ability to orient the instrument
tip arbitrarily, but specialized equipment such as the Intu-
itive Surgical Inc.’s da Vinci Surgical System [135] already
incorporates a three-DOF wrist close to the instrument tip
that makes the whole system benefit from seven degrees of
freedom. In order to perform an operation, at least three
surgical instruments are required (the usual number is four):
one is an endoscope that provides the video feedback and
the other two are grippers or scissors with electric scalpel
functions, which should provide some tactile and/or force
feedback [136] (Fig. 20.13).
The trend now is to extend the application field of the cur-
rent surgical devices so that they can be used in different types
of surgical procedures, particularly including tactile feedback
and virtual fixtures to minimize the effect of any imprecise
motion of the surgeon [137]. So far, there are more than 25
surgical procedures in at least 6 medical fields that have been
successfully performed with telerobotic techniques [138].
20 Teleoperation and Level of Automation
Fig. 20.13 Robotics surgery at Dresden Hospital. (With permission
from Intuitive Surgical, Inc. 2007)
20.5.7 Assistance
The main motivation in this field is to provide independence
to disabled and elderly people in their daily domestic activ-
ities, increasing in this way their quality of life. One of the
first relevant applications in this line was seen in 1987, with
the development of Handy 1 [139], to enable an 11-year-old
boy with cerebral palsy to gain independence at mealtimes.
The main components of Handy 1 were a robotic arm, a
microcomputer (used as a controller for the system), and an
expanded keyboard as Human-Machine Interface (HMI).
One of the most difficult parts in developing assistance ap-
plications is the HMI, as it must be intuitive and appropriate
for people that do not have full capabilities. In this regard
different approaches are considered, such as tactile, voice
recognition, joystick/haptic interfaces, buttons, and gesture
recognition, among others [140]. Another very important
issue, which is a significant difference with respect to most
teleoperation scenarios, is that the local and the remote
stations share the same space, i.e., the human operator is
not isolated from the working area; on the contrary, actually
he/she is part of it. This leads to consider the safety of the
operator as one of the main topics.
The remote station is quite frequently composed of a
mobile platform and one or more arms installed on it, and
the whole system should be adaptable to unstructured and/or
unknown environments (different houses), as it is desirable
to perform actions such as going up and down stairs, opening
various kinds of doors, grasping and manipulating different
kind of objects, and so on. Improvement of the HMI to
include different and more friendly ways of use is one of the
main current challenges: the interfaces must be even more
intuitive and must achieve a higher level of abstraction in
terms of user commands. A typical example is understanding
of an order when a voice recognition system is used [141].
477
Various physical systems are considered for teleoperation
in this field, for instance, fixed devices (the disabled person
has to get into the device workspace) or devices based on
wheelchairs or mobile robots; the latest are the most flexible
and versatile and therefore the most used in recently devel-
oped assistance robots, such as RobChair [142], ARPH [143],
Pearl NurseBot [144], and ASIBOT [140].
20.5.8 Humanitarian Demining
This particular application field is included in a separate
subsection due to its relevance from the humanitarian point
of view. Land mines are very easy to place but very hard to be
removed. Specific robots have been developed to help in the
removal of land mines, especially to reduce the high risk that
exists when this task is performed by humans. Humanitarian
demining differs from the military approach. In the latter it
is only required to find a path through a minefield in the
minimum time, while the aim in humanitarian demining is
to cover the whole area to detect mines, mark them, and 20
remove/destroy all of them. The time involved may affect the
cost of the procedure, but should not affect its efficiency. One
key aspect in the design of teleoperated devices for demining
is that the remote station has to be robust enough to resist a
mine explosion or cheap enough to minimize the loss when
the manipulation fails and the mine explodes.
The removal of a mine is quite a complex task, which
is why demining tools include not only teleoperated robotic
arms but also teleoperated robotic hands [145]. Some propos-
als are based on walking machines, such as TITAN-IX [146]
and SILO6 [147] (Fig. 20.14). A different method includes
the use of machines to mechanically activate the mine, like
the Mini Flail, Bozena 4, Tempest, or Dervish, among others;
many of these robotic systems have been tested and used in
the removal of mines in countries such as Japan, Croatia, and
Vietnam [148].
20.5.9 Education
Recently, teleoperation has been introduced in education
and can be collated into two main types. In one of these,
the professor uses teleoperation to illustrate the (theoretical)
concepts to the students during a lecture by means of the
operation of a remote real plant, which obviously cannot
be brought to the classroom and that would require a spe-
cial visit, which would probably be expensive and time-
consuming.
The second type of educational application is the avail-
ability of remote experimental plants where the students
can carry out experiments and training, working at common
facilities at the school or in their own homes at different
478
Fig. 20.14 SILO6: A six-legged robot for humanitarian demining
tasks. (Courtesy of IAI, Spanish National Research Council - CSIC)
times. In this regard, during the last years, a number of remote
laboratory projects have been developed to teach fundamen-
tal concepts of various engineering fields, thanks to remote
operation and control of scientific facilities via the Internet
[149]. The development of e-Laboratory platforms, designed
to enable distance training of students in real scenarios of
robot programming, has proven useful in engineering train-
ing for mechatronic systems [150]. Experiments performed
in these laboratories are wide-ranging; they may go from a
single user testing control algorithms in a remote real plant
[151] to multiple users simulating and teleoperating multiple
virtual and real robots in a whole production cell [152].
The main feature in this type of applications is the almost
exclusive use of the Internet as the communication channel
between the local and remote stations. Due to its ubiquitous
characteristic, these applications are becoming increasingly
frequent.
20.6 Conclusions and Trends
Teleoperation is a highly topical subject with great potential
for expansion in its scientific and technical development as
well as in its applications.
The development of new wireless communication sys-
tems, like 5G, and the diffusion of global communication
networks, such as the Internet, can tremendously facilitate
the implementation of teleoperation systems. Nevertheless, at
the same time, these developments give rise to new problems
such as real-time requirements, delays in signal transmis-
sion, and loss of information. Research into new control
algorithms that guarantee stability even with variable delays
constitutes an answer to some of these problems. On the
other hand, the creation of new networks that will be able
to guarantee a Quality of Service will help considerably to
solve the real-time necessities of teleoperated systems.
L. Basañez et al.
The information that the human operator receives about
what is happening at the remote station is essential for
good execution of teleoperated tasks. In this regard, new
techniques and devices are necessary in order to facilitate the
situation awareness of the human operator in the task that
he/she is carrying out. Virtual reality, augmented reality, hap-
tics, and 3D vision systems are key elements for this purpose.
The function of the human operator can also be greatly
facilitated by aids to teleoperation. These aids, such as rela-
tional positioning, virtual guides, collision avoidance meth-
ods, and operation planning, can help the construction of
efficient teleoperation systems. In any case, it is expected
that, in the future, the teleoperation systems will scale to
higher levels of robot autonomy, increasing the automation
and reducing the role of the human operator.
The fields of application of teleoperation are multiple
nowadays and will become even more vast in the future, as
research continues to outline new solutions to the aforemen-
tioned challenges.
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141. Reinoso, O., Fernández, C., Ñeco, R.: User voice assistant tool
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jacob, J., Mccarthy, C., Montemerlo, M., Pineau, J., Roy, N.:
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man, D., Nobumoto, Y.: Hydraulic master-slave land mine clear- Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, Spain, in 2008. Since 2009, he
ance robot hand controlled by pulse modulation. Mechatronics 15, has been a Titular Professor with the Department of Computer Science
589–609 (2005) at UDG. He is an Editor of the International Journal of Adaptive Control
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robot, TITAN-IX-mechanical design concept and application for single and multiple robots.
the humanitarian demining robot. Adv. Robot. 15(2), 191–204
(2001)
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SILO6: a six-legged robot for humanitarian de-mining tasks. In:
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of technology-The state of the art. Int. J. Adv. Robot. Syst. 4(2),
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Viedma, E., Dormido, S.: Virtual and remote labs in education: a
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robotic laboratory: comparative experimental evaluation. IEEE
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Carlos I. Aldana received the B.Sc. degree from the University of
151. Giralt, X., Jofre, D., Costa, R., Basañez, L.: Proyecto de Labo-
Guadalajara (UDG) in 2002, M.Sc. degree from the CINVESTAV-
ratorio Remoto de Automática: Objetivos y Arquitectura Prop-
IPN in 2004, and Ph.D. degree in Automatic Control, Robotics and
uesta. In: III Jornadas de Trabajo EIWISA 02, Enseñanza vía
Computer Vision from the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC),
Internet/Web de la Ingeniería de Sistemas y Automática, Alicante,
Spain, in 2015. Actually, he is a professor of the Department of Com-
pp. 93–98 (2002)
puter Science at UDG. His current research interests include task space
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control, robot networks, teleoperation, and predictive control.
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Luis Basañez is an Emeritus Professor at the Technical University of

Catalonia, where he has been full professor of System Engineering and
Automatic Control, from 1986 to 2014, and Director of the Cybernetics
Institute. He is the Spanish delegate at the International Federation
of Robotics (IFR) and fellow member of the International Federation
of Automatic Control (IFAC). His present research interest includes
teleoperation, multirobot coordination, sensor integration, and active
perception.
 Nature-Inspired and Evolutionary Techniques
for Automation 21
Mitsuo Gen and Lin Lin

Contents line system, logistics, and transportation. ET is the most

21.1 Nature-Inspired and Evolutionary Techniques . . . . .
21.1.1 Genetic Algorithm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
21.1.2 Swarm Intelligences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
21.1.3 Other Nature-Inspired Optimization Algorithms . . . . . .
21.1.4 Evolutionary Multi-objective Optimization . . . . . . . . . . .
21.1.5 Features of Evolutionary Search . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
21.1.6 Evolutionary Design Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
21.2 Evolutionary Techniques for Automation . . . . . . . . . .
21.2.1 Advanced Planning and Scheduling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
21.2.2 Assembly Line System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
21.2.3 Logistics and Transportation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
21.3 AGV Dispatching in Manufacturing System . . . . . . .
21.3.1 Network Modeling for AGV Dispatching . . . . . . . . . . . .
21.3.2 A Priority-Based GA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
21.3.3 Case Study of AGV Dispatching . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
21.4 Robot-Based Assembly Line System . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
21.4.1 Assembly Line Balancing Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
21.4.2 Robot-Based Assembly Line Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
21.4.3 Evolutionary Algorithm Approaches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
21.4.4 Case Study of Robot-Based Assembly Line Model . . . .
21.5 Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 504
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 505
Abstract
In this chapter, nature-inspired and evolutionary tech-
niques (ET) will be introduced for treating automation
problems in advanced planning and scheduling, assembly
484 popular meta-heuristic method for solving NP-hard op-
484 timization problems. In the past few years, ETs have
485 been exploited to solve design automation problems. Con-
487
currently, the field of ET reveals a significant interest
489
490 in evolvable hardware and problems such as scheduling,
491 placement, or test pattern generation. The rest of this
492 chapter is organized as follows.
492 First, the background and developments of nature-
494 inspired and ETs are described. Then basic schemes and
496 working mechanism of genetic algorithms (GA), swarm
498 intelligence, and other nature-inspired optimization algo-
498 rithms are given. Multi-objective evolutionary algorithms
499
for treating optimization problems with multiple and con-
500
flicting objectives are presented. Features of evolution-
500 ary search, such as hybrid evolutionary search, enhanced
500
501 EA via learning, and evolutionary design automation are
503 presented. Next, the various applications based on ETs
504 for solving nonlinear/combinatorial optimization prob-
lems in automation are surveyed. In terms of advanced
planning and scheduling (APS), the facility layout prob-
lems, planning and scheduling of manufacturing systems,
and resource-constrained project scheduling problems are
included. In terms of assembly line system, various as-
sembly lines balancing (ALB) models are included. In
terms of logistics and transportation, location allocation
models and various types of logistics network models are
included.

M. Gen () Keywords

Department of Research, Fuzzy Logic Systems Institute (FLSI),
Iizuka, Japan Evolutionary algorithms · Flexible manufacturing
Research Institute of Science and Technology, Tokyo University of system · Multi-objective optimization problem ·
Science, Tokyo, Japan Automate guide vehicle · Assembly line balance ·
e-mail: gen@rs.tus.ac.jp; gen@flsi.or.jp Facility layout problem
L. Lin
International School of Information Science and Engineering, Dalian
University of Technology, Economy and Technology Development
Area, Dalian, China
e-mail: lin@dlut.edu.cn

© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 483

S. Y. Nof (ed.), Springer Handbook of Automation, Springer Handbooks,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-96729-1_21
484
21.1 Nature-Inspired and Evolutionary
Techniques
Nature-inspired technology (NIT) and evolutionary tech-
niques (ET) are subfields of artificial intelligence (AI), and
refer to a synthesis of methodologies from fuzzy logic (FL),
neural networks (NN), genetic algorithm (GA), and other
evolutionary algorithms (EAs). ET uses the evolutionary
process within a computer to provide a means for address-
ing complex engineering problems involving chaotic distur-
bances, randomness, and complex nonlinear dynamics that
traditional algorithms have been unable to conquer.
Computer simulations of evolution started as early as in
1954; however, most publications were not widely noticed.
From these beginnings, computer simulation of evolution
by biologists became more common in the early 1960s.
Evolution strategies (ES) was introduced by Rechenberg in
the 1960s and early 1970s [1]. Evolutionary programming
(EP) was first used by Lawrence J. Fogel in the USA in
1960s in order to use simulated evolution as a learning
process aiming to generate artificial intelligence [2]. Genetic
algorithm (GA) in particular became popular through the
work of Holland in the early 1970s [3]. His work originated
with studies of cellular automata, conducted by Holland and
his students at the University of Michigan. Holland intro-
duced a formalized framework for predicting the quality of
the next generation, known as Holland’s schema theorem
or one of the nature inspired methods by John Holland.
Research in GAs remained largely theoretical until the mid-
1980s. Genetic programming (GP) is an extended technique
of GA popularized by Koza in which computer programs,
rather than function parameters, are optimized [4]. Genetic
programming often uses tree-based internal data structures
to represent the computer programs for adaptation instead of
the list structures typical of genetic algorithms. Evolution-
ary techniques are generic population-based meta-heuristic
optimization algorithms, summarized in Fig. 21.1. Although
similar techniques differ in genetic representation and other
implementation details, and the nature of the particular ap-
plied problem. In general, ETs have five basic components,
as summarized by Michalewicz [5]:
1. A genetic representation of potential solutions to the prob-
lem
2. A way to create a population (an initial set of potential
solutions)
3. An evaluation function rating solutions in terms of their
fitness
4. Genetic operators that alter the genetic composition of
offspring (crossover, mutation, selection, etc.)
5. Parameter values that genetic algorithms use (population
size, probabilities of applying genetic operators, etc.)
M. Gen and L. Lin
Several publications and conferences have been held to
provide an easy way for exchanging new ideas, progress,
or experience on ETs and to promote better understanding
and collaborations between the theorists and practitioners
in this field. Depending on the Google Scholar Metrics
(2020), the top 10 publications are: Applied Soft Computing,
IEEE Congress on Evolutionary Computation, Soft Com-
puting, Swarm and Evolutionary Computation, Conference
on Genetic and Evolutionary Computation, Evolutionary
Computation, IEEE Symposium Series on Computational
Intelligence, Memetic Computing, International Journal of
Bio-Inspired Computation, and Natural Computing.
21.1.1 Genetic Algorithm
Genetic algorithm (GA) is the most widely known nature-
inspired method of ETs. GA includes the common essential
elements of ETs, and has wide real-world applications. GA
is a stochastic search technique based on the mechanism of
natural selection and natural genetics. The central theme of
research on GA is to keep a balance between exploitation
and exploration in its search to the optimal solution for sur-
vival in many different environments. Features for self-repair,
self-guidance, and reproduction are the rules in biological
systems, whereas they barely exist in the most sophisticated
artificial systems. GA has been theoretically and empiri-
cally proven to provide a robust search in complex search
spaces.
GA, differing from conventional search techniques, starts
with an initial set of random solutions called the population.
The i-th individual in the population P(t) is called a chromo-
some vt (i), representing a solution to the problem at hand. A
chromosome is a string of symbols, usually but not neces-
sarily, a binary bit string. The chromosomes evolve through
successive iterations, called generations. During each gener-
ation t, the chromosomes are evaluated, using some measures
of fitness fitt (i) or eval(P). To create the next generation, new
chromosomes, called offspring C(t), are generated by either
merging two chromosomes from the current generation using
a crossover operator and/or modifying a chromosome using
a mutation operator. A new generation is formed by selecting
some of the parents, according to the fitness values, and
offspring, and rejecting others so as to keep the population
size constant. Fitter chromosomes have higher probabilities
of being selected. After several generations, the algorithms
converge to the best chromosome, which hopefully repre-
sents the optimum or suboptimal solution to the problem.
Figure 21.2 shows the evolution process of GA, and the
pseudo-code of the GA is given in Algorithm 1.
21 Nature-Inspired and Evolutionary Techniques for Automation 485

1970 GA ES EP 1970

CS PGA

1980 GP 1980
LCS
EMO
IEC
MA
1990 CEA ACO 1990
EDA EVH
LLGA DE
NSGA
NeuroE PSO

2000 NSGA II 2000

ABC

2010 2010

Fig. 21.1 Types of nature-inspired and evolutionary techniques

Chromosome vt(i) Fitness fitt(i) Population P(t) Offspring C(t)

Initialize
Individual 1111100000 0.15 1111100000 *
Crossover 11111 11111 # 21
t=0
1000011111 *
10000 00000 #

t=t+1 Evaluate

101101100 *
Mutation
1010011001 #
1100110001 *
N Evaluate
Evaluate
Select

Y Stop
1001010111 0.99 condition 1000011111 0.95 1010011001 0.81

The best individual New population

Fig. 21.2 Evolution process of genetic algorithm

21.1.2 Swarm Intelligences
Ant Colony Optimization
Ant colony optimization (ACO) is a kind of bionic algorithm,
inspired by the behavior of ants foraging in nature [6].
Research on the behavior of ants shows that most of the
information transmission between individuals in a group and
between individuals and the environment is carried out on
the chemical substances produced by ants. This is a special
substance called pheromone. They use pheromone to mark
the path on the ground, such as the path from a food source
to an ant colony. When ants walk from a food source to an
ant nest or from an ant nest to a food source, they will release
pheromone on the ground they pass by, thus forming a path
containing pheromone. Ants can perceive the concentration
of pheromone on the path, and select the path with the
highest pheromone concentration with a higher probability.
Ants find the location of food along the way by sensing the
486
Algorithm 1: Genetic Algorithm (GA)
Input: problem data, parameters;
Process:
t m 0;
initialize P(t) by encoding routine;
evaluate eval(P) by decoding routine & keep the best solution;
while (not terminating condition) do
create C(t) from P(t) by crossover routine;
create C(t) from P(t) by mutation routine;
evaluate C(t) by decoding routine & update the best solution;
reproduce P(t+1) from P(t) and C(t) by selection routine;
t m t + 1;
end
Output: the best solution;
pheromone released by other ants. This way of influencing
the path selection of ant colonies based on the information of
chemical substances released by other ants is the inspiration
for ACO. This algorithm has the characteristics of distributed
computing, positive feedback of information, and heuristic
search. It has been widely recognized and its application
has been extended to all aspects of the optimization problem
field.
ACO starts from a set of randomly initial solutions, which
is called as ant colony P(t). Each ant in P represents a
solution. And the number of ant is N. After a certain number
of generations of state transition, ACO could find the best
optimal solution. During each generation t, the ant colony is
evaluated, using some measures of fitness fitt (i). To the ant
colony after state transition, the state transition probability is
calculated according to the pheromone Ph(t). New ant colony,
called C(t), is searched globally or locally based on the
state transition probability. About pheromone Ph(t), the first-
generation pheromone is represented by the fitness of the
first-generation ant colony. The greater the fitness, the more
the pheromone. Subsequent updates are updated according to
the following formula:
Ph (t + 1) = (1 − ρ) Ph(t)
where ρ is the rate of occurrence of pheromone, 0 < ρ < 1, the
purpose is to avoid unlimited accumulation of pheromone.
A new generation is formed by selecting some of the
ant colony before state transition and the ant colony after
state transition, according to the fitness values, and rejecting
others so as to keep the population size constant. After several
generations, the algorithms converge to the best ant, which
hopefully represents the optimum or suboptimal solution
to the problem. The pseudo-code of the ACO is given in
Algorithm 2.
M. Gen and L. Lin
Algorithm 2: Ant Colony Optimization (ACO)
Input: problem data, parameters;
Process:
t m 0;
initialize pheromone Ph(t) by encoding routine;
evaluate P(t) by decoding routine & keep the best solution;
while (not terminating condition) do
calculate state transition probability by pheromone Ph(t);
create C(t) from P(t) by local search or global search;
evaluate C(t) by decoding routine & update the best solution;
reproduce P(t+1) from P(t) and C(t) by selection routine;
update pheromone Ph(t+1) by pheromone Ph(t) by (21.1);
t m t + 1;
end
Output: the best solution;
Particle Swarm Optimization
Particle swarm optimization (PSO) is a swarm intelligence
optimization algorithm first proposed by Kennedy and Eber-
hart in 1995 [7]. The algorithm uses swarm iterations, al-
lowing particles to follow the optimal particle search in the
solution space to simulate the mutual cooperation mechanism
of the foraging behavior of groups of birds and fish to find the
optimal solution to the problem. All particles are searched
in a D-dimensional space. All particles are determined by
a fitness function to determine the fitness value to judge
the current position. Each particle must be endowed with
memory function to remember the best position found. Each
particle also has a speed used to determine the distance and
direction of flight. This speed is dynamically adjusted based
on its own experience and peer flight flying experience. The
d-dimensional velocity update formula of particle i:
   
vk id = wvk−1 id +c1 r1 pbestid −xk−1 id +c2 r2 gbestid −xk−1 id
(21.2)
xk id = xk−1 id + vk id (21.3)
(21.1)
where xk id is the d-dimensional component of the flying
velocity vector of particle i in the k-th iteration. vk id is the d-
dimensional component of the position vector of the particle i
in the k-th iteration. c1 , c2 are acceleration constant, adjusting
the maximum step length of learning. r1 , r2 are two random
function, in the range [0,1], in order to increase the search
randomness. w is a inertia weight, non-negative, adjusting the
search range of the solution space.
In 1998, Shi and Eberhart [8] introduced the inertia weight
ω and proposed to dynamically adjust the inertia weight to
balance the global convergence and convergence speed. This
21 Nature-Inspired and Evolutionary Techniques for Automation 487

algorithm is called the standard PSO algorithm. The inertia could fulfill three requirements of the practical algorithms:
weight ω describes the influence of the particle’s previous first, it could find global optimal no matter what parameters
generation velocity on the current generation velocity. In are initialized; second, the convergence of DE is fast; third,
1999, Clerc [9] introduced a shrinkage factor to ensure the DE is easy to use because it requires little control parameters.
convergence of the algorithm. The speed update formula is As one of the most powerful and versatile evolutionary opti-
as follows: mizers, DE has been demonstrated to be efficient to a variety
     of fields, such as artificial intelligence (AI) and electricity.
vid = K vid + ϕ1 r1 pbestid − xid + ϕ2 r2 gbestid − xid DE starts from a set of randomly initial solutions, which
(21.4) is called as population P. Each individual in P represents a
solution, we define it as x. And the number of individuals is
where the shrinkage factor K is ω limited by ϕ 1 and ϕ 2 . ϕ 1 N. After a certain number of generations of evolution, DE
and ϕ 2 are models that need to be set in advance parameter. could find the global optimal solution. The same as GA and
The shrinkage factor method controls the behavior of the PSO, the evolve operations also includes crossover, mutation,
system and finally converges, and can effectively search for selection, and so on. Different from other optimization algo-
different areas. rithms, the evolution of the DE algorithm is reflected by the
In 2001, Bergh and Engelbrecht [10] proposed a co- differential information of multiple individuals. The mutation
operative particle swarm algorithm. The specific steps are of DE is to randomly select two different individuals in the
to assume that the dimension of the particle swarm is n, population, and then scale their vector difference to perform
divide the entire particle into n small parts, and then the vector synthesis with the individual to be mutated. The for-
algorithm optimizes each small part of the particle separately. mula is as follows:
After evaluating the fitness value, it merges into a complete
particle. The result shows that the algorithm has achieved a vr (t + 1) = xr1 (t) + F (xr2 (t) − xr3 (t)) (21.5)
faster convergence rate on many problems.
In which r1 , r2 , r3 belongs to [1, N], and r1 = r2 = r3 . F is
21
the scale factor, t represents generation. xr2 (t) − xr3 (t) is the
Algorithm 3: Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO)
difference, which tends to adapt to the natural scales of the
Input: problem data, parameters; objective landscape through the iteration of population. For
Process: example, the difference will become smaller when a variable
t m 0;
of the population become compact. And this kind of adaptive
initialize velocity v(t) and position x(t) by encoding routine;
adjustment helps speed up the exploration of solution space,
evaluate v(t) and x(t) by decoding routine & keep the best solution gBest;
which makes DE more effective. The operation of crossover
while (not terminating condition) do
operation is as follows:
for each particle x k (t) in swarm do
update velocity vk (t+1) by (21.2); 
vγ (t + 1) , if U (0, 1) ≥ CR
update position x k (t+1) by (21.3); uγ (t + 1) = (21.6)
k
evaluate x (t+1) by decoding routine; xγ (t), otherwise
k ) then
if f (x k (t+1)) < f (pBest
k
update pBest (t) = x k (t+1) where U(0,1) represents a random real number uniformly
update gBest = argmin { k
f(pBest (t)), f(gBest(t))}; distributed between [0,1], and CR represents crossover prob-
t m t + 1; ability.
end In DE, the strategy of greedy selection is adopted, which
Output: the best solution gBest; means when an offspring is generated, the fitness value of it is
compared with the corresponding parent, and the individual
with the better fitness will be selected to enter the next
generation. The selection formula is as follows:

21.1.3 Other Nature-Inspired Optimization     

Algorithms ua (t + 1) , if f uγ (t + 1) ≤ f xγ (t)
xγ (t + 1) =
xγ (t), otherwise
Differential Evolution (21.7)
Differential evolution (DE) is a heuristic algorithm based on
population. DE is proposed by Storn and Price in 1995 [11], where f represents fitness function, and goal is to minimize
which aims to find the global optimal of possibly nonlin- the value of fitness. The pseudo-code of the DE is given in
ear and non-differentiable function in continuous space. DE Algorithm 4.
488 M. Gen and L. Lin

repeated until the algorithm converges or met the termination

Algorithm 4: Differential Evolution (DE)
condition, and the pseudo code is given in Algorithm 5.
Input: problem data, parameters;
Process:
t m 0; Algorithm 5: Estimation of distribution algorithm (EDA)
initialize v(t), u(t), x(t) by real number encoding;
Input: problem data, parameters;
evaluate eval(t) by fitness function & keep the best solution;
Process:
while (not terminating condition) do t m 0;
create v(t+1) by (21.5);
initialize Popt() by encoding routine and calculate pt(Pop);
create u(t+1) by (21.6);
create x(t+1) by (21.7); evaluate Popt() by decoding & keep the best solution;
reproduce P(t+1) from P(t) and x(t); while (not terminating condition) do
t m t + 1; supPop = select(Popt());select some superior populations
end pt+1() = estimate(supPop, pt(Pop)); estimate next probability
Output: the best solution gBest; newPop = create(pt+1(), supPop); create new population
evaluate newPop by decoding routine and update the best solution Sbest;
Popt+1() = reproduce(newPop, Popt()); reproduce next population
In spite of DE requires only three control parameters: t m t + 1;
the population size N, the crossover possibility CR, and the end
scale factor F, and DE achieves remarkable performance on Output: the best solution Sbest;
accuracy, robustness, and convergence speed compared with
other ETs, such as GA and PSO.

Simulated Annealing
Estimation of Distribution Algorithm Simulated Annealing (SA) algorithm is an important heuristic
Estimation of distribution algorithm (EDA), based on statis- algorithm, which simulates the process of solid annealing.
tical optimization techniques, is one of the emerging types of It accepts a worse solution than the current solution with a
ETs. Compared with other evolutionary algorithms that use certain probability, so it has more possibility to jump out
traditional evolutionary operators to produce the next gen- of the local optimal solution and find the global optimal
eration, EDA predicts the most potential area of the solution solution. The pseudocode for SA is shown as follows.
space by constructing a probabilistic model and sampling the
search space to generate excellent individuals. Constructing a
probabilistic model is the core of EDA. Different probabilis- Algorithm 6: Simulated Annealing (SA)
tic models should be designed for different types of optimiza-
Input: current temper T, min temper Tmin, fitness function J, current
tion problems to describe the distribution of solution spaces. position Y, decay rate r
Compared with genetic-based micro-level evolution method Process
of GA, EDA adopts a macro-level evolution method based on i= 0 ;
search space, which has stronger global search capabilities while T > T min do
and the ability to solve high-dimensional complex problems. dE = J(Y(i+1)) - J(Y(i));
Hao et al. proposed an effective estimation of distribution if dE >= 0
algorithm for stochastic job shop scheduling problem [12]. Y(i+1) = Y(i);
EDA typically works with all individuals in the popula- else
if exp(dE/T) > random(0, 1)
tion, starting with the method of initializing the population
Y(i+1) = Y(i);
according to the uniform distribution. The i-th solution is
else
represented as the i-th individual in the population. During continue;
each generation of population Pop(t), the fitness function T = r * T;
fitt (i) is used to score individuals. The higher the score, the i = i+1;
better the fitness. The selection operator selects the elite Output: the best position Y(i)
individuals of this generation to form the dominant sub-
population by setting a threshold in the ranked population.
EDA estimates the probability distribution pt (Pop) of all Matai, Singh, and Mittal proposed a modified simulated
individuals in the dominant sub-population by constructing annealing (mSA) algorithm for the equal-area facility layout
a probabilistic model, and new individuals are generated by problem [13]. Pourvaziri and Pierreval proposed a GA algo-
sampling the distribution of the encoded model. These new rithm considering simulation for the layout of machines in
individuals will be merged or directly replace individuals a manufacturing system considering the aisles structure and
from the old population to form a new population. This step is their capacity [14].
21 Nature-Inspired and Evolutionary Techniques for Automation
21.1.4 Evolutionary Multi-objective
Optimization
Multiple objective problems arise in the design, modeling,
and planning of many complex real systems in the areas of
industrial production, urban transportation, capital budget-
ing, forest management, reservoir management, layout and
landscaping of new cities, energy distribution, etc. It is easy to
find that almost every important real-world decision problem
involves multiple and conflicting objectives which need to be
tackled while respecting various constraints, leading to over-
whelming problem complexity. Since the 1990s, ETs have
been received considerable attention as a novel approach to
multi-objective optimization problems, resulting in a fresh
body of research and applications known as evolutionary
multi-objective optimization (EMO).
A special issue in the multi-objective optimization
problem is the fitness assignment mechanism. Since the
1980s, several fitness assignment mechanisms have been
proposed and applied to multi-objective optimization
problems, although most fitness assignment mechanisms
are just different approaches and are applicable to different
cases of multi-objective optimization problems. In order
to understand the development of EMO, we classify the
fitness assignment mechanisms according to the published
year.
Type 1: Vector evaluation approach. The vector evaluated
genetic algorithm (VEGA) was the first notable work to solve
multi-objective problems in which a vector fitness measure is
used to create the next generation [15].
Type 2: Pareto ranking + diversity: Fonseca and Fleming
proposed a multi-objective genetic algorithm (MoGA) in
which the rank of a certain individual corresponds to the
number of individuals in the current population that dominate
it [16]. Srinivas and Deb also developed a Pareto-ranking-
based fitness assignment and called it the nondominated
sorting genetic algorithm (NSGA) [17]. In each method, the
nondominated solutions constituting a nondominated front
are assigned the same dummy fitness value. He et al. com-
bined fuzzy logic with Pareto sorting into moEA, called
fuzzy dominance genetic algorithm (FDGA), using fuzzy
logic based on the left Gaussian function to quantify the
degree of domination, from dominate to being dominated
in each objective, and then using the set theoretic operator
to combine multiple fuzzy sets to allow two individuals to
compare between multiple objectives [18]. Yuan et al. also
developed an improved Pareto dominated domain called θ
dominance-based evolutionary algorithm (θ-DEA), in which
only the solutions under the same cluster have competitive
relations [19]. Li, Yang, and Liu proposed a shift-based den-
sity estimation strategy (SDE), which incorporates additional
information on the basis of individual distribution informa-
tion. This convergence information can reflect the relative
489
degree of proximity between individuals and Pareto fron-
tiers [20]. Xiang proposed a vector angle-based evolutionary
algorithm (VAEA), which adopts a selection operator that
combines the maximum-vector-angle-first principle and the
worse-elimination principle to ensure the balance between
convergence and diversity [21]. Yang et al. proposed a grid-
based Evolutionary Algorithm (GBEA), which defines the
dominance and evaluation criteria under the grid environ-
ment, and can effectively increase the selection pressure of
moving to the Pareto front [22].
Type 3: Weighted sum + elitist preserve: Ishibuchi and
Murata proposed a weighted-sum-based fitness assignment
method, called the random-weight genetic algorithm
(RWGA), to obtain a variable search direction toward the
Pareto frontier [23]. The weighted-sum approach can be
viewed as an extension of methods used in the multi-objective
optimizations to GAs. It assigns weights to each objective
function and combines the weighted objectives into a single
objective function. Gen et al. proposed another weight-
sum-based fitness assignment method called the adaptive-
weight genetic algorithm (AWGA), which readjusts weights
for each objective based on the values of nondominated
solutions in the current population to obtain fitness values
combined with the weights toward the Pareto frontier [24]. 21
Zitzler and Thiele proposed the strength Pareto evolutionary
algorithm (SPEA) [25] and an extended version SPEA
2 [26] that combines several features of previous multi-
objective genetic algorithms (MoGA) in a unique manner.
Deb suggested a nondominated sorting-based approach
called the nondominated sorting genetic algorithm II (NSGA
II) [27], which alleviates three difficulties: computational
complexity, nonelitism approach, and the need to specify a
sharing parameter. NSGA II was advanced from its origin,
NSGA. Gen et al. proposed an interactive adaptive-weight
genetic algorithm (i-AWGA), which is an improved adaptive-
weight fitness assignment approach with consideration of
the disadvantages of the weighted-sum and Pareto-ranking-
based approaches [24]. On the basis of NSGA II, Deb and
Jain proposed an more suitable algorithm for solving many-
objective optimization problems, called NSGA III, which
uses a number of widespread reference points in selection
operators and has better ability to maintain population
diversity [28]. Zhang et al. proposed a hybrid sampling
strategy based multi-objective evolutionary algorithms
(MoEA-HSS) by combining archive mechanisms based on
VEGA and Pareto-based fitness functions and applied it to
the process planning and scheduling problem [29]. Recently
Zhang et al. also proposed HMoEA with fast sampling
strategy-based global search and route sequence difference-
based local search (HMoEA-FSS.RSD) and applied it to
VRP with time window [30].
Ke, Zhang, and Battiti proposed an algorithm that
combines a decomposition-based strategy with swarm
490
intelligence, called multi-objective evolutionary algorithm
with decomposition and ant colony optimization (MoEA/d-
ACO). This method decomposes the multi-objective problem
into a set of single objective subproblems, and evolves the
individuals of each subpopulation to approach the Pareto
frontier by sharing pheromones [31]. Li et al. developed
another decomposition-based method, called multiple
objective evolutionary algorithm based on directional
diversity (MoEA/dd), in which a two-layer vector is designed
to adjust the weight vector adaptively [32].
21.1.5 Features of Evolutionary Search
Exploitation and Exploration
Search is one of the more universal problem solving methods
for such problems one cannot determine a priori sequence of
steps leading to a solution. Search can be performed with ei-
ther blind strategies or heuristic strategies [33]. Blind search
strategies do not use information about the problem do-
main. Heuristic search strategies use additional information
to guide search move along with the best search directions.
There are two important issues in search strategies: exploiting
the best solution and exploring the search space [34]. ET
is a class of general purpose search methods combining
elements of directed and stochastic search which can produce
a remarkable balance between exploration and exploitation of
the search space.
At the beginning of evolution search, there is a widely ran-
dom and diverse population and the blind strategies tend to
perform widespread search for exploring all solution space.
As the high fitness solutions develop, the heuristic strategies
provide exploration in the neighborhood of each of them. In
other words, the evolutionary operators would be determined
by the environment of evolutionary system (the diversity of
population) but not by the operator itself. In addition, sim-
ple evolutionary operators are designed as general purpose
search methods (the domain-independent search methods)
they perform essentially a blind search and could not guar-
antee to yield an improved offspring.
Hybrid Evolutionary Search
ET has proved to be a versatile and effective approach
for solving optimization problems. Nevertheless, there are
many situations in which the simple ET does not perform
particularly well, and need to design specific methods
of hybridization based on specific problems. One of
most common forms of hybrid evolutionary search is to
incorporate local optimization as an add-on extra to the
canonical ET loop of recombination and selection (Fig. 21.3).
With the hybrid approach, local optimization is applied to
each newly generated offspring to move it to a local optimum
before injecting it into the population. ET is used to perform
M. Gen and L. Lin
Population P(t) Offspring C(t)
1111100000 *
Crossover 11111 11111 #
1000011111 *
10000 00000 #
Evaluate
101101100 * Mutation
1010011001 #
1100110001 *
Evaluate
Hybrid evolutionary search
Fig. 21.3 General structure of hybrid evolutionary search
global exploration among a population while heuristic
methods are used to perform local exploitation around
chromosomes. Because of the complementary properties
of ET and conventional heuristics, the hybrid approach
often outperforms either method operating alone. Another
common form is to incorporate ET parameters adaptation.
The behaviors of ET are characterized by the balance
between exploitation and exploration in the search space.
The balance is strongly affected by the strategy parameters
such as population size, maximum generation, evolutionary
operation probabilities. How to choose a value to each of the
parameters and how to find the values efficiently are very
important and promising areas of research on the ET.
Enhanced EA via Learning
As early as 1988, Goldberg and Holland began to pay
attention to the interaction between machine learning (ML)
and ETs [35]. ETs are equipped with outstanding search
ability, and they could store a large number of problem
features data, search information data, and population
information data during the search process. Benefiting from
the outstanding analysis ability, ML could help analyze the
huge amounts of data and improve the search ability of
ETs. By combining ML and ETs, useful information can be
extracted to help understand the search behavior and search
global optimum. There are many ML techniques which can
be combined with ETs: statistical methods (e.g., mean and
variance), interpolation and regression, clustering analysis
(CA), principle component analysis (PCA), artificial neural
networks (ANN), orthogonal experimental design (OED),
support vector machines (SVM), case-based reasoning,
opposition-based learning (OBL), reinforcement learning,
competitive learning, and Bayesian network. And the
combination of ML and ETs has been proved to be useful in
21 Nature-Inspired and Evolutionary Techniques for Automation
Knowledge
Apriori
knowledge
Population
Evaluation
initialization
Parameters adaption
EA
Aim
Speeding-up
Fig. 21.4 An illustration of the hybridization taxonomy
speeding up convergence and obtaining better solution. ML-
technique-enhanced-ETs have been investigated by Jourdan
et al. [36] and Zhang et al. [37].
Incorporation of different ML techniques into different
ETs could lead to different affect. Jourdan et al. [36] sug-
gested that the hybridization of ML techniques and ETs can
be classified according to knowledge type/aim/localization,
as shown in Fig. 21.4 [38].
Based on five basic components of ETs discussed above,
the hybridization with ML can occur in each process of the
ET:
1. Population initialization (Learning for initial solutions
distribution and initial solutions quality)
2. Evaluation (Learning to reduce evaluation process, re-
place the evaluation function and avoid evaluations)
3. Evolutionary operations (Learning-enhanced evolution-
ary operators, and learning-enhanced local searches)
4. Population distribution (Learning to incorporate search
experience, predict promising region, maintain population
diversity)
5. Parameters adaption
21.1.6 Evolutionary Design Automation
Automation is the use of control systems such as comput-
ers to control industrial machinery and processes, replacing
human operators. In the scope of industrialization, it is a step
beyond mechanization. Whereas mechanization provided hu-
man operators with machinery to assist them with the phys-
ical requirements of work, automation greatly reduces the
491
Dynamic
knowledge
Evolutionary Population
operations distribution
Quality improvement
need for human sensory and mental requirements as well.
Processes and systems can also be automated.
Automation plays an increasingly important role in the 21
global economy and in daily experience. Engineers strive to
combine automated devices with mathematical and organiza-
tional tools to create complex systems for a rapidly expanding
range of applications and human activities. ETs have received
considerable attention regarding their potential as novel opti-
mization techniques. There are three major advantages when
applying ETs to design automation.
Adaptability: ETs do not have many mathematical re-
quirements regarding the optimization problem. Due to their
evolutionary nature, ETs will search for solutions without
regard to the specific internal workings of the problem. ETs
can handle any kind of objective functions and any kind
of constraints (i.e., linear or nonlinear, defined on discrete,
continuous, or mixed search spaces).
Robustness: The use of evolution operators makes ET
very effective in performing global search (in probability),
while most conventional heuristics usually perform local
search. It has been proven by many studies that EA is
more efficient and more robust at locating optimal solution
and reducing computational effort than other conventional
heuristics.
Flexibility: ETs provide great flexibility to hybridize with
domain-dependent heuristics to make an efficient implemen-
tation for a specific problem.
However, to exploit the benefits of an effective ET to
solve design automation problems, it is usually necessary
to examine whether we can build an effective evolutionary
search with the encoding. Several principles were proposed
to evaluate effectiveness [24]:
492
1. Space: Individual should not require extravagant amounts
of memory.
2. Time: The time required for executing evaluation, recom-
bination on individuals should not be great.
3. Feasibility: An individual corresponds to a feasible solu-
tion.
4. Legality: Any permutation of an individual corresponds to
a solution.
5. Completeness: Any solution has a corresponding individ-
ual.
6. Uniqueness: The mapping from individuals to solutions
(decoding) may belong to one of the following three cases:
1-to-1 mapping, n-to-1 mapping, and 1-to-n mapping. The
1-to-1 mapping is the best among the three cases, and 1-
to-n mapping is the most undesirable.
7. Heritability: Offspring of simple recombination (i.e., one-
cut-point crossover) should correspond to solutions which
combine the basic features of their parents.
8. Locality: A small change in an individual should imply a
small change in its corresponding solution.
21.2 Evolutionary Techniques for
Automation
Currently, for manufacturing, the purpose of automation has
shifted from increasing productivity and reducing costs to
broader issues, such as increasing quality and flexibility in
the manufacturing process. For example, automobile and
truck pistons used to be installed into engines manually. This
is rapidly being transitioned to automated machine installa-
tion, because the error rate for manual installment was around
1–1.5%, but has been reduced to 0.00001% with automation.
Hazardous operations, such as oil refining, manufacturing of
industrial chemicals, and all forms of metal working, were
always early contenders for automation.
However, many applications of automation, such as opti-
mizations and automatic controls, are formulated with com-
plex structures, complex constraints, and multiple objects
simultaneously, which makes the problem intractable to tra-
ditional approaches. In recent years, the evolutionary tech-
niques community has turned much of its attention toward
applications in industrial automation.
21.2.1 Advanced Planning and Scheduling
Advanced planning and scheduling (APS) refers to a man-
ufacturing process by which raw materials and production
capacity are optimally allocated to meet demand. APS is
especially well-suited to environments where simpler plan-
ning methods cannot adequately address complex trade-offs
between competing priorities. However, most scheduling
M. Gen and L. Lin
problems of APS in the real world face inevitable constraints
such as due date, capability, transportation cost, setup cost,
and available resources. Generally speaking, we should ob-
tain an effective “flexibility” not only as a response to the real
complex environment but also to satisfy all the combinatorial
constraints. Thus, how to formulate the complex problems of
APS and find satisfactory solutions play an important role in
manufacturing systems.
Design: Design problems generally have to be decided
only once in APS, and they form some kinds of fixed inputs
for other subsequent problems, such as manufacturing and
planning problems. Typically, design problems in an inte-
grated manufacturing system include layout design, assem-
bly planning, group technology, and so on.
Planning: Compared to scheduling problems, planning
problems have a longer horizon. Hence the demand informa-
tion needed to find the optimal solution for a planning prob-
lem comes from forecasting rather than arrived orders. Pro-
cess planning, operation sequencing, production planning,
and assembly line balancing fall into the class of planning
problems.
Manufacturing: In manufacturing, there are two kinds of
essential issues: scheduling and routing. Machining, assem-
bly, material handling, and other manufacturing functions are
performed to the best efficiency. Such kinds of problems are
generally triggered by a new order.
Distribution: The efficient distribution of products is very
important in IMS, as transportation costs become a non-
negligible part of the purchase price of products in compet-
itive markets. This efficiency is achieved through sophisti-
cated logistic network design and efficient traffic routing.
To find the optimal solutions in those fields gives rise
to complex combinatorial optimization problems. Unfortu-
nately, most of them fall into the class of NP-hard problems.
Hence to find a satisfactory solution in an acceptable time
span is crucial for the performance of APS. ETs have turned
out to be potent methods to solve such kinds of optimization
problems. In APS, the basic problems indicated in Fig. 21.5
are likely to use ETs.
A flexible machining system is one of the forms of factory
automation. The design of a flexible machining system (FMS)
involves the layout of machine and workstations. The layout
of machines in an FMS is typically determined by the type of
material-handling devices used. Layout design is concerned
with the optimum arrangement of physical facilities, such
as departments or machines, in a certain area. Kusiak and
Heragu (1987) wrote a survey paper on the machine layout
problem [39]. Usually the design criterion is considered to
be minimizing material-handling costs. Because of the com-
binatorial nature of the facility layout problem, the heuris-
tic technique is the most promising approach for solving
practical-size layout problems. The interest in application
of ETs to facility layout design has been growing rapidly.
21 Nature-Inspired and Evolutionary Techniques for Automation 493

Advanced planning and scheduling

Design Planning Manufacturing Distribution

• Layout design • Process planning • Lot flow • Distribution

• Group • Operation scheduling systems design
technology sequencing • Material • Logistics
• Part and product • Advanced handing & network
design planning & vehicle routing planning
• Tool and fixture scheduling • Flow shop • Transportation
• Design • Production scheduling planning
planning • Job shop • Location &
• Assembly scheduling routing
planning • Flexible job planning
shop scheduling • Vehicle routing
• Assembly line & scheduling
balancing
• Maintenance
scheduling

Fig. 21.5 Basic problems in advanced planning and scheduling

Cohoon et al. proposed a distributed GA for the floorplan de-
sign problem [40]. Tam reported his experiences of applying
genetic algorithms to the facility layout problem [41]. Tate
and Smith applied GA to the shape-constrained unequal-area
facility layout problem [42]. Gen and Cheng provided various
GA approaches for the machine layout and facility layout
problems [43]. Liu and Liu also proposed a modified multi-
objective ant colony optimization (MoACO) algorithm [44].
Garcia-Hernandez et al. developed a new multi-method evo-
lutionary algorithm for unequal-area facility layout problem,
called Coral Reefs Optimization algorithm with Substrate
Layers (CRO-sl), which increases the diversity of individual
distribution in the population by designing several replication
mechanisms suitable for improving the exploration of the
searching space [45]. Recently Suer and Gen edited advanced
development, analysis, and case studies for the cellular man-
ufacturing systems [46].
The planning and scheduling of manufacturing systems
always require resource capacity constraints, disjunctive con-
straints, and precedence constraints, owing to the tight due
dates, multiple customer-specific orders, and flexible process
strategies. Here, some hot topics of applications of ETs
in APS are introduced. These models mainly support the
integrated, constraint-based planning of the manufacturing
system to reduce lead times, lower inventories, increase
throughput, etc.
The flexible jobshop scheduling problem (FJSP) is a gen-
eralization of the jobshop and parallel machine environment
[47, 48], which provides a closer approximation to a wide
range of real manufacturing systems. Kacem et al. proposed
the operations machine-based GA approach [49], which is 21
based on a traditional representation called the schemata
theorem representation. Zhang and Gen proposed a multi-
stage operation-based encoding for FJSP [50]. Zhang et al.
proposed an effective gene expression programming (eGEP)
algorithm for energy-efficient FJSP, which combines multi-
gene representation, self-study, and unsupervised learning
[51]. Shahsavari-Pour and Ghasemishabankareh designed a
hybrid genetic algorithm and simulated annealing algorithm
(nhGASA) for solving multi-objective FJSP [52]. Kemmoe-
Tchomte, Lamy, and Tchernev proposed an improved greedy
randomized adaptive search procedure with a multi-level
evolutionary local search (GRASP-mels) algorithm based on
neighborhood structure optimization [53]. Xu et al. designed
a teaching-learning based optimization (TLBO) algorithm
for FJSP with fuzzy processing time [54]. Gen, Lin, and
Ohwata recently surveyed recent hybrid evolutionary algo-
rithms for fuzzy flexible job-shop scheduling problems [55].
The objective of the resource-constrained project schedul-
ing problem (rcPSP) is to schedule activities such that prece-
dence and resource constraints are obeyed and the makespan
of the project is to be minimized. Gen and Cheng adopted
priority-based encoding for this rcPSP [48]. In order to
improve the effectiveness of priority-based GA approach for
an extended resource constrained multiple project scheduling
problem, Kim et al. combined priority dispatching rules in
priority-based encoding process [56]. To enhance the local
search capability of GA, Joshi et al. proposed a variable
neighborhood search GA (vnsGA) [57]. Elsayed et al. de-
signed a two-layer framework for adaptive selection of the
494 M. Gen and L. Lin

Advanced planning and scheduling models

Job-shop scheduling Flexible JSP model Integrated resource selection Integrated Manufacturing &
model (JSP) (fJSP) & operation sequence model scheduling model logistics model

Extension Extension Extension Extension

Objective: Objective: Objective: Objective: Objective:
min makespan min makespan min makespan min makespan min makespan
balancing workloads balancing workloads plant transition times
machine transition times Constraints: Constraints:
Constraints: Constraints: Constraints: precedence constraints precedence constraints
precedence constraints precedence constraints precedence constraints alternative machines alternative machines
in same (or different) alternative machines alternative machines lot size information lot size information
direction lot size information multi-plant chain multi-plant chain
pickup and delivery
Output: Output: Output: Output: Output:
operation sequence operation operation operation operation
sequences with sequences with sequences with sequences with
machine selection machine selection machine selection machine selection

Fig. 21.6 Basic problems in advanced planning and scheduling

optimal evaluation method, the upper layer selects the opti-
mization algorithm, and the lower layer selects the operator
[58]. Cheng et al. proposed a fuzzy clustering differential evo-
lution (FCDE) algorithm, which combines fuzzy C-means
clustering technique [59]. He et al. proposed a filter-and-fan
approach with adaptive neighborhood switching (FFANS).
It is a hybrid meta-heuristic algorithm based on a single
solution, which is a combination of local search, multi-
ple neighborhoods filtering fan-out search and an adaptive
neighborhood switching step, and has the characteristics of
autonomous and adaptive problem scale [60]. Tian et al.
proposed a hybrid multi-objective EDA for robust resource
constraint project scheduling with uncertainty [61].
The advanced planning and scheduling (APS) model in-
cludes a range of capabilities from finite capacity planning
at the plant floor level through constraint-based planning to
the latest applications of advanced logic for supply-chain
planning and collaboration [62]. Several related works by
Moon et al. [63] and Moon and Seo [64] have reported a GA
approach especially for solving such kinds of APS problems.
Depending on the common sense “from easy to difficult”
and “from simple to complex”, the core APS models are
summarized in Fig. 21.6.
21.2.2 Assembly Line System
From ancient times to the modern day, the concept of assem-
bly has naturally been changed a lot. The most important
milestone in assembly is the invention of assembly lines
(ALs). In 1913, Henry Ford completely changed the general
concept of assembly by introducing ALs in automobile man-
ufacturing for the first time. He was the first to introduce
a moving belt in a factory, where the workers were able to
build the famous model-T cars, one piece at a time instead of
one car at a time. Since then, the AL concept revolutionized
the way products were made while reducing the cost of
production. Over the years, the design of efficient assembly
lines received considerable attention from both companies
and academicians. A well-known assembly design problem
is assembly line balancing (ALB), which deals with the
allocation of the tasks among workstations so that a given
objective function is optimized.
As shown in Fig. 21.7, ALB models can be classified into
two groups based on the model structure. While, the first
group [65] includes single-model assembly line balancing
(smALB), multi-model assembly line balancing (muALB),
and mixed-model assembly line balancing (mALB); the sec-
ond group [66] includes simple assembly line balancing
(sALB) and general assembly line balancing (gALB). The
smALB model involves only one product. Additionally, sev-
eral versions of ALB problems arise by varying the objective
function [65]. Type-F is an objective independent problem
which is to establish whether or not a feasible line balance
exists. Type-1 and Type-2 have a dual relationship; the first
tries to minimize the number of stations for a given cycle
time, and the second tries to minimize the cycle time for
a given number of stations. Type-E is the most general
problem version, which tries to maximize the line efficiency
by simultaneously minimizing the cycle time and a number
of stations. Finally, Type-3, -4, and -5 correspond to max-
imization of workload smoothness, maximization of work
21 Nature-Inspired and Evolutionary Techniques for Automation
Classification of ALB models
based on problem structure
According to ALB model type
Single-model ALB
(smALB)
Multi-model ALB
(muALB)
Mixed-model ALB
(mALB)
Fig. 21.7 Classification of assembly line balancing models
relatedness, and multiple objectives with Type-3 and Type-
4, respectively [66–68]. Falkenauer and Delchambre [69]
were the first to solve ALB with GAs. Following Falkenauer
and Delchambre [69], application of GAs for solving ALB
models was studied by many researchers, for example. Zhang
and Gen [70] used a multi-objective GA to solve mixed-
model assembly lines. Kucukkoc and Zhang [71] utilized
mathematical formulation to model parallel double-sided
assembly line balance problems and proposed a new genetic
algorithm (GA)-based approach to solve it. Triki et al. [72]
proposed an innovative hybrid genetic algorithm (HGA)
scheme hybridized with a local search procedure to solve the
task restrictions assembly line balancing (TRALB) problem.
Quyen et al. [73] proposed a hybrid genetic algorithm (HGA)
that includes two stages to solve the resource constrained
assembly line balancing (RCALB) problem. Defersha and
Mohebalizadehgashti [74] proposed a multi-phased linear
programming embedded genetic algorithm to solve mixed-
model assembly line balancing problem.
Due to very different conditions in real manufacturing
environments, assembly line systems show a great diversity.
Particularly, ALs can be distinguished with regard to the line
layout such as serial and u-shaped lines. In u-shaped lines,
the stations are arranged along a rather narrow U, where
both legs are close together, and the entrance and the exit of
the line are in the same position. Stations in between those
legs may work at two segments of the line facing each other
simultaneously. This means that the workpieces can revisit
the same station at a later stage in the production process
without changing the flow direction of the line. This can
result in better balance of station loads due to a larger number
of task-station combinations where operators can handle
adjacent tasks as well as tasks on both sides of the u-shaped
line. Zha and Yu [75] proposed a new hybrid algorithm of
495
According to ALB problem structure
Simple ALB
(sALB)
General ALB
(gALB)
ant colony optimization and filtered beam search for solving
U-line balancing and rebalancing problem. In the process
of constructing path, each ant chooses the best one step by
global and local evaluation at a given probability. Alavidoost 21
et al. [76] utilized a hybrid multi-objective genetic algorithm
where a one-fifth success rule was deployed to solve U-
shaped assembly line balancing problems with the fuzzy
task processing times. Sahin and Kellegoz [77] designed a
grouping genetic and simulated annealing algorithms to solve
U-shaped assembly line balancing problems. Zhang et al.
[78] modified ant colony optimization inspired by the process
of simulated annealing, to reduce the possibility of being
trapped in a local optimum solving U-type assembly lines
balancing (uALB) problem.
In the past decades, robots have been extensively used in
assembly lines called robotic assembly lines (rALs). Usually,
specific tooling is developed to perform the activities needed
at each station. Such tooling is attached to the robot at the
station. In order to avoid the wasted time required for tool
change, the design of the tooling can take place only after the
line has been balanced. Different robot types may exist at the
assembly facility. Each robot type may have different capa-
bilities and efficiencies for various elements of the assembly
tasks. Hence, allocating the most appropriate robot for each
station is critical for the performance of robotic assembly
lines. Unlike manual assembly lines, where actual processing
times for performing tasks vary considerably and optimal
balance is rather of theoretical importance, the performance
of rALs depends strictly on the quality of its balance. As ex-
tended from sALB, robotic assembly line balancing (RALB)
is also NP-hard.
Rubinovitz and Bukchin were the first to formulate the
RALB model as one of allocating equal amounts of work
to the stations on the line while assigning the most efficient
496
robot type from the given set of available robots to each
workstation [79]. Their objective is to minimize the number
of workstations for a given cycle time. Gao et al. proposed
a genetic algorithm (GA) hybridized with local search for
solving the type II robotic assembly line balancing (RALB-
II) problem algorithm where five local search procedures
are developed to enhance the search ability of GA [80].
Yoosefelahi et al. utilized three versions of multi-objective
evolution strategies (MOES) to tackle multi-objective RALB
problem [81]. Janardhanan and Ponnambalam [82] utilized
particle swarm optimization (PSO) to optimize the robotic
assembly line balancing (RALB) problems with an objective
of maximizing line efficiency. Nilakantan et al. proposed two
bio-inspired search algorithms to solve the RALB problem
[83].
21.2.3 Logistics and Transportation
Logistics is the last frontier for cost reduction and the third
profit source of enterprises [84]. The interest in develop-
ing effective logistics system design models and efficient
optimization methods has been stimulated by high costs of
logistics and the potential for securing considerable savings.
The logistics network design is one of the most comprehen-
sive strategic decision problems that need to be optimized
for long-term efficient operation of whole supply chain. It
determines the number, location, capacity and type of plants,
warehouses, and distribution centers (DCs) to be used. It also
establishes distribution channels, and the amount of materials
and items to consume, produce, and ship from suppliers to
customers. The logistics network models cover a wide range
of formulations ranging from simple single product type to
complex multi-product ones, and from linear deterministic
models to complex nonlinear stochastic ones. Illustration of
a simple network of three stages in logistics network is shown
in Fig. 21.8. During the last decades, there has been a growing
interest in using ETs to solve a variety of single and multi-
objective problems in logistics system that are combinatorial
and NP hard. Based on the model structure, the core network
models of logistics are summarized in Fig. 21.9.
The efficient and effective movement of goods from raw
material sites to processing distribution centers (DCs), com-
ponent fabrication plants, finished goods assembly plants,
DCs, retailers, and customers is critical in today’s com-
petitive environment [85]. Within individual industries, the
percentage of the cost of a finished delivered item to the
final consumer can easily exceed this value. Logistics system
entails not only the movement of goods but also decisions
about 1) where to produce, what to produce, and how much
to produce at each site, 2) what quantity of goods to hold
in inventory at each stage of the process, 3) how to share
information among parties in the process, and finally, 4)
M. Gen and L. Lin
Suppliers Plants k∈ K DCs j∈J Customers
s∈ S i∈ I
1
1
1 2
...
1
3
s–1 2
...
...
...
s j i–1
k
s+1 i
...
...
...
J i+1
K
...
S
I
1st stage 2nd stage 3rd stage
Fig. 21.8 A simple network of three stages in a logistics network
where to locate plants and distribution centers. Logistics
problems can be classified as: location problems, allocation
problems, and location allocation problems. The location-
allocation problem (LAP) is to locate a group of new fa-
cilities. The goal of LAP is to minimize the transportation
cost from facilities to costumers while satisfying the minimal
requirements of costumers in an area of interest [86]. Since
LAP was proposed by Cooper in 1963 [87], it has attract a
lot of attention. The basic LAP is usually composed of three
components: facilities, costumers, and locations. Different
type of these components could leads to different type of
LAP. Scaparra and Scutella proposed a unified framework for
combining and relating the three components [88].
The method to solve LAPs can be divided into three types:
exact equations, heuristic methods and meta-heuristic meth-
ods. As one of the meta-heuristic method, ETs have good
performance in solving LAPs because LAP is NP-hard and
ETs is one of the most efficient way for NP-hard problems.
Based on GA and combined with some traditional optimiza-
tion techniques, Gong et al. proposed a hybrid evolutionary
method to solve Obstacle Location-allocation problem [89].
Vlachos attempted to use a modified ant colony system
(ACS), especially on the pheromone, to solve capacitated
location allocation problem on a line (CLAAL), which is one
of the location allocation problem [90]. Chen et al. investi-
gated the LA problems with the various restricted regional
constraints, and proposed a hybrid evolutionary approach
named immune algorithm with particle swarm optimiza-
tion (IA-PSO) to solve it [91]. Pitakaso et al. modified the
crossover process of basic DE and integrate PSO algorithm
and proposed a modified DE algorithm to explore solutions
of the multi-objective, source and stage location-allocation
problem (MoSS-LAP) [92].
The transportation problem (TP) is a well-known basic
network problem which was originally proposed by Hitch-
cock [93]. The objective is to find the way of transporting
21 Nature-Inspired and Evolutionary Techniques for Automation
Logistics network models
Basic logistics Location allocation
models models
Linear logistics Capacitated location
model allocation model
Generalized Location allocation
logistics model model with obstacles
Capacitated
logistics model
Fixed-charge
logistics model
Exclusionary
side constrained
logistics model
Multiobjective
logistics model
Fig. 21.9 The core models of logistics network design
homogeneous product from several sources to several des-
tinations so that the total cost can be minimized. For some
real-world applications, the transportation problem is after
extended to satisfy several other additional constraints or
performed in several stages. Logistics is often defined as
the art of bringing the right amount of the right product to
the right place at the right time and usually refers to supply
chain problems (Tilanus, [94]). The efficiency of the logistic
system is influenced by many factors; one of them is to decide
the number of DCs, and find the good location to be opened,
in such a way that the customer demand can be satisfied at
minimum DCs’ opening cost and minimum shipping cost.
ETs have been successfully applied to logistics network
models. Michalewicz et al. and Viagnaux and Michalewicz
firstly discussed the use of GA for solving linear and
nonlinear transportation problems [95, 96]. Syarif and Gen
considered production/distribution problem modeled by two-
stage transportation problem (TSTP) and propose a hybrid
genetic algorithm [97]. Gen et al. developed a priority-
based genetic algorithm (priGA) with new decoding and
encoding procedures considering the characteristic of tsTP
[98]. Altiparmak et al. extended priGA to solve a single-
product, multi-stage logistics design problem [99]. The
objectives are minimization of the total cost of supply chain,
maximization of customer services that can be rendered to
497
Multi-stage logistics Flexible logistics
models models
Two-stage Integrated logistics
logistics model model with multi-time
period and inventory
Multi-stage
logistics model
Reverse logistics
models
21
customers in terms of acceptable delivery time (coverage),
and maximization of capacity utilization balance for DCs
(i.e., equity on utilization ratios). Furthermore, Altiparmak
et al. also applied the priGA to solve a single-source,
multi-product, multi-stage logistics design problem. As an
extended multi-stage logistics network model [100], Lee
et al. applied the priGA to solve a multi-stage reverse logistics
network (MRLN) problem, minimizing the total of costs to
reverse logistics shipping cost and fixed cost of opening the
disassembly centers and processing centers [101].
Although the above traditional multistage logistics net-
work and its application had made a big success in both
theory and business practices, as time goes on, some faults
of the traditional structure of logistics network came to light,
making it impossible to fit the fast changing competition
environments or meet the diversified customer demands very
well. Today’s energetic business competition presses en-
terprises to build up a logistics network productively and
flexibly. At this point, DELL gives us some clear ideas
on designing cost-effective logistics networks [102]. The
company’s entire direct-to-consumer business model, not
just its logistics approach, gives a remarkable edge over its
competitors. Lin et al. proposed direct path-based GA and
priGA for solving the flexible multistage logistics network
(FMLN) (Fig. 21.10) problems [103, 104].
498
Direct shipment
Normal Normal Normal
delivery delivery delivery
Plants DCs Retailters
Direct delivery
Normal delivery
Direct shipment
Direct delivery
Fig. 21.10 The core models of logistics network design
21.3 AGV Dispatching in Manufacturing
System
Automated material handling has been called the key to inte-
grated manufacturing. An integrated system is useless with-
out a fully integrated, automated material handling system.
In the manufacturing environment, there are many automated
material handling possibilities. Currently, automated guided
vehicles systems, which include automated guided vehicles
(AGVs), are the state of the art, and are often used to facilitate
automatic storage and retrieval systems (AS/RS).
Traditionally, AGV systems were mostly used in manu-
facturing systems. In manufacturing areas, AGVs are used to
transport all types of materials related to the manufacturing
process. The transportation network connects all stationary
installations (e.g., machines) in the center. At stations, pickup
and delivery points are installed that operate as interfaces
between the production/storage system and the transportation
system of the center. At these points a load is transferred by,
for example, a conveyor from the station to the AGV and vice
versa. AGVs travel from one pickup and delivery point to
another on fixed or free paths. Guide paths are determined
by, for example, wires in the ground or markings on the floor.
More recent technologies allow AGVs to operate without
physical guide paths. Hwang et al. proposed simultaneously
an integrated model for designing an end-of aisle order
picking system and determining a unit load sizes of AGVs
[105, 106].
21.3.1 Network Modeling for AGV Dispatching
In this subsection, we introduce simultaneous scheduling and
routing of AGVs in a flexible manufacturing system (FMS)
[107]. An FMS environment requires a flexible and adaptable
material handling system. AGVs provide such a system. An
AGV is a material-handling equipment that travels on a net-
work of guide paths. The FMS is composed of various cells,
M. Gen and L. Lin
also called workstations (or machines), each with a specific
operation such as milling, washing, or assembly. Each cell
is connected to the guide path network by a pickup/delivery
(P/D) point where pallets are transferred from/to the AGVs.
Pallets of products are moved between the cells by the AGVs.
Assumptions considered are as follows:
Customers
1. AGVs only carry one kind of products at a time.
2. A network of guide paths is defined in advance, and
the guide paths have to pass through all pickup/delivery
points.
3. The vehicles are assumed to travel at a constant speed.
4. The vehicles can just travel forward, not backward.
5. As many vehicles travel on the guide path simultaneously,
collisions are avoided by hardware and are not considered
herein.
6. At each workstation, there is pickup space to store the
operated material and delivery space to store the material
for the next operation.
7. The operation can be started any time after an AGV took
the material to come. And also the AGV can transport
the operated material from the pickup point to the next
delivery point any time.
Definition 1 A node is defined as task Tij , which represents
a transition task of the j-th process of job Ji for moving from
the pickup point of machine Mi,j−1 to the delivering point of
machine Mij .
Definition 2 An arc can be defined as many decision vari-
ables, such as, capacity of AGVs, precedence constraints
among the tasks, or costs of movement. Lin et al. defined an
arc as a precedence constraint, and give a transition time cjj
from the delivery point of machine Mij to the pickup point of
machine Mi j on the arc.
Definition 3 We define the task precedence for each job;
for example, task precedence for three jobs is shown in
Fig. 21.11.
The notation used in this chapter is summarized as fol-
lows. Indices: i, i : index of jobs, i, i = 1, 2, . . . , n; j, j :
index of processes, j, j = 1, 2, . . . , n. Parameters: n: total
number of jobs, m: total number of machines, ni : total number
of operations of job i, oij : the j-th operation of job i, pij :
processing time of operation oij , Mij : machine assigned for
operation oij , Tij : transition task for operation oij , tij : transition
time from Mi,j−1 to Mij . Decision variables: xij : assigned AGV
number for task Tij , tij S : starting time of task Tij , cij S : starting
time of operation oij . The objective functions are to minimize
the time required to complete all jobs (i.e., the makespan)
tMS and the number of AGVs nAGV , and the problem can be
formulated as follows:
21 Nature-Inspired and Evolutionary Techniques for Automation 499

Job J1 : T11 o T12 o T13 o T14

Job J2 : T21 o T22
Job J3 : T31 o T32 o T33

T11 T12 T13 T14 1 4 7 9

s T21 T22 t s 2 5 t

T31 T32 T33 3 6 8

Fig. 21.11 Illustration of the network structure of the example

S 
min tMS = max ti,n i
+ tMi,ni ,0 , (21.8)
i
Task ID : 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Priority : 1 5 7 2 6 8 3 9 4

 
min nAGV = max xij , (21.9)
i,j T11 o T12 o T13 o T14 oT21 o T22 oT31 o T32 o T33

Fig. 21.12 Example generated chromosome and its decoded task se-
s.t. cSij − cSi,j−1 ≥ pi,j−1 + tij , ∀i, j = 2, . . . , ni , (21.10) quence
21
disjunctive constraint. This represents the operation non-


 overlapping constraint (21.11) and the AGV non-overlapping
cSij − cSi j − pi j + 
Mij − Mi j
≥ 0


 constraint (21.12 and 21.13).
∨ cSi j − cSij − pij + 
Mij − Mi j
≥ 0 , (21.11)
 
∀ (i, j) , i j ,
21.3.2 A Priority-Based GA


 For solving the AGV dispatching problem in FMS, the spe-
tijS − tiS j − ti j + 
xij − xi j
≥ 0


 cial difficulty arises from (1) that the task sequencing is
∨ tiS j − tijS − tij + 
xij − xi j
≥ 0 , (21.12) NP-hard problem, and (2) that a random sequence of AGV
 
∀ (i, j) , i j , dispatching usually does not satisfy the operation precedence
constraint and routing constraint. Firstly, we give a priority-
based encoding method that is an indirect approach, encoding
some guiding information to construct a sequence of all tasks.
cSij ≥ ti,j+1
S
− pij , (21.13) As is known, a gene in a chromosome is characterized by
two factors: the locus, that is, the position of the gene within
the structure of the chromosome, and the allele, that is, the
value the gene takes. In this encoding method, the position of
xij ≥ 0, ∀i, j, (21.14) a gene is used to represent the ID which mapping the task in
Fig. 21.11 and its value is used to represent the priority of the
task for constructing a sequence among candidates. A feasi-
ble sequence can be uniquely determined from this encoding
tijS ≥ 0, ∀i, j, (21.15) with consideration of the operation precedence constraint. An
example of a generated chromosome and its decoded path is
where  is a very large number, and ti is the transition shown in Fig. 21.12 for the network structure of Fig. 21.11.
time from the pickup point of machine Min to the deliv- After generating the task sequence, we separate tasks
ery point of loading/unloading. Constraint (21.10) describes into several groups for assigning different AGVs. We find
the operation precedence constraints. In (21.11, 21.12, and the breakpoints, which the tasks are the final transport of
21.13), since one or the other constraint must hold, it is called job i from pickup point of operation Oin to delivery point
500
of loading/unloading. Then we separate the part of tasks
sequence by the breakpoints. An example of grouping is
shown as follows, using the chromosome (Fig. 21.12):
AGV1 : T11 → T12 → T13 → T14
AGV2 : T21 → T22
AGV3 : T31 → T32 → T33 .
As genetic operators, we combine a weight mapping
crossover (WMX), insertion mutation, and immigration
operator based on the characteristic of this representation,
and adopt an interactive adaptive-weight fitness assignment
mechanism that assigns weights to each objective and
combines the weighted objectives into a single objective
function. The detailed procedures are showed in [108, 109].
21.3.3 Case Study of AGV Dispatching
For evaluating the efficiency of the AGV dispatching algo-
rithm suggested in the case study, a simulation program was
developed using Java on a Pentium IV processor (3.2 GHz
clock). The detailed test data is given by Yang [110] and Kim
et al. [111]. For a layout of facility of the AGV model in the
FMS as an example, we consider the simple model as shown
in Fig. 21.13. Note, although the network of guide paths is
unidirectional, it has to take a very large transition time from
pickup point (PP) to delivery point (DP) on same machine.
It is unnecessary in the real application. So, we defined an
inside cycle for each machine, that is the transition time is
same with P to D and D to P. We give a routing example
for carry out job J1 by using one AGV in Fig. 21.14. GA
parameter settings were taken as follows: population size,
popSize = 20; crossover probability, pC = 0.70; mutation
Loading /
Unloading
P D P D
M1 P
M4
D
D
P M2
M3
D P
Fig. 21.13 Example of layout of facility
M. Gen and L. Lin
1 D 60 P 2 D 80
P O11 O12
Unloading
P
Loading/
4
5 P 70 D 2 P 100 D
D O14 O13
Fig. 21.14 A routing example for carrying out job J1
probability, pM = 0.50; immigration rate, μ = 0.15. In an
FMS case study, ten jobs are to be scheduled on five ma-
chines. The maximum number of processes for the operations
is four. The detailed date sets are shown in [112]. We can
draw a network depended on the precedence constraints
among tasks {Tij } of the case study. The best result is shown in
Fig. 21.15. The final time required to complete all jobs (i.e.,
the makespan) is 574, and four AGVs are used. Figure 21.15
shows the result on a Gantt chart. As discussed above, the
AGV dispatching problem is a difficult problem to solve by
conventional heuristics. Adaptability, robustness, and flexi-
bility make EA very effective for such automation systems.
21.4 Robot-Based Assembly Line System
Assembly lines are flow-oriented production systems which
are still typical in the industrial production of high-quantity
standardized commodities and are even gaining importance
in low-volume production of customized products. Usually,
specific tooling is developed to perform the activities needed
at each station. Such tooling is attached to the robot at
the station. In order to avoid the wasted time required for
tool change, the design of the tooling can take place only
after the line has been balanced. Different robot types may
exist at the assembly facility. Each robot type may have
different capabilities and efficiencies for various elements of
the assembly tasks. Hence, allocating the most appropriate
robot for each station is critical for the performance of robotic
assembly lines.
21.4.1 Assembly Line Balancing Problems
This problem concerns how to assign the tasks to stations and
how to allocate the available robots for each station in order
to minimize cycle time under the constraint of precedence
relationships. Let us consider a simple example to describe
the problem, in which ten tasks are to be assigned to four
workstations, and four robots are to be equipped on the four
stations. Figure 21.16 shows the precedence constraints for
21 Nature-Inspired and Evolutionary Techniques for Automation 501

AGV1 : T11 o T12 o T41o T81 o T91 o T82 o T92 o T83 o T84 ,
AGV2 : T21 o T41 o T12 o T15 o T10.2 o T52 o T71 o T44 ,
AGV3 : T61 o T62 o T63 o T64 o T43 o T72 ,
AGV4 : T31 o T32 o T10.1 o T33 o T13 o T10.3 o T93 .
Machine

M1 O11 O22 O63 O10,2 O13 O71 O93

M2 O21 O12 O64 O52 O43 O44

M3 O32 O33 O42 O10,3 O72

M4 O61 O62 O51 O82 O92 O84

M5 O31 O41 O10,1 O81 O91 O83

tMS = 574 Time t

Fig. 21.15 Gantt chart of the schedule of the case study considering AGVs routing
21
The balancing chart for the solution can be drawn to
7
analyze the solution. Fig. 21.17 shows that the idle time
1 of stations 1–3 is very large, which means that this line
4 6 8 is not balanced for production. In the real world, an as-
sembly line is not just used for producing one unit of the
2 10 product; it should produce several units. So we give the
Gantt chart for three units to analyze the solution, as shown
3 5 9
in Fig. 21.18.

Fig. 21.16 Precedence graph of the example problem 21.4.2 Robot-Based Assembly Line Model

Table 21.1 Data for the example The following assumptions are stated to clarify the setting in
i Suc(i) R1 R2 R3 R4 which the problem arises:
1 4 17 22 19 13
2 4 21 22 16 20 A1. The precedence relationship among assembly activities
3 5 12 25 27 15 is known and invariable.
4 6 21 21 19 16 A2. The duration of an activity is deterministic. Activities
5 10 31 25 26 22 cannot be subdivided.
6 8 28 18 20 21 A3. The duration of an activity depends on the assigned
7 8 42 28 23 34 robot.
8 10 27 33 40 25 A4. There are no limitations on the assignment of an ac-
9 10 19 13 17 34 tivities or a robot to any station. If a task cannot be
10 – 26 27 35 26 processed on a robot, the assembly time of the task on
the robot is set to a very large number.
A5. A single robot is assigned to each station.
the ten tasks, and Table 21.1 gives the processing time for A6. Material handling, loading, and unloading times, as
each of the tasks processed by each robot. We show a feasible well as setup and tool changing times are negligible,
solution for this example in Fig. 21.17. or are included in the activity times. This assumption
502 M. Gen and L. Lin

Decision variables:
stn/rbn

1 if task j is assigned to workstation k
xjk =
 0, otherwise
4/4 8 9 10 1 if robot l is allocated to workstation k
ykl =
0, otherwise
3/3 1 4 6
Problem formulation: The rALB-II problem is then for-
2/1 3 5 mulated as the following zero-one integer program (0 – 1 IP)
model:
1/2 2 7  n m 

min c = max til xik ykl (21.10)
1≤k≤m
50 85 i=1 i=1
Time

Fig. 21.17 A feasible solution for the example (stn: workstation no,

m
m

rbn: robot no.)

s.t. kxik − kxjk ≤ 0, ∀i ∈ pre(j); j (21.11)
k=1 k=1

stn/rbn (case of 3 products)

Part waiting
m
1/2 2 7 Processing waiting xik = 1 ∀i (21.12)
2/1 3 5 k=1

3/3 1 4 6
4/4 8 9 10

m
50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 ykl = 1 ∀k (21.13)
Time
k=1

Fig. 21.18 Gantt chart for producing three units

m
ykl = 1 ∀l (21.14)
is realistic on a single model assembly line that works k=1
on the single product for which it is balanced. Tooling
on such a robotic line is usually designed such that tool
changes are minimized within a station. If tool change
or other type of setup activity is necessary, it can be xik ∈ {0, 1} ∀k, i (21.15)
included in the activity time, since the transfer lot size
on such line is of a single product.
A7. The number of workstations is determined by the num-
ber of robots, since the problem aims to maximize the ykl ∈ {0, 1} ∀l, k (21.16)
productivity by using all robots at hand.
A8. The line is balanced for a single product. The objective (21.10) is to minimize the cycle time, CT .
Constraint (21.11) represents the precedence constraints. It
The notation used in this section can be summarized as fol- ensures that, for each pair of assembly activities, the prece-
lows. Indices: i, j: index of assembly tasks, i, j = 1, 2, . . . , n; dent cannot be assigned to a station before the station of the
k: index of workstations, k = 1, 2, . . . , m; l: index of robots, successor if there is precedence between the two activities.
l = 1, 2, . . . , m. Parameters: n: total number of assembly Constraint (21.12) ensures that each task has to be assigned
tasks, m: total number of workstations (robots), til : processing to one station. Constraint (21.13) ensures that each station is
time of the i-th task by robot l, pre(i): the set of predecessor equipped with one robot. Constraint (21.14) ensures that each
of task i in the precedence diagram. robot can only be assigned to one station.
21 Nature-Inspired and Evolutionary Techniques for Automation
21.4.3 Evolutionary Algorithm Approaches
Tasan and Tunali suggested most of the problems involving
the design and plan of manufacturing systems are combinato-
rial and NP-hard and a well-known manufacturing optimiza-
tion problem is the assembly line balancing (ALB) problem
[113]. Due to the complexity of the problem, a growing
number of researchers have employed genetic algorithms
(GAs). Zhang et al. proposed an effective multi-objective ge-
netic algorithm (MoGA)-based approach for solving multi-
objective assembly line balancing (MoALB) problem with
worker allocation [114]. Zhang and Gen reported an efficient
multi-objective genetic algorithm (MoGA) for solving the
mixed-model assembly line balancing (mALB) problem con-
sidering demand ratio-based cycle time in which a MoGA for
solving the mixed-model assembly line balancing (mALB)
problem [115]. They proposed a generalized Pareto-based
scale-independent fitness function (GP-SIFF) as a fitness
function of each individual in the population at each genera-
tion:
eval (Si ) = p (Si ) − q (Si ) + c, i = 1, 2, . . . , popSize
(21.17)
where p(Si ) is the number of individuals which can be dom-
inated by the individual Si , and q(Si ) is the number of indi-
viduals which can dominate the individual Si in the objective
space. Also, c is the number of all participant individuals.
The case study of the multi-objective mALB problem is
to minimize the cycle time of the assembly line based on
demand ratio of each model, to minimize the variation of
workload, and to minimize the total worker cost. The solution
process is consisting five phases: Phase 1: Combining all
the models, Phase 2: Creating a task sequence, Phase 3:
Assigning tasks to each station, Phase 4: Assigning worker
to each station, Phase 5: Designing a Schedule. The detailed
calculating process with an illustrative mALB example hav-
ing ten tasks, four stations, four workers, and two models
is introduced in [115]. For reducing the convergence of
the performan for GPSI-FF, a new Pareto dominating and
dominated relationship based fitness function (PDDR-FF)
proposed by Zhang et al. [29]. The PDDR-FF-based fitness
function is proposed to evaluate the individuals for solving
the multi-objective optimization problems:
1
eval (Si ) = q (Si ) + , i = 1, 2, . . . , popSize
p (Si + 1)
(21.18)
The solution to the RALB problem includes an attempt
for optimal assignment of robots to line stations and a
balanced distribution of work between different stations.
It aims at maximizing the production rate of the line
503
(Levitin et al. [116]). This is the most typical combina-
torial optimization model and many nature-inspired and
evolutional techniques are applied to find a solution to this
problem. Gao et al. [80] reported an innovative genetic
algorithm (IGA) hybridized with local search such as five
different neighborhood structures.
In order to enhance the search ability, local search pro-
cedures work under the framework of hybrid GA. The local
search investigates neighbor solutions that have possibilities
to outperform the incumbent one, and adjusts neighborhood
structures dynamically. The set of decoding procedures is
to generate a feasible solution based on the task sequence
and robot assignment scheme expressed in a chromosome.
Considering the precedence constraints, a task sequence is
infeasible when a successor task appears in front of any
of its precedents. A reordering procedure is used to repair
infeasible task sequences into feasible ones. The mixed order
crossover consists of two different crossover methods: Order
crossover (OX) and partial-mapped crossover (PMX), which
operate the task sequence vector and the robot assignment
vector, respectively. For the mutation operation, allele-based
mutation is implemented for both task sequence and robot
assignment vectors.
A solution of the robot-based assembly line balancing 21
(rALB) problem can be represented by two integer vectors:
the task sequence vector, v1 , which contains a permutation
of assembly tasks ordered according to their technologi-
cal precedence sequence, and the robot assignment vec-
tor, v2 . The solution representation method is illustrated in
Fig. 21.19. The balancing chart for the solution can be drawn
in Fig. 21.20. The detailed processes of decoding the task
sequence and assigning robots to workstations are shown in
[80, 117].
In the real world, an assembly line is not just for producing
one unit of the product; it should produce several units. So we
give the Gantt chart with three units for analyzing the solution
as in Fig. 21.21. We can see the solution reduces the waiting
time for the line by comparing with the feasible solution from
Fig. 21.21. This also means that the better solution improved
the assembly line balancing.
S1 S2 S3 S4
S1 S2 S3 S4
2 1 3 4 9 6 5 7 8 10
Locus 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Phase 1: Task sequence (v1) 2 1 3 4 9 6 5 7 8 10
Locus: station 1 2 3 4
Phase 2: Robot assignment (v2) 1 2 3 4
Fig. 21.19 Solution representation of a sample problem
504 M. Gen and L. Lin

21.4.4 Case Study of Robot-Based Assembly 21.5 Conclusions

Line Model
An example of the RALB problem (25 tasks, 6 robots, 6
workstations) Scholl-93 (modified) is shown as follows. The
test dataset of the example is shown in Table 21.2, and the
precedence graph of the example is shown in Fig. 21.22. The
best solution with the task sequence, breakpoints, and robot
assignment is shown in Fig. 21.23, and the chart of the cycle
time is shown in Fig. 21.24.
In this chapter, we introduced nature-inspired and evolu-
tionary techniques (ET) introduced for treating automation
problems in advanced planning and scheduling (APS),
assembly line system, logistics, and transportation. ET is
the most popular metaheuristic method for solving NP-hard
combinatorial optimization problems.
First, the background and developments of nature-
inspired and ETs are briefly described. Then basic schemes
and working mechanism of genetic algorithms (GA),
swarm intelligence and other nature-inspired optimization
algorithms are introduced. Multi-objective evolutionary

stn/rbn (Balancing chart of the best solution)

Table 21.2 Dataset of the RALB example

4/4 8 10 i succ(i) R1 R2 R3 R4 R5 R6
1 3 87 62 42 60 44 76
3/3 5 7 2 3 67 47 42 45 53 100
3 4 82 58 54 40 61 60
2/2 4 6 9 4 5, 8 182 58 62 60 55 100
5 6 71 47 28 57 62 76
1/1 1 2 3 6 7, 10 139 48 51 73 61 117
7 11, 12 98 99 44 49 59 82
52 Time 8 9, 11 70 40 33 29 36 52
9 10, 13 60 114 47 72 63 93
10 – 112 67 85 63 49 86
Fig. 21.20 The balancing chart of the best solution (stn: workstation 11 13 51 35 41 44 85 69
no, rbn: robot no.) 12 15 79 39 50 80 67 95
13 14 57 47 56 85 41 49
14 16, 19, 20 139 65 40 38 87 105
stn/rbn (case of 3 products) 15 17, 22 95 63 42 65 61 167
Part waiting 16 18 54 48 51 34 71 133
1/1 1 2 3 Processing waiting 17 18, 23 71 28 35 29 32 41
2/2 4 6 9 18 25 112 29 49 58 84 69
3/3 5 7
19 22 109 47 38 37 52 69
20 21, 25 63 45 39 43 36 57
4/4 8 10
21 22, 24 75 68 45 79 84 83
50 100 150 200 250 300 22 – 87 36 74 29 82 109
Time
23 25 58 36 55 38 42 107
24 – 44 54 23 21 36 71
Fig. 21.21 Gantt chart for producing three units 25 – 79 64 48 35 48 97

5 6 7 12 15 22
1
17 23
3 4 10
19
2
8 9 13 14 16 18 25

20 21 24
11

Fig. 21.22 Precedence graph of example problem

21 Nature-Inspired and Evolutionary Techniques for Automation 505

Breakpoint 1 Breakpoint 5 Breakpoint 10 Breakpoint 13 Breakpoint 16 Breakpoint 21

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
2 1 3 4 8 5 6 7 12 9 11 15 13 14 20 16 17 18 10 23 19 21 24 22 25

R5 R1 R6 R2 R6

Fig. 21.23 The best solution with the task sequence, breakpoints and robot assignment

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508 M. Gen and L. Lin

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ering demand ratio-based cycle time. J. Intell. Manuf. 22(3), 367– Lin Lin received the PhD degree from Waseda University, Japan, in
378 (2011) 2008. He is a Professor with the International School of Information
116. Levitin, G., Rubinovitz, J., Shnits, B.: A genetic algorithm for Science and Engineering, Dalian University of Technology, China, and
robotic assembly balancing. Eur. J. Oper. Res. 168, 811–825 a Senior Researcher with Fuzzy Logic Systems Institute, Japan. His
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Trans. Electron. Inf. Syst. 128C(3), 424–431 (2008)

Mitsuo Gen received his PhD in Engineering from Kogakuin University

in 1974 and a PhD degree in Informatics from Kyoto University in 2006.
He was faculties at Ashikaga Institute of Technology from 1974 to 2003
and Waseda University from 2003 to 2010. He was visiting faculties at
University of California, Berkeley from 1999.8 to 2000.3, Texas A&M
University for 2000, Hanyang University in S. Korea from 2010 to
2012, and National Tsing Hua University in Taiwan from 2012 to 2014.
He published several books on Genetic Algorithms including Network
Models and Optimization, and Introduction to Evolutionary Algorithms,
with colleagues, Springer, London, in 2008 and 2010, respectively.
 Automating Prognostics and Prevention
of Errors, Conflicts, and Disruptions 22
Xin W. Chen and Shimon Y. Nof

Contents 22.6.4 Financial Models for Prognostics Economy . . . . . . . . . . 524

22.1 Definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 509 22.7 Conclusions and Emerging Trends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 527
22.2 Error Prognostics and Prevention Applications . . . . . 512
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 527
22.2.1 Error Detection in Assembly and Inspection . . . . . . . . . . 512
22.2.2 Process Monitoring and Error Management . . . . . . . . . . 512
22.2.3 Hardware Testing Algorithms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 512
22.2.4 Error Detection in Software Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 514 Abstract
22.2.5 Error Detection and Diagnostics in Discrete-Event
Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 515 Errors, conflicts, and disruptions exist in many systems.
22.2.6 Error Detection and Disruption Prevention in Service A fundamental question from industries is how can they
Industries and Healthcare . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 516
22.2.7 Error Detection and Prevention Algorithms for be eliminated by automation, or can we at least use au-
Production and Service Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 516 tomation to minimize their damage? The purpose of this
22.2.8 Error-Prevention Culture (EPC) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 517 chapter is to illustrate a theoretical background and appli-
22.3 Conflict Prognostics and Prevention Applications . . . 517 cations of how to automatically prevent errors, conflicts,
and disruptions with various devices, technologies, meth-
22.4 Integrated Error and Conflict Prognostics
and Prevention . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 518 ods, and systems. Eight key functions to prevent errors
22.4.1 Active Middleware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 518 and conflicts are identified and their theoretical back-
22.4.2 Conflict and Error Detection Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 519 ground and applications in both production and service
22.4.3 Performance Measures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 520
are explained with examples. As systems and networks be-
22.5 Error Recovery, Conflict Resolutions, come larger and more complex, such as global enterprises,
and Disruption Prevention . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 520 the Internet, and healthcare networks, error and conflict
22.5.1 Error Recovery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 521
22.5.2 Conflict Resolution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 522 prognostics and prevention become more important and
22.5.3 Disruption Prevention . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 522 challenging; the focus is shifting from passive response to
proactive and predictive prognostics and prevention. Ad-
22.6 Emerging Trends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 524
22.6.1 Decentralized and Agent-Based Error and Conflict ditional theoretical developments and implementation ef-
Prognostics and Prevention . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 524 forts are needed to advance the prognostics and prevention
22.6.2 Intelligent Error and Conflict Prognostics of errors and conflicts in many real-world applications.
and Prevention . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 524
22.6.3 Graph and Network Theories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 524
Keywords

Model check · Conflict resolution · Multiagent system ·

Error detection · Error recovery · Disruption propagation

X. W. Chen ()
Department of Industrial Engineering, Southern Illinois University, 22.1 Definitions
Edwardsville, IL, USA
e-mail: xchen@siue.edu
All humans commit errors (“To err is human”) and encounter
S. Y. Nof ()
PRISM Center and School of Industrial Engineering, Purdue conflicts and disruptions. In the context of automation, there
University, West Lafayette, IN, USA are two main questions: (1) Does automation commit errors
e-mail: nof@purdue.edu and encounter conflicts? (2) Can automation help humans

© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 509

S. Y. Nof (ed.), Springer Handbook of Automation, Springer Handbooks,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-96729-1_22
510
prevent errors, eliminate conflicts, and overcome or avoid
disruptions? All human-made automation includes human-
committed errors and conflicts, for example, programming
errors, design errors, and conflicts between human planners.
Two automation systems, designed separately by different
human teams, will encounter conflicts when they are ex-
pected to collaborate, for instance, the need for communi-
cation protocol standards to enable computers to interact
automatically. Some errors, conflicts, and disruptions are
inherent to automation, similar to all human-made creations,
for instance, a robot mechanical structure that collapses under
weight overload.
An error is any input, output, or intermediate result that
has occurred or will occur in a system and does not meet
system specification, expectation, or comparison objective.
A conflict is an inconsistency between different units’ goals,
plans, tasks, or other activities in a system. A system usually
has multiple units, some of which collaborate, cooperate,
and/or coordinate to complete tasks. The most important
difference between an error and a conflict is that an error
involves only one unit, whereas a conflict involves two or
more units in a system. An error at a unit may cause other
errors or conflicts, for instance, a workstation that cannot
provide the required number of products to an assembly
line (a conflict) because one machine at the workstation
breaks down (an error). Similarly, a conflict may cause other
errors and conflicts, for instance, a machine that does not
receive required products (an error) because the automated
guided vehicles that carry the products collide when they
move toward each other on the same path (a conflict). These
phenomena, errors leading to other errors or conflicts, and
conflicts leading to other errors or conflicts, are called error
Table 22.1 Examples of errors and conflicts in production automation
Error
A robot drops a circuit board while moving it between two locations
A machine punches two holes on a metal sheet while only one is
needed, because the size of the metal sheet is recognized incorrectly
by the vision system
A lathe stops processing a shaft due to power outage
The server of a computer-integrated manufacturing system crashes
due to high temperature
A facility layout generated by a software program cannot be
implemented due to irregular shapes
Table 22.2 Examples of errors and conflicts in service automation
Error
The engine of an airplane shuts down unexpectedly during the flight
A patient’s electronic medical records are accidently deleted during
system recovery
A pacemaker stops working
Traffic lights go off due to lightening
A vending machine does not deliver drinks or snacks after the payment
Automatic doors do not open
An elevator stops between two floors
A cellphone automatically initiates phone calls due to a software glitch
X. W. Chen and S. Y. Nof
and conflict propagation. Both errors and conflicts cause
disruptions, which are disturbances to quality, reliability, and
continuity of operations.
Errors and conflicts are different but related. The defini-
tion of the two terms is often subject to the understanding and
modeling of a system and its units. Mathematical equations
can help define errors and conflicts. An error is defined as
Dissatisfy
∃E [ur,i (t)] , if ϑi (t) −→ conr (t). (22.1)
E[ur,i (t)] is an error, ui (t) is unit i in a system at time t, ϑi (t)
is unit i’s state at time t that describes what has occurred with
unit i by time t, conr (t) denotes constraint r in the system at
Dissatisfy
time t, and −→ denotes that a constraint is not satisfied.
Similarly, a conflict is defined as
Dissatisfy
∃C [nr (t)] , if θi (t) −→ conr (t). (22.2)
C[nr (t)] is a conflict and nr (t) is a network of units that
need to satisfy conr (t) at time t. The use of constraints helps
define errors and conflicts unambiguously. A constraint is the
system specification, expectation, comparison objective, or
acceptable difference between different units’ goals, plans,
tasks, or other activities. Tables 22.1 and 22.2 illustrate
errors and conflicts in automation with some typical exam-
ples. There are also human errors and conflicts that exist
in automation systems. Figure 22.1 describes the difference
between errors and conflicts in pin insertion.
This chapter provides a theoretical background and il-
lustrates applications of how to prevent errors and conflicts
automatically in production and service. Different terms have
Conflict
Two numerically controlled machines request help from the same
operator at the same time
Three different software packages are used to generate optimal schedule
of jobs for a production facility; the schedules generated are different
Two automated guided vehicles collide
A DWG (drawing) file prepared by an engineer with AutoCAD cannot
be opened by another engineer with the same software
Overlapping workspace defined by two cooperating robots
Conflict
The time between two flights in an itinerary generated by an online
booking system is too short for transition from one flight to the other
A ticket machine sells more tickets than the number of available seats
An ATM machine dispenses $ 250 when a customer withdraws $ 260
A translation software incorrectly interprets text
Two surgeries are scheduled in the same room due to a glitch in a
sensor that determines if the room is empty
22 Automating Prognostics and Prevention of Errors, Conflicts, and Disruptions 511

a) b) c) d) e) f)

Fig. 22.1 Errors and conflicts in a pin insertion task: (a) successful (2) conflicts if the pin is a unit and the two other components are
insertion; (b–f) are unsuccessful insertion with (1) errors if the pin and considered as another unit in a system [1]
the two other components are considered as one unit in a system, or

been used to describe the concept of errors and conflicts, for

instance, failure [2–5], fault [4, 6], exception [7], and flaw Prognostics
[8]. Error and conflict are the most popular terms appearing
in literature [3, 4, 6, 9–15]. The related terms listed here are
Propagation
also useful descriptions of errors and conflicts. Depending
on the context, some of these terms are interchangeable with
error; some are interchangeable with conflict; and the rest Propagation Propagation
Error E[u(r2,i,t)] Error
refer to both error and conflict. conflicts C[n(r1,t)] conflicts
Eight key functions have been identified as useful to
prevent errors and conflicts automatically as described below
[16–19]. Functions 5–8 prevent errors and conflicts with
Diagnostics Occurrence 22
the support of functions 1–4. Functions 6–8 prevent errors u(i, t) Error recovery
Detection Conflict resolution
and conflicts by managing those that have already occurred. Identification n(r1, t)
Exception handling
Isolation
Function 5, prognostics, is the only function that actively de-
termines which errors and conflicts will occur, and prevents
them. All other seven functions are designed to manage errors
and conflicts that have already occurred, although as a result Fig. 22.2 Error and conflict propagation and eight functions to prevent
errors and conflicts
they can prevent future errors and conflicts directly or indi-
rectly. Figure 22.2 describes error and conflict propagation
and their relationship with the eight functions:
5. Prognostics is a procedure to prevent errors and conflicts
1. Detection is a procedure to determine if an error or conflict through analysis and prediction of error and conflict prop-
has occurred. agation.
2. Identification is a procedure to identify the observation 6. Error recovery is a procedure to remove or mitigate the
variables most relevant to diagnosing an error or conflict; effect of an error.
it answers the question: Which of them has already oc- 7. Conflict resolution is a procedure to resolve a conflict.
curred? 8. Exception handling is a procedure to manage exceptions.
3. Isolation is a procedure to determine the exact location of Exceptions are deviations from an ideal process that uses
an error or conflict. Isolation provides more information the available resources to achieve the task requirement
than identification function, in which only the observation (goal) in an optimal way.
variables associated with the error or conflict are deter-
mined. Isolation does not provide as much information There has been extensive research on the eight functions,
as the diagnostics function, however, in which the type, except prognostics. Various models, methods, tools, and al-
magnitude, and time of the error or conflict are deter- gorithms have been developed to automate the management
mined. Isolation answers the question: Where has an error of errors and conflicts in production and service. Their main
or conflict occurred? limitation is that most of them are designed for a specific
4. Diagnostics is a procedure to determine which error or application area, or even a specific error or conflict. The
conflict has occurred, what their specific characteristics main challenge of automating the management of errors
are, or the cause of the observed out-of-control status.
512 X. W. Chen and S. Y. Nof

and conflicts is how to prevent them through prognostics,

which is supported by the other seven functions and requires Parameter estimation
Analytical
substantial research and developments. Observers
approach
Parity relations
Univariate Shewhart charts
22.2 Error Prognostics and Prevention statistical Cumulative sum (CUSUM) charts
monitoring Exponentially weighted moving
Applications Data-driven average (EWMA) charts
approach Principal component analysis (PCA)
A variety of applications in production and service industries Multivariate Fisher discriminant analysis (FDA)
statistical
are related to error prognostics and prevention [20–24]. The techniques Partial least squares (PLS)
majority of applications aim to detect and diagnose errors in Canonical variate analysis (CVA)
design and production. Causal Signed directed graph (SDG)
analysis
techniques Symptom tree model (STM)
Knowledge-
22.2.1 Error Detection in Assembly based Expert systems
approach
and Inspection
Pattern Artificial neural networks (ANN)
recognition
As the first step to prevent errors, error detection has attracted techniques Self-organizing map (SOM)
much attention, especially in assembly and inspection; for
instance, researchers [3] have studied an integrated sensor-
Fig. 22.3 Techniques of fault management in process monitoring
based control system for a flexible assembly cell which
includes error detection function. An error knowledge base
has been developed to store information about previous errors
Three approaches to manage faults for process monitoring
that had occurred in assembly operations, and corresponding
are summarized in Fig. 22.3. The analytical approach gen-
recovery programs which had been used to correct them. The
erates features using detailed mathematical models. Faults
knowledge base provides support for both error detection and
can be detected and diagnosed by comparing the observed
recovery. In addition, a similar machine-learning approach to
features with the features associated with normal operating
error detection and recovery in assembly has been discussed.
conditions directly or after some transformation [19]. The
To enable error recovery, failure diagnostics has been em-
data-driven approach applies statistical tools on large amount
phasized as a necessary step after the detection and before
of data obtained from complex systems. Many quality con-
the recovery. It is noted that, in assembly, error detection and
trol methods are examples of the data-driven approach. The
recovery are often integrated.
knowledge-based approach uses qualitative models to detect
Automatic inspection has been applied in various man-
and analyze faults. It is especially suited for systems in which
ufacturing processes to detect, identify, and isolate errors
detailed mathematical models are not available. Among these
or defects with computer vision. It is mostly used to detect
three approaches, the data-driven approach is considered
defects on printed circuit board [25–27] and dirt in paper
most promising because of its solid theoretical foundation
pulps [28, 29]. The use of robots has enabled automatic
compared with the knowledge-based approach and its ability
inspection of hazardous materials [30] and in environments
to deal with large amount of data compared with the analyti-
that human operators cannot access, e.g., pipelines [31].
cal approach. The knowledge-based approach, however, has
Automatic inspection has also been adopted to detect errors
gained much attention recently. Many errors and conflicts can
in many other products such as fuel pellets [32], printing
be detected and diagnosed only by experts who have exten-
the contents of soft drink cans [33], oranges [34], aircraft
sive knowledge and experience, which need to be modeled
components [35], and microdrills [36]. The key technologies
and captured to automate error and conflict prognostics and
involved in automatic inspection include but are not limited
prevention.
to computer or machine vision, feature extraction, and pattern
recognition [37–39].

22.2.3 Hardware Testing Algorithms

22.2.2 Process Monitoring and Error
Management
Process monitoring, or fault detection and diagnostics in
industrial systems, has become a new subdiscipline within
the broad subject of control and signal processing [40].
The three fault management approaches discussed in Sect.
22.2.2 can also be classified according to the way that a
system is modeled. In the analytical approach, quantitative
models are used which require the complete specification
of system components, state variables, observed variables,
22 Automating Prognostics and Prevention of Errors, Conflicts, and Disruptions
and functional relationships among them for the purpose of
fault management. The data-driven approach can be consid-
ered as the effort to develop qualitative models in which
previous and current data obtained from a system are used.
Qualitative models usually require less information about a
system than do quantitative models. The knowledge-based
approach uses qualitative models and other types of models;
for instance, pattern recognition techniques use multivariate
statistical tools and employ qualitative models, whereas the
signed directed graph is a typical dependence model which
represents the cause–effect relationships in the form of a
directed graph [41].
Similar to algorithms used in quantitative and qualitative
models, optimal and near-optimal test sequences have been
developed to diagnose faults in hardware [41–50]. The goal
of the test sequencing problem is to design a test algorithm
that is able to unambiguously identify the occurrence of
any system state (faulty or fault-free state) using the test in
the test set and minimizes the expected testing cost [42].
The test sequencing problem belongs to the general class
of binary identification problems. The problem to diagnose
single fault is a perfectly observed Markov decision problem
(MDP). The solution to the MDP is a deterministic AND/OR
binary decision tree with OR nodes labeled by the suspect set
of system states and AND nodes denoting tests (decisions)
(Fig. 22.4). It is well known that the construction of the
optimal decision tree is an NP-complete problem [42].
To subdue the computational explosion of the optimal
test sequencing problem, algorithms that integrate concepts
from information theory and heuristic search have been de-
veloped and first used to diagnose faults in electronic and
electromechanical systems with a single fault [42]. An X-
Windows-based software tool, the testability engineering
S0, S1,
S2, S3,
S4
T3
p f
S0, S3
p Test passes
f Test fails
T2 OR node
p f AND node
S0 S3 S1, S2
T2
p f
S2
Fig. 22.4 Single-fault test strategy
513
and maintenance system (TEAMS), has been developed for
testability analysis of large systems containing as many as
50,000 faults and 45,000 test points [41]. TEAMS can be
used to model individual systems and generate near-optimal
diagnostic procedures. Research on test sequencing has ex-
panded to diagnose multiple faults [46–50] in various real-
world systems including the Space Shuttle’s main propulsion
system. Test sequencing algorithms with unreliable tests [45]
and multivalued tests [50] have also been studied.
To diagnose a single fault in a system, the relationship
between the faulty states and tests can be modeled by directed
graph (digraph model) (Fig. 22.5). Once a system is described
in a diagraph model, the full order dependences among
failure states and tests can be captured by a binary test matrix,
also called a dependency matrix (D-matrix, Table 22.3).
Other researchers have used digraph model to diagnose faults
in hypercube microprocessors [51]. The directed graph is a
powerful tool to describe dependences among system com-
ponents and tests.
Three important issues have been brought to light by
extensive research on test sequencing problem and should be
considered when diagnosing faults for hardware:
1. The order of dependences. The first-order cause–effect
dependence between two nodes, i.e., how a faulty node
affects another node directly, is the simplest dependence
relationship between two nodes. Earlier research did not
22
consider the dependences among nodes [42, 43], whereas
in most recent research, different algorithms and test
strategies have been developed with the consideration of
not only the first-order but also high-order dependences
among nodes [48–50]. The high-order dependences de-
scribe relationships between nodes that are related to each
other through other nodes.
1 2 3 4 5
S1, S2,
S2 6 7 8 9 10
T1
p f
S4
11 12 13 14 15
Component with test
S1 Component without test
Fig. 22.5 Digraph model of an example system
514 X. W. Chen and S. Y. Nof

Table 22.3 D-matrix of the example system derived from Fig. 22.5 5. Tests do not have common setup operations [47]. This
State/test T1 (5) T2 (6) T3 (8) T4 (11) T5 (12) T6 (13) T7 (14) T8 (15) assumption has been proposed to simplify the cost com-
S1 (1) 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 parison among tests.
S2 (2) 0 0 1 1 0 1 1 0 6. Faults are independent [47].
S3 (3) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 7. Failure states that are replaced/repaired are 100% func-
S4 (4) 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 tional [47].
S5 (5) 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 8. Systems are zero-time systems [50].
S6 (6) 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0
S7 (7) 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 Note the critical difference between assumptions 3 and 4.
S8 (8) 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 Assumption 3 is related to diagnostics ability. When an un-
S9 (9) 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 ambiguous test detects a fault, the conclusion is that the fault
S10 (10) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 has definitely occurred with 100% probability. Nevertheless,
S11 (11) 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 this conclusion could be wrong if the false positive rate is
S12 (12) 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 not zero. This is the test (diagnostics) reliability described in
S13 (13) 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 assumption 4. When an unambiguous test does not detect a
S14 (14) 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 fault, the conclusion is that the fault has not occurred with
S15 (15) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 100% probability. Similarly, this conclusion could be wrong
if the false negative rate is not zero. Unambiguous tests have
better diagnostics ability than ambiguous tests. If a fault
2. Types of faults. Faults can be classified into two cate- has occurred, ambiguous tests conclude that the fault has
gories: functional faults and general faults. A component occurred with a probability less than one. Similarly, if the
or unit in a complex system may have more than one fault has not occurred, ambiguous tests conclude that the fault
function. Each function may become faulty. A component has not occurred with a probability less than one. In summary,
may therefore have one or more functional faults, each if assumption 3 is true, a test gives only two results: a fault
of which involves only one function of the component. has occurred or has not occurred, always with a probability
General faults are those faults that cause faults in all of one. If both assumptions 3 and 4 are true, (1) a fault must
functions of a component. If a component has a general have occurred if the test concludes that it has occurred, and
fault, all its functions are faulty. Models that describe (2) a fault must have not occurred if the test concludes that it
only general faults are often called worst-case models [41] has not occurred.
because of their poor diagnostics ability.
3. Fault propagation time. Systems can be classified into
two categories: zero-time and nonzero-time systems [50]. 22.2.4 Error Detection in Software Design
Fault propagation in zero-time systems is instantaneous to
an observer, whereas in nonzero-time systems, it is several The most prevalent method to detect errors in software is
orders of magnitude slower than the response time of the model checking. As Clarke et al. [52] state, model checking
observer. Zero-time systems can be abstracted by taking is a method to verify algorithmically if the model of software
the propagation times to be zero. or hardware design satisfies given requirements and spec-
ifications through exhaustive enumeration of all the states
Another interesting aspect of the test sequencing problem reachable by the system and the behaviors that traverse them.
is several assumptions that have been discussed in various Model checking has been successfully applied to identify
articles, which are useful guidelines for the development of incorrect hardware and protocol designs, and recently there
algorithms for hardware testing: has been a surge in work on applying it to reason about
a wide variety of software artifacts; for example, model
1. At most one faulty state (component or unit) in a system checking frameworks have been applied to reason about
at any time [42]. This may be achieved if the system is software process models [53], different families of software
tested frequently enough [47]. requirements models [54], architectural frameworks [55],
2. All faults are permanent faults [42]. design models [56], and system implementations [57–60].
3. Tests can identify system states unambiguously [42]. In The potential of model checking technology for (1) detecting
other words, a faulty state is either identified or not coding errors that are hard to detect using existing quality
identified. There is not a situation such as: There is a 60% assurance methods, e.g., bugs that arise from unanticipated
probability that a faulty state has occurred. interleavings in concurrent programs, and (2) verifying that
4. Tests are 100% reliable [45, 50]. Both false positive and system models and implementations satisfy crucial tempo-
false negative rates are zero. ral properties and other lightweight specifications has led
22 Automating Prognostics and Prevention of Errors, Conflicts, and Disruptions
a number of international corporations and government re-
search laboratories such as Microsoft, International Business
Machines Corporation (IBM), Lucent, Nippon Electric Com-
pany (NEC), National Aeronautics and Space Administration
(NASA), and Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) to fund their
own software model checking projects.
A drawback of model checking is the state-explosion
problem. Software tends to be less structured than hardware
and is considered as a concurrent but asynchronous system.
In other words, two independent processes in software exe-
cuting concurrently in either order result in the same global
state [52]. Failing to execute checking because of too many
states is a particularly serious problem for software. Several
methods, including symbolic representation, partial order
reduction, compositional reasoning, abstraction, symmetry,
and induction, have been developed either to decrease the
number of states in the model or to accommodate more states,
although none of them has been able to solve the problem by
allowing a general number of states in the system.
Based on the observation that software model checking
has been particularly successful when it can be optimized
by taking into account properties of a specific application
domain, Hatcliff and colleagues have developed Bogor [61],
which is a highly modular model-checking framework that
can be tailored to specific domains. Bogor’s extensible mod-
eling language allows new modeling primitives that cor-
respond to domain properties to be incorporated into the
modeling language as first-class citizens. Bogor’s modular
architecture enables its core model-checking algorithms to
be replaced by optimized domain-specific algorithms. Bogor
has been incorporated into Cadena and tailored to checking
avionics designs in the common object request broker archi-
tecture (CORBA) component model (CCM), yielding orders
of magnitude reduction in verification costs. Specifically, Bo-
gor’s modeling language has been extended with primitives
to capture CCM interfaces and a real-time CORBA (RT-
CORBA) event channel interface, and Bogor’s scheduling
and state-space exploration algorithms were replaced with a
scheduling algorithm that captures the particular scheduling
strategy of the RT-CORBA event channel and a customized
state-space storage strategy that takes advantage of the peri-
odic computation of avionics software.
Despite this successful customizable strategy, there are
additional issues that need to be addressed when incorpo-
rating model checking into an overall design/development
methodology. A basic problem concerns incorrect or in-
complete specifications: before verification, specifications
in some logical formalism (usually temporal logic) need to
be extracted from design requirements (properties). Model
checking can verify if a model of the design satisfies a
given specification. It is impossible, however, to determine
if the derived specifications are consistent with or cover
all design properties that the system should satisfy. That
515
is, it is unknown if the design satisfies any unspecified
properties, which are often assumed by designers. Even if
all necessary properties are verified through model checking,
code generated to implement the design is not guaranteed
to meet design specifications, or more importantly, design
properties. Model-based software testing is being studied to
connect the two ends in software design: requirements and
code.
The detection of design errors in software engineering
has received much attention. In addition to model check-
ing and software testing, for instance, Miceli et al. [8] has
proposed a metric-based technique for design flaw detection
and correction. In parallel computing, synchronization errors
are major problems, and a nonintrusive detection method
for synchronization errors using execution replay has been
developed [14]. Besides, concurrent error detection (CED) is
well known for detecting errors in distributed computing sys-
tems and its use of duplications [9, 62], which is sometimes
considered a drawback.
22.2.5 Error Detection and Diagnostics
in Discrete-Event Systems
Recently, Petri nets have been applied in fault detection and
diagnostics [63–65] and fault analysis [66–68]. Petri nets
22
are formal modeling and analysis tool for discrete-event or
asynchronous systems. For hybrid systems that have both
event-driven and time-driven (synchronous) elements, Petri
nets can be extended to global Petri nets to model both
discrete-time and event elements. To detect and diagnose
faults in discrete-event systems (DES), Petri nets can be
used together with finite-state machines (FSM) [69, 70]. The
notion of diagnosability and a construction procedure for the
diagnoser have been developed to detect faults in diagnosable
systems [69]. A summary of the use of Petri nets in error
detection and recovery before the 1990s can be found in the
work of Zhou and DiCesare [71].
To detect and diagnose faults with Petri nets, some of the
places in a Petri net are assumed observable and others are
not. All transitions in the Petri net are also unobservable.
Unobservable places, i.e., faults, indicate that the number
of tokens in those places is not observable, whereas unob-
servable transitions indicate that their occurrences cannot
be observed [63, 65]. The objective of the detection and
diagnostics is to identify the occurrence and type of a fault
based on observable places within finite steps of observation
after the occurrence of the fault. It is clear that to detect and
diagnose faults with Petri nets, system modeling is complex
and time-consuming because faulty transitions and places
must be included in a model. Research on this subject has
mainly involved the extension of previous work using FSM
and has made limited progress.
516
Faults in DES can be diagnosed with the decentralized
approach [72]. Distributed diagnostics can be performed by
either diagnosers communicating with each other directly or
through a coordinator. Alternatively, diagnostics decisions
can be made completely locally without combining the in-
formation gathered [72]. The decentralized approach is a
viable direction for error detection and diagnostics in large
and complex systems.
22.2.6 Error Detection and Disruption
Prevention in Service Industries
and Healthcare
Errors tend to occur frequently in certain service indus-
tries that involve intensive human operations. As the use of
computers and other automation devices, e.g., handwriting
recognition and sorting machines in postal service, becomes
increasingly prevalent, errors can be effectively and automat-
ically prevented and reduced to minimum in many service
industries including delivery, transportation, e-Business, and
e-Commerce. In some other service industries, especially
in healthcare systems, error detection is critical and limited
research has been conducted to help develop systems that
can automatically detect human errors and other types of
errors [73–77]. Several systems and modeling tools have
been studied and applied to detect errors in health industries
with the help of automation devices [78–81]. Much more
research needs to be conducted to advance the development
of automated error detection in service industries.
At the turn of year 2019 to 2020, a global coronavirus
pandemic has brought the detection and diagnosis of viruses
such as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2
(SARS-CoV-2) to the forefront of research in epidemiol-
ogy. The pandemic caused a significant loss of human life
worldwide. The economic and social disruption caused by
the pandemic was devastating. Millions of people lost jobs
and fell into poverty. Many companies filed for bankruptcy
or closed permanently. Almost all areas of global economy
such as transportation, tourism, and international trade were
severely disrupted.
SARS-CoV-2 has a rapid human to human transmission
and causes fatal pneumonia [82]. There are only a few
approved specific drugs and vaccines for treatment and pre-
vention. Early detection and diagnosis are crucial to prevent
the extensive spread of the SARS-CoV-2. Two main detection
strategies are available for the diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2
[82]. First, the SARS-CoV-2 viral ribonucleic acid (RNA)
can be detected by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) or
nucleic acid hybridization techniques [83] with a nasopha-
ryngeal or oral swab [84]. Secondly, the virus antibody or
antigens can be detected using immunological and serologi-
cal assays [85]. These two detection strategies complement
X. W. Chen and S. Y. Nof
each other. The determination of the viral RNA leads to
the detection of the virus in its active stage, whereas the
serological assays identify people whose immune system has
already developed antibodies to fight the infection.
A third strategy for the diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 is to
use biosensors that are bioanalytical devices combining the
selectivity features of a biomolecule with the sensitivity of a
physicochemical transducer. For example, trained scent dogs
can be used to detect saliva or tracheobronchial secretions of
SARS-CoV-2 [86]. For another example, deep learning can
be applied to analyze chest X-ray images for detection and
diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 [87, 88]. In addition to identifying
individuals who have SARS-CoV-2, several studies have
focused on early detection of SARS-CoV-2 outbreak [89,
90]. For example, biosensors, PCR, or paper-based indicator
methods can be used to detect SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater.
The results can help localize infection clusters of the primary
wave and detect potential subsequent waves of SARS-CoV-2
outbreak.
22.2.7 Error Detection and Prevention
Algorithms for Production and Service
Automation
The fundamental work system has evolved from manual
power, human–machine system, computer-aided and
computer-integrated systems, and then to e-Work [91],
which enables distributed and decentralized operations
where errors and conflicts propagate and affect not only the
local workstation but the entire production/service network.
Agent-based algorithms, e.g., (22.3), have been developed
to detect and prevent errors in the process of providing a
single product/service in a sequential production/service line
[92, 93]. Qi is the performance of unit i in the produc-
tion/service line. Um and Lm 
are the upper limit and lower
limit, respectively, of the acceptable performance of unit m.
Um and Lm are the upper limit and lower limit, respectively, of
the acceptable level of the quality of a product/service after
the operation of unit m. Units 1 through m − 1 complete
their operation on a product/service before unit m starts its
operation on the same product/service. An agent deployed at
unit m executes (22.3) to prevent errors
∃E [um ] ,
 m−1   m−1 
 
if Um −Lm < Qi ∪ Lm − Um > Qi .
i=1 i=1
(22.3)
In the process of providing multiple products/services,
traditionally, the centralized algorithm (22.4) is used to pre-
dict errors in a sequential production/service line. Ii (0) is the
22 Automating Prognostics and Prevention of Errors, Conflicts, and Disruptions 517

quantity of available raw materials for unit i at time 0. ηi

is the probability a product/service is within specifications Error Initial response
after being operated by unit i, assuming the product/service
is within specifications before being operated by unit i. ϕm (t) Contingent
Circumstance Known causes
is the needed number of qualified products/services after action
the operation of unit m at time t. Equation (22.4) predicts
at time 0 the potential errors that may occur at unit m at Root causes
Preventive
time t. Equation (22.4) is executed by a central control unit after error
action
analysis
that is aware of Ii (0) and ηi of all units. Equation (22.4)
often has low reliability, i.e., high false positive rates (errors
Unknown causes
are predicted but do not occur), or low preventability, i.e.,
high false negative rate (errors occur but are not predicted),
because it is difficult to obtain accurate ηi when there are
Fig. 22.6 Incident mapping
many units in the system.
 m 
∃E [um (t)] , if min Ii (0)× ηi < ϕm (t). (22.4) by individuals or teams through collaboration, and
i i
(e) consequences provided to encourage or discourage
people for their behaviors.
To improve reliability and preventability, agent-based er-
2. System alignment: an organization’s operating systems
ror prevention algorithms, e.g., (22.5), have been devel-
must be aligned to get work done with discipline, routines,
oped to prevent errors in the process of providing multiple
 and best practices.
products/services [94]. Cm (t ) is the number of cumulative
  3. Technical excellence: an organization must promote
conformities produced by unit m by time t . Nm (t ) is the
shared technical and operational understanding of how
number of cumulative nonconformities produced by unit m
 a process, system, or asset should technically perform.
by time t . An agent deployed at unit m executes (22.5) by
 4. Standardization: standardization supports error preven-
using information about unit m − 1, i.e., Im−1 (t ), ηm−1 , and
 
Cm−1 (t ) to prevent errors that may occur at time t, t < t.
tion with a balanced combination of good manufacturing 22
practices.
Multiple agents deployed at different units can execute (22.5)
5. Problem-resolution skills: an organization needs people
simultaneously to prevent errors. Each agent can have its own
with effective statistical diagnostics and issue-resolution
attitude, i.e., optimistic or pessimistic, toward the possible
skills to address operational process challenges.
occurrence of errors. Additional details about agent-based
error prevention algorithms can be found in the work by Chen
Not all errors can be prevented manually and/or by au-
and Nof [94]:
tomation systems. When an error does occur, incident map-


 ping (Fig. 22.6) [95] as one of the exception-handling tools
Im t 
, Im−1 t 
× ηm−1+

∃E [um (t)] , if min
Cm−1 t − Nm
t − Cm t errors.
× ηm + Cm t < ϕm (t) t < t.
(22.5)
22.2.8 Error-Prevention Culture (EPC)
To prevent errors effectively, an organization is expected to
cultivate an enduring error-prevention culture (EPC) [95],
i.e., the organization knows what to do to prevent errors when
no one is telling it what to do. The EPC model has five
components [95]:
1. Performance management: the human performance
system helps manage valuable assets and involves five key
areas: (a) an environment to minimize errors, (b) human
resources that are capable of performing tasks, (c)
task monitoring to audit work, (d) feedback provided
can be used to analyze the error and proactively prevent future
22.3 Conflict Prognostics and Prevention
Applications
Conflicts can be categorized into three classes [96]: goal
conflicts, plan conflicts, and belief conflicts. Goals of an
agent are modeled with an intended goal structure (IGS;
e.g., Fig. 22.7), which is extended from a goal structure
tree [97]. Plans of an agent are modeled with the extended
project estimation and review technique (E-PERT) diagram
(e.g., Fig. 22.8). An agent has (1) a set of goals which are
represented by circles (Fig. 22.7), or circles containing a
number (Fig. 22.8), (2) activities such as Act 1 and Act 2 to
achieve the goals, (3) the time needed to complete an activity,
e.g., T1, and (4) resources, e.g., R1 and R2 (Fig. 22.8). Goal
conflicts are detected by comparing goals by agents. Each
518 X. W. Chen and S. Y. Nof

agent has a PERT diagram and plan conflicts are detected
if agents fail to merge PERT diagrams or the merged PERT
diagrams violate certain rules [96].
The three classes of conflicts can also be modeled by
Petri nets with the help of four basic modules [98]: sequence,
parallel, decision, and decision-free, to detect conflicts in a
multiagent system. Each agent’s goal and plan are modeled
by separate Petri nets [99], and many Petri nets are integrated
using a bottom-up approach [71, 98] with three types of
operations [99]: AND, OR, and precedence. The synthe-
sized Petri net is analyzed to detect conflicts. Only normal
transitions and places are modeled in Petri nets for conflict
detection. The Petri-net-based approach for conflict detection
developed so far has been rather limited. It has emphasized
more the modeling of a system and its agents than the analysis
process through which conflicts are detected.
Time
Agent A's IGS
A0
The three common characteristics of available conflict
detection approaches are: (1) they use the agent concept
because a conflict involves at least two units in a system,
(2) an agent is modeled for multiple times because each
agent has at least two distinct attributes: goal and plan,
and (3) they not only detect, but mainly prevent conflicts
because goals and plans are determined before agents start
any activities to achieve them. The main difference between
the IGS and PERT approach, and the Petri net approach is
that agents communicate with each other to detect conflicts
in the former approach whereas a centralized control unit
analyzes the integrated Petri net to detect conflicts in the
latter approach [99]. The Petri net approach does not detect
conflicts using agents, although systems are modeled with
agent technology. Conflict detection has been mostly applied
in collaborative design [100–102]. The ability to detect con-
flicts in distributed design activities is vital to their success
because multiple designers tend to pursue individual (local)
goals prior to considering common (global) goals.

22.4 Integrated Error and Conflict

Agent A's IGS
Prognostics and Prevention
A0

A1
22.4.1 Active Middleware

Middleware was originally defined as software that connects

Agent A's IGS
two separate applications or separate products and serves as
A0
the glue between two applications; for example, in Fig. 22.9,
A1 middleware can link several different database systems to
several different web servers. The middleware allows users
A4 A5 A6 to request data from any database system that is connected to
the middleware using the form displayed on the web browser
of one of the web servers.
Active middleware is one of the four circles of the “e-”
Fig. 22.7 Development of agent A’s intended goal structure (IGS) over
time in e-Work as defined by the PRISM Center (Production,

Agent 1
5
Act6, T6
Act5, T5 R3 Agent 3
Act1, T1 R1 Dummy
Act7, T7 Act8, T8
1 2 6 7 8
R3 R3, R4
R1 R2 Act4, T4

Act2, T2 R2
Dummy
Act3, T3
3 4
R1
Agent 2

Fig. 22.8 Merged project estimation and review technique (PERT) diagram
22 Automating Prognostics and Prevention of Errors, Conflicts, and Disruptions 519

two questions: (1) Which agent will benefit from the task
Database 1 Database 2 Database 3 Database n when it is completed by one or more given agents? (2)
Which task must be finished before other tasks can begin?
The workflows are specific to the given system and can be
Middleware
managed by a workflow management system (WFMS).
3. Task/activity database: This database is used to record
Server 1 Server 2 Server 3 Server m and help allocate tasks. There are many tasks in a large
system such as those applied in automotive industries.
Certain tasks are performed by several agents, and others
Fig. 22.9 Middleware in a database server system are performed by one agent. The database records all task
information and the progress of tasks (activity) and helps
allocate and reallocate tasks if required.
4. Decision support system (DSS): DSS for the active mid-
User: Human/machine
dleware is like the operating system for a computer. In ad-
dition, DSS already has programs running for monitoring,
Modeling
Workflows
Task/activity analysis, and optimization. It can allocate/delete/create
tool database tasks, bring in or take off agents, and change workflows.
Middleware 5. Multiagent system (MAS): MAS includes all agents in
Cooperative
DSS MAS work
a system. It stores information about each agent, for
protocols example, capacity and number of agents, functions of an
agent, working time, and effective date and expiry date of
HAD information systems: Engineering
systems, planning decision systems the agent.
6. Cooperative work protocols: Cooperative work protocols
Distributed define communication and interaction protocols between
databases
components of active middleware. It is noted that com-
munication between agents also includes communication
between components because active middleware includes
22
Enterprises I Enterprises II
all agents in a system.
Distributed enterprises

Fig. 22.10 Active middleware architecture. (After Ref. [103])

22.4.2 Conflict and Error Detection Model

Robotics, and Integration Software for Manufacturing &
Management) at Purdue University [91]. Six major com-
ponents in active middleware have been identified [103,
104]: modeling tool, workflows, task/activity database, deci-
sion support system (DSS), multiagent system (MAS), and
collaborative work protocols. Active middleware has been
developed to optimize the performance of interactions in
heterogeneous, autonomous, and distributed (HAD) environ-
ments, and is able to provide an e-Work platform and enables
a universal model for error and conflict prognostics and
prevention in a distributed environment. Figure 22.10 shows
the structure of the active middleware; each component is
described below:
1. Modeling tool: The goal of a modeling tool is to create a
representation model for a multiagent system. The model
can be transformed to next-level models, which will be the
base of the system implementation.
2. Workflows: Workflows describe the sequence and rela-
tions of tasks in a system. Workflows store the answer to
A conflict and error detection model (CEDM; Fig. 22.11)
that is supported by the conflict and error detection protocol
(CEDP, part of collaborative work protocols) and conflict
and error detection agents (CEDAs, part of MAS) has been
developed [100] to detect errors and conflicts in different net-
work topologies. The CEDM integrates CEDP, CEDAs, and
four error and conflict detection components (Fig. 22.11).
A CEDA is deployed at each unit of a system to (1) detect
errors and conflicts by three components (detection policy
generation, error detection, and conflict evaluation), which
interact with and are supported by error knowledge base, and
(2) communicate with other CEDAs to send and receive error
and conflict announcements with the support of CEDP. The
CEDM has been applied to four different network topologies
and the results show that the performance of CEDM is some-
times counterintuitive, i.e., it performs better on networks
that seem more complex. To be able to detect both errors
and conflicts is desired when they exist in the same system.
Because errors are different from conflicts, the activities to
detect them are often different and need to be integrated.
520
CEDP
Error
knowledge base
Detection policy
generation
Error detection
Receive
CEDP
Error and conflict announcement
Fig. 22.11 Conflict and error detection model (CEDM)
22.4.3 Performance Measures
Performance measures are necessary for the evaluation and
comparison of various error and conflict prognostics and
prevention methods. Several measures have already been
defined and developed in previous research:
1. Detection latency: The time between the instant that an
error occurs and the instant that the error is detected [10,
105].
2. Error coverage: The percentage of detected errors with
respect to the total number of errors [10].
3. Cost: The overhead caused by including error detection
capability with respect to the system without the capabil-
ity [10].
4. Conflict severity: The severity of a conflict. It is the sum
of the severity caused by the conflict at each involving unit
[disser].
5. Detectability: The ability of a detection method. It is a
function of detection accuracy, cost, and time [106].
6. Preventability: The ratio of the number of errors prevented
divided by the total number of errors [94].
7. Reliability: The ratio of the number of errors prevented
divided by the number of errors identified or predicted, or
the ratio of the number of errors detected divided by the
total number of errors [45, 50, 94].
Other performance measures, e.g., total damage and cost–
benefit ratio, can be developed to compare different methods.
Appropriate performance measures help determine how a
X. W. Chen and S. Y. Nof
CEDA
Conflict Send Error and conflict
evaluation announcement
specific method performs in different situations and are often
required when there are multiple methods available.
22.5 Error Recovery, Conflict Resolutions,
and Disruption Prevention
When an error or a conflict occurs and is detected, identified,
isolated, or diagnosed, there are three possible consequences:
(1) other errors or conflicts that are caused by the error
or conflict have occurred, (2) other errors or conflicts that
are caused by the error or conflict will (probably) occur,
and (3) other errors or conflicts, or the same error or con-
flict, will (probably) occur if the current error or conflict
is not recovered or resolved, respectively. One of the ob-
jectives of error recovery and conflict resolution is to avoid
the third consequence when an error or a conflict occurs.
They are therefore part of error and conflict prognostics and
prevention.
There has been extensive research on automated error
recovery and conflict resolution, which are often domain
specific. Many methods have been developed and applied in
various real-world applications in which the main objective
of error recovery and conflict resolution is to keep the pro-
duction or service flowing; for instance, Fig. 22.12 shows
a recovery tree for rheostat pick-up and insertion, which
is programmed for automatic error recovery. Traditionally,
error recovery and conflict resolution are not considered
as an approach to prevent errors and conflicts. In the next
two sections, we describe two examples, error recovery in
22 Automating Prognostics and Prevention of Errors, Conflicts, and Disruptions 521

Start

Rheostat positioned
correctly?
Recalibrate robot Move to next rheostat
Freeze; Call Move to next rheostat
Return to start operator
Move to next rheostat
Return to start
Rheostat
available?
Go to next feeder Move to next rheostat
Freeze; Call Move to next rheostat
Return to start operator
Move to next rheostat
Return to start
Rheostat
not caught?

Release rheostat

Is feeder aligned?
Freeze; Call
Return to start operator
Rheostat
inserted?
Return to start
Search for
insertion
End Discard
rheostat

Increment
22
failure-
counter

Counter < 3?

Return to start Recalibrate

robot

Set failure-
counter to 0

Return to start

Fig. 22.12 Recovery tree for rheostat pick-up and insertion recovery. of a branch is reached, unless otherwise specified return to last sensing
A branch may only be entered once; on success branch downward; on position; “?” signifies sensing position where sensors or variables are
failure branch to right if possible, otherwise branch left; when the end evaluated. (After Ref. [1])

robotics [107] and conflict resolution in collaborative facility
design [102, 108], to illustrate how to perform these two
functions automatically.
22.5.1 Error Recovery
Error recovery cannot be avoided when using robots because
errors are an inherent characteristic of robotic applications
[109] that are often not fault tolerant. Most error recovery
applications implement preprogrammed nonintelligent cor-
rective actions [109–112]. Due to the large number of pos-
sible errors and the inherent complexity of recovery actions,
to automate error recovery fully without human interventions
is difficult. The emerging trend in error recovery is to equip
systems with human intelligence so that they can correct
errors through reasoning and high-level decision-making. An
example of an intelligent error recovery system is the neural-
fuzzy system for error recovery (NEFUSER) [107]).
The NEFUSER is both an intelligent system and a de-
sign tool of fuzzy logic and neural-fuzzy models for error
detection and recovery. The NEFUSER has been applied
to a single robot working in an assembly cell. The NE-
FUSER enables interactions among the robot, the operator,
522
and computer-supported applications. It interprets data and
information collected by the robot and provided by the oper-
ator, analyzes data and information with fuzzy logic and/or
neural-fuzzy models, and makes appropriate error recovery
decisions. The NEFUSER has learning ability to improve
corrective actions and adapt to different errors. The NE-
FUSER therefore increases the level of automation by de-
creasing the number of times that the robot has to stop and
the operator has to intervene due to errors.
Figure 22.13 shows the interactions between the robot,
the operator, and computer-supported applications. The
NEFUSER is the error recovery brain and is programmed
and run on MATLAB, which provides a friendly windows-
oriented fuzzy inference system (FIS) that incorporates the
graphical user interface tools of the fuzzy logic toolbox [113].
The example in Fig. 22.13 includes a robot and an operator
in an assembly cell. In general, the NEFUSER design for
error recovery includes three main tasks: (1) design the FIS,
(2) manage and evaluate information, and (3) train the FIS
with real data and information.
Automation of machine operations has led to hardware
and software error compensation technologies. One error
compensation method is using error tables. The machine con-
troller can access error tables to adjust target positions used
in motion servo algorithms (feedforward control). Modern
machine controllers have more sophisticated compensation
NEFUSER
Request
help
Interact
Sensor with the
system
information
Recovery
Operator
strategy
Assist
Recovery
instructions
Robot
Controller Sensor data
Operations and
Sensing
recovery actions
Production
process
Fig. 22.13 Interactions with NEFUSER. (After Ref. [107])
X. W. Chen and S. Y. Nof
tables that enable two- or three-dimensional error compen-
sation based on measurements of error motions [114, 115].
Real-time error compensation of geometric and thermally
induced errors can improve the precision of machine tools
by up to an order of magnitude.
22.5.2 Conflict Resolution
There is a growing demand for knowledge-intensive collab-
oration in distributed design [108, 116, 117]. Conflict de-
tection has been studied extensively in collaborative design,
as has conflict resolution, which is often the next step after
a conflict is detected. There has been extensive research
on conflict resolution [118–123]. Recently, a multiapproach
method to conflict resolution in collaborative design has been
introduced with the development of the facility description
language–conflict resolution (FDL-CR) [102]. The critical
role of computer-supported conflict resolution in distributed
organizations has been discussed in great detail [91, 124–
126]. In addition, Ceroni and Velasquez [100] have developed
the conflict detection and management system (CDMS) and
their work shows that both product complexity and number
of participating designers have a statistically significant ef-
fect on the ratio of conflicts resolved to those detected, but
that only complexity had a statistically significant effect on
design duration.
Based on the previous work, most recently, a new method,
Mcr (Table 22.4), has been developed to automatically re-
solve conflict situations common in collaborative facility
design using computer-support tools [102, 108]. The method
uses both traditional human conflict-resolution approaches
that have been used successfully by others and principles of
conflict prevention to improve design performance and apply
computer-based learning to improve usefulness. A graph
model for conflict resolution is used to facilitate conflict
modeling and analysis. The performance of the new method
has been validated by implementing its conflict resolution
capabilities in the FDL, a computer tool for collaborative
facility design, and by applying FDL-CR, to resolve typical
conflict situations. Table 22.4 describes the Mcr structure.
22.5.3 Disruption Prevention
Disruptions occur when manufacturing, production, or ser-
vice activities do not perform as specified or become unavail-
able. Disruptions are part of the consequences when conflicts
and errors are not effectively managed. Many disruptions
are temporary, but certain disruptions last for an extended
period of time. In terms of impact, small disruptions such
as minor traffic accidents affect a local community, whereas
large disruptions have significant global impact. Disrup-
tions may be random [131] and often propagate and cause
 22

Table 22.4 Multiapproach conflict resolution in collaborative design (Mcr) structure [102, 108]. (After Ref. [108], courtesy Elsevier, 2008)
Stage Strategy Steps to achieve conflict resolution Methodologies and tools
Mcr(1) Direct negotiation 1. Agent prepares resolution proposal and sends to counterparts Heuristics
2. Counterpart agents evaluate proposal. If they accept it, go to step 5; otherwise go to Knowledge-based interactions
step 3 Multiagent systems
3. Counterpart agents prepare a counteroffer and send it back to originating agent
4. Agent evaluates the counteroffer. If accepted go to step 5; otherwise go to Mcr(2)
5. End of the conflict resolution process
Mcr(2) Third-party mediation 1. Third-party agent prepares resolution proposal and sends to counterparts Heuristics
2. Counterpart agents evaluate the proposal. If accepted, go to step 5; otherwise go to Knowledge-based interactions
step 3 Multiagent systems
3. Counterpart agents prepare a counteroffer and send it back to the third-party agent PESUADER [127]
4. Third-party agent evaluates counteroffer. If accepted go to step 5; otherwise go to
Mcr(3)
5. End of the conflict resolution process
Mcr(3) Incorporation of additional parties 1. Specialized agent prepares resolution proposal and sends to counterparts Heuristics
2. Counterpart agents evaluate the proposal. If accepted, go to step 5; otherwise go to Knowledge-based interactions
step 3 Expert systems
3. Counterpart agents prepare a counteroffer and send it back to the specialized agent
Automating Prognostics and Prevention of Errors, Conflicts, and Disruptions

4. Specialized agent evaluates counteroffer. If accepted go to step 5; otherwise go to

Mcr(4)
5. End of the conflict resolution process
Mcr(4) Persuasion 1. Third-party agent prepares persuasive arguments and sends to counterparts PERSUADER [127]
2. Counterpart agents evaluate the arguments Case-based reasoning
3. If the arguments are effective, go to step 4; otherwise go to Mcr(5)
4. End of the conflict resolution process
Mcr(5) Arbitration 1. If conflict management and analysis results in common proposals (X), conflict Graph model for conflict resolution (GMCR)
resolution is achieved through management and analysis [128] for conflict management and analysis
2. If conflict management and analysis results in mutually exclusive proposals (Y), Adaptive neural-fuzzy inference system
conflict resolution is achieved though conflict confrontation (ANFIS) [129] for conflict confrontation
3. If conflict management and analysis results in no conflict resolution proposals (Z), Dependency analysis [130] and product flow
conflict resolution must be used analysis for conflict resolution
523

22
524
other errors, conflicts, and disruptions [132, 133]. Disruption
prevention is domain specific. There have been several stud-
ies of disruption prevention in nuclear fusion [134–136],
supply chain [137], assembly [138, 139], and transporta-
tion [140]. The field of disruption prevention and especially
disruption propagation prevention is emerging and requires
addition research.
Table 22.5 summarizes error and conflict prognostics and
prevention methods and technologies in various production
and service applications.
22.6 Emerging Trends
22.6.1 Decentralized and Agent-Based Error
and Conflict Prognostics
and Prevention
Most error and conflict prognostics and prevention methods
developed so far are centralized approaches (Table 22.5) in
which a central control unit controls data and information
and executes some or all eight functions to prevent errors and
conflicts. The centralized approach often requires substantial
time to execute various functions and the central control unit
often possesses incomplete or incorrect data and information
[94]. These disadvantages become apparent when a system
has many units that need to be examined for errors and
conflicts.
To overcome the disadvantages of the centralized ap-
proach, the decentralized approach that takes advantage of
the parallel activities of multiple agents has been developed
[16, 72, 93, 94, 105]. In the decentralized approach, dis-
tributed agents detect, identify or isolate errors and conflicts
at individual units of a system, and communicate with each
other to diagnose and prevent errors and conflicts. The main
challenge of the decentralized approach is to develop robust
protocols that can ensure effective communications between
agents. Further research is needed to develop and improve
decentralized approaches for implementation in various ap-
plications.
22.6.2 Intelligent Error and Conflict
Prognostics and Prevention
Compared with humans, automation systems perform better
when they are used to prevent errors and conflicts through
the violation of specifications or violation in comparisons
[13]. Humans, however, have the ability to prevent errors
and conflicts through the violation of expectations, i.e., with
tacit knowledge and high-level decision-making. To increase
the effectiveness degree of automation of error and conflict
prognostics and prevention, it is necessary to equip automa-
X. W. Chen and S. Y. Nof
tion systems with human intelligence through appropriate
modeling techniques such as fuzzy logic, pattern recogni-
tion, and artificial neural networks. There has been some
preliminary work to incorporate high-level human intelli-
gence in error detection and recovery [3, 107] and conflict
resolution [102, 108]. Additional work is needed to develop
self-learning, self-improving artificial intelligence systems
for error and conflict prognostics and prevention. Recent
work in this area includes supply chain and supply network
security and robustness against errors, conflicts, and dis-
ruptions [141–143], and collaborative control protocols and
algorithms for disruption prevention and disruption propaga-
tion prevention [132, 133, 144].
22.6.3 Graph and Network Theories
The performance of an error and conflict prognostics and
prevention method is significantly influenced by the number
of units in a system and their relationship. A system can be
viewed as a graph or network with many nodes, each of which
represents a unit in the system. The relationship between
units is represented by the link between nodes. The study of
network topologies has a long history stretching back at least
to the 1730s. The classic model of a network, the random
network, was first discussed in the early 1950s [145] and
was rediscovered and analyzed in a series of papers published
in the late 1950s and early 1960s [146–148]. Most recently,
several network models have been discovered and exten-
sively studied, for instance, the small-world network [149],
the scale-free network [150–153], and the Bose–Einstein
condensation network [154]. Bioinspired network models for
collaborative control have recently been studied by Nof [155]
(see also Chs.  11 in Sect. 5 and  21 for more details).
Because the same prognostics and prevention method
may perform quite differently on networks with different
topologies and attributes, or with the same network topology
and attributes but with different parameters, it is imperative to
study the performance of prognostics and prevention meth-
ods with respect to different networks for the best match
between methods and networks. There is ample room for
research, development, and implementation of error and con-
flict prognostics and prevention methods supported by graph
and network theories [156].
22.6.4 Financial Models for Prognostics
Economy
Most errors and conflicts must be detected, isolated, identi-
fied, diagnosed, or prevented. Certain errors and conflicts,
however, may be tolerable in certain systems, i.e., fault-
tolerant systems. Also, the cost of automating some or all
 22

Table 22.5 Summary of error and conflict prognostics and prevention theories, applications, and open challenges
Assembly and
Applications inspection Process monitoring Hardware testing Software testing
Methods/technologies Control theory Analytical Data-driven Knowledge-based Information theory Model checking
Knowledge base Heuristic search Bogor
Computer/machine Cadena
vision Concurrent error
Robotics detection (CED)
Feature extraction
Pattern recognition
Functions Detection × × × × × ×
Diagnostics × × × × ×
Identification × × × × × ×
Isolation × × × × × ×
Error recovery ×
Conflict resolution
Prognostics × × ×
Exception handling ×
Errors/conflicts E E E E E E
Automating Prognostics and Prevention of Errors, Conflicts, and Disruptions

Centralized/decentralized C C C C C C
Strengths Integration of Accurate and reliable Can process large Does not require Accurate and reliable Thorough verification
error detection and amount of data detailed system with formal methods
recovery information
Weaknesses Domain specific Require mathematical Rely on the quantity, Results are subjective Difficult to derive optimal State explosion
Lack of general models that are often quality, and timeliness and may not be algorithms to minimize Duplications needed in
methods not available of data reliable cost CED
[3, 25–39] [17, 19, 40] Time consuming for large Cannot deal with
systems incorrect or
[41–50] incomplete
specifications
[8, 9, 14, 52–62]
(continued)
525

22
 526

Table 22.5 (continued)

Applications Discrete event Collaborative design Production and
system service
Methods/technologies Petri net Intended goal structure Facility description Detection and Conflict and error Fuzzy logic
Finite-state (IGS) language (FDL) prevention algorithms detection model Artificial intelligence
machine (FSM) Project evaluation and Mcr Reliability theory (CEDM)
review technique CDMS Process modeling Active middleware
(PERT) Workflow
Petri net
Conflict detection and
management system
(CDMS)
Functions Detection × × × ×
Diagnostics
Identification × × × ×
Isolation × × × ×
Error recovery ×
Conflict ×
resolution
Prognostics × × ×
Exception × ×
handling
Errors/conflicts E C C E E/C E
Centralized/decentralized C/D C/D C/D C/D D C/D
Strengths Formal method Modeling of systems Integration of traditional Reliable Short detection time Correct errors through
applicable to with agent-based human conflict Easy to apply reasoning and
various systems technology resolutions and high-level
computer-based decision-making
learning
Weaknesses State explosion An agent may be The adaptability of the Limited to sequential Needs further Needs further
for large systems modeled for multiple methods to other design production and service development and development for
System modeling times due to many activities has not been lines validation various applications
is complex and conflicts it is involved validated Domain specific
time-consuming
[63–72] [71, 96–102] [91, 100, 102, 108] [73–81, 91–94] [91, 103–105] [107, 109–113]
[116–126]
X. W. Chen and S. Y. Nof
22 Automating Prognostics and Prevention of Errors, Conflicts, and Disruptions
eight functions of error and conflict prognostics and preven-
tion may far exceed the damages caused by certain errors
and conflicts. In both situations, cost–benefit analyses can
be used to determine if an error or a conflict needs to be
dealt with. In general, financial models are used to analyze
the economy of prognostics and prevention methods for
specific errors and conflicts, to help decide which of the eight
functions will be executed and how they will be executed,
e.g., the frequency. There has been limited research on how
to use financial models to help justify the automation of error
and conflict prognostics and prevention [106, 157]. One of
the challenges is how to appropriately evaluate or assess the
damage of errors and conflicts, e.g., short-term damage, long-
term damage, and intangible damage. Additional research is
needed to address these economical decisions.
22.7 Conclusions and Emerging Trends
In this chapter, we have discussed the eight functions that are
used to automate prognostics and prevention of errors, con-
flicts, and disruptions, to prevent and reduce or recover from
them. Applications of these eight functions in various design,
production, and service areas are described and illustrated.
Prognostics and prevention methods for errors, conflicts,
and disruptions are developed based on extensive theoretical
advancements in many science and engineering domains,
and have been applied with significant effectiveness to vari-
ous real-world problems. As systems and networks become
larger and more complex, such as global enterprises, the
Internet, and service networks, error, conflict, and disruption
prognostics and prevention become more important. There-
fore, the emerging focus is on shifting from passive, reactive
responses to active, predictive, and self-learning prognostics
and prevention automation. Examples are illustrated in Refs.
[158, 159].
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22 Automating Prognostics and Prevention of Errors, Conflicts, and Disruptions
Xin W. Chen is Professor in the School of Engineering at Southern
Illinois University Edwardsville. He received the MS and PhD degrees
in Industrial Engineering from Purdue University and BS degree in
Mechanical Engineering from Shanghai Jiao Tong University. His re-
search interests cover several related topics in the area of conflict and
error prognostics and prevention, production/service optimization, and
decision analysis.
531
Shimon Y. Nof is Professor of IE, Purdue University, and Director of
PRISM Center; former President of IFPR, International Foundation of
Production Research; former Chair of IFAC, International Foundation
of Automatic Control Coordinating Committee of Manufacturing and
Logistics Systems; and Fellow of IISE and of IFPR. Among his awards
is the Joseph Engelberger Medal for Robotics Education. Author/editor
of 16 books, his interests include cyber-automated collaboration of
robotics and cyber-physical work; systems security, integrity, and as-
surance; and integrated production and service operations with decen-
tralized decision support networks. He has five patents in automation,
four of them jointly with Xin W. Chen.
22
 Part IV
Automation Design: Theory and Methods for
Integration
 Communication Protocols for Automation
23
Carlos E. Pereira, Christian Diedrich, and Peter Neumann

Contents 23.7 Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 555

23.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 535 23.8 Emerging Trends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 556
23.1.1 History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 535 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 557
23.1.2 Requirements and Classification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 536
23.1.3 Chapter Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 537
Abstract
23.2 Wired Industrial Communications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 537
23.2.1 Classification According to Automation Hierarchy . . . . 537 The importance of industrial communication networks
23.2.2 Sensor/Actuator Networks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 537 and their protocols in automation has become even more
23.2.3 Fieldbus Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 538 important over the last decade with the advent of concepts
23.2.4 Industrial Ethernet-Based Networks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 541
23.2.5 Time-Sensitive Networking (TSN) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 544 such as Industry 4.0, Industrial Internet-of-Things (IIoT),
23.2.6 Advanced Physical Layer (APL) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 545 and others. The introduction of fieldbus systems has been
23.2.7 Internet of Things (IoT) Communication . . . . . . . . . . . . 545 associated with a paradigm change that enables the de-
23.3 Wireless Industrial Communications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 547 ployment of distributed industrial automation systems,
23.3.1 Classification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 547 supporting device autonomy and decentralized decision-
23.3.2 Wireless Local Area Networks (WLAN) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 548 making and control loops. The chapter presents the main
23.3.3 Wireless Sensor/Actuator Networks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 548 wired and wireless industrial protocols used in industrial
23.3.4 Low-Power Wide Area Network (LPWAN) . . . . . . . . . . 550
23.3.5 5G . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 550 automation, manufacturing, and process control applica-
tions. In order to help readers to better understand the
23.4 Virtual Automation Networks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 551
differences between industrial communication protocols
23.4.1 Motivation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 551
23.4.2 Domains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 552 and protocols used in general computer networking, the
23.4.3 Architectures for VAN Solutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 552 chapter also discusses the specific requirements of in-
dustrial applications. The concept of virtual automation
23.5 Wide Area Communications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 553
23.5.1 Contextualization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 553 networks, which integrate local and wide area as well
23.5.2 Best Effort Communication in Automation . . . . . . . . . . . 554 as wired and wireless communication systems, is also
23.5.3 Real-Time Communication in Automation . . . . . . . . . . . 554 discussed.
23.6 General Overview About Industrial Protocol
Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 555 Keywords

Wireless sensor network · Medium access control ·

Wireless local area network · Medium access control
C. E. Pereira ()
Automation Engineering Department, Federal University of Rio layer · Controller area network
Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, Brazil
e-mail: cpereira@ufrgs.br
C. Diedrich 23.1 Introduction
Institute for Automation Engineering, Otto von Guericke University
Magdeburg, Magdeburg, Germany
e-mail: christian.diedrich@ovgu.de
23.1.1 History
P. Neumann
Digital communication is now well established in distributed
Institut für Automation und Kommunikation – ifak, Magdeburg,
Germany computer control systems both in discrete manufacturing
e-mail: peter.neumann@ifak.eu as well as in the process control industries. Proprietary

© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 535

S. Y. Nof (ed.), Springer Handbook of Automation, Springer Handbooks,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-96729-1_23
536
communication systems within SCADA (supervisory control
and data acquisition) systems have been supplemented and
partially displaced by fieldbus and sensor bus systems.
The introduction of fieldbus systems has been associated
with a change of paradigm to deploy distributed industrial
automation systems, emphasizing device autonomy and
decentralized decision-making and control loops. Nowadays,
(wired) fieldbus systems are standardized and are the most
important communication systems used in commercial
control installations. At the same time, Ethernet won
the battle as the most commonly used communication
technology within the office domain, resulting in low
component prices caused by mass production. This has led
to an increasing interest in adapting Ethernet for industrial
applications and several approaches have been proposed
(Sect. 23.2.4). Ethernet-based solutions are now dominating
as a merging technology.
In parallel to advances on Ethernet-based industrial
protocols, the use of wireless technologies in the industrial
domain has also been increasingly researched. Following
the trend to merge automation and office networks,
heterogeneous networks (virtual automation networks
[VAN]), consisting of local and wide area networks, as well
as wired and wireless communication systems, are becoming
important [1].
Advances in the areas of embedded hardware/software
and sensor/actuator systems, industrial communication pro-
tocols, as well as cloud and edge computing have enabled
a Fourth Industrial Revolution, the so-called “Industry 4.0”,
[2]. Some of the main characteristics enabled by Industry 4.0
are [3]: mass customization, flexible production, tracking,
and self-awareness of parts and products, among others.
Cyber-physical systems (CPS) have been proposed as key
concept of Industry 4.0 architectures and path the way to
smart manufacturing. A CPS can be defined as a set of phys-
ical devices, objects, and equipment that interact via a virtual
cyberspace through communication networks. Each physical
device will have its cyber part as a digital representation of the
real device, culminating in the “Digital Twin” (DT)) concept
[3–8].
23.1.2 Requirements and Classification
Industrial communication protocols play a key role in the
digitalization process of industries and must meet several
important requirements:
• Reliability: This describes the ability of a system or com-
ponent to perform its intended function under stated con-
ditions without failure for a given period of time.
• Functional safety: Protection against hazards caused
by incorrect functioning including communication
C. E. Pereira et al.
via heterogeneous networks. There are several safety
integrities levels (SIL) [2]. It includes the influence of
noisy environments and the degree of reliability.
• Security: This means a common security concept for dis-
tributed automation using a heterogeneous network with
different security integrity levels.
• Real-time behavior: Within the automation domain, real-
time requirements are of uttermost importance and are
focused on the response time behavior of data packets.
Three real-time classes can be identified based on the
required temporal behavior:
– Class 1: best effort. Scalable cycle time, used in factory
floor and process automation in cases where no severe
problems occur when deadlines are not met, e.g., diag-
nosis, maintenance, commissioning, and slow mobile
applications.
– Class 2: real time. Typical cycle times from 1 to 10 ms,
used for time-critical closed-loop control, e.g., closed-
loop control applications, such as in fast mobile appli-
cations and machine tools.
– Class 3: isochronous real time, cycle times from 250 μs
to 1 ms, with tight restrictions on jitter (usually less
than 1 μs), used for motion control applications, e.g.,
motion control.
– Additionally, there is a class nonreal time, which means
systems without real-time requirements; these are not
considered here. It means (regarding industrial au-
tomation) exchange of engineering data maintenance,
etc.
There are additional classification features:
• Distribution: The most important achievement of
industrial communication systems are local area commu-
nication systems, consisting of sensor/actuator networks
(Ch.  14 and Sect. 23.2.2), fieldbus systems, and
Ethernet-based local area networks (LAN). Of increasing
importance is the use of Internet (i.e., IP-based
communication using wide area networks (WAN and
telecommunication networks). Thus, it should be
advantageous to consider Internet as part of an industrial
communication system (Sect. 23.2).
• Homogeneity: There are homogeneous parts (e.g., stan-
dardized fieldbus systems) within an industrial communi-
cation system. But in real applications the use of heteroge-
neous networks is more common, especially when using
Internet and when connected with services of network
providers.
• Installations types: While most of the installed en-
terprise networks are currently wired, the number of
wireless installations is increasing and this trend will
continue.
23 Communication Protocols for Automation
23.1.3 Chapter Overview
The scope of this chapter is restricted to communication pro-
tocols adopted in industrial automation applications. Other
application areas that also demand communication protocols
with strict timing requirements, such as vehicular ad hoc net-
works (VANets)) used in autonomous driving applications,
including vehicle-to-vehicle (v2v), vehicle-to-infrastructure
(v2i) communication, and vehicle-to-everything (v2x), are
not discussed in this chapter. Readers interested on knowing
more about VANets are referred to survey papers as [9, 10].
The remainder of the chapter is structured as follows. In Sect.
23.2, the main wired industrial communication protocols are
presented and compared, while Sect. 23.3 discusses wireless
industrial communication systems. Section 23.4 discusses
the concept of virtual automation networks (VANs)), a key
concept in future distributed automation systems, which will
be composed of (partially homogeneous) local and wide
area as well as wired and wireless communication systems
leading to complex heterogeneous communication networks.
Section 23.5 deals with the use of wide area communications
to execute remote automation operations.
23.2 Wired Industrial Communications
23.2.1 Classification According to Automation
Hierarchy
Wired digital communication has been an important driving
force of computer control systems for the last 30 years. To
allow the access to data in various layers of an enterprise
information system by different users, there is a need to
merge different digital communication systems within the
plant, control, and device levels of an enterprise network. On
these different levels, there are distinct requirements dictated
by the nature and type of information being exchanged.
Network physical size, number of supported devices, net-
work bandwidth, response time, sampling frequency, and
payload size are some of the performance characteristics used
to classify and group specific network technologies. Real-
time requirements depend on the type of messages to be
exchanged: deadlines for end-to-end data transmission, max-
imum allowed jitter for audio and video stream transmission,
etc. Additionally, available resources at the various network
levels may vary significantly. At the device level, there are ex-
tremely limited resources (hardware and communications),
but at the plant level powerful computers allow comfortable
software and memory consumption.
Due to the different requirements described above, there
are different types of industrial communication systems
as part of a hierarchical automation system within an
enterprise:
537
• Sensor/actuator networks: at the field (sensor/actuator)
level 23
• Fieldbus systems: at the field level, collecting/distributing
process data from/to sensors/actuators, communication
medium between field devices and controllers/PLCs/mana
gement consoles
• Controller networks: at the controller level, transmitting
data between powerful field devices and controllers as
well as between controllers
• Wide area networks: at the enterprise level, connecting
networked segments of an enterprise automation system
Vendors of industrial communication systems offer a
set of fitting solutions for these levels of the automa-
tion/communication hierarchy. Nowadays switch Ethernet-
based systems combined with the Internet Protocol is ready
to dominate wide ranges of application domains.
23.2.2 Sensor/Actuator Networks
At this level, several well-established and widely adopted
protocols are available:
• HART (HART Communication Foundation): highway ad-
dressable remote transducer, coupling analog process de-
vices with engineering tools [11]
• ASi (ASi Club): actuator sensor interface, coupling binary
sensors in factory automation with control devices [12]
Additionally, CAN-based solutions (CAN in automation
[CIA])) are used for widespread application fields (e.g.,
within cars, machines, or locomotives), coupling decentral-
ized devices with centralized devices based on physical and
MAC layers of the controller area network [13]. Recently, IO-
Link has been specified for bidirectional digital transmission
of parameters between simple sensor/actuator devices in
factory automation [14, 15].
HART
HART Communication [11] is a protocol specification,
which performs a bidirectional digital transmission of
parameters (used for configuration and parameterization
of intelligent field instruments by a host system) over analog
transmission lines. The host system may be a distributed
control system (DCS)), a programmable logic controller
(PLC)), an asset management system, a safety system,
or a handheld device. HART technology is easy to use
and very reliable. The HART protocol uses the Bell 202
Frequency Shift Keying (FSK) standard to superimpose
digital communication signals at a low level on top of the
4–20 mA analog signal. The HART protocol communicates
at 1200 bps without interrupting the 4–20 mA signal and
538
Handheld terminal
HART interface
(RS 232 or USB)
Resistor
PC (250 Ohm)
host application
Power supply Field
device
Fig. 23.1 A HART system with two masters [11]
allows a host application (master) to get two or more digital
updates per second from a field device. As the digital
FSK signal is phase continuous, there is no interference
with the 4–20 mA signal. The HART protocol permits
all digital communication with field devices in either
point-to-point or multidrop network configurations. HART
provides for up to two masters (primary and secondary). As
depicted in Fig. 23.1, this allows secondary masters (such as
handheld communicators) to be used without interfering
with communications to/from the primary master (i.e.,
control/monitoring system).
ASi (IEC 62026-2)
ASi [12] is a network of actuators and sensors (optical,
inductive, and capacitive) with binary input/output signals.
An unshielded twisted-pair cable for data and power (max.
2 A; max. 100 m) enables the connection of up to 31 slaves
(max. 124 binary signals of sensors and/or actuators). This
enables a modular design using any network topology (i.e.,
bus, star, and tree). Each slave can receive any available
address and be connected to the cable at any location.
AS-Interface uses the APM method (alternating pulse
modulation) for data transfer. The medium access is con-
trolled by a master–slave principle with cyclic polling of
all nodes. ASi masters are embedded (ASi) communication
controllers of PLCs or PCs, as well as gateways to other
fieldbus systems . To connect legacy sensors and actuators
to the transmission line, various coupling modules are used.
AS-Interface messages can be classified as follows:
• Single transactions: maximum of 4-bit information trans-
mitted from master to slave (output information) and from
slave to master (input information).
C. E. Pereira et al.
• Combined transactions: more than 4 bits of coherent in-
formation are transmitted, composed of a series of master
calls and slave replies in a defined context.
For more details, see [12].
IO-Link
IO-Link [14] is a point-to-point connection between an IO-
Link master with sensors and actuators (Fig. 23.2). The stan-
dard 24 V wired connection carrying analog measurement
and actuation signals is extended by a digital protocol on
top of it. Three transmission rates are specified for IO-Link
mode in IO-Link specification V1.1: 4.8 kbaud, 38.4 kbaud,
and 230.4 kbaud. The slave supports one of these baud rates
only and the IO-Link master all three. The IO-Link master
can be a separate device acting as Remote IO integrated in
a PLC input/output module (Fig. 23.2). IO-Link is therefore
not a fieldbus system. The protocol allows to transmit process
data and the value status of connection port cyclically and
device data and events acyclically. An IO-Link system is
standardized in IEC 61131-9 and consists of the following
basic components:
• IO-Link master
• IO-Link device (e.g., sensors, RFID readers, valves, motor
starters, and I/O modules)
• Unshielded three- or five-conductor standard cables (pin
assignment according to IEC 60974-5-2)
• Engineering tool for configuring and assigning parameters
of IO-Link
23.2.3 Fieldbus Systems
Nowadays, fieldbus systems are standardized (though
unfortunately not unified) and widely used in indus-
trial automation. The IEC 61158 and 61784 standards
[16, 17] contain ten different fieldbus concepts. Seven of
these concepts have their own complete protocol suite:
PROFIBUS (Siemens, PROFIBUS International); Interbus
(Phoenix Contact, Interbus Club); Foundation Fieldbus H1
(Emerson, Fieldbus Foundation); SwiftNet (B. Crowder);
P-Net (Process Data); and WorldFIP (Schneider, WorldFIP).
Three of them are based on Ethernet functionality: high-
speed Ethernet (HSE) (Emerson, Fieldbus Foundation);
Ethernet/IP (Rockwell, ODVA); and PROFINET (Siemens,
PROFIBUS International). The worldwide leading positions
within the automation domain regarding the number of
installed fieldbus nodes hold PROFIBUS followed by
DeviceNet (Rockwell, ODVA), which has not been part of
the IEC 61158 standard. For that reason, the basic concepts
of PROFIBUS and DeviceNet will be explained very briefly.
23 Communication Protocols for Automation
IO-Link
master
IO-Link
master
Fig. 23.2 An IO-Link system with possible IO-Link master’s allocation [15]
Readers interested in a more comprehensive description are
referred to the related websites.
PROFIBUS
PROFIBUS is a universal fieldbus for plantwide use across
all sectors of the manufacturing and process industries based
on the IEC 61158 and IEC 61784 standards. Different trans-
mission technologies are supported [18]:
• RS 485: Type of medium attachment unit (MAU) corre-
sponding to [19]. Suited mainly for factory automation.
For technical details, see [18, 19]. Number of stations:
32 (master stations, slave stations, or repeaters); Data
rates: 9.6/19.2/45.45/93.75/187.5/500/1500/3000/6000/
12000 kb/s.
• Manchester bus powered (MBP). Type of MAU suited
for process automation: line, tree, and star topology
with two wire transmission; 31.25 kBd (preferred),
high-speed variants w/o bus powering and intrinsic
safety; synchronous transmission (Manchester encoding);
optional: bus-powered devices (≥10 mA per device;
low power option); optional: intrinsic safety (Ex-i) via
additional constraints according to the FISCO model.
Intrinsic safety means a type of protection in which a
portion of the electrical system contains only intrinsically
safe equipment (apparatus, circuits, and wiring) that
539
23
Industrial ethernet
Fieldbus
IO-Link
master
is incapable of causing ignition in the surrounding
atmosphere. No single device or wiring is intrinsically
safe by itself (except for battery-operated self-contained
apparatus such as portable pagers, transceivers, gas detec-
tors, etc., which are specifically designed as intrinsically
safe self-contained devices) but is intrinsically safe only
when employed in properly designed intrinsically safe
system. There are couplers/link devices to couple MBP
and RS485 transmission technologies.
• Fibre optics (not explained here, see [18]).
There are two medium access control (MAC)) mecha-
nisms (Fig. 23.3):
1. Master–master traffic using token passing
2. Master–slave traffic using polling
PROFIBUS differentiates between two types of mas-
ters:
1. Master class 1, which is basically a central controller
that cyclically exchanges information with the distributed
stations (slaves) at a specified message cycle.
2. Master class 2, which are engineering, configuration,
or operating devices. The slave-to-slave communication
is based on the application model publisher/subscriber
using the same MAC mechanisms.
540 C. E. Pereira et al.

The dominating PROFIBUS protocol is the application DeviceNet

protocol DP (decentralized periphery), embedded into the DeviceNet is a digital, multidrop network that connects and
protocol suite (Fig. 23.4). serves as a communication network between industrial con-
Depending upon the functionality of the masters, there trollers and I/O devices. Each device and/or controller is a
are different volumes of DP specifications. There are various node on the network. DeviceNet uses a trunk-line/drop-line
profiles, which are grouped as follows: topology that provides separate twisted-pair busses for both
signal and power distribution. The possible variants of this
1. Common application profiles (regarding functional safety, topology are shown in [20].
synchronization, redundancy, etc.) Thick or thin cables can be used for either trunk-lines or
2. Application field–specific profiles (e.g., process automa- drop-lines. The maximum end-to-end network length varies
tion, semiconductor industries, and motion control) with data rate and cable thickness. DeviceNet allows trans-
mission of the necessary power on the network. This al-
These profiles reflect the broad experience of the lows devices with limited power requirements to be powered
PROFIBUS International organization. directly from the network, reducing connection points and
physical size. DeviceNet systems can be configured to op-
erate in a master–slave or a distributed control architecture
using peer-to-peer communication. At the application layer,
Token DeviceNet uses a producer/consumer application model. De-
Profibus-DP Profibus-DP
Master class 1 Master class 2 viceNet systems offer a single point of connection for con-
Cyclic data figuration and control by supporting both I/O and explicit
exchange Configuration
parameteriz. messaging.
DeviceNet uses CAN (controller area network [13]) for
its data link layer, and CIP (common industrial protocol)
for the upper network layers. As with all CIP networks,
DP-slave 1 DP-slave 2 DP-slave 3
DeviceNet implements CIP at the session (i.e., data man-
agement services) layer and above and adapts CIP to the
Cycle Slave 1 Slave 2 Slave 3 Slave 3 specific DeviceNet technology at the network and transport
layer, and below. Figure 23.5 depicts the DeviceNet protocol
Cyclic access of Acyclic access of suite.
master 1 master 2
The data link layer is defined by the CAN specifica-
tion and by the implementation of CAN controller chips.
Fig. 23.3 Profibus medium access control. (From [18]) The CAN specification [13] defines two bus states called
Ident systems
PROFIdrive
RIO for PA
PA devices

Weighing
& dosing

Encoder

profiles 1... , x
SEMI

technologies

...
Application
Integration

profiles II
System

Application Common application profiles (optional)

tools (DTM, configurators)

profiles I
Descriptions (GSD, EDD)

PROFIsafe, Time stamp, Redundancy, etc.

Master conform. classes
interfaces, constraints

Communic. IEC 61158/61784

technologies PROFIBUS DP
DP-V0...V2

RS 485: NRZ Fiber optics: glass MBP: Manchester bus

Transmission RS 485-IS single/multi mode; powered (LP: low power,
technologies Intrinsic safety PCF/plastic fiber IS: intrinsic safety)

Fig. 23.4 PROFIBUS protocol suite. (From [18])

23 Communication Protocols for Automation
Device profiles
A PROFINET; EtheretIP, Modbus TCP/IP,
& application objects
CIP common industrial
P protocol (IEC 61158)
Explicit Implicit
messaging messaging
S Transport layer
T DeviceNet specification
Connection manager
(IEC 62026)
N
CAN specification
Controller area network (CAN)
DL (ISO 11898)
Peer-to-peer, Master-slave, DeviceNet specification
PHY Multi-master, 64 nodes/network (IEC 62026)
Fig. 23.5 DeviceNet protocol suite. (From [20])
dominant (logic 0) and recessive (logic 1). Any transmitter
can drive the bus to a dominant state. The bus can only be
in the recessive state when no transmitter is in the dominant
state. A connection with a device must first be established in
order to exchange information with that device. To establish
a connection, each DeviceNet node will implement either
an unconnected message manager (UCMM) or a Group 2
unconnected port. Both perform their function by reserving
some of the available CAN identifiers. When either the
UCMM or the Group 2 unconnected port is selected to
establish an explicit messaging connection, that connection
is then used to move information from one node to the
other (using a publisher/subscriber application model), or to
establish additional I/O connections. Once I/O connections
have been established, I/O data may be moved among devices
on the network.
At this point, all the protocol variants of the DeviceNet I/O
message are contained within the 11-bit CAN identifier. CIP
is strictly object oriented. Each object has attributes (data),
services (commands), and behavior (reaction to events). Two
different types of objects are defined in the CIP specifi-
cation: communication objects and application-specific ob-
jects. Vendor-specific objects can also be defined by vendors
for situations where a product requires functionality that is
not in the specification. For a given device type, a minimum
set of common objects will be implemented.
An important advantage of using CIP is that for other
CIP-based networks the application data remains the same
regardless of which network hosts the device. The application
programmer does not even need to know to which network a
device is connected.
CIP also defines device profiles, which identifies the min-
imum set of objects, configuration options, and the I/O data
formats for different types of devices. Devices that follow
541
Application layer 23
Presentation layer HART IP, https, MQTT, OPC UA, …
Session layer
UDP, TCP
Upper protocol specific
Network layer IP mapping
Data link layer Ethernet (CSMA/CD) Bridging IEEE
802.1Q TSN
Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, Giga Ethernet,
Physical layer
WLAN, APL…
Fig. 23.6 Overview about industrial Ethernet protocols
one of the standard profiles will have the same I/O data and
configuration options will respond to all the same commands,
and will have the same behavior as other devices that follow
that same profile. For more information on DeviceNet readers
are referred to [20].
23.2.4 Industrial Ethernet-Based Networks
Industrial Ethernet is a concept related to the use of Ether-
net in industrial environments with protocols that provide
determinism and real-time control. It has followed a two-
step development: it has started with the introduction of
controller devices for control network class and is nowadays
ready for the common network among field instrumentation,
controller network as well as supervision diagnostics and
maintenance. Considering these kinds of networks based on
switched Ethernet technology, one can distinguish between
(related to the real-time classes, see Sect. 23.1):
1. Local soft real-time approaches (real-time class 1)
2. Deterministic real-time approaches (real-time class 2)
3. Isochronous real-time approaches (real-time class 3)
The standardization process started in 2004. Nearly 20
Ethernet-based communication systems became part of
the extended fieldbus standard IEC 61158 and the related
IEC 61984 (Release 2019): Ethernet/IP (Rockwell, ODVA),
and PROFINET (Siemens, PROFIBUS International).
Figure 23.6 shows the general structure which are common
among the different solutions. Layer one and two are
used from all solutions. They differ if they are using the
UDP/TCP/IP protocols and the way they map the application-
specific protocols to the standard Ethernet. Figure 23.6 shows
also the rather new TSN and APL protocols, which are
described in Sects. 23.2.5 and 23.2.6.
542
In the reminder of this section a short survey of commu-
nication systems related to the previously mentioned real-
time classes will be given, and two practical examples will
be examined.
Local Soft Real-Time Approaches (Real-Time
Class 1)
These approaches use TCP (UDP)/IP mechanisms over
shared and/or switched Ethernet networks. They can be
distinguished by different functionalities on top of TCP
(UDP)/IP, as well as by their object models and application
process mechanisms. Protocols based on Ethernet-TCP/IP
offer response times in the lower millisecond range but are
not deterministic, since data transmission is based on the best
effort principle. Some examples are given below.
MODBUS TCP/IP (Schneider)
MODBUS [21] is an application layer messaging protocol
for client/server communication between devices connected
via different types of buses or networks. Using Ethernet as
the transmission technology, the application layer protocol
data unit (A-PDU) of MODBUS (function code and data) is
encapsulated into an Ethernet frame. The connection man-
agement on top of TCP/IP controls the access to TCP.
Ethernet/IP (Rockwell, ControlNet International,
Open DeviceNet Vendor Association) Uses
a Common Industrial Protocol CIP
In this context, IP stands for industrial protocol (not for Inter-
net Protocol). CIP [22, 23] represents a common application
layer for all physical networks of Ethernet/IP, ControlNet,
and DeviceNet. Data packets are transmitted via a CIP router
between the networks. For the real-time I/O data transfer,
CIP works on top of UDP/IP. For the explicit messaging, CIP
works on top of TCP/IP. The application process is based on a
producer/consumer model. The general concept for real-time
communication is based on a producer-consumer massaging
model where the data owner transmitting the data and the
receiving devices can consume the data simultaneously. This
principle is supported by the Internet Protocol (IP) multicast
service which, in its turn, is supported by the Ethernet mul-
ticast service. The used addresses are connection ID related
not related to the MAC address of the consuming devices.
The consumer subscribes once at the beginning and receives
the data as long the sender provides it.
PROFINET (PROFIBUS International, Siemens)
Used for the non-real-time communication the standard
TCP/UDP and IP protocol according to the best effort
transportation performance. An open-source code and
various exemplary implementations/portations for different
operating systems are available on the PNO website [24].
All of the abovementioned approaches are able to support
widely used office domain protocols, such as SMTP, SNMP,
C. E. Pereira et al.
and HTTP. Some of the approaches support BOOTP and
DHCP for web access and/or for engineering data exchange.
But the object models of the approaches differ.
Deterministic Real-Time Approaches (Real-Time
Class 2)
These approaches use a middleware on top of the data link
layer to implement scheduling and smoothing functions. The
middleware is normally represented by a software implemen-
tation. Industrial examples include the following.
PROFINET (PROFIBUS International, Siemens)
This variant of the Ethernet-based PROFINET [24] system
(using the main application model background of the fieldbus
PROFIBUS DP) uses the object model IO (input/output).
Figure 23.7 roughly depicts the PROFINET protocol suite,
containing the connection establishment for PROFINET via
connection-oriented RPC on the left side, as well as for the
PROFINET via connectionless RPC on the right side. The
exchange of (mostly cyclic) productive data uses the real-
time functions in the center.
The PROFINET service definition and protocol specifica-
tion [26] covers the communication between programmable
logical controllers (PLCs), supervisory systems, and field
devices or remote input and output devices. The PROFINET
specification complies with IEC 61158, Parts 5 and 6, spe-
cially the fieldbus application layer (FAL). The PROFINET
protocol is defined by a set of protocol machines. For more
details see [27].
Time-Critical Control Network (Tcnet, Toshiba)
Tcnet [28] specifies in the application layer a so-called com-
mon memory for time-critical applications, and uses the same
mechanisms as mentioned for PROFINET for TCP(UDP)/
Component object model IO object model
Component context IO context
management (ACCO) management
Cyclic
DCOM (Producer/
consumer) and CL-RPC
CO-RPC acyclic services
UDP
TCP
Real-time IP
IP
IEEE 802.3
Connection Connection
establishment establishment
Fig. 23.7 PROFINET protocol suite of PROFINET. (From [25]) (ac-
tive control connection object [ACCO], connection oriented [CO],
connectionless [CL], and remote procedure call [RPC])
23 Communication Protocols for Automation
IP-based non-real-time applications. An extended data link
layer contains the scheduling functionality. The common
memory is a virtual memory globally shared by participat-
ing nodes as well as application processes running on each
node. It provides a temporal and spatial coherence of data
distribution. The common memory is divided into blocks
with several memory lengths. Each block is transmitted to
member nodes using multicast services, supported by a pub-
lisher node. A cyclic broadcast transmission mechanism is
responsible for refreshing the data blocks. Therefore, the
common memory consists of dedicated areas for the trans-
mitting data to be refreshed in each node. Thus, the applica-
tion program of a node has quick access to all (distributed)
data.
The application layer protocol (FAL) consists of three pro-
tocol machines: the FAL service protocol machine (FSPM),
the application relationship protocol machine (ARPM), and
the data link mapping protocol machine (DMPM). The
scheduling mechanism in the data link layer follows a token
passing mechanism.
Vnet (Yokogawa)
Vnet [29] supports up to 254 subnetworks with up to 254
nodes each. In its application layer, three kinds of application
data transfers are supported:
• A one-way communication path used by an endpoint for
inputs or outputs (conveyance paths)
• A trigger policy
• Data transfer using a buffer model or a queue model
(conveyance policy)
The application layer FAL contains three types of protocol
machines: the FSPM FAL service protocol machine, ARPMs
application relationship protocol machines, and the DMPM
data link layer mapping protocol machine. For real-time data
transfer, the data link layer offers three services:
1. Connection-less DL service
2. DL-SAP management service
3. DL management service
Real-time and non-real-time traffic scheduling is located
on top of the MAC layer. Therefore, one or more time slots
can be used within a macrocycle (depending on the service
subtype). The data can be ordered by four priorities: urgent,
high, normal, and time available. Each node has its own
synchronized macrocycle. The data link layer is responsible
for clock synchronization.
Isochronous Real-Time Approaches (Real-Time
Class 3)
The main examples are as follows.
543
Powerlink (Ethernet PowerLink Standardization
Group [EPSG], Bernecker and Rainer), Developed for 23
Motion Control
Powerlink [30] offers two modes: protected mode and open
mode. The protected mode uses a proprietary (B&R) real-
time protocol on top of the shared Ethernet for protected
subnetworks. These subnetworks can be connected to an
open standard network via a router. Within the protected
subnetwork the nodes cyclically exchange real-time data
avoiding collisions. The scheduling mechanism is a time
division scheme. Every node uses its own time slot (slot com-
munication network management [SCNM]) to send its data.
The mechanism uses a manager node, which acts comparably
with a bus master, and managed nodes act similar to a slave.
This mechanism avoids Ethernet collisions. The Powerlink
protocol transfers the real-time data isochronously. The open
mode can be used for TCP(UDP)/IP-based applications. The
network normally uses switches. The traffic has to be trans-
mitted within an asynchronous period of the cycle.
EtherCAT (EtherCAT Technology Group [ETG],
Beckhoff ) Developed as a Fast Backplane
Communication System
EtherCAT [31] distinguishes two modes: direct mode and
open mode. Using the direct mode, a master device uses a
standard Ethernet port between the Ethernet master and an
EtherCAT segment. EtherCAT uses a ring topology within
the segment. The medium access control adopts the master–
slave principle, where the master node (typically the control
system) sends the Ethernet frame to the slave nodes (Ethernet
device). One single Ethernet device is the head node of an
EtherCAT segment consisting of a large number of EtherCAT
slaves with their own transmission technology. The Ethernet
MAC address of the first node of a segment is used for
addressing the EtherCAT segment. For the segment, special
hardware can be used. The Ethernet frame passes each node.
Each node identifies its subframe and receives/sends the suit-
able information using that subframe. Within the EtherCAT
segment, the EtherCAT slave devices extract data from and
insert data into these frames. Using the open mode, one or
several EtherCAT segments can be connected via switches
with one or more master devices and Ethernet-based basic
slave devices.
PROFINET/Isochronous Technology (PROFIBUS
International, Siemens) Developed for Any Industrial
Application
PROFINET/Isochronous Technology [32] uses a middleware
on top of the Ethernet MAC layer to enable high-performance
transfers, cyclic data exchange, and event-controlled signal
transmission. The layer 7 functionality is directly linked to
the middleware. The middleware itself contains the schedul-
ing and smoothing functions. This means that TCP/IP does
544
tsendclock tsendclock+1
31.25 µs d Tsendclock d 4 ms
T60%
cRT aRT non RT cRT aRT non RT
Fig. 23.8 LMPM MAC access used in PROFINET [27] (cyclic real
time [cRT], acyclic real time [aRT], non-real time [non-RT], medium ac-
cess control [MAC], and link layer mapping protocol machine [LMPM])
not influence the PDU structure. A special Ethertype is used
to identify real-time PDUs (only one PDU type for real-time
communication). This enables easy hardware support for the
real-time PDUs. The technical background is a 100 Mbps
full duplex Ethernet (switched Ethernet). PROFINET adds
an isochronous real-time channel to the RT channels of real-
time class 2 option channels. This channel enables a high-
performance transfer of cyclic data in an isochronous mode
[33]. Time synchronization and node scheduling mechanisms
are located within and on top of the Ethernet MAC layer.
The offered bandwidth is separated for cyclic hard real-
time and soft/non-real-time traffic. This means that within
a cycle there are separate time domains for cyclic hard real
time, for soft/non-real-time over TCP/IP traffic, and for the
synchronization mechanism, see also Fig. 23.8.
The cycle time should be in the range of 250 μs (35
nodes) up to 1 ms (150 nodes) when simultaneously TCP/IP
traffic of about 6 Mbps is transmitted. The jitter will be
less than 1 μs. PROFINET/IRT uses switched Ethernet (full
duplex). Special four-port and two-port switch ASICs have
been developed and allow the integration of the switches into
the devices (nodes) substituting the legacy communication
controllers of fieldbus systems. Distances of 100 m per
segment (electrical) and 3 km per segment (fiber optical) can
be bridged.
Ethernet/IP with Time Synchronization (ODVA,
Rockwell Automation)
Ethernet/IP with time synchronization [34], an extension
of Ethernet/IP, uses the CIP Synch protocol to enable the
isochronous data transfer. Since the CIP Synch protocol is
fully compatible with standard Ethernet, additional devices
without CIP Synch features can be used in the same Eth-
ernet system. The CIP Synch protocol uses the precision
clock synchronization protocol [35] to synchronize the node
clocks using an additional hardware function. CIP Synch can
deliver a time synchronization accuracy of less than 500 ns
between devices, which meets the requirements of the most
C. E. Pereira et al.
demanding real-time applications. The jitter between master
and slave clocks can be less than 200 ns.
SERCOS III, (IG SERCOS Interface e.V.)
A SERCOS network [36], developed for motion control,
consists of masters and slaves. Slaves contain integrated re-
peaters, which have a constant delay time T rep (input/output).
The nodes are connected via point-to-point transmission
lines. Each node (participant) has two communication ports,
which are interchangeable. The topology can be either a ring
or a line structure. The ring structure consists of a primary and
a secondary channel. All slaves work in forwarding mode.
The redundancy provided by the ring structure prevents any
downtime caused by a broken cable. The line structure con-
sists of either a primary or a secondary channel. The last
physical slave performs the loopback function. All other
slaves work in forwarding mode. No redundancy against
cable breakage is achieved. It is also possible to insert and
remove slaves during operation (hot plug). This is restricted
to the last physical slave.
23.2.5 Time-Sensitive Networking (TSN)
The current industrial trends require the use of converged
networks, since it is no longer the case that only one Ethernet-
based industrial communication system [16] is used in a net-
work. These networks require flexibility in the configuration
as well as scalability to the number of devices while still
supporting time-critical real-time communication by ensur-
ing bounded latency.
The approach to meet these requirements is called time-
sensitive networking (TSN [37] and [38]). TSN is a series of
standards that extend the Ethernet (IEEE 802.3) and bridging
(IEEE 802.1Q) standards. For the industrial communication,
the following standards are the most important ones:
• IEEE 802.1AS (time synchronization)
• IEEE 802.1Qbv (enhancements for scheduled traffic)
• IEEE 802.1Qbu (frame preemption)
• IEEE 802.1AB (station and media access control connec-
tivity discovery)
• IEEE 802.3br (interspersing express traffic)
• IEEE 802.1CB (frame replication and elimination for
reliability)
The use of these standards enables simultaneous use of
the network by different industrial communication systems
as well as the concurrency of deterministic and nondeter-
ministic traffic. The communication systems can utilize a
number of different scheduling algorithms to ensure the
bounded latency, for example, Time-Aware Shaper (TAS)
with fixed time slots for every stream or simple strict pri-
ority scheduling. For every scheduling algorithm, a common
23 Communication Protocols for Automation
understanding of time is a fundamental requirement, making
the support of IEEE 802.AS crucial for the usage of TSN.
Concrete requirements that go beyond the technical speci-
fications mentioned above are defined in the IEC/IEEE 60802
Join Profile for Industrial Automation. This profile defines
minimum requirements for devices and bridges as well as
the configuration protocols that are supported by industrial
networks. This profile is the basis for the convergence of
different industrial communication systems within the same
network.
23.2.6 Advanced Physical Layer (APL)
The APL [39] alternative of the Ethernet protocol is design
specific for process control domain to transmit data across
long distances with high reliability and provide electrical
power to the devices (Fig. 23.9). The two-wired Ethernet
variant is based on 10BASE-T1L. The transmission rate is
10 Mbit/s, using the 4B3T coding standard and the three-
step Puls Amplitude Modulation PAM-3 with 7,5 MBaud full
duplex with switched network topology.
The main features are:
• Standards IEEE 802.3 (10BASE-T1L), IEC 60079 (ac-
cording to IEEE 802.3cg)
• Power supply output (Ethernet APL power switch) up to
60 W
• Redundant cable and switches optional
• Reference cable type for intrinsic safety IEC 61158-2,
Type A
• Maximum trunk length 1000 m/into Zone 1, Div. 2
• Maximum spur length 200 m/into Zone 0, Div. 1
• Speed 10 Mbps, full duplex
This brings the benefits of industrial Ethernet to process
automation and instrumentation (Fig. 23.10):
5-7: Session/
presentation/ Ethernet/IP, HART-IP, OPC UA,
application layer
4: Transport layer
3: Network layer
2: Data link layer Ethernet
1: Physical layer
Fast-ethernet
Ethernet
Fig. 23.9 APL allocation in the industrial communication stack [39]
545
• A converged long-distance communication network for
process automation and field instrumentation 23
• Ability to locate Ethernet-based field devices in hazardous
areas by virtue of being intrinsically safe
• Two wire using industry standard fieldbus cable with loop-
powered devices
• Increased bandwidth provided by 10 megabit, full-duplex
Ethernet communication enables productivity gains over
the lifecycle of field devices
• Reuse of existing two-wire cable
• Ethernet based, for any protocol or application
• Explosion hazardous area protection with intrinsic safety,
including simple validation
• Transparent connection to any IT network
• Supports the familiar trunk-and-spur topology
• Device access anytime and anywhere
• Fast and efficient communications
23.2.7 Internet of Things (IoT) Communication
The term “Internet of Things – IoT” has not been unifor-
mously used in literature. It describes the network of physical
objects – “things” – that are embedded with sensors, soft-
ware, and other technologies for the purpose of connecting
and exchanging data with other devices and systems over
the Internet. The term IoT usually summarizes technolo-
gies which provide access to devices based on the Internet
technology. In several case it is identified by the use of
the TCP/UDP/IP communication protocols stack. Two com-
munication protocols have received an increasing attention
recently to use in automation applications: OPC UA [40] and
MQTT [41]. OPC UA is native from automation technologies
and has been in use even before IoT became visible. MQTT
comes from the business IT and is more and more used in
automation domain as well.
PROFINET, http, ...
Higher layers operate
TCP independent of the
physical layer
IP
RT/IRT TSN
Gigabit
APL is one of many
WIFI
... APL physical layers
546 C. E. Pereira et al.

Engineering Control Asset management Optimization &

monitoring

APL power switch

General purpose area Hx
up to zone 2 / div. 2
APL field switch Zone 1 / div. 2 Zone 0 / div. 1

Legend
Facility or plant ethernet
Increased safety
Intrinsic safety
Redundancy ring (option)

Fig. 23.10 Typical network topology for APL [39]

Vendor specific extensions

Specifications of information models Predefined and custom information

of other organisations models

DA AC HA Prog

OPC UA base services

Technological basis
Transport OPC UA data model
Webservice / OPC UA binary Modeling rules

Transport layer UDP, TCP

Network layer IP DA – Data access

AC – Alarm condition
HA – History access
Data link layer Ethernet (CSMA/CD)
Prog – Programm invocation

Physical layer Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, Giga Ethernet, WLAN, APL…

Fig. 23.11 General structure of the OPC UA interface and object model [40]

OPC UA partners. The OPC UA interface is usually mapped to UDP

OPC UA is an interface for industrial communication sys-
tems, standardized in IEC 62541. Originally, it was launched
for fieldbus independent access from SCADA systems to
field devices. It has been further developed as an interface
combining layer 7 communication services with a universal
information model based on the object-oriented modeling
paradigm. The communication services provide different ac-
cess means to the application objects of the communication
and TCP/IP (Fig. 23.11).
As basic a client server concept is provided. This means
that a device offers access to its objects and another applica-
tion can use these. The way of usage is dependent on the type
of the objects (see DA, AC, in Fig. 23.11). In addition to the
classical read and write services infrastructure, services such
as session management, security, event and alarm manage-
ment, and discovery are offered by the OPC UA technology.
23 Communication Protocols for Automation 547

23

Application Secure
Transport

UA stack

UA stack
session channel
UA UA
client server

Fig. 23.12 Protocol nesting of OPC UA transport layers [40]

The session and security services are embedded in

the transport channels of OPC UA communication stack
(Fig. 23.12).
OPC UA is extended by a publisher-subscriber interaction
model [40].
Message Queue Telemetry Transport (MQTT)
The TCP/IP-based Message Queue Telemetry Transport
(MQTT) [42] is an important solution of a lightweight
protocol. It was developed as a machine-to-machine
communication protocol and is standardized by the
Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information
Standards (OASIS)) [41].
MQTT works in an event-oriented communication pro-
tocol. The protocol is using TCP/IP (see also Fig. 23.6),
or other network protocols that provide ordered, lossless,
bidirectional connections. There are the following main fea-
tures:
• Use of the publish/subscribe message pattern which pro-
vides multi- and broadcast message distribution
• Small overhead of datagrams and protocol exchanges to
minimized network load
• Notification to interested partners when an abnormal dis-
connection occurs
• Decoupling of applications with a lightweight protocol
Additionally, it defines a quality of service (QoS)) for
each message. The QoS describes whether and how often
a message is transmitted and three cases are defined: at
most once (0), at least once (1), and exactly once (2). The
selected quality of service does not define when a message
will arrive at the recipient. It only supervises the transport of
the messages and give indications about it in case of QoS = 1
and QoS = 2. There is an end-to-end response time between
the sending of a message by the publisher and the receipt of
the message by the subscriber which has to be supervised
using extra means if this is required (Fig. 23.13).
Component Component
A X
Publisher
Component Subscriber …
B MQTT broker
Component
… Y
Component
Subscriber
N
Fig. 23.13 MQTT publisher-subscriber communication [43]
23.3 Wireless Industrial Communications
23.3.1 Classification
Wireless communication networks are increasingly penetrat-
ing the application area of wired communication systems.
Therefore, they have been faced with the requirements of
industrial automation. Wireless technology has been intro-
duced in automation as wireless local area networks (WLAN)
and wireless personal area networks (WPAN). Currently, the
wireless sensor networks (WSN) are under discussion for
process and factory automation and there are some standards
that try to cope with the industrial automation requirements.
The WSN allow the integration of Industrial Internet of
Things (IIoT)) concepts in the industrial applications. For
specific application aspects of wireless communications, see
(Ch.  14). The basic standards are the following:
• Mobile communications standards: GSM, GPRS, and
UMTS wireless telephones (DECT)
• Lower layer standards (IEEE 802.11: Wireless LAN [44],
and 802.15 [45]: personal area networks) as a basis of
radio-based local networks (WLANs, Pico networks, and
sensor/actuator networks)
548
• Higher layer standards (application layers on top of IEEE
802.11 and 802.15.4, e.g., Wi-Fi, Bluetooth [46], wireless
HART [47], and ZigBee [48])
• Upcoming radio technologies such as ultrawide band
(UWB) and WiMedia
• Low-power wide area networks (LPWAN) [49]
• 5G [50]
For more detailed information and survey see [49, 51–55].
23.3.2 Wireless Local Area Networks (WLAN)
WLAN is a mature technology and it is implemented in
PCs, laptops, and PDAs. Modules for embedded systems
development are also available. WLAN can be used al-
most worldwide. WLAN enables wireless access to Ethernet-
based LANs and is helpful for the vertical integration in an
automated manufacturing environment. It offers high-speed
data transmission that can be used to transmit production data
and management data in parallel. The WLAN propagation
characteristics fit into a number of possible automation appli-
cations. WLAN enables more flexibility and a cost-effective
installation in automation associated with mobility and lo-
calization. The transition to Ethernet is simple and other
gateways are possible. The largest part of the implementation
is achieved in hardware; however, improvements can be made
above the MAC layer.
In the last few years Wi-Fi Alliance has introduced sim-
plified names to identify device and product descriptions.
The latest version of Wi-Fi is based on the IEEE 802.11ax
standard and is known as Wi-Fi 6. Devices based on IEEE
802.11ac standard are identified as Wi-Fi 5. One of the main
differences between the versions is that the data transmis-
sion rate of Wi-Fi 6 is theoretically 3x higher than version
5. In addition, an access point of Wi-Fi 6 is capable of
communicating with eight devices simultaneously while Wi-
Fi 5 only with four. In this way, Wi-Fi 6 is suitable for
dense environments with hundreds of devices simultaneously
accessing the network.
23.3.3 Wireless Sensor/Actuator Networks
Various wireless sensor network (WSN) concepts are under
discussion, especially in the area of industrial automation.
Features such as time-synchronized operation, frequency
hopping, self-organization (with respect to star, tree, and
mesh network topologies), redundant routing, and secure
data transmission are desired. Interesting surveys on this
topic are available in [56] and [57]. Currently, the most
prominent technologies in industrial wireless sensor/actuator
networks are:
C. E. Pereira et al.
• ZigBee (ZigBee Alliance) [48]
• Wireless HART [47, 58]
• ISA SP100.11a [56]
• WIA-PA [57, 59]
• WIA-FA [57]
The first three technologies use the standard IEEE
802.15.4 (2003) low-rate wireless personal area network
(WPAN) [45], specifying the physical layer and parts of the
data link layer (medium access control). The features of these
technologies make them suitable to process automation but
limit their adoption in critical scenarios. On the other hand,
the WIA-FA was designed to address high communication
requirements in factory automation applications and its
physical layer is based on IEEE 802.11.
ZigBee
ZigBee distinguishes between three device types:
• Coordinator ZC: root of the network tree, storing the
network information and security keys. It is responsible
for enabling the connection of the ZigBee network to other
networks.
• Router ZR: transmits data of other devices.
• End device ZED: automation device (e.g., sensor or ac-
tuator), which can communicate with ZR and ZC, but is
unable to transmit data of other devices.
An enhanced version allows one to group devices and
to store data for neighboring devices. Additionally, to save
energy, there are full-function devices and reduced-function
devices. The ZigBee application layer (APL) consists of three
sublayers: application support layer (APS) (containing the
connection lists of the connected devices), an application
framework (AF), and Zigbee device objects (ZDO)
(definition of devices roles, handling of connection requests,
and establishment of communication relations between
devices).
For process automation, the ZigBee application model
and the ZigBee profiles are very interesting. The application
functions are represented by application objects (AO), and
the generic device functions by device objects (DO). Each
object of a ZigBee profile can contain one or more clusters
and attributes, transferred to the target AO (in the target
device) directly or to a coordinator, which transfers them to
one or more target objects.
WirelessHART
Revision 7 of HART protocol includes the specification of
WirelessHART (WH) [47]. The elements that form a WH
network are at least one gateway, one network manager
and one access point, and many field devices. The mesh-
type network allows the use of redundant communication
23 Communication Protocols for Automation
paths between the radio-based nodes. The temporal behav-
ior is determined by the time-synchronized mesh protocol
(TSMP) [60, 61]. TSMP enables a synchronous operation
of the network nodes (called motes) based on a time slot
mechanism. It uses various radio channels (supported by the
MAC layer) for an end-to-end communication between dis-
tributed devices. In order to increase reliability, the adopted
time division multiple access (TDMA) concept is combined
with channel hopping mechanisms. WirelessHART employs
nonadaptive frequency hopping where each link in the net-
work switches randomly between the 15 available channels.
Moreover, channels subject to interference may be eliminated
due to blacklisting.
TSMP supports star, tree, as well as mesh topologies.
All nodes have the complete routing function (contrary to
ZigBee). A self-organization mechanism enables devices to
acquire information of neighboring nodes and to establish
connections between them. The messages have their own net-
work identifier. Thus, different networks can work together in
the same radio area. Each node has its own list of neighbors,
which can be updated when failures have been recognized.
To support security, TSMP uses mechanisms for encryp-
tion (128-bit symmetric key), authentification (32-bit MIC
for source address), and integrity (32-bit MIC for message
content). Additionally, the frequency hopping mechanism
improves the security features. For detailed information see
[47] and [62].
ISA SP100.11a
Developed by the International Society of Automation (ISA),
the ISA SP100.11a standard is also a TSMP-based protocol
designed to process automation applications. It also allows
point-to-point and mesh communication. One of the differ-
ences in relation to WH is a more comprehensive number of
specifications such as security manager policies. In addition,
while in WH there is a single channel hopping scheme, in
ISA100 three different techniques can be applied. Another
feature is that the time slot can be adjusted from 10 to
14 ms. At the network layer, the protocol uses IPv6 over low-
power WPAN (6LoWPAN), thus allowing IP-based commu-
nication via IEEE 802.15.4. In this way, the sensor network
nodes can be accessed directly over the Internet, which is
not possible in the WirelessHART, WIA-PA, and Zigbee
protocols [56].
WIA-PA
In 2007 the Chinese Industrial Wireless Alliance (CIWA)
proposed the Wireless Networks for Industrial Automation
Process Automation (WIA-PA), which is a communication
protocol based on the IEEE 802.15.4 stack. It was approved
by the IEC in 2008, making it the second industrial wire-
less communication standard. The topology used is star in
intracluster and mesh intercluster. The physical devices of
549
the protocol include host, gateway, field devices, routers, and
handheld devices. The central point of each cluster is a router 23
that forwards messages to the gateway. The physical and
MAC layers were built based on the IEEE 802.15.4 standard
and the MAC layer has contention access periods (CAP) and
contention-free periods (CFP) using CSMA/CA as medium
access. In the active period, the contention portion is used
to add devices to the network, intracluster management and
retransmissions. The contention-free portion is used for com-
munication between field devices and routers [57, 59].
WIA-FA
The WIA-FA standard is a protocol designed by CIWA to
cope with factory automation whose requirements are delays
in the order of milliseconds and more than 99% transmission
reliability. The physical layer is based on the IEEE 802.11-
2012 standard and supports different modulation modes such
as FHSS, DSSS, and OFDM, operating in the 2.4 GHz
unlicensed frequency range. A TDMA scheme is used to
provide the necessary determinism in communications and
the topology used is star with redundancy of access points.
The application layer is object oriented and can encapsulate
information from other systems to provide tunneling. The
protocol can also convert different industrial protocols such
as HART, Modbus, and Profibus, thus allowing interoperabil-
ity with systems already installed [57].
Bluetooth Low Energy
Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) or Bluetooth Smart is a tech-
nology developed by the Bluetooth Special Interest Group
(SIG). It was implemented in Bluetooth technology since
version 4. The technology focuses on transmitting infrequent
data between devices and uses the ISM unlicensed frequency
band included in 2.4000–2.4835 GHz subdivided into 40
channels. The application layer defines different profiles
specified by the Bluetooth SIG that allow interoperability
between devices from different manufacturers. BLE can be
used for cases where a device transfers small amounts of
data, such as data from a sensor or data to control an actuator.
In addition, there are transmission-only devices, also called
beacons, which have the function of transmitting messages so
that other devices can discover them and read their data. With
the help of a Bluetooth beacon, a device can find its approx-
imate position. The topology used is star also called piconet.
There is also the possibility of forming a mesh with BLE
devices. The specifications for the Bluetooth mesh network
were launched in 2017 and allow messages transmitted by a
node to hop from one node to another over the network until
reaching its destination. It is well suited for control systems,
monitoring, sensor networks, asset tracking, and other IIoT
applications that require dozens, hundreds, or thousands of
devices to communicate with each other. For more details see
[46], [63], and [64].
550
23.3.4 Low-Power Wide Area Network
(LPWAN)
The main characteristics of LPWAN networks are long bat-
tery life, large coverage area, low transmission rate, and low
installation costs. Some of the main LPWAN technologies are
Sigfox, LoRaWAN, Narrowband IoT (NB-IoT), and Weight-
less, among others. They can be adopted in different appli-
cation areas such as environment monitoring, smart cities,
smart utilities, precision agriculture, and logistics control,
among others [49].
SIGFOX
SIGFOX [65] is a proprietary ultra-narrow band technol-
ogy with low transmission rate and long range. It supports
bidirectional communication in which DBPSK modulation is
used for uplink and GFSK for downlink. Due to the narrow-
band feature, the effect of noise in the receiver is mitigated by
allowing the receiver to only listen in a tiny slice of spectrum.
Sigfox has low-cost sensors and SDR-based base stations to
manage the network connection to the Internet. To increase
reliability, devices transmit the message several times. Sigfox
is installed by network operators and, therefore, if users want
to use the network, they must pay a subscription fee. The
supported data rate is 600 bps for downlink and until 200 kbps
for uplink. The maximum payload size for each message is
12 bytes for uplink and 8 bytes for downlink and each device
can send until 140 messages per day.
LoRaWAN
LoRa is a physical layer technology, owned by the Semtech
[66] company that operates in the ISM unlicensed frequency
range. LoRa is based on chirp spread spectrum (CSS) mod-
ulation. The upper layers of the network stack are open for
development. LoRaWAN is a MAC layer that uses LoRa as
the physical layer. The LoRaWAN protocol is an open proto-
col managed by the LoRa Alliance [67]. Its main features are
long battery duration and long transmission range. The trans-
mission range of a LoRa device can be modified by chang-
ing parameters such as bandwidth, transmission power, and
propagation factor. A LoRaWAN network is not managed by
a provider, so there are no subscription fees as required in
Sigfox protocol. An additional advantage over Sigfox is that
there is no message limit per device, but on the other hand,
the regulated duty cycle in the region of installation must be
observed. The supported data rate is 50 kbps for downlink
and uplink. The maximum payload size for each message is
243 bytes.
Weightless
The Weightless protocol [68] is managed by the Weight-
less – Special Interest Group. Initially, three standards were
C. E. Pereira et al.
proposed: Weightless-N, Weightless-W, and Weightless-P.
Weightless-W was designed to operate in the white space of
the TV spectrum. This limits the use of the protocol since the
use of this frequency range is only allowed in some regions.
Weightless-N is an LPWAN technology similar to Sigfox
and uses slotted ALOHA, in the unlicensed band, supporting
only unidirectional communication (uplink only) for end
devices to the base station. Weightless-P (or only Weightless)
has narrowband bidirectional communication designed to
operate on globally licensed and unlicensed ISM frequencies.
The Weightless protocol uses GMSK and QPSK for signal
modulation. It has a shorter communication range and shorter
battery life when compared with other LPWAN technologies.
The supported data rate is 100 kbps for downlink and for
uplink. The maximum payload size for each message is 255
bytes.
NB-IoT
Narrowband IoT (NB-IoT) [69] is an LPWAN technology
defined by Release 13 of 3GPP. It can coexist with the global
mobile communications system (GSM) and LTE in licensed
frequency bands of 700 MHz, 800 MHz, and 900 MHz. The
communication is bidirectional using orthogonal frequency
division multiple access (OFDMA) for downlink and single
carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) for
the uplink. NB-IoT is designed to optimize and reduce the
resources of LTE technology, prioritizing the characteristics
for infrequent data and low power consumption data trans-
missions. The supported data rate is 200 kbps for downlink
and 20 kbps for uplink. The maximum payload size for each
message is 1600 bytes [70].
23.3.5 5G
The 5G, which is the fifth generation of mobile communi-
cation, is considered a strong candidate to serve industrial
IoT (IIoT)) applications. The characteristics of high data
transfer rates and lower latencies than current LTE technolo-
gies expand the use cases where the mobile communication
can be used. The new 5G radio technologies will support
three essential types of communication: enhanced mobile
broadband (eMBB)), in addition to ultrareliable low-latency
data exchange (uRLLC)) and massive machine-type commu-
nication (mMTC)) that will allow the use of thousands of
field devices in a specific area. This technology promises
to cover several industrial automation use cases, mainly for
factory automation applications that generally require low
latencies in comparison to process automation. Some of the
applications in the manufacturing domain can be in motion
control, mobile robots, massive wireless sensor networks,
remote access and remote maintenance, augmented reality
applications, closed-loop process control, process monitor-
23 Communication Protocols for Automation
ing, and plant asset management, among others. A new con-
cept introduced in 5G, called network slicing, will allow the
simultaneous and isolated provisioning of several services
by the same network infrastructure. It allows the network
operator to provide customized networks for specific services
and achieve varying degrees of isolation between the various
types of service traffic and the network functions associated
with those services. This is interesting from the point of view
that within a single network infrastructure, there are differ-
ent needs in terms of functionality (for example, priority,
security, and mobility), performance (for example, latency,
mobility, and data rates), or operational requirements (for
example, monitoring, root cause analysis, etc.). In addition,
slices can be configured to serve specific user organizations
(for example, public security agencies and corporate cus-
tomers). For additional details, readers are referred to [70]
and [50].
As the number of wireless protocols that find application
in the industrial automation is increasing, it is always
good to keep in mind that each wireless technology has
characteristics that make it more suitable for a specific type
of application. Therefore, before choosing a communication
protocol to use in a given case, it is necessary to understand
the application requirements. Two features that can be a
first step in the selection of a given wireless technology can
be based on the required range and data rate. Figure 23.14
depicts the most common wireless technologies and where
they fit in these two aspects. Contact technologies, such
as RFID, for example, usually have a range of a few
meters. The range of the personal area network (WPAN) is
between 10 and 100 m, as the Bluetooth and WirelessHART
technologies. The wireless local area networks (WLAN))
generally have a short/medium range and is between 100
Data rate
WLAN
100 Mbps Wi-Fi 6
Wi-Fi 5
WPAN
1 Mbps Bluetooth BR/EDR
Bluetooth low energy
100 Kbps
WIA-FA
WIA-PA ISA100
WirelessHart ZigBee
1 Kbps
NFC/RFID
1m 10 m 100 m
Fig. 23.14 Comparison of range and data rate of some of the current wireless technologies
551
and 1000 m while technologies called LPWAN handle long-
distance transmissions and can have ranges of 10–50 km. 23
23.4 Virtual Automation Networks
23.4.1 Motivation
Future scenarios of distributed automation lead to desired
mechanisms for geographically distributed automation func-
tions for various reasons:
• Centralized supervision and control of (many) decentral-
ized (small) technological plants
• Remote control, commissioning, parameterization, and
maintenance of distributed automation systems
• Inclusion of remote experts or external machine-readable
knowledge for plant operation and maintenance (for ex-
ample, asset management, condition monitoring, etc.)
This means that heterogeneous networks, consisting of
(partially homogeneous) local and wide areas, as well as
wired and wireless communication systems, will continue
to play an increasing role. Figure 23.15 depicts the com-
munication environment of a complex automation scenario.
Following a unique design concept, regarding the objects
to be transmitted between geographically distributed com-
munication end points, the heterogeneous network becomes
a virtual automation network (VAN) [71, 72]. VAN char-
acteristics are defined for domains, where the expression
domain is widely used to address areas and devices with
common properties/behavior, common network technology,
or common application purposes.
Cellular
5G
4G
LPWAN
LoRaWAN NB-IoT
SigFox Weightless-P
1 km 10 km 100 km Range
552 C. E. Pereira et al.

Other third party production or logistics

domain Remote industrial plant or subsidiary
(real time, non-real time best effort, communication domain
wired and wireless) (real time, non-real time best effort,
Office domain wired and wireless)
(best effort, wired or wireless)

Public or privat
telecommunication

n
VAN domai
network or Internet

ary
Industrial plant or subsidiary
n
VAN domai

communication domain (real time, non-real time best effort,

ffort wired and wireless)
eff

VAN domain
IP based Edge
networks

Controller IIoT gateway (( (

(C) ))) C
IP based
networks ))) D
Heterogenous C ))) D
networks
Device
(D) D D D D
D D D

Fig. 23.15 Different VAN domains related to different automation applications

23.4.2 Domains 23.4.3 Architectures for VAN Solutions

Within the overall automation and communication environ-
ment, a VAN domain covers all devices that are grouped
together on a logical or virtual basis to represent a complex
application such as an industrial application. Therefore, the
encompassed networks may be heterogeneous and devices
can be geographically distributed over a physical environ-
ment, which shall be covered by the overall application.
Figure 23.15 depicts VAN domain examples representing
three different distributed applications.
Devices related to a VAN domain may reside in a homo-
geneous network domain (e.g., the industrial domain shown
in Fig. 23.15). But, depending on the application, additional
VAN relevant devices may only be reached by crossing other
network types (e.g., wide area network type communication)
or they need to use proxy technology to be represented in the
VAN domain view of a complex application. Additionally,
application can follow a vertical data flow or a horizontal
one. Vertical means that automation devices deliver their
data to a higher-level application such as fault analysis or
plant performance monitoring. Horizontal means that the
application close the loop from sensor to actuator devices or
controller to controller communication in the same level of
the automation hierarchy.
As mentioned in the previous sections, a VAN network
consists of both horizontal and vertical communication paths
and network transitions. Figure 23.16 depicts the required
transitions in both heterogeneous and IP-based networks.
There are different opportunities to achieve a communica-
tion path between heterogeneous network segments/devices
(or their combinations). This is achieved by multiple links,
gateways, or servers. Using this solution these infrastructure
communication devices take advantage of the quality of ser-
vice and addressing schema of the automation-related com-
munication systems such as PROFIBUS and PROFINET, so
both vertical and horizontal applications are on the main fo-
cus. These VAN infrastructure allows logical communication
clusters independent of the communication structure.
More recently, edge- and cloud-based solutions in com-
bination with IIoT (Industrial Internet of Things) gateways
are taking advantage from a homogeneous IP-based network
and reaching a high connectivity from the single automation
device to the cloud application. These vertical-oriented so-
lutions have to make extra effort to extend the IP commu-
nication with application services to reach interoperability.
There is an explosion in the amount of data being generated
by digital devices. The traditional model of processing and
23 Communication Protocols for Automation 553

a) b) 23
Solution with heterogeneous communication networks
Horizontal and vertical interactions IP based communication networks
Mostly vertical interaction
WAN,
Telecommunication Internet
Cloud
MAN
LAN Manager Office Internet station
station device server
IP based
WL networks IP based
Super- Con- W/WL device networks
RTE Device IP based Edge
visor troller link WL networks
device
Controller IIoT gateway (( (
Proxy (C) IP based ))) C
gateway WL networks Hetero- ))) D
Fieldbus W/WL device Wireless genous
networks
C ))) D
link WL fieldbus Device
(D) D D D D
device D D D

Fig. 23.16 Network solutions with mostly heterogenous (a) and mostly IP-based (b) networks (local area networks [LAN], wireless LAN [WL],
wired/wireless [W/WL], real-time Ethernet [RTE], metropolitan area network [MAN], and wide area network [WAN])

storing all data in the cloud is becoming too costly and often
too slow to meet the requirements of the end user. Edge
computing brings computation and data storage closer to the
devices where it is being gathered, rather than relying on a
central location that can be thousands of miles away. This is
done so that data, especially real-time data, does not suffer
latency issues that can affect an application’s performance.
Virtualization is, through software implementation, the
logical abstraction of hardware devices on a network. In this
way, control and hardware are separated, facilitating manage-
ment and modifications. Virtualization can contribute to het-
erogeneity, scalability, and interoperability of networks. Two
possible alternatives are software-defined networks (SDN)
and network function virtualization (NFV) [73]. Even though
SDN and NFV are maintained by different standardization
organizations, they are not competing approaches, but com-
plementary. Together they enable dynamic network resource
allocation for heterogeneous QoS requirements [74].
SDN centralizes the network management decoupling the
data forwarding plane from the control plane. The central
manager, also called SDN controller, has a global view of the
network resources and for this reason it can gather network
state information and act forwarding device configuration. A
virtual control plane is created enforcing smart management
decisions between network functions filling the gap between
network management and services provisioning [73–75].
The NFV is an approach that decouples several network
functions such as routers, firewalls, etc. from network devices
and run them as software also called virtual network func-
tions (VNFs)) at a data center. NFV reduces the equipment
and needed installation efforts, hence the deployment costs
are reduced. Through NFV it is possible to dynamically allo-
cate network functions (NFs) making it much more manage-
able for service providers by adding, removing, or updating
a function for all or subsets of customers. It provides flexi-
bility that would enable services providers to scale up/down
services to address changing customer demands [73–75].
23.5 Wide Area Communications
23.5.1 Contextualization
With the application of remote automation mechanisms (re-
mote supervisory, operation, and service) using wide area
networks, the stock of existing communication technology
becomes broader and includes the following [25]:
• All appearances of the Internet (mostly supporting best
effort quality of services)
• Public digital-wired telecommunication systems: either
line switched (e.g., integrated services digital network
[ISDN]) or packet switched (such as asymmet-
ric/symmetrical digital subscriber line [ADSL, SDSL])
• Public digital wireless telecommunication systems (GSM
based, GPRS based, and UMTS based)
• Private wireless telecommunication systems, e.g., trunk
radio systems
The transition between different network technologies
can be made easier by using multiprotocol label switching
(MPLS) and synchronous digital hierarchy (SDH). There
are several private protocols (over leased lines, tunneling
mechanisms, etc.) that have been used in the automation
domain using these technologies. Most of the wireless radio
networks can be used in non-real-time (class 1: best effort)
applications, some of them in soft real-time (class 2) ap-
plications; however, industrial environments and industrial,
554
Non real-time Real-time
Configuration data IO data Alarms
Record data
IO controller O dev
IO device
Communication channel CRs
Fig. 23.17 Remote communication channels over WAN (input/output
[IO]; communication relation [CR])
scientific, and medical (ISM) band limit the applications.
Figure 23.17 depicts the necessary remote channels.
The end-to-end connection behavior via these telecommu-
nication systems depends on the offered quality of service
(QoS). The following application areas have to be distin-
guished.
23.5.2 Best Effort Communication
in Automation
• Non-real-time communication (Standard IT: up-
load/download, SNMP) with lower priority to real-
time communication: for configuration, diagnostics, and
automation-specific up-/download
• Manufacturing-specific functions, context management,
establishment of application relationships and connection
relationships to configure IO devices, application moni-
toring to read status data (diagnostics, I&M), read/write
services (HMI, application program), and open-loop con-
trol
The automation domain has the following impact on best
effort WAN connections: addressing between multiple dis-
tributed address spaces and redundant transmission for min-
imized downtime to ensure its availability for a running
distributed application.
23.5.3 Real-Time Communication
in Automation
• Cyclic real-time communications (i.e., PROFINET
data) for closed-loop control and acyclic alarms (i.e.,
PROFINET alarms) as major manufacturing-specific
services
C. E. Pereira et al.
• Transfer (and addressing) methods for RT data across
WAN can be distinguished as follows:
– MAC based: tunnel (real-time class 1, partially real-
time class 2 for longer send intervals, e.g., 512 ms),
clock across WAN and reserved send phase for real-
time transmission
– IP based: real-time over UDP (routed); web services
based [76, 77]
The automation domain has the following impact on real-
time WAN connections: a constant delay-sensitive and jitter-
sensitive real-time base load (e.g., in LAN: up to 50% band-
width reservation for real-time transmission).
To use a wide area network for geographically distributed
automation functions, the following basic design decisions
were made following the definitions in Sect. 23.2:
• A virtual automation network (VAN) is an infrastructure
for standard LAN-based distributed industrial automation
concepts (e.g., PROFINET or other) in an extended en-
vironment. The automation functions (applications) are
described by their object models used in existing indus-
trial communications. The application service elements
(ASEs), as they are specified in the IEC 61158 standard,
can additionally be used.
• The establishment of the end-to-end connections between
distributed objects within a heterogeneous network is
based on web services. Once this connection has been
established, the runtime channel between these objects is
equivalent to the runtime channel within the local area by
using PROFINET (or other) runtime mechanisms.
• The VAN addressing scheme is based on names to avoid
the use of IP and MAC addresses during establishment of
the end-to-end path between logically connected applica-
tions within a VAN domain. Therefore, the IP and MAC
addresses remain transparent to the connected application
objects.
• Since there is no new fieldbus or real-time Ethernet proto-
col, no new specified application layer is necessary. Thus,
the well-tried models of industrial communications (as
they are specified in the IEC 61158 standard) can be used.
Only the additional requirements caused by the influence
of wide area networks have to be considered and they lead
to additional functionality following the abovementioned
design guidelines.
Most of the WAN systems that offer quality-of-
service (QoS) support cannot provide real guarantees,
and this strongly limits the use of these systems within
the automation domain. To guarantee a defined QoS for
data transmission between two application access points
via a wide area network, written agreements between
customer and service provider (service-level agreements
23 Communication Protocols for Automation
[SLA]) must be contracted. In cases where the provider
cannot deliver the promised QoS, an alternative line must
be established to hold the connection for the distributed
automation function (this operation is fully transparent
to the application function). This line should be available
from another provider, independent from the currently used
provider. The automation devices (so-called VAN access
points [VAN-APs]) should support functions to switch (either
manually or automatically) to an alternative line [78].
There are different mechanisms to realize a connection
between remote entities:
• The VAN switching connection: the logical connection
between two VAN-APs over a WAN or a public network.
One VAN switching connection owns one or more com-
munication paths. VAN switching line is defined as one
physical communication path between two VAN-APs over
a WAN or a public network. The endpoints of a switching
connection are VAN-APs.
• The VAN switching line: the physical communication: path
between two VAN-APs over a WAN or a public network.
A VAN switching line has its provider and own QoS
parameter. If a provider offers connections with different
warranted QoS each of these shall be a new VAN switch-
ing line.
• VAN switching endpoint access: the physical communica-
tion path between one VAN-AP and a WAN or a public
network. This is a newly introduced class for using the
switching application service elements of virtual automa-
tion networks for communication via WAN or public
networks.
These mechanisms are very important for the concept of
VANs using heterogeneous networks for automation. De-
pending on the priority and importance of the data transmit-
ted between distributed communications partners, the kind
of transportation service and communication technology is
selected based on economical aspects. The VAN provider
switching considers the following alternatives:
• Use case 1: For packet-oriented data transmission via
public networks a connection from a corresponding VAN-
AP to the public network has to be established. The
crossover from/to the public network is represented by
the VAN switching endpoint access. The requirements
made for this line have to be fulfilled by the service-
level agreements from the chosen provider. Within the
public network it is not possible to influence the qual-
ity of service. The data package leaves the public net-
work when the VAN switching endpoint access from the
faced communication partner is achieved. The connec-
tion from the public network to the faced VAN-AP is
also provided by the same or an alternative provider and
555
guarantees defined requirements. The data exchange be-
tween two communication partners is independent of each 23
other.
• Use case 2: For a connection-oriented data transmission
(or data packages with high-level priority) the use of man-
ageable data transport technology is needed. The VAN
switching line represents a manageable connection. A
direct known connection between two VAN-APs has to
be established and a VAN switching endpoint access is
not needed. The chosen provider guarantees the defined
requirements for the complete line. When the current line
loses the promised requirements, it is possible to define
the VAN-APs to build up an alternative line and hold
on/disconnect the current line automatically.
23.6 General Overview About Industrial
Protocol Features
Table 23.1 presents a comparative overview of the main
industrial communication protocols discussed in this chapter.
As it can be observed, there is a diversity of protocols which
present almost all possible combinations in terms of the
characteristics compared. Because of that, there is no single
communication protocol that fulfills all requirements of all
possible applications, so that each protocol usually has some
“application niches,” whose requirements are better met with
the characteristics of some specific protocols. As previously
discussed in the chapter, this growing number of protocols
makes interoperability a challenge so that concepts such as
virtual automation networks, that offer a system-wide inte-
gration among different domains with real-time guarantees,
become very important.
23.7 Conclusions
The area of industrial communication protocols has been
experiencing a tremendous evolution over the last decades,
being strongly influenced by advances in the area of in-
formation technology and hardware/software developments.
Existing industrial communication protocols have impacted
very positively both in the operation of industrial plants,
due to enhanced diagnostic capabilities, which have enabled
enhanced maintenance operations, such as predictive mainte-
nance, as well as in the development of complex automation
systems.
This chapter has reviewed the main concepts of industrial
communication networks and presented the most prominent
wired and wireless protocols that are already incorporated
in a large number of industrial devices (from thousands to
millions).
556 C. E. Pereira et al.

Table 23.1 Comparative overview of the main industrial communication protocols

Cabling Submillisecond
Fieldbus Bus power redundancy Max devices Synchronization cycle
Wired AS-Interface Yes No 62 No No
CANopen No No 127 Yes No
ControlNet No Yes 99 No No
CC-Link No No 64 No No
DeviceNet Yes No 64 No No
EtherCAT Yes Yes 65,536 Yes Yes
Ethernet Powerlink No Optional 240 Yes Yes
EtherNet/IP No Optional Almost unlimited Yes Yes
Interbus No No 511 No No
Modbus No No 246 No No
PROFIBUS DP No Optional 126 Yes No
PROFIBUS PA Yes No 126 No No
PROFINET IO No Optional Almost unlimited No No
PROFINET IRT No Optional Almost unlimited Yes Yes
SERCOS III No Yes 511 Yes Yes
SERCOS interface No No 254 Yes Yes
Foundation Fieldbus H1 Yes No 240 Yes No
Wireless Zigbee No No 100 Yes No
Bluetooth No No 8 Yes No
Bluetooth LE No No Usually 8 (depends on Yes No
the connection interval)
WirelessHart No No 100 Yes No
ISA 100 No No 100 Yes No
WIA-PA No No 100 Yes No
Wifi 5 and 6 No No 250 No No
LoRa/LoRaWAN No No Almost unlimited No No
NB-IoT No No Almost unlimited Yes No
Sigfox No No Almost unlimited No No
5G No No Almost unlimited Yes Yes

carefully extended to ensure that automation requirements

23.8 Emerging Trends
The number of commercially available industrial communi-
cation protocols has continued to increase, despite some trials
to converge to a single and unified protocol, in particular dur-
ing the definition of the IEC 61178 standard; the automation
community has started to accept that no single protocol will
be able to meet all different communication requirements
from different application areas. This trend will be contin-
ued by the emerging wireless sensor networks as well as
the integration of wireless communication technologies in
all mentioned automation-related communication concepts.
Therefore, increasing attention has been given to concepts
and techniques to allow integration among heterogeneous
networks, and within this context virtual automation net-
works are playing an increasing role. Currently the Internet
Protocol plays a major role for the integration enabling the
rise of the “Industrial Internet of Things” (IIoT)) era, where
concepts as cloud/edge/fog computing were introduced. Sim-
ilar to what happened in the past, those concepts have to be
are addressed.
With the proliferation of networked devices with increas-
ing computing capabilities, the trend of decentralization in
industrial automation systems will even increase in the fu-
ture (Figs. 23.18 and 23.19). This situation will lead to an
increased interest in autonomic systems with self-X capabil-
ities, where X stands for alternatives as configuration, orga-
nizing, optimizing, healing, etc. The idea is to develop au-
tomation systems and devices that are able to manage them-
selves given high-level objectives. Those systems should
have sufficient degrees of freedom to allow a self-organized
behavior, which will adapt to dynamically changing require-
ments. The ability to deal with widely varying time and
resources demands while still delivering dependable and
adaptable services with guaranteed temporal qualities is a key
aspect for future automation systems [79].
With the emergence of technologies that provide latencies
in the range of milliseconds such as 5G, interest in connected
vehicle networks has been growing. Different modes of com-
munication are explored such as vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V),
23 Communication Protocols for Automation 557

SCADA system 23
n
atio
Loc tem
sys
Control
paramete- ((( Wifi system
rization (((
Set-up

RFID RFID RFID

((( RFID

Bluetooth
RFID

Bluetooth Zigbee Bluetooth

Fig. 23.18 The wireless factory

• Ubisense UWB-realtime
positioning system

• RFID grid for mobile

workshop navigation

• Cricket ultrasonic indoor

location system

Fig. 23.19 Indoor positioning systems in the smart factory. (From [80])

vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I), vehicle-to-pedestrian (V2P),
and vehicle-to-everything (V2X). This type of communica-
tion will be used in the coming years in order to increase
the safety of drivers and pedestrians in addition to reducing
congestion traffic [10].
Acknowledgments The authors would like to acknowledge the support
of Gustavo Cainelli, Marco Meier, and Professor Dr. Ing. Ulrich Jumar.
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Further Reading
Books
Alam, M., Shakil, K.A., Khan, S. (eds.): Internet of Things (IoT) –
Concepts and Applications. Springer (2020)
Franco, L.R., Pereira, C.E.: Real-time characteristics of the foundation
fieldbus protocol. In: Mahalik, N.P. (ed.) Fieldbus Technology:
Industrial Network Standards for Real-Time Distributed Control,
pp. 57–94. Springer, Berlin/Heidelberg (2003)
Liu, J.W.S.: Real-Time Systems. Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River
(2000)
Marshall, P.S., Rinaldi, J.S. Industrial Ethernet. ISA (2004)
Pedreiras, P., Almeida, L.: Approaches to enforce real-time behavior
in Ethernet. In: Zurawski, R. (ed.) The Industrial Communication
Technology Handbook. CRC, Boca Raton (2005)
Various Communication Standards
IEC: IEC 61158 Ser., Edition 3: Digital data communication for
measurement and control – Fieldbus for use in industrial control
systems (2003)
IEC: IEC 61508: Functional safety of electri-
cal/electronic/programmable electronic safety-related systems
(2000)
IEC: IEC 61784–1: Digital data communications for measurement
and control – Part 1: Profile sets for continuous and discrete
manufacturing relative to Fieldbus use in industrial control systems
(2003)
PROFIBUS Guideline: PROFInet Architecture Description and Spec-
ification, Version V 2.0. PNO, Karlsruhe (2003)
Carlos Eduardo Pereira received the Dr.-Ing. degree from the Univer-
sity of Stuttgart, Germany (1995), and also holds a MSc in computer sci-
ence (1990) and a BS in electrical engineering (1987) both from UFRGS
in Brazil. He is a full professor of automation engineering at UFRGS and
director of operations at EMBRAPII, a Brazilian innovation agency. He
also acts as vice president for Technical Activities of the International
Federation on Automatic Control (IFAC). He received in 2012 the
Friedrich Bessel Research Award from the Humboldt Foundation. His
research focuses on methodologies and tool support for the development
of distributed real-time embedded systems, with special emphasis on
industrial automation applications.
560 C. E. Pereira et al.

Peter Neumann received the PhD in 1967. Peter Neumann was full
Christian Diedrich received a German Diplom Ingenieur degree in professor at the Otto-von-Guericke-University Magdeburg from 1981
electrical engineering with minor in automation (1985) and a Ph.D. to 1994. In 1991 he founded the applied research institute “ifak” (In-
degree (1994) from the Otto-von-Guericke-University in Magdeburg, stitut für Automation and Kommunikation) headed by him until 2004.
Germany. He acts as deputy head of the Institut für Automation und His interests are industrial communications, device management, and
Kommunikation (ifak) and as chair of integrated automation at the Otto- formal methods in engineering of distributed computer control systems.
von-Guericke-University, both in Magdeburg, Germany. His activity
field covers the entire engineering life cycle of field devices of pro-
duction systems. He has worked on many German and European R&D
projects in the areas of industrial communication and engineering of
automation systems and is active in national and international standard-
ization activities.
 Product Automation and Innovation
24
Kenichi Funaki

Contents edge intelligence and cognitive technologies, automated

24.1 Historical Background of Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . 562 products are becoming autonomous and mobile. Auto-
mated products with autonomous mobility can operate
24.2 Definition of Product Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 563
and move in open unstructured fields like roads, cities,
24.3 Fundamental Core Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 563 mountains, the air, and any terrain. They bring benefits
24.4 Innovation of Product Automation not only about efficiency and productivity but also about
in the IoT Age . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 564 work and lifestyle freeing workers from dangerous and
24.4.1 Technology as a Driver to Change Life and Industry . . . 564 harsh environment and people from inconvenience and
24.4.2 Expansion of Automation Applications
and Innovations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 565 cumbersome processes.
24.4.3 Benefit and Value of Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 566 In addition, as the world is shifting to experience-value
24.4.4 Business Trends and Orientation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 567 economy, people’s interest is more focused on outcome by
24.4.5 Products in Experience-Value Economy . . . . . . . . . . . . . 568 use of a product rather than its function and performance.
24.4.6 New Requirements for Product Automation . . . . . . . . . . 568
Since people’s expectations for the outcome depend on
24.5 Modern Functional Architecture of Automation . . . . 569 individual cases, product must be software defined and
24.6 Key Technologies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 570 IoT connected so that it can be configured to the user’s
24.6.1 Localization and Mapping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 570 requirement and can monitor and adjust its performance
24.6.2 Edge Intelligence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 573
to best fit customer’s preference to provide the utmost
24.6.3 OTA (Over-the-Air) Technology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 574
24.6.4 Anomaly Detection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 576 experience.
In this chapter, we provide overview of modern prod-
24.7 Product and Service Lifecycle Management in the
IoT Age . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 578 uct automation and innovations with the recent business
24.7.1 Management Model in the trends which drive needs for software-defined and IoT-
Experience-Value Economy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 578 connected product automation with autonomous and intel-
24.7.2 PSS (Product-Service System) Discussions . . . . . . . . . . 579 ligent properties. Key technologies to realize such proper-
24.7.3 How to Realize Valuable Customer Experience . . . . . . . 580
24.7.4 Business Model Making . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 581 ties include localization and mapping, edge intelligence,
OTA (over the air), and anomaly detection, which are
24.8 Conclusion and Next Topics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 581
shown with some cases of implementation. Finally, we
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 582 discuss transformation of the business model of product
automation from “One time make & sell” to “Continu-
ous engagement” model driven by the experience-value
Abstract economy, and its impact on product and service lifecycle
Product automation is the attempt to equip products with management.
functionality so that they can fulfill their tasks fully or
partly in an automated way. Thanks to recent advances in Keywords

Software defined · IoT connected · Localization and

mapping · Edge intelligence · OTA (over the air) ·
Anomaly detection · Experience-value economy
K. Funaki ()
Corporate Venturing Office, Hitachi Ltd., Tokyo, Japan
e-mail: kenichi.funaki.bd@hitachi.com

© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 561

S. Y. Nof (ed.), Springer Handbook of Automation, Springer Handbooks,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-96729-1_24
562
24.1 Historical Background of Automation
Historical roots of automation technology can be traced
back to the three origins of automation needs: (1) industrial
automation, (2) robotization under governmental initiatives,
and (3) life and office automation. It goes without saying
that industrial robot has played a central role in the industrial
automation history. The first modern industrial robot was
Unimate which was invented by George Devol in 1954 [1],
and its commercial version was sold to General Motors in
1960 and realized automated die casting mold process at Ew-
ing Township plant [2]. The early robots were pneumatic and
hydraulic with predetermined motions. With the advances in
electric power transmission and programmable controller, the
first microcomputer-controlled robot T3 appeared in 1974
[2]. Most of the early robots at factories were for automation
of material handling and other simple manipulations at a
fixed location.
In late 1960s, a mobile robot Shakey was developed at the
Artificial Intelligence Center of Stanford Research Institute,
which was one of the first robots focusing on move and travel
[3]. Since then, sensing and routing functions have been the
essential keys to enhance mobility of robots. Thanks to the
progress of sensing and routing technologies in the last two
decades together with continuous cost reduction, the journey
of mobile robots has now reached to the level of advanced
industrial unmanned mobile robots like AGVs (automated
guided vehicles) and unmanned forklifts.
Governmental initiatives have been also strong drivers to
advance automation technologies especially for robotization.
Governmental initiatives include robotization in military and
aerospace, and for the public interest. Since remotely con-
trolled weapons appeared in the 1930s, continuous R&D
investment in military robotization has brought significant
advancement especially in all terrain and aero robots and
micro-machines. Although many are not disclosed, there
have been many streams of military technology development
in various countries, some of which have been converted to
civil use such as search and rescue [4], cyber security, and
trajectory computation developed for homing devices.
For aerospace missions, all terrain robots, UAVs (un-
manned aerial vehicles), and robot arms have been inten-
sively developed. Not only complex and reliable robotics but
also technologies for special needs in space such as radiation-
resistant devices are remarkable achievements.
In addition to military and aerospace, public benefit is also
a motivation for government to advance automation tech-
nologies. Construction and maintenance of infrastructure,
safety and security of towns, and processes of administration
and public services are good areas for automation. Many
challenges, such as water leaks, frequent blackouts, traffic
jams, and intricate manual processes, are needing automation
technologies. Since it is not the purpose of this chapter
K. Funaki
Fig. 24.1 The “Ultrasonic Bath” made by Sanyo Electric. (By
Tokumeigakarinoaoshima – Own work, CC0, https://commons.
wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=37060176)
to cover entire history of government-initiated automation
technologies, here it is just implied that government initia-
tives have played an important role in R&D for automation
technologies which requires heavy upfront investment with
uncertainty.
The other pillar of automation technology development
has been in life and office space. Typical examples include
automation of home appliances like washing machines, cook-
ers, and cleaners, and robots for surveillance and security of
buildings and towns. The automatic clothes washing machine
on a commercial basis was introduced in US market in 1911,
and the first microwave oven was introduced by Raytheon in
1947 [5]. At the Japan World Exposition ‘70 held in Osaka
in 1970, a future-looking washing machine with a flavor of
SF named “Ultrasonic Bath” was exhibited (Fig. 24.1). The
Sanyo Electric made machine could automatically wash and
rinse human body, and thus drew much people’s attention
then.
Life and office have been a good testing ground for
human-machine interaction as well. Since there are many
kinds of tasks to be done through human-machine inter-
actions in life and office, researchers and engineers have
to design the best configuration of the total system with
human-machine combination. In designing the best human-
machine interaction, human senses and feelings are important
as well as ergonomic factor and user interface design. Kansei
engineering was one of such approaches emerged in human-
machine interaction design where “Kansei” is a Japanese
word meaning sensibility, feelings, and cognition [6].
The automation in life and office is not only about hard-
ware but also software. When you ask for a help upon
trouble in withdrawing cash from ATM, you may talk through
microphone on the ATM to a robot who can chat and listen
24 Product Automation and Innovation
to your request or claim to understand the situation, and
then provide you with appropriate guidance autonomously
in accordance with the mode of trouble you are facing.
Now ATM becomes a true “Automated Teller Machine!”
Conversation and interaction technologies powered by NLP
(natural language processing) together with backend process
execution by RPA (robotic process automation) are the key
elements to realize automation in life and office.
24.2 Definition of Product Automation
In this chapter, we follow the definition of product automa-
tion which was made by Pinnekamp [7] in the former edition
of Springer Handbook of Automation, i.e., product automa-
tion is the attempt to equip products with functionality so
that they can fulfill their tasks fully or partly in an automated
way. The tasks include various kinds of works, assignments,
and missions in industry and society as already seen in the
previous section.
As Pinnekamp [7] pointed, product automation could
be confused with production automation or automation
products. Again, following Pinnekamp [7], production
automation is the automation of individual steps or the whole
chain of steps necessary to produce, and products used to
automate production is called automation product mainly
in industries that produce such tools or machines as their
products.
24.3 Fundamental Core Functions
Fundamental body to realize product automation is equipped
with the minimum essential functions to fulfill a task
which include identifying and measuring a target or an
object to work on, generating and applying force to actuate
the product, and controlling all the pieces necessary to
execute processes to fulfill the task as well as observing and
inspecting its environment and surroundings. Figure 24.2
shows the traditional functional blocks required for product
automation [7].
Sensors identify and measure objects and observe and
inspect environment and surroundings to feed sensed data
to the control system so as to let the product take right
actions and operate effectively. There is a large variety of
sensing types by the gauged properties such as motional
(linear and rotary), kinetic (force, torque, acceleration and
velocity, pressure, and vibration), physical (distance, range,
angle, density, temperature, and flow), electrical (voltage,
current, phase, and frequency), optical (luminous intensity,
color, and image), acoustic, haptic sensing, and others. Ac-
tual implementation of sensors is much dependent on the
application cases.
563
Sensors
Control system
Information exchange
with other systems
24
Energy
Actuators
Primary task
of the device
Fig. 24.2 Traditional functional blocks of product automation [7]
For product automation, elements of a control system de-
pend on types of controlled components and their logical and
physical implementation. Minimum core of controlling unit
for automation of physical action is motion control. Motion
controller executes control programs to generate and send
commands to actuators, mostly motors, by determining nec-
essary motion (direction and speed) to reduce gap between
the feedback on sensed position and the target position. For
whole actions to fulfill the task, operational control must be
implemented, which could be a logical controller for discrete
event control or a PID (proportional integral derivative) con-
troller for continuous process control. For further intelligent
logical behavior like selection of relevant picking objects and
self-protection against danger, computational control with
rule-based engine could be a part of the control system.
Once an actuator receives a command from the controller,
it takes physical actions through mechanisms installed in the
product. The basic categories of actuator can be mechanical,
hydraulic, pneumatic, and electric. Mechanical actuator is
basically composed of gears and springs, such ones intro-
duced in early versions of elevators and excavators. Hy-
draulic actuator is made of pumps and valves through which
hydraulic fluid conveys power and force to moving parts.
Generally speaking, hydraulic system is effective for heavy
duty, thus many old mechanical actuators have been replaced
with hydraulic systems as seen in elevators and excavators.
Pneumatic actuator is a system that uses compressed air to
convey power and force. The most widely used mechanism
is electric actuator where motors and drives are the core
components. As the size of electric motor is getting smaller
and more efficient thanks to advances in materials and archi-
tecture, various kinds of small-sized multiaxis motion can be
automated. Other than the actuator types above, there are var-
ious actuators for specific purposes using unique properties
like magnetic force, chemical reaction, and thermodynamic
characteristics.
564
None of those functions above can be active without
energy. Energy supply function is not just to receive and send
energy to the components of the product, but an assembly
of managed elements to supply energy efficiently and (re-
cently) eco-friendly, which may include energy generator and
storage, pulley and belt (if mechanical), heat exchanger (if
thermal), and converter and inverter (if electric).
24.4 Innovation of Product Automation
in the IoT Age
In this section, we discuss how technologies, applications,
and business trends drive innovation of product automation,
and then derive new requirements for product automation.
24.4.1 Technology as a Driver to Change Life
and Industry
Technology is definitely one of strong drivers to change peo-
ple’s life and industry. In agriculture, which has been a fun-
damental human occupation since the era before industrial-
ization, all the farming tasks from sowing to harvesting were
done by human workforce in the age of “The Sower” or “The
Gleaners” by Millet. Now, through a hundred-year history of
mechanization, every aspect of farm operation including farm
tractors, water sprinklers, weeding and harvesting machines,
and air and humidity control in a greenhouse is robotized
and automated. All the physical elements and conditions
including soil, seeds, water, temperature, and sunshine as
well as crops are monitored and measured to determine and
take optimal actions for the best yield performance. Once
the machines and robots in the farm are connected by IoT
and equipped with AI-enabled edge intelligence, they can
operate autonomously and furthermore cooperate with each
other. Now, agro-drone can sow seeds and spray chemicals 50
times faster than human farmers. Autonomous machines free
farmers from burden and shift the human role from a mere
labor source to a value-creating resource.
Of course, technology’s impact on industry has not been
confined to agriculture. Through multiple industrial revo-
lutions in the history, technologies have freed people from
harsh and dangerous work or tediously monotonous and non-
creative work. As the main drivers for industrial revolution
have changed from energy to mechanization, electrification,
computerization, and recently networked intelligence, avail-
able tools for automation and scope of their applications have
been expanding across various industries.
If we look at transportation space, it can be seen how
technological drivers of transportation revolution have been
changing. In the era of the first Industrial Revolution from
the eighteenth century up to the mid-nineteenth century,
K. Funaki
steam engine completely changed the mode of power train
of transportation, shifting water transport from sailboat to
steamship and land transportation from horse tramway to
steam locomotive. Together with evolution of power train,
mechanization enabled highly functional and powerful vehi-
cles such that horse-drawn carriage was completely replaced
with steel-made automobile with gasoline engine. Mecha-
nization even created new types of transportation such as
ropeway in the mountains (aerial transportation) and eleva-
tors in the buildings (vertical transportation). Electrification
was another enabler to realize efficient city transportation
like tramcars and trolley cars. Since electrification of railway
system can save weight of tractor unit of train compared to
combustion engine car, most of the modern high-speed trains
are powered by electricity. As the wave of computerization
came and extended to transportation industry, level and qual-
ity of service and management was drastically improved.
Ticketing and booking services, scheduling and operation
planning, dispatching and fleet management, and traffic and
safety management are the typical examples which were
much advanced by computerization.
Now, with rapid advancement in AI and connectivity, all
modes of transportation are heading for automation. Automa-
tion of ship, train, and vehicle requires capabilities of sensing
objects and surroundings and connectivity with the other
moving objects and infrastructure as well as their controlling
systems. Each automated ship, train, and vehicle has to think
and determine the best action to take accordingly to the
observed situations, where IoT and AI play important roles.
Automation of operation and control frees human opera-
tors from time-consuming and tiring manipulation work and
lets people have efficient and creative time during travel.
Rio Tinto, a world leading mining company, launched the
world’s first autonomous heavy freight rail operation with
special locomotives installed with an onboard driver module
in 2018. It runs 280 km from the mining site to the port
hauling 18,000 t of ore and is monitored constantly from
a central operations center about 1000 km away [8]. Stena
Line, a world-class ferry service company, announced to
conduct a pilot study of AI-assisted vessel in 2018, which
is expected to reduce fuel consumption without support by
human captain’s knowledge and thus aims to minimize en-
vironmental impact [9]. This is a good exemplar to show
that automation is not just only for operational efficiency
or safety but also for broader context of the company’s
management policy which leads to industrial transforma-
tion. In addition to these challenges in existing transporta-
tion services, introduction of autonomous vehicle for the
next generation city transportation is not a dream anymore
but is a matter of less-than-ten-years long journey with no
doubt. Although it may be a step-by-step societal challenge,
city transportation transformation will surely change our
life.
24 Product Automation and Innovation
24.4.2 Expansion of Automation Applications
and Innovations
Applications of automation are expanding to many segments.
We see various innovations emerging in many ways, which
include both technology advancement and business model
revolution.
Automation Applications and Innovations
in Industry
Industrial automation, especially in manufacturing and lo-
gistics, with various automated entities like robots, NC ma-
chines, and AGVs is the most prevailing application area. The
latest topics regarding innovative technologies for industrial
automation applications include: (1) 3D vision sensing and
recognition, (2) self-learning and programming-less opera-
tion, and (3) autonomous coordinated control.
Kyoto Robotics is one of the leading companies in 3D
vision and recognition technology as well as its application
to pick-and-place work in a warehouse. The 3D object recog-
nition technology realizes fully automated palletizing and
depalletizing robot for mixed-size bulk goods, which is one
of the most difficult cases in pick-and-place work application
[10].
One of hurdles in implementing automation is burden of
labor-intensive setup work which causes CAPEX increase.
In setting up a robotic system, production engineers, with
the help of robot system integrator, have to design and teach
its motion and movement in advance by setting various
parameters adjusted to the real situation and conditions. In
order to mitigate this burden, self-learning or programming-
less approach is strongly demanded. Direct teaching is the
most straightforward alternative to this problem where an
engineer or an operator directly teaches the movement and
trajectory of the robot by manipulating its moving part like
a hand physically, which is said to be effective in human-
robot cooperation case [11]. A more intuitive and advanced
method is proposed by Southie Autonomy aiming for “No-
code robot solution” [12]. Southie Autonomy is developing
an intelligent software backed by AI and AR (augmented
reality) which enables users to teach robots what to do by
using gestures and voice commands.
Especially in the situation where machine and human
workers collaborate with each other in a shared physical
space, harmful motion and movement to the human workers
must be avoided so that the human workers can co-work with
the machine without risk and fear of danger. For such a situa-
tion, Realtime Robotics proposed interesting concept “Robot
motion planning on a chip” [13] that enables collision-free
dynamic motion planning and control at milliseconds level
with less preprogramming.
In establishing automation of a complex system with a
united purpose such as factory and warehouse, each element
565
composing the system has to be well controlled to co-work
with each other being aligned with the purpose. Since the
system is required to be dynamic by its nature being exposed
to external varying conditions on one hand and being subject
to internal system status on the other, it must be capable 24
of coordinating all the elements of the system so as to let
the entire system behave effectively in any situations. The
latest advance in such coordinated automation technologies
appears in the use cases where various kinds of multiple
robots autonomously co-work together for a purpose. Hitachi
and the University of Edinburgh developed multiple AI co-
ordination control technology which integrates the control of
picking robots and AGVs and realizes smooth collaborative
work to pick up specified items from goods carried by an
AGV without its stopping. It is reported that a picking system
controlled by multiple AI coordination gained operation time
reduction by 38% [14].
Home Automation Applications and Innovations
Home automation is another most prevailing area of automa-
tion applications. Automated home appliances like washing
machines, air conditioners, and cookers are the most familiar
examples. Recently, thanks to advances in AI-enabled human
interfaces, various requests to such home appliances and
devices can be conveyed by oral instructions like “turn on
the light” and “lower the temperature to 20 degrees centi-
grade.” Furthermore, once a smart house is equipped with
sensors with AI which detect and understand the context
of people’s movement and room occupancy, it may control
home appliances and devices according to the situation auto-
matically without human’s instruction. Intellithings offers a
smart room sensor connected with smart phone by Bluetooth
which detects location and movement of a person in the house
to execute personalized control of relevant appliances and
devices automatically [15]. For instance, lights, thermostats,
or speakers automatically turn on when a person enters the
room and turn off when leaving with a mode set according to
the person’s preference.
Home is also a good application field of automation with
autonomous mobility. Lawn mower and house cleaner are
the typical embodiment of its implementation. Innovation of
self-localization and mapping is the key to realize accurate
and reliable movement. The famous iconic robot cleaner
invented by iRobot, Roomba, was one of the first employ-
ers of visual mapping technology together with navigation
algorithms in home application [16].
Automation Applications and Innovations for
Autonomous Vehicle and Transport
As a rapidly developing area of automation, we cannot ignore
autonomous vehicle and transport. In terms of autonomous
vehicle, we are still at an entrance to the Level 3 of the
well-known SAE International Standard J3016 [17], where
566
levels of automation for on-road vehicles are defined as
Level 0 (no automation), Level 1 (driver assistance), Level 2
(partial automation), Level 3 (conditional automation), Level
4 (high automation), and Level 5 (full automation). (Note:
SAE International does not use the term “autonomous ” since
its usage and scope of meaning varies by user’s stand and
case ranging from just full driving automation (Level 5)
to capacity for self-governance in jurisprudence.) Intuitive
interpretation of each level can be “hands on” for Level 1,
“hands off” Level 2, “eyes off” Level 3, “mind off” Level 4,
and “steering wheel optional” Level 5. The definition of the
levels is based on variation of roles of human driver and driv-
ing automation system, which is determined by allocation of
roles in the dynamic driving task and its fallback performance
between the system and the human driver (or other users
if necessary). The fallback is the response by the driver or
user to either perform the driving task or achieve a minimal
risk condition upon occurrence of the system failure or unin-
tended event outside of the scope and assumptions taken into
account when designed. If there is no driver or user’s fallback
performance expected, the driving automation system takes
fallback actions to achieve minimal risk condition. Technical
challenges in driving automation resides in localization and
mapping as well as visual recognition of objects surrounding
the vehicle.
While ultimate autonomous vehicle at Level 5 seems to
take time to reach to the quality of practical use with full
acceptance by society, some of the other transport services
are or have been introducing autonomous operation. Pub-
lic transportation services using exclusive tracks such as
monorail systems and elevated city movers are enjoying the
benefit from autonomous operation with unmanned train. Re-
cently increasing number of BRT (bus rapid transit)) service
providers or authorities are testing autonomous driving bus
on exclusive lane and discussing when to put it into practice
[18]. Long-distance industrial railways are also with strong
needs for autonomous operation with driverless train. As
formerly mentioned in the Sect. 24.4.1, Rio Tinto introduced
autonomous heavy freight rail operation to the 280 km rail-
way from mine to port. Total length of the autonomous train
of 240 ore cars pulled by three locomotives equipped with
onboard driver modules reaches 2.5 km. It travels through
mostly inhospitable terrain without a driver on board, but
instead being monitored from the 1000 km distant central
operations center [19].
Automation Applications and Innovations
in Logistics and Delivery
Logistics and delivery is another hot spot where we see many
real-world applications of automation. In a warehouse, you
can see many picking and shipping robots are working, and
at a port, a large portion of dockside loading and unloading
is automated with cranes and loaders. In addition to these
K. Funaki
current practices, truck platooning is one of the immediate
future applications of automation in logistics space. ACEA,
European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association, defines
truck platooning as the linking of two or more trucks in
convoy, using connectivity technology and automated driving
support systems [20]. It is expected to bring various benefits
ranging from safer road transportation to efficient energy
consumption with less CO2 emissions and effective use of
roads for less traffic jams.
Last mile delivery is another application expected in the
immediate future. The famous trial of Amazon’s last mile
delivery using drones showed its value of practical use.
For the sidewalk delivery such as near-distance food de-
livery, many robotic companies, many of which are start-
ups, have developed various kinds of autonomous delivery
robots and are conducting real-life testing. For instance,
TechCrunch reported Starship Technologies has made more
than 100,000 commercial deliveries by August 2019 using
its unique rolling (slow speed) autonomous delivery robot
[21]. The sidewalk delivery robot travels at a top speed of
four miles per hour, which is completely a new category of
robot in the age of AI and IoT.
Other Areas of Automation Applications
and Innovations
Although it is not the purpose of this chapter to list all the
automation applications and innovations in all industries,
it seems meaningful at least to list up some topical areas
for automation in the other industries. Many are still at the
stage of semi-automation, but some are entering to the full
automation world. Table 24.1 shows industries with topical
applications of automation.
24.4.3 Benefit and Value of Automation
Automation-powered operation gains tremendous speed and
dynamics. Well-designed automated systems can enjoy full
adaptability and flexibility. For instance, Siemens Electronics
Works Amberg gains full flexibility to run its operation
smoothly under demand fluctuation with 350 production
Table 24.1 Typical applications of automation in various industries
Health care and Surgical robot and micro-robot pill
medicine
Security and safety Aero surveillance, patrol robot, and rescue
robot
Nursing Companion robot and rehabilitation robot
Information and Chatbot and communication robot
guidance
Farming Cropping, fertilizing, watering, pesticides, and
agronomical decision-making
Forestry Unmanned harvester and forwarder
24 Product Automation and Innovation
changeovers per day for a portfolio containing roughly 1200
different products. Siemens says technologies like AI, edge
computing, and cloud computing enable highly flexible and
extremely efficient and reliable production sequences [22].
In addition to such efficiency-related benefits, people can
be freed from harsh and dangerous environment, burdensome
and tiresome work, and stressful but less valued experience
as well. Inspection work for extremely tall structures like
high-voltage power transmission towers can be replaced by
autonomous drones with high-resolution intelligent camera.
Automation also provides sustainability. Automatic control
of air conditioning and lighting in a building has enormous
impact on energy saving. Keppel Bay Tower in Singapore
introduced occupancy-based smart lighting system to achieve
about additional 12% lighting energy savings [23]. As seen
in the case of Stena Line’s AI-assisted vessel, transportation
industry is another arena where automation can make a huge
impact on energy savings and minimization of environmental
impact. As people’s consciousness of social impacts and
environmental issues increases, multifaceted benefit of au-
tomation will be realized.
Furthermore, in some cases, automated machines or
robots can create new value rather than just replacement
of human work. LOVOT, a product with a unique concept
of totally useless robot without intended purpose designed
by Groove X, provides its owner with happiness and sense
of attachment for the pet-like robot [24]. It may remove
loneliness and sense of isolation in some cases and may give
relaxing time and happiness in the other cases.
While many see such potential benefit and values deliv-
ered by automation, there still exist significant gaps between
ambition for automation and actual level of implementation.
BCG reported that in most of the industries ranging from
health care to automotive, transportation, and logistics, con-
sumer goods, process industries, engineered products, and
technology industry, number of companies who have imple-
mented advanced robotics is much less than that of com-
panies who are interested in introducing advanced robotics
[25]. Having this evidence in mind, it can be said that we
are amid transition to the coming automation-prevailing era
when people embrace various benefits from automation.
24.4.4 Business Trends and Orientation
In the age of material shortage in the past, main mission of
manufacturing industry or its meaning of existence was to
provide people with goods and materials to satisfy people’s
needs. Through continuous industrial development and some
revolutions, people have been enjoying increasing variety
of goods with further functions and higher quality that has
been making life easier and better. People enjoyed product
itself and were happy to own a product, and even more
567
purpose of buying a product was often to own the product,
and sometimes it represented a symbol of wealth. It was true
that many products replaced human work with machine work
and freed people from burdensome and dangerous work. This
meant people could obtain and enjoy more available time and 24
safety for more constructive life.
However, once people reached to a certain level of life and
got to be satisfied with the materialized life, many realized
that there were no further needs for product or there was little
gain and excitement by obtaining new products. Recent gen-
erations especially in matured countries, who are “sufficient
life native,” tend to feel less value of product ownership.
It is not only about consumers but also about industries.
Once a company realizes that true values come from result of
use of its assets but not from the assets themselves, it pursues
outcomes gained through use of its assets being indifferent
to ownership of the assets. We see many cases where product
makers try to shift their business models from product supply
to outcome delivery. Kaeser Kompressoren, a German air
compressor company, introduced a new service model called
“Operator model” where Kaeser operates and manages air
supply to their customers instead of air compressor supply
[26]. In this model, customer can enjoy on-demand air supply
with energy efficiency and system reliability without owning
heavy asset on its balance sheet since Kaeser owns and
operates the air supply asset (compressor) with required level
of quality and reliability, and focuses on outcome delivery to
the customer by on-demand air supply with stability.
More generally speaking in broader context, what peo-
ple want to enjoy is good experience. Wherever you are
or whatever you are doing, you want more convenience,
more easiness and peace of mind, and more excitement and
happiness. This is an economy of experience value, which
was already advocated in the framework of “the Progression
of Economic Value” in 1998 [27]. With this in mind, it can
be said that such an experience-oriented economy requires
various industries to transform or evolve their structure from
function-based siloed industries to value-oriented contextu-
alized service industries. Together with technology advance-
ment and innovation emerged as shown in the Sect. 24.4.2, it
is now getting to take on realness.
Taking transportation industry as an illustrative case, we
can see its potential transformation (evolution) of the indus-
try as shown in Fig. 24.3. Currently we choose and take
necessary transportation services as we need. However, in
order to travel to the destination, we often have to access
multiple services separately. Many are siloed and require
passengers to endure inefficiency and inconvenience. But
now, by connecting those separated services utilizing digital
technologies and data, one can realize one-stop mobility ser-
vice to provide traveler with best mobility experience tailored
to meet the traveler’s demand and purpose such as seamless
travel for commuters, comfortable and easy-access mobility
568 K. Funaki

Siloed service Value oriented service

Inefficient Inconvenient Eco-friendly Human-friendly
Digital
technology Seamless

Comfortable
Data

Safe
Sea Land Building

Fig. 24.3 Evolution of transportation service

various concepts with prototypes of software-defined and

Seamless
mobility
MaaS
Wellness
Wellness
Energy
saving
Green grid
Fig. 24.4 Evolution of service industries
for elderly people, and safe route for kids. Such evolution
opportunity is not confined to transportation industry for
mobility service. It can be also seen in the other areas like
lifecycle service for health and well-being and end-to-end
service for sustainable energy consumption, which are briefly
illustrated in Fig. 24.4.
24.4.5 Products in Experience-Value Economy
In preparing for the shift to experience-value economy, prod-
uct must become software defined and IoT connected so
that it can be configured to customer’s requirement and can
monitor and adjust its performance to best fit customer’s
preference and thus improve customer’s experience.
As we saw in the mobility service case above, all the
products necessary to deliver the service such as automo-
biles, ships, trains, and even elevators and escalators have
to be connected and capable of being configured and con-
trolled in accordance with service needs. If you drop in at an
electronics or robotics show like CES, you can easily find
IoT-connected vehicles.
Smart house is another example of software-defined and
IoT-connected product. The smart house can adjust and con-
trol its appliances and devices to deliver better experience
for the people living there. As we saw in the Sect. 24.4.2,
Intellithings’ offering is an example of making a house soft-
ware defined and IoT connected. Individual control menu and
parameter setting can be configured to each family member’s
preference. Also, if one wants to provide more comprehen-
sive lifecycle services, it can be connected with other services
which can be updated in accordance with the progress of life
stages of the family living there such as food delivery or
fitness recommendation for a young double-income family,
nursing and education programs for a family with kids, and
health care and medical services if needed.
Software-defined and IoT-connected product is beneficial
to makers as well. If product at customer site can be updated
by software and commands sent via IoT, the product turns
to be “Evergreen.” This mode of remote update is called
OTA (over the air) which is one of the features inherent
in a software-defined and IoT-connected product. OTA was
initially introduced to less critical mobile devices like naviga-
tion systems for drivers and smart phones for consumers, but
now it is widely used for more critical assets like industrial
machines and connected vehicles along with advancements
in secured network and communication technologies. Thanks
to the spread of OTA applications, it is widely possible to
update products at customer site remotely. The automation
of product update is directly linked to automation of update
of customer experience in the experience-value economy.
24.4.6 New Requirements for Product
Automation
In addition to the traditional functions for automation, the
expanding application opportunities and the business trend
24 Product Automation and Innovation
of experience-value economy pose new requirements for
product automation. Application areas of automation are
expanding to open and unstructured fields like roads, cities,
mountains, the air, and any terrain. As machines get into open
spaces and automatically move around, they have to behave
according to their purpose and situations with their own
autonomy to some extent as well as necessary supervision.
In a world where many kinds of automated machines interact
with each other and co-work together, they have to commu-
nicate with others and recognize who I am, who others are,
where I am, and which directions others head for. As each
machine has its own purpose and own way to behave, no
single entity can control and supervise all the machines in the
field. As a matter of course, control systems are distributed,
and more intelligence is embedded at the “edge” side. If
a group of distributed pieces of the system has a common
purpose and responsibility, the group should be controlled in
a coordinated way over the members. Since the situation and
condition each machine faces may change and thus required
behavior and mode of functions may be altered, the machine
has to be configurable accordingly, and sometimes has to be
personalized to fit an individual case.
In summary, in the age of IoT, an automated product
must be an autonomous entity equipped with cognitive ca-
pability like self-localization and mapping as well as mutual
recognition. Control systems are naturally distributed, under
which machines are well coordinated if they share common
purpose and responsibility. Each machine is equipped with
more intelligence backed by edge computing and obtains
more flexibility with capability of configuration and per-
sonalization so as to well behave in accordance with any
situations and even more to cope with any problems it faces.
24.5 Modern Functional Architecture
of Automation
A representation of functional architecture of modern au-
tomation is illustrated in Fig. 24.5. As we saw in the previous
sections, autonomous and intelligent properties with cogni-
tive capability and connectivity must be built in the modern
architecture. The core portion of the modern architecture is
“Sense-Think-Act” function. This is not a conventional rule-
based control supervised by a “ladder diagram” of PLC (pro-
grammable logic controller)), but an intelligent “thinking”
control backed by AI as well as estimation and optimization
capability. In order to realize high-level thought by machine,
“sensing” function must be upgraded to cognitive role to
feed proper data to the thinking function with accuracy and
relevance in terms of the context of its use. The “acting”
function which is embodied by actuators and other moving
parts of the product is required to execute the task ordered by
the thinking function with sufficient exactness and accuracy.
569
Digital twin
24
Report & monitor
Interface & access control
Energy management
Core function
Think
Sense Act
Learn & update
Reliability, safety, security
Fig. 24.5 Modern functional architecture of automation
In order to adapt to surrounding conditions and gain
further capabilities required to behave more effectively and
efficiently, a product must continuously upgrade the “Sense-
Think-Act” function through learning and updating function.
The “Learn and update” function is a supportive function to
the core “Sense-Think-Act” loop and realized by machine
learning as well as estimation and optimization to identify
new patterns or rules effective to upgrade the “Sense-Think-
Act” function. The “Sense-Think-Act” and the “Learn and
update” functions are the fundamental body of edge intelli-
gence.
In any form of energy supply, “Energy management” is
a critical function not only as an enablement to make entire
product active but also as an intelligent controller for energy-
efficient operation. If the product works with electricity, the
function is realized by an assembly of battery and battery
management system, charging inlet, converters and inverters,
capacitors if necessary, and other devices like fuses and
software. Large size products are often powered by fuel such
as gasoline and diesel oil, but with increasing attention to
impact on environment, fuel cells with nonfossil fuel like
hydrogen are strongly expected.
“Report and monitor” function is getting more important
than ever to keep the product “Evergreen.” The modern
automated product monitors itself and reports its operational
status as well as its health condition to its supervisor on
a regular basis to get necessary and timely support, often
remotely, such as relevant software update and preventive
maintenance so as to keep it in the best condition.
The modern automated product is required to interact
with external entities including other automated products,
570
smart devices like a smart phone, surrounding objects such
as road infrastructure as well as human operator on-site or
supervisor at control center. “Interface and access control”
function plays a critical role in interacting with such external
entities securely. Normally a machine has to validate each
access from any external entities to shut out harmful access
and avoid wrong interactions. Thus the “Interface and access
control” function is equipped with authentication and filter-
ing capabilities under authorized protocols. For interaction
with a human operator, it is often validated by biometric key
authentication such as recognition by face, iris, fingerprint or
vein, and others.
As a fundamental nonfunctional element, “reliability,
safety, and security” of the product are “must” requirements.
Since the requirement for individual product regarding
reliability, safety, and security depends on its mission and
role as well as its physical and logical structure, actual
implementation of these elements is determined on a case-
by-case basis. It is more than just reporting and monitoring.
Protection functions regarding reliability, safety, and security
must be embedded when shipped from the factory and should
be continuously updated during operation in the field. Self-
recovering function or minimal operation function in an
emergency is also a “must have” feature for an autonomous
product.
As an advanced mode of automation management, an
automated product is copied in a cyber space as a “Digital
twin” which can reproduce structure, functions, mechanisms
and actions, and even aging or deterioration over time. The
“Digital twin” enables operator and supervisor to analyze
and simulate the product state and behavior within the cy-
ber space so that the operator and supervisor can identify
(potential) problems of the physical product and can verify
decisions and actions prior to actual execution in the phys-
ical space. Thanks to advancements in communication and
huge data processing technologies, the “Digital twin” can
reproduce the physical product’s behavior on a near real-
time basis, and decisions and instructions verified by the
“Digital twin” can be transferred to the physical product in
a timely manner. While cyber-physical system comprising
digital twin and its corresponding physical product will be
a new standard of product lifecycle management system for
automation, there are many variations on its approach of
design and implementation, and thus it is much expected to
establish its theoretical framework [28].
24.6 Key Technologies
In this section, some of the key technologies to realize prod-
uct automation will be briefly reviewed. The key technolo-
gies selected here are mainly about the feature of the modern
automation, that is, autonomous and intelligent properties
K. Funaki
with cognitive capability and connectivity. We concentrate
on showing concrete examples for readers to touch the lat-
est cases, rather than providing comprehensive survey or
dictionary-like explanations.
24.6.1 Localization and Mapping
An autonomous mobile machine moves based on its own
recognition of its location and own decision on the direction
to go. In order to do so, the machine has to make a map
around it and identify its location on the map dynamically
as it moves. The localization and mapping function must be
realized using data from sensors mounted on the machine. It
means that sensor data measured on the machine’s coordinate
system must be projected on the absolute map coordinate
system which should be also generated from the data col-
lected by the machine. This mutually dependent dynamic
localization and mapping technology is called SLAM (simul-
taneous localization and mapping). Since any autonomous
mobile machine needs self-localization and mapping capa-
bility, SLAM is used in many applications such as AGVs in a
factory and a warehouse, AMRs (autonomous mobile robots)
for delivery of food and patrol in a building, robotic clean-
ers at home, automatic lawn mowers in a garden, deep-sea
probes, and even rovers for planetary probe. They can move
autonomously without preset tracks thanks to the SLAM
technology. SLAM is one of the typical embodiments of
the “Sense-Think-Act” function of the modern automation
system shown in the forementioned Fig. 24.5. Although the
research on localization and mapping technique has a long
history from early 1980s, the acronym SLAM appeared for
the first time in 1995 [29].
Sensor’s Role for SLAM
Actual implementation of SLAM is strongly dependent on
modalities of sensors employed in each individual case.
Major modalities of sensors used for autonomous mobile
machines are optical sensors such as LiDAR (light detection
and ranging) and cameras, since they can scan objects or
capture images with rich information to extract and identify
landmarks with which its location can be estimated.
LiDAR identifies distance and orientation to the objects
surrounding the machine by transmitting laser pulses to the
target objects and receiving the reflection from them. The
distance to the target object is calculated by the time between
transmitted and returned pulses multiplied by the speed of
light. The output of LiDAR can be 2D or 3D point cloud data.
A 3D representation can be made from laser return times and
wavelengths. Amount of movement is estimated by matching
the point clouds that the LiDAR sensor scans iteratively as
the machine moves. By accumulating the amounts of move-
ment, the machine can localize itself. Since laser sensors
24 Product Automation and Innovation
like LiDAR gain far more accuracy than vision sensors like
camera, they are essential to the cases where machine moves
rather fast such as autonomous vehicles and drones. On the
other hand, point clouds generated by LiDAR sensor are
less informative in the sense of information density than
raw images captured by camera. This means LiDAR is not
good at finding a specific landmark needed to identify the
machines position. Therefore, other types of sensors which
can detect landmarks and signs are necessary to complete
SLAM implementation.
Thanks to increasing availability of inexpensive image
sensors, many autonomous mobile machines have been
equipped with camera-type visual sensors for exteroceptive
sensing. Camera-type sensors include monocular camera,
stereo camera, and RGB-D camera. However, such visual
sensors are prone to errors because of their brittleness to
changes in light, weather, and scene structure especially
when they cannot detect sufficient light from its environ-
ment. In order to supplement robustness under outdoor
environment, GNSS (global navigation satellite system) and
radar can be employed. Since radar itself does not provide
sufficient accuracy required for 3D mapping, fusion of radar
and visual sensors is challenging and one of remaining issues.
Other physical sensors like accelerometer, gyro sensor, and
odometer can also be of help in estimating the position and
motion of the machine.
From sensory model perspective, there are two ways to
generate information for localization and mapping: landmark
based and raw data use. Landmarks are often used to (re-
)identify the machine’s location and correct the distortion
of the estimated machine’s pose map. Visual sensors like
camera are the most relevant ones for the landmark-based
approach. As the raw data use approach, 3D point clouds gen-
erated by LiDAR sensors and images captured by cameras are
essential input for iterative estimation and identification of
machine’s location as well as iterative creation and correction
of 3D map.
SLAM Methods and Algorithms
Assuming the autonomous mobile machine is moving
through an unknown environment, localization and mapping
is a probabilistic exercise with the knowledge iteratively
acquired through the series of measurement of the machine’s
state and observation of the surroundings including
landmarks which are specified to obtain geographical
information. Based on its probabilistic nature, SLAM is
constructed as a recursive estimation process consisting of
the main two steps: prediction and update, which are as
follows:
1. Prediction (time update)
1-1. State prediction (odometry): Predict the machine
state at time k based on the knowledge of the history
of landmark observations and machine controls
571
1-2. Measurement prediction: Predict measurement of
landmarks from the predicted state of the machine
at time k
2. Measurement and update
2-1. Measurement: Observe landmarks and obtain mea- 24
surement from the machine at time k
2-2. Update: Update measurement of landmarks as well
as the machine state with the maximum likelihood
If a new (or unknown) landmark is identified, it is in-
tegrated into the map and will be used in the following
predictions and measurement updates.
In SLAM research community, a graphical model
(Bayesian network) as shown in Fig. 24.6 is often used
to illustrate the SLAM parameters’ interrelations, where
xk : machine state vector describing the location and orienta-
tion of the machine at time k
uk : control vector applied at time k − 1 to move the machine
to a state xk at time k
mi : a vector describing the location of the ith landmark
zk, i : an observation of the location of the ith landmark at
time k
The work by Smith and Cheeseman [30] was the first
achievement to provide a method to solve the probabilis-
tic SLAM problem. The method employs EKF (extended
Kalman filter) to estimate the state with a state-space model
with additive Gaussian noise. This EKF SLAM method is not
so scalable to broad applications because of its assumptions
of linearity in the machine motion models. FastSLAM is an-
other representative method which gains more applicability
since it models the machine motion in a form not bound to lin-
earity and Gaussian probability distribution, instead using re-
cursive Monte Carlo sampling (particle filtering) [31]. Other
than these two legendary methods for the probabilistic SLAM
problem, there have been many alternative methods proposed
so far. For further introduction to the various approaches, see
[32].
The core of the SLAM algorithm in general is to solve
the nonlinear simultaneous equations consisting of state pre-
diction formula and measurement prediction formula. The
uniqueness of the equation model is its inherent redundancy
which comes from the observation model where a landmark
can be observed from different states of the machine at
multiple times, as you see in the Fig. 24.6. This redundancy
is essential to make the map more accurate, and further it
works as a catalyst to mitigate the risk of errors accumulated
in iteration of the state transitions which is a Markov process.
Another uniqueness of the model resides in the fact that
a relative location between landmarks is also observed from
different states of the machine at multiple times. Although
Fig. 24.6 does not show geographical topology, you can see
the situation that the machine at the state xk observes mi
and mi+1 from its location at time k, and it then observes
572 K. Funaki

xk–1 xk xk+1 xk+2

uk uk+1 uk+2

Zk–1,i Zk,i Zk+1,i

Zk,i+1 Zk+1,i+1 Zk+2,i+1

mi mi+1

Fig. 24.6 Graphical model of SLAM parameters

them again at time k + 1. Since the relative relationship

between the two observed landmarks is independent of the Scan matching Graph optimization
Odometry Pose graph
coordinate system the machine uses, estimation of the rel- (Front end) (Back end) Map
Sensor
ative location of the landmarks becomes “sharp,” as the data
machine moves, with the knowledge accumulated through Pose
Loop closing
multiple observations of the same relative location. For a (Off-line)
graph
linear Gaussian case, it was proved that the correlations
between landmark estimates increase monotonically as the
number of observations increases [33]. For further concrete Fig. 24.7 LiDAR SLAM framework
mathematical descriptions, you can refer to [34, 35].

cloud with closest-point rule and (2) estimate the machine

Types of SLAM Implementation
As seen in the Sect. 24.6.1, there are various types of sensor
data to be used for SLAM depending on individual cases and,
conversely, SLAM implementation is dependent on input
data coming from the sensors. As the major type of sensors
are largely divided into LiDAR and camera (visual sensor),
the type of SLAM implementation can be categorized into
LiDAR SLAM and visual SLAM as well.
LiDAR SLAM is a mode of implementation using 2D or
3D mapping with laser scanners where scan matching ap-
proach plays a key role. The most classical but performance-
proven method for point cloud matching and registration is
ICP (iterative closest point) algorithm [36, 37]. The funda-
mental framework of ICP is to iterate the two steps until
convergence: (1) find point correspondences between the cur-
rently scanned point cloud and the previously scanned point
location with the assumption of the point correspondences.
Following the scan matching, the history of the machine’s
state or pose graph should be adjusted to minimize the errors.
Pose graph is a graph where every node corresponds to a
machine position and a sensor measurement and an edge
between two nodes represent the spatial constraint between
the nodes. The graph optimization is done by the nonlinear
least squares method [38, 39].
The overall framework of the LiDAR SLAM with graph
optimization is shown in Fig. 24.7 which has three elements:
(1) front end for odometry (graph construction) mainly by
scan matching, (2) back end for pose graph optimization by
the nonlinear optimization, and (3) closed-loop detection and
adjustment. A typical example of the pose graphs generated
by the front-end and the back-end processes can be seen in
[39].
24 Product Automation and Innovation
Visual SLAM is the SLAM performed with sequential
images captured by visual sensors (cameras) mounted on the
autonomous mobile machine. The algorithm of the visual
SLAM is divided into the two categories: feature based and
direct method.
Feature-based method is to detect and track specific fea-
tures in the image and matching them to estimate pose and
map. MonoSLAM was the first kind of the feature-based
method to estimate features and locations of the machine for
the case where single camera or monocular camera is used as
the sensor [40, 41]. MonoSLAM employed extended Kalman
filter for the estimation, thus it needs more computational
capacity as the number of features to be observed increases.
One of the most widely used approaches in the visual SLAM
category is PTAM (parallel tracking and mapping) [42]. As is
easily recognized from the name, PTAM parallelizes feature
tracking and mapping to realize fast estimation with bundle
adjustment–based SLAM. ORB-SLAM is another popular
approach in the feature-based methods, and it is applicable
to the images captured by monocular, stereo, and RGB-D
camera [43, 44].
Direct method is to use the full image information and its
pixels’ move and change, instead of features in the image, to
register two successive images. There are many derivations
and variations for various purposes: DTAM (dense tracking
and mapping) for dense mapping in a relatively small area
[45] and LSD SLAM [46] and DSO [47, 48] for large-scale
use cases.
24.6.2 Edge Intelligence
When a machine on the ground was merely an execution
entity which was always waiting for instructions provided
by someone else, all the intelligent parts were left to a high-
spec central computer. However, as the automated machines
are expected to have more autonomy and self-contained
capability to solve the problems it faces, the “edge” side
(machine) rather than “center” side (server computer) has
to be equipped with higher intelligence. The autonomous
machine has to perform the “Sense-Think-Act” routine by
itself as an “edge” with the capability of recognition, op-
timization, and decision-making. Implementation of such
an edge intelligence is always a battle against the limited
capacity of the edge such as small computing power and less
electric power supply. In this section, using a robot motion
application case, we discuss one of the recent achievements
in the edge intelligence implementation taking advantage of
both software and hardware technologies.
Needs of Edge Intelligence in Logistics
There is no room to doubt that one of the most urgently
needed areas for unmanned operation is logistics. One can
573
easily list various reasons for such demand: shortage of truck
drivers, harsh work environment, skyrocketing expansion of
EC (electronic commerce), saving energy for lighting and air
conditioning for human workers, etc. Among them, ware-
house automation is the hottest topic recently due to increas- 24
ing demand for further efficiency as well as the economy of
scale. Actually, we are getting to see real practices of almost
unmanned warehouse. CB Insights reports that JD.com, a
China-based retailer, launched a 100,000 square foot smart
warehouse sorting up to 16,000 packages per hour with just
four human employees in 2018 where all the available digital
technologies including AI, robotics, and image scanners are
introduced [49].
Among various warehouse operations, the most frequent
but the most difficult task to automate is object picking. As an
evidence for it, even the world-class EC and logistics giant,
Amazon, calls for global excellence in picking automation
through a contest-type event called “Amazon Picking Chal-
lenge” [50]. The difficulty in this challenge resides not only
in technological reasons but also in economic factors. Since
warehouse operation is less profitable in general and asset
heavy in nature, therefore, even in automation investment,
there is a strong pressure to squeeze both CAPEX (size of
the automation system) and OPEX (operation costs including
energy and maintenance costs). Accordingly, a robot intro-
duced to warehouse must be lighter as much as possible
in terms of physical and economical sizes. This means the
robot should be realized with cheaper devices and less energy
consumption, but with the maximum possible intelligence
subject to the configuration.
Edge Intelligence Implementation: A Case
Thanks to dedicated and extensive research efforts world-
wide, we can see some hints of potential solutions to such
difficult challenges. As an example of such a hint, the remain-
der of this section will exemplify the achievement by [51],
which is one of the recent advances in research on picking
robot intelligence for real-world application, and is also a
good example for readers to touch a real practice carried out
through combination of software and hardware technologies.
In order to make warehouse operation efficient, it is crucial
to gain throughput of each picking work since the reduction
of picking time has a direct impact on the overall productivity
being multiplied by the number of goods. However, under
limited computational resources and power supply, it is a
big challenge to realize a picking robot whose throughput
surpasses human worker’s. The main reason for the low
throughput of picking work by a robot is the long compu-
tation time required to identify objects and define its picking
motion. According to [51], a picking robot takes the follow-
ing computational steps: (1) capturing image of the target
object by a 3D visual sensor like RGB-D camera, identify
the class of the object typically by a CNN (convolutional
574
neural network); (2) estimate the object pose by ICP (iterative
closest point) algorithm; (3) identify relevant gripping points
based on the estimated object pose; and (4) plan the motion
to be taken to pick up the object. Among these steps, object
pose estimation at the step (2) is the most time-consuming
process.
The ICP algorithm for the object pose estimation is the
iterative procedure of the two processes: k-NN search using
point clouds of object model and observed data from the
sensor, and estimation of rotation matrix R and translation
vector T. The k-NN search is to find up-to-kth nearest neigh-
boring points in the point cloud of the object model for each
point of the observed scene data to identify a set of the most
corresponding points of the object model (Fig. 24.8). Due
to its numeration-dependent nature, k-NN search takes much
computation time. The resultant set of R and T from the ICP
algorithm gives the optimized transformation between the
object model and the observed scene data (Fig. 24.9).
In order to reduce the object pose estimation time, [51]
took an algorithm-level acceleration approach as well as
a hardware-level acceleration approach. For the algorithm-
level approach, a coarse-to-fine multi-resolution ICP was
employed together with their original idea of introducing
hierarchical graph [52] instead of using conventional Kd-
tree. It is well known that the multi-resolution ICP reduces
number of iterations at a latter ICP with finer resolution since
the transformation estimated at its preceding ICP with lower
Object model point cloud
k nearest points
(k=3)
Observed scene
point could
Fig. 24.8 The k-NN search operation
R, T
Object model Observed scene
Fig. 24.9 ICP algorithm framework
K. Funaki
resolution can serve as an initial guess. The introduction
of the hierarchical graph data structure has an effect to
eliminate multiple duplication of evaluations in the k-NN
search using knowledge obtained in the preceding evaluation
steps. Although details are not repeated here, the order of
computation times is reduced to O(logN) much more stable
and smaller than that of Kd-tree; O(k × logN) (see Table I in
[51]). While this approach gains much efficiency in k-NN
search itself on one hand, introduction of graph-type data
structure brought heavy computation to generate the graph
on the other, since the graph generation procedure contains
many repetitive distance calculations and sorting operations,
and requires large memory size for storing information on
neighboring points.
In [51], further acceleration by hardware was realized by
an SoC-FPGA-based ICP accelerator with the unique config-
uration as shown in Fig. 24.10. The super excellence of the
accelerator circuit is that the two operations of graph genera-
tion and k-NN search are realized by partial reconfiguration
of FPGA utilizing the inherent feature that the two operations
have a similar structure consisting of distance calculations
and sorting operations, and are not executed simultaneously.
This enabled resource-efficient execution with inexpensive
hardware. To accelerate the two operations, the distance
calculation is parallelized and the sorting is implemented
by “sorting network” [53] which is a data-flow-type circuit
effective to minimize its memory access. Operations for
estimation of rotation matrix and translation vector are imple-
mented on CPU and interact with the k-NN search operations.
Using Amazon Picking Challenge datasets of a folded T-shirt
model, the acceleration capability and energy efficiency of
the proposed ICP accelerator was confirmed successfully,
where ICP time was 0.72 s and power consumption was
4.2 W (see Table III in [51]).
24.6.3 OTA (Over-the-Air) Technology
Needs and Benefit of OTA
OTA is a mode and method of wireless delivery of software
or other content data to mobile entities. If a product be-
comes software defined and IoT connected, its configuration
and function can be changed and updated by rewriting the
software with OTA remotely. For an automated product, if
such reconfiguration and update can be made remotely, it
brings a huge impact on stakeholders’ benefit as well as
business models. Product makers can continuously upgrade
the product at a customer site at a smaller cost even after the
sales. Users can always enjoy the latest version of functions
and services through the continuously updated “Evergreen”
product without carrying it to the maker or dealer. Makers can
be connected with each customer as well as its operations on a
day-to-day basis, then there will be a driver to shift their busi-
24 Product Automation and Innovation
CPU in FPGA
Scene data
Down
sampling
current R, T
Object
model
Object model
BRAM
for
graph data
Programmable logic
SoC FPGA
Fig. 24.10 SoC-FPGA-based ICP accelerator employing partial reconfiguration © 2020 IEEE. (Reprinted, with permission, from Kosuge et al.
(2020))
ness model from “One time make & sell” model to “Continu-
ous engagement” model for each customer’s whole lifecycle.
A user of an OTA-enabled automated product can more focus
on its outcome rather than its maintenance and renewal costs,
and will be more interested in its performance rather than its
ownership. In this sense, OTA can be a key infrastructure for
the “product” subscription economy. Actually, Tesla recently
announced its plan to introduce a subscription model to the
self-driving function which is to be mounted on Tesla cars by
the end of 2020 [54]. In addition to these immediate impacts,
both makers and users can mitigate potential risk of incidents
or threat of cyberattacks. Furthermore, if a maker is allowed
to monitor the machines or devices at customers’ sites, a
proactive service fully personalized to the customer can be
offered in a timely manner.
Technical Challenges
Although remote update of software and contents has been
put into practice for consumer electronics products like smart
phones and Internet TVs, OTA function for automated ma-
chines, in many cases, is required to provide more secure,
safer, and more stable quality in sending and update. In a
consumer electronics product case, for instance, users can
wait for some time during the update of their smart devices,
and even can afford to accept a possible failure in the up-
date and to redo it. However, as for automated machines
which often have their “important” missions to complete,
they cannot be interrupted by such a time-consuming or
a failed update. Especially for a machine which is always
exposed to risk of accident and other critical situations such
as autonomous vehicles and industrial robots, any errors and
575
No
Update Term.
24
R, T
criterion
est.
of data
Graph k-NN search k-NN search
Graph generator Generator
Storing circuit
configuration
Storage
failures in update must be avoided. With this in mind, OTA
for product automation has to satisfy the demand for quick
and secured update.
OTA Implementation: A Case
To explain the technologies required to implement OTA,
a case for autonomous vehicle would be a good example
since autonomous vehicle is anticipated to be the most safe
and secure machine. At the moment the author is writing
this manuscript, possible target components of OTA for au-
tonomous vehicle include vehicle control ECUs (electronic
control units)) for ADAS (advanced driver assistance sys-
tems) or AD (autonomous driving) and engine, infotainment
ECUs for IVI (in-vehicle infotainment) and TCU (telematics
control unit), and other parts like doors, mirrors, and cockpit
displays.
A typical structure of OTA system is illustrated in
Fig. 24.11 [55]. The system is composed of OTA center
which generates, manages, and distributes software data
for update, and the target vehicle which is equipped with
necessary components including IVI components, TCUs,
gateways, and ECUs. The gateway works as a router for the
onboard communication across different network domains
in the vehicle on one hand, and as a guardian to maintain
the security within the vehicle by monitoring its internal
communications on the other (onboard communication
security).
In order to meet the forementioned demand for quick and
secured update, the OTA system should be equipped with the
two capabilities: differential update and centralized security
management at the gateway.
576
OTA center
Vehicle Software
configuration management
IVI
OTA client
New version Old version
Generate differential data TCU
OTA client
Encrypt and signing
Secure distribution
Fig. 24.11 OTA system structure. (Courtesy of Hitachi Ltd.)
Differential Update
To minimize the amount of update information, OTA system
employs “Differential update” approach. In this approach,
when a new software is ready for release, only the different
portion from the old software is sent for update. Firstly, at
the OTA center, difference between the new software content
and the old one installed at each vehicle is evaluated, and
then the differential portion is packaged and sent to the
corresponding vehicle. This process can be implemented in
a way that the new and old programs are divided into some
blocks according to erase block of a Flash ROM and each
block of the new program is compared with the correspond-
ing block of the old one to extract differential data in each
block. Once the vehicle receives the differential data at its
gateway with security check, it is transferred to the target
ECU where the update operation is applied to build the
new software replacing the old one already installed. This
approach makes all the update processes lean with less use of
memory.
As for update information, there are two types of software
data: script and compiled code. Script is an instruction or
a set of rules to be applied to operations executed by the
other program. While script can be easily updated by simple
editing since no compilation is needed, it consumes more
CPU and memory resources than the update of compiled
code, which, in contrast, needs less resources, but takes more
steps to update since compiling operation is needed to update
the program. Exploiting the fact that compiled code is mainly
for key operations with less frequent update such as machine
learning and statistical computations and that script is just
for simple comparisons and function calls but is subject to
frequent change, the best mix and allocation of script and
K. Funaki
Vehicle
Gateway
OTA client Engine ECU
Decrypt and AD ECU
verify signature
Differential
ECU update update
control
Fault
recovery
Fault recovery
management
compiled codes can be designed to reduce overall update time
as well as resource use.
Security Management at the Gateway
Since gateway is a router for the onboard communication
network and a guardian of the internal system security, the
gateway should manage the security related to the software
update to maintain the functional safety and security. OTA
update control function is installed in the gateway to execute
various protection functions against the internal and external
threats to the vehicle, which include filtering of unauthorized
communications, secure boot to detect unauthorized attempts
to overwrite software, device authentication to prevent unau-
thorized connection, message authentication to verify its
validity, and finally countermeasures against DoS (denial-
of-service) attacks [55]. As a basis for this security con-
trol, encryption key management for verification of various
communications between the OTA center and the vehicle
as well as within the onboard network is essential and the
gateway plays a central role in both generating a key and its
distribution to the onboard devices.
24.6.4 Anomaly Detection
Needs and Benefit of Anomaly Detection
A user or a beneficiary of an automated product is always
anticipating that the product operates continuously to com-
plete the task. In many cases, the user or the beneficiary is not
the owner of the product, and the owner has to take care of
the product so as to keep the product working. Conventional
practice for such a caretaking job is a combination of on-site
24 Product Automation and Innovation
inspection and preventive maintenance. In order to avoid
interrupting the product operations, such inspections and
maintenance works are planned and executed on a periodical
schedule basis. This scheme always faces dilemma between
overmaintenance and risk of a sudden failure, but both users
and owners have been accepting the scheme as it is.
Recently, thanks to advances in sensors and IoT infras-
tructure as well as analytics technologies, a product can
collect its condition data and transmit it to a remote site
with millisecond-order cycles, and parallelly distributed data
processing technologies like Hadoop can find insights about
the product’s conditions based on the huge data coming from
the product on a real-time basis.
If an automated machine can avoid sudden failures and
unplanned stops by detecting symptoms that imply potential
malfunction and deterioration in advance without waiting for
a periodical inspection, both users and owners can gain much
benefit being freed from the burden of periodical inspections
and maintenance works as well as the dilemma of overmain-
tenance and risk of a sudden failure. Anomaly detection is
the core technique to realize this approach. Although it is
not specific to automated products, but it is super helpful in
unmanned situations. Anomaly is a phenomenon or a pattern
captured in the data which does not conform to a normal
situation or operation. Anomaly detection is a general term to
describe a category of methods to detect anomalous behavior
of data which is different from the behavior of the data
under normal situations. Basic idea of anomaly detection is
to define and identify anomaly against the normal, instead of
modeling a set of anomaly situations directly.
Anomaly Detection Methods
Basically, anomaly detection has the two stages: training
and detection. At the training stage, it is a model of normal
conditions using the best knowledge about normal data where
the actual method depends on the available data and appli-
cations. At the detection stage, observed data is compared
with the normal model to detect anomalies using anomaly
measures which are predefined according to the anomaly
detection method employed. In an actual implementation, all
the aspects of anomaly detection ranging from selection of
relevant dataset to consistent use of data and selection of
an appropriate method require domain knowledge to make
it successful.
Since research on anomaly detection originated in data
mining area with many applications such as cyberattack de-
tection, anti-money laundering, fraud detection, cardiogram
analysis, and condition monitoring of machines, there have
been many varieties of methods proposed so far [56, 57].
Accordingly, there are many ways to categorize the meth-
ods. From a target anomaly data perspective, they can be
categorized by mode of anomaly data representation. Point
anomaly detection is to detect an individual data instance
577
which is anomalous. Contextual anomaly detection is to
identify anomalous situation based on a context behind such
as trend or seasonality and detect an individual data instance
that deviates from the context. Collective anomaly detection
is to detect an anomalous collection of related data instances 24
such as an anomalous subsequence in a time series dataset.
If we look at techniques used in detecting anomalous
data, we can categorize anomaly detection methods by de-
tection approach. Rule learning approach is to detect anoma-
lous data when the data does not follow the rule which is
identified through learning using normal dataset. Regression
approach is to detect anomalous data based on deviation
from a regression equation of normal dataset. Clustering
approach is to make groups (clusters) of similar data from
the normal dataset and identify data that does not belong
to any of the clusters as anomalous. Classification approach
is to judge if a data is normal or anomalous using prede-
fined classification model. Classification approach is further
subcategorized into three types according to classification
modeling: supervised, semi-supervised, and unsupervised
anomaly detection. Supervised anomaly detection needs both
normal- and anomaly-labeled dataset and build a classifier
to distinguish between normal and anomaly classes. Semi-
supervised anomaly detection is based only on normal model
made from normal-labeled dataset to detect and identify de-
viated data from normal model as anomalous. Unsupervised
anomaly detection is, with the assumption that most of the
data instances are normal, to detect rare data that does not fit
the normal dataset. Finally, nearest neighbor approach is to
detect anomalous data when it is far from the other data based
on the assumption that normal data is neighboring each other.
In the remainder of this section, we show an application
case of point anomaly detection with nearest neighbor ap-
proach in monitoring an automated machine remotely.
Anomaly Detection Implementation: A Case
In this case, the target machine operates automatically in an
unmanned mode. The condition monitoring system for the
machine is composed of rule setting subsystem and anomaly
detection subsystem (Fig. 24.12). The rule setting subsystem
is to generate a normal data model and set rules to be used
in anomaly detection through learning from the training
data. The rule setting can be off-line. The anomaly detection
subsystem receives sensor data and other event signals online
to detect anomalous situation using the rules provided by
the rule setting subsystem. Sensor data from the machine
includes temperature, pressure, voltage, and other physical
or electrical condition data. Event signal is transmitted upon
operational events such as start, stop, standby, and others by
which one can recognize the operational status. Sensor data
and event signals are synchronized.
Anomaly detection rules are logically organized by a de-
cision tree composed of hierarchical if-then branches which
578 K. Funaki

Rule setting Anomaly detection

Training Normal Decision Data Detection

data model tree analysis & alarm

Sensor Event
data signals

Automated machine

Fig. 24.12 Condition monitoring system

Sensor 1 Measure of abnormality = Distance d Cluster

Subspace (group of similar data)
Sensor 1
Sensor N q: Diagnosis data
Sensor N
b: Closest point

Degree of abnormality
k: Proximity training data = Distance d Diagnosis
Sensor 2 Normal data data
Sensor 2

Fig. 24.13 Anomaly detection by LSC. (Courtesy of Hitachi Ltd.)

Fig. 24.14 Anomaly detection by VQC. (Courtesy of Hitachi Ltd.)

are set by key parameters with threshold values. In order

to construct the decision tree, the rule setting subsystem
performs learning process using a training data generated
from normal-labeled data extracted from the historical sensor
data. Anomaly situation of the machine can be detected by an
anomalous data instance from the sensors, and the anomaly
measure is distance from the normal datasets. In this case, as
an algorithm to build a normal model used for the anomaly
detection, either of LSC (local subspace classifier) or VQC
(vector quantization clustering) algorithm is employed. LSC
is to set anomaly measure as a projection distance to an
affine subspace defined by unknown pattern of k-NN data
points (Fig. 24.13). VQC measures distance between the
observed data and clusters of normal data to detect anomaly
(Fig. 24.14). Both LSC and VQC are distribution free, model
free, and nonparametric methods which are widely applica-
ble to point anomaly detection. In some actual cases, it is
reported that a symptom for the future potential failure was
successfully detected several days ahead of the actual failure
occurrence [58].
24.7 Product and Service Lifecycle
Management in the IoT Age
Roles of product and service are changing in the IoT age.
Lastly, we treat this topic from management perspective.
24.7.1 Management Model in the
Experience-Value Economy
As the experience-value economy spreads, product makers
have to master capability to deliver experience to customers.
An automated product at customer site is not a precious
thing anymore and becomes a vehicle to deliver valuable
experience to the customer with the outcome made by its
performance. Making the product software defined and IoT
connected, the experience delivery will be promoted. As we
discussed in the Sect. 24.6.3, OTA adds further capability to
24 Product Automation and Innovation 579

Continuous Make Own Use Experience Business model

engagement model
Deliver Product & service Service design for
Share
Update/upgrade
engineering
Architect
experience 24
High-performance computing & data processing
One time
Make Own Use Experience
make & sell model

Sell Continuous Continuous

Fig. 24.15 From “One time make & sell” to “Continuous engagement”
update the software-defined product remotely and to upgrade
the experience delivered to the customer. Since the value
offering point will shift from product supply to experience
delivery as we saw in the case of Kaeser Kompressoren,
conventional “One time make & sell” business model will
be replaced with “Continuous engagement” business model,
where the product maker owns and uses the product to deliver
valuable experience to the customer (Fig. 24.15).
In the “Continuous engagement” model, conventional
PLM (product lifecycle management) is not sufficient
to manage the whole business cycle since the PLM
concept and methods are basically established from a
product management point of view. By the “Continuous
engagement,” the maker is expected to deliver experience
as a service throughout the customer’s lifecycle. As
the customer’s life stage progresses, the product, as a
service vehicle, has to be updated to upgrade the customer
experience. In order to establish management system for the
“Continuous engagement” model, both the product lifecycle
and customer experience lifecycle should be considered and
combined by the continuous reinvention cycle of getting
continuous feedback from the customer and reflecting the
feedback on continuous learning to update the product
(and service) for the next stage of customer experience
(Fig. 24.16). Key functions necessary to handle such three
cycles are product and service engineering, service design
for experience, and relevant business model, all of which
must be supported by high-performance computing and data
processing infrastructure since huge amount of data would
be exchanged between customers and the maker, and various
digital engineering software would run for rapid product
and service engineering. An architect must be assigned as a
central hub to orchestrate those key functions, and its role
is essential to let the whole product and service lifecycle
management work. Hardware engineers and software
engineers together with customer engagement team must
work together, and ICT infrastructure team must support their
continuous reinvention work with iterative cycle of analysis,
design, testing, and updating by preparing ICT infrastructure
learning Continuous feedback
re-invention
cycle
Product
Continuous
update Experience
lifecycle
lifecycle
Make Own Use Experience
Experience
Reuse Recycle Experience
Fig. 24.16 Management model for the “Continuous engagement”
with capability of high-performance computing with massive
data handling and ultrafast communications.
Recently, Clatworthy [59] showed organizational require-
ments and strategy to make a company experience centric.
Although transformation to the experience-centric organiza-
tion is a difficult journey with challenges to the conventional
institutional logics, continuous feedback and learning prac-
tice would be a driver to accelerate such a transformation.
While we are still on the way to find rationale and to
establish a justified framework for the product and service
lifecycle management with formal definition and proven
good practices, we can show some related research streams
and achievements which would give theoretical and practical
background to establish the new management model.
24.7.2 PSS (Product-Service System)
Discussions
As the manufacturing industry realized that the value origin
had been shifting from product to service, experts both re-
searchers and practitioners initiated the discussion on new
business models and systematic frameworks to deliver sus-
tainable values through combination of products and ser-
vices. The concept of PSS (product-service system) was
proposed in 1999 and the term was introduced by [60],
where it is defined such that “A Product Service system
(PS system, or product service combination) is a marketable
set of products and services, jointly capable of fulfilling
580
a client’s need.” The original concept of PSS was rather
broad and covered not only capability to keep sustainable
relationship between companies and customers but also hints
for governments on policymaking concerning sustainable
production and consumption patterns. Following the original
definition and adding further discussion, Mont [61, p. 71]
provided a more formal definition of PSS: “A system of
products, services, infrastructure, and support networks that
continually strive to be competitive, satisfy customer needs,
and result in a lower environmental impact than traditional
business models.” It can be said that PSS needs comprehen-
sive processes of planning, development, implementation,
and operation of the system composed of product and ser-
vice to meet its goal. It is also naturally seen that actual
implementation of PSS depends on the business model the
company employs. Tukker et al. [62] categorized the PSS
implementation into the three types: product oriented, use
oriented, and result oriented. The product-oriented PSS is
for traditional sale of product embracing some additional
service, and the use-oriented PSS is for sale of the use or
availability of a product to customers in various forms such
as leasing or sharing. While the product-oriented and the use-
oriented PPSs correspond to the conventional service busi-
ness models, the result-oriented PSS is an advanced model
that fits the experience-value economy, which is for sale of
the result, function, or capability of a product to customers,
while the company holds the ownership of the product.
Although the PSS is not specifically focusing on auto-
mated products, software-defined and IoT-connected auto-
matic products will amplify benefits of PSS by enabling
the whole system to continuously adjust and redirect the
improvement of product and service so as to optimize the
customer’s experience. As for the benefit of PSS, Nemoto
et al. [63] categorized the values delivered by PSS into the
seven types: performance improvement, cost reduction, com-
fort and simplicity, convenience, risk reduction, emotional
experience, and eco-friendliness.
24.7.3 How to Realize Valuable Customer
Experience
Once the automated product becomes merely a vehicle to de-
liver experience to its customer, competitiveness of a business
comes from its capability to make the customer experience
valuable. Interestingly, in the past discussions on customer
experience, there seem to be two perspectives on how to
plot to deliver customer experience: one is that experience
design should be an essential business art [27], and the
other that customer experience is not designed but cocreated
through interactions between customer and service elements
[64]. Although we do not intend to discuss their pros and
cons and whether right or wrong between the two perspec-
K. Funaki
tives, approach to realize relevant customer experience may
change according to relationship with customer and level
of dominance over customer experience. Experience at an
amusement park or a restaurant, for example, should be well
designed since the guests are fully immersed in the world pre-
pared by the amusement park or the restaurant. Automation
of the rides at the amusement park has to be designed and
built so as to deliver the designed experience. On the contrary,
in our daily life, people’s perception of services depends
on the context the person holds behind. One may expect an
energy-efficient performance by an automatic home cleaner,
but the other may prefer its powerful cleaning capability. In
an industry case, an automated assembly machine installed
at a production line is expected to deliver the performance to
keep the target throughput that the customer (ex factory man-
ager) sets according to the factory’s goal. In these situations,
customer experience is cocreated by the automated product
and the customer. In this context, customer experience cannot
be designed solely by the product and service provider, but
instead service should be designed with the assessment of
how each service element influences the customer experience
[64]. In this chapter, we take this idea as shown in the
Fig. 24.16.
In designing service with the aim to make customer ex-
perience better, hypothetical model about customer expe-
rience is necessary as a fundamental input. Teixeira et al.
[64] proposed a model-based method called CEM (customer
experience modeling), which employs HAM (human activity
modeling) with participation map [65] to describe relations
among stakeholders and related entities, and MSD (multi-
level service design) method [66] to identify the structure of
customer experience. By the MSD method, service designer
can gain whole view of customer experience structure con-
sisting of the service concept with target area of customer
experience described by customer value constellation map,
and service system architecture with definition of service
encounters (or customer touch points) in the system.
Once service is designed, it must be integrated with prod-
ucts which realizes service elements. Product and service
engineering identifies necessary functions realized by the
product and their specifications with supporting technolo-
gies. Well-known methods like QFD (quality function de-
ployment) and MRP (manufacturing resource planning) for
product design and manufacturing can be applied to identify
necessary functional components in product and service en-
gineering. Kimita et al. [67] proposed a unique method to
explore and identify newly necessary technologies to meet
customer needs, which can map relevant technologies as-
sociated with the customer needs. In general, the product
and service are realized by combination of hardware and
software. Some software must be embedded in hardware, and
even more it is sometimes built on a silicon device, to achieve
the best performance to yield valuable customer experience
24 Product Automation and Innovation
with a cost target. It makes design of product and service
complicated and thus difficult to review and reuse for poten-
tial revision and update for customer experience upgrade in
the future. To avoid such complexity and enable easier review
and reuse, MBD (model-based design or model-based devel-
opment) and MBSE (model-based systems engineering) is
widely introduced to let designers and engineers with various
different disciplines have a common understanding and view
of the product and service system under development.
In order to continuously align the service contents and
product performance with the latest customer demand, feed-
back of customer experience is essential. Experience feed-
back is a knowledge management for continuous positive
loop for a company [68]. By obtaining such a feedback
from customer, service designers and product engineers can
reflect lessons learned in the next version of the product and
service which may be immediately delivered to the customer
remotely and automatically by OTA.
24.7.4 Business Model Making
In the experience-value economy, customers pay for value
obtained through experience, not for acquisition of a product.
As stated in the Sect. 24.7.1, product makers have to shift
their business models from “One time make & sell” model
to “Continuous engagement” model to be successful in the
experience-value economy.
The most fit business model for the “Continuous engage-
ment” is subscription model [69]. The subscription model
requires a company to change its mindset and transform all
the processes and systems shifting from product centric to
customer centric. Not only change in operations, but also
change in financial system is crucial to make the subscription
business successful. Instead of the conventional result-based
financial status reports, the financial statement for subscrip-
tion business shows how the revenue and profit will look like
in the future based on the prospect of recurring revenue and
churn rate. The success of the “Continuous engagement” is
measured by recurring revenue like ARR (annual recurring
revenue)) and the risk of losing customers due to discrepancy
between customer’s expectation and actual experience is
measured by churn rate. It is also obvious that the legacy IT
system architecture does not work in the subscription model
[69]. Ideal IT system for subscription business is totally
customer centric and can update the service contents as well
as pricing on a minute-order cycle basis.
By taking the discussion on the customer-centric mindset
a step further, a concept of customer success was introduced
by Mehta et al. [70], where the customer success is defined
as a composite of the three concepts of an organization, a
discipline, and a philosophy to concentrate all the efforts
into the goal of maximizing retention and long-term value by
581
focusing on the customer experience. It is also backed by the
ten laws for practice of customer success, among which the
Law 4 “Relentlessly monitor and manage customer health” is
the most essential for the “Continuous engagement” and the
most enabled by the service with software-defined and IoT- 24
connected product automation. Recently many companies
assign a CSM (customer success manager)) and put the
concept into practice.
As a method to design a new business model, Business
Model Canvas is a well-known and the most prevailing tool
[71]. The Business Model Canvas is a template to concep-
tualize and describe a business model with logical structure
of the building blocks covering customer, value propositions,
infrastructure, and finance. The Business Model Canvas is
a one-page sheet whose right portion is about customer
and composed of building blocks of customer segments,
customer relationships, and channels. The left portion is
infrastructure related and has building blocks of key activities
and key resources as well as key partners. Placing the value
propositions building block in the middle, user can confirm
consistency between target customer and key infrastructure
to realize the proposed values. Building blocks of cost struc-
ture and revenue streams are described at the bottom of
the canvas, which provide user with information to check
the financial requirements and feasibility of the business.
Although the Business Model Canvas is a logical and well-
visualized tool, it does not contain dynamics and temporal
properties of the business model. In ordinary practices, the
business model conceptualized by the Business Model Can-
vas is translated into a business model diagram including
flows of information and money among the stakeholders so
as to understand and simulate overall dynamics of the model
to confirm its feasibility and effectiveness.
24.8 Conclusion and Next Topics
In this chapter, we provided overview of modern product
automation and innovations with the recent business trends
and orientation which drive needs for software-defined and
IoT-connected product automation. The feature of the mod-
ern automation resides in autonomous and intelligent prop-
erties with cognitive capability and connectivity. As the key
technologies to realize the feature of the modern automation,
localization, and mapping, edge intelligence, OTA (over the
air), and anomaly detection were shown with some imple-
mentation cases. We used the last part of the chapter to
supplement management perspective with the view on how
the experience-value economy drives transformation of the
business model of product automation from “One time make
& sell” model to “Continuous engagement” model, and how
it influences product and service lifecycle management. Al-
though we focused on autonomous and intelligent properties
582
of automation in the chapter, foundations of automation are
made with mechatronic components and control systems as
ever. For those foundations and practical guidance, you can
refer to [72].
As the automated products with autonomous intelligence
and mobility spread in society, it poses new agenda for
the next generation industry and people’s life. Security and
safety issue is one on the immediate agenda, which includes
protection of the products from malicious attacks, preven-
tion of unintended dangerous behavior harmful to people
and society, authentication of access to and communications
between products, and backup and recovery system in case
of emergency.
Management and control of fleets of multi-vendor prod-
ucts which operate and move in public space is another
issue. Not only how to do it but who should do it is still
an open question. It must be product-maker agnostic and
society reliable. Its mission ranges from local conflict and
collision avoidance to totally efficient and effective opera-
tions as a piece of whole societal system. Currently, fleet
management service for automated products is provided by
the corresponding maker of the products vertically. In order
to manage and control fleets of products which are operating
in a common public space and made by various makers, some
horizontal player who can consider public interest and total
optimization should be necessary.
With those in mind, ethics and compliance issue is an
essential and fundamental topic to be discussed. Although it
is not only about technology but also social acceptability as
well as legal matters, technologies to promote alignment with
social common sense and public good, such as explainable
automation and emotionally understandable interaction, are
expected.
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between 2008 and 2009.
 Process Automation
25
Juergen Hahn and B. Wayne Bequette

Contents instrumentation. Process automation as practiced in the

25.1 Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 585 process industries has undergone significant changes
since it was first introduced a century ago. Perhaps
25.2 Enterprise View of Process Automation . . . . . . . . . . . 586
25.2.1 Measurement and Actuation (Level 1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 586 the most significant influence on the changes in
25.2.2 Safety and Environmental/Equipment process control technology has been the introduction
Protection (Level 2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 586 of inexpensive digital computers and instruments with
25.2.3 Regulatory Control (Level 3a) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 586 greater capabilities than their analog predecessors. During
25.2.4 Multivariable and Constraint Control (Level 3b) . . . . . . 586
25.2.5 Real-Time Optimization (Level 4) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 587 the past decade, the increasing availability of low-cost,
25.2.6 Planning and Scheduling (Level 5) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 587 yet “smart,” sensors and actuators, has ushered in an era
of “smart manufacturing,” and a greater integration of the
25.3 Process Dynamics and Mathematical Models . . . . . . . 587
supply and product chains with manufacturing facilities.
25.4 Regulatory Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 589
25.4.1 Sensors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 589
25.4.2 Control Valves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 590 Keywords
25.4.3 Controllers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 590
25.4.4 PID Enhancements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 590 Control valve · Model predictive control · International
25.5 Control System Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 590 Standard Organization · Control system design · Process
25.5.1 Multivariable Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 591 analytical technology · Smart manufacturing
25.6 Batch Process Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 593
25.7 Automation and Process Safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 597
25.8 Emerging Trends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 598 25.1 Overview
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 600
Large-scale chemical manufacturing processes began to
evolve in the late nineteenth century, with prime examples of
sulfuric acid and soda ash production [1]. For many decades
Abstract
these processes were operated using manual measurements
The field of process automation is concerned with and adjustments. By around 1917, simple temperature
the analysis of dynamic behavior of chemical pro- feedback control systems, which were largely on-off
cesses, design of automatic controllers, and associated controllers, came into use, with the notion of proportional
and proportional-integral control evolving through the 1930s,
and with the first proportional-integral-derivative controller
J. Hahn () commercially available in 1939 [2].
Department of Biomedical Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic
In this chapter, we first provide an overview of the hierar-
Institute, Troy, NY, USA
chical control structure for chemical processes, then review
Department of Chemical & Biological Engineering, Rensselaer process dynamics and mathematical models. Basic regu-
Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY, USA
e-mail: hahnj@rpi.edu latory controllers are followed by control system design,
including multivariable control and model predictive control,
B. W. Bequette ()
Department of Chemical & Biological Engineering, Rensselaer largely to enforce constraints. The batch processes that dom-
Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY, USA inate the pharmaceutical, food, and semiconductor device
e-mail: bequette@rpi.edu industries are covered in a separate section. Safety should be

© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 585

S. Y. Nof (ed.), Springer Handbook of Automation, Springer Handbooks,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-96729-1_25
586 J. Hahn and B. W. Bequette

the highest priority in any manufacturing process, so safety

instrumented systems (SIS) are discussed. Finally, we assess Demand forecasting,
5. Planning and supply chain management,
emerging trends of smart manufacturing and understanding (Days–months)
scheduling raw materials and product
the importance of the human-in-the-loop. planning/scheduling
Plant-wide and individual
4. Real-time unit real-time optimization,
(Hours–days) parameter estimation,
25.2 Enterprise View of Process optimization
supervisory control, data
Automation reconcilation

3b. Multivariable
Multivariable control,
Process automation is used in order to maximize production (Minutes–hours) and constraint model predictive control
while maintaining a desired level of product quality and control
safety and making the process more economical. Because
PID control, advanced
these goals apply to a variety of industries, process control 3a. Regulatory control techniques,
systems are used in facilities for the production of chemicals, (Seconds–minutes)
control control loop performance
pulp and paper, metals, food, and pharmaceuticals. While the monitoring
methods of production vary from industry to industry, the
2. Safety,
principles of automatic control are generic in nature and can
environmental/ Alarm management,
be universally applied, regardless of the size of the plant. (< 1 second)
equipment emergency shutdown
In Fig. 25.1, the process automation activities are orga- protection
nized in the form of a hierarchy with required functions at
the lower levels and desirable functions at the higher levels.
1. Measurement Sensor and actuator
The time scale for each activity is shown on the left side of (< 1 second)
and actuation validation, limit checking
Fig. 25.1. Note that the frequency of execution is much lower
for the higher-level functions.
Process

25.2.1 Measurement and Actuation (Level 1)

Measurement devices (sensors and transmitters) and actua-
tion equipment (for example, control valves) are used to mea-
sure process variables and implement the calculated control
actions. These devices are interfaced to the control system,
usually digital control equipment such as a digital computer.
Clearly, the measurement and actuation functions are an
indispensable part of any control system.
25.2.2 Safety and Environmental/Equipment
Protection (Level 2)
The level 2 functions play a critical role by ensuring that
the process is operating safely and satisfies environmental
regulations. Process safety relies on the principle of multiple
protection layers that involve groupings of equipment and
human actions. One layer includes process control functions,
such as alarm management during abnormal situations, and
safety instrumented systems for emergency shutdowns. The
safety equipment (including sensors and control valves) op-
erates independently of the regular instrumentation used for
regulatory control in level 3a. Sensor validation techniques
can be employed to confirm that the sensors are functioning
properly.
Fig. 25.1 The five levels of process control and optimization in man-
ufacturing. Time scales are shown for each level [3]
25.2.3 Regulatory Control (Level 3a)
Successful operation of a process requires that key process
variables such as flow rates, temperatures, pressures, and
compositions be operated at, or close to, their set points. This
level 3a activity, regulatory control, is achieved by applying
standard feedback and feedforward control techniques. If the
standard control techniques are not satisfactory, a variety of
advanced control techniques are available. In recent years,
there has been increased interest in monitoring control sys-
tem performance.
25.2.4 Multivariable and Constraint Control
(Level 3b)
Many difficult process control problems have two distin-
guishing characteristics: (1) significant interactions occur
among key process variables and (2) inequality constraints
exist for manipulated and controlled variables. The inequality
constraints include upper and lower limits; for example,
25 Process Automation
each manipulated flow rate has an upper limit determined
by the pump and control valve characteristics. The lower
limit may be zero or a small positive value based on safety
considerations. Limits on controlled variables reflect equip-
ment constraints (for example, metallurgical limits) and the
operating objectives for the process; for example, a reactor
temperature may have an upper limit to avoid undesired side
reactions or catalyst degradation, and a lower limit to ensure
that the reaction(s) proceed.
The ability to operate a process close to a limiting con-
straint is an important objective for advanced process con-
trol. For many industrial processes, the optimum operating
condition occurs at a constraint limit, for example, the maxi-
mum allowed impurity level in a product stream. For these
situations, the set point should not be the constraint value
because a process disturbance could force the controlled
variable beyond the limit. Thus, the set point should be set
conservatively, based on the ability of the control system to
reduce the effects of disturbances.
The standard process control techniques of level 3a may
not be adequate for difficult control problems that have
serious process interactions and inequality constraints. For
these situations, the advanced control techniques of level
3b, multivariable control and constraint control, should be
considered. In particular, the model predictive control (MPC)
strategy was developed to deal with both process interactions
and inequality constraints.
25.2.5 Real-Time Optimization (Level 4)
The optimum operating conditions for a plant are determined
as part of the process design, but during plant operations,
the optimum conditions can change frequently owing to
changes in equipment availability, process disturbances, and
economic conditions (for example, raw materials costs and
product prices). Consequently, it can be very profitable to
recalculate the optimum operating conditions on a regular
basis. The new optimum conditions are then implemented as
set points for controlled variables.
Real-time optimization (RTO) calculations are based on
a steady-state model of the plant and economic data such
as costs and product values. A typical objective for the
optimization is to minimize operating cost or maximize the
operating profit. The RTO calculations can be performed for
a single process unit and/or on a plant-wide basis.
The level 4 activities also include data analysis to ensure
that the process model used in the RTO calculations is ac-
curate for the current conditions. Thus, data reconciliation
techniques can be used to ensure that steady-state mass and
energy balances are satisfied. Also, the process model can
be updated using parameter estimation techniques and recent
plant data.
587
25.2.6 Planning and Scheduling (Level 5)
The highest level of the process control hierarchy is con-
cerned with planning and scheduling operations for the entire
plant. For continuous processes, the production rates of all
products and intermediates must be planned and coordinated,
based on equipment constraints, storage capacity, sales pro-
jections, and the operation of other plants, sometimes on a
25
global basis. For the intermittent operation of batch and semi-
batch processes, the production control problem becomes a
batch scheduling problem based on similar considerations.
Thus, planning and scheduling activities pose large-scale
optimization problems that are based on both engineering
considerations and business projections.
The activities of levels 1–3a in Fig. 25.1 are required
for all manufacturing plants, while the activities in levels
3b–5 are optional but can be very profitable. The decision
to implement one or more of these higher-level activities
depends very much on the application and the company.
The decision hinges strongly on economic considerations
(for example, a cost-benefit analysis), and company priorities
for their limited resources, both human and financial. The
immediacy of the activity decreases from level 1 to level
5 in the hierarchy. However, the amount of analysis and
the computational requirements increase from the lowest to
the highest level. The process control activities at different
levels should be carefully coordinated and require infor-
mation transfer from one level to the next. The successful
implementation of these process control activities is a critical
factor in making plant operation as profitable as possible.
25.3 Process Dynamics and Mathematical
Models
Development of dynamic models forms a key component for
process automation, as controller design and tuning is often
performed by using a mathematical representation of the
process. A model can be derived either from first principles
knowledge about the system or from past plant data. Once
a dynamic model has been developed, it can be solved for
a variety of conditions that include changes in the input
variables or variations in the model parameters. The transient
responses of the output variables are calculated by numerical
integration after specifying both the initial conditions and the
inputs as functions of time.
A large number of numerical integration techniques are
available, ranging from simple techniques (e.g., the Euler and
Runge–Kutta methods) to more complicated ones (e.g., the
implicit Euler and Gear methods). All of these techniques
represent some compromise between computational effort
(computing time) and accuracy. Although a dynamic model
can always be solved in principle, for some situations it may
588
be difficult to generate useful numerical solutions. Dynamic
models that exhibit a wide range of time scales (stiff equa-
tions) are quite difficult to solve accurately in a reasonable
amount of computation time. Software for integrating ordi-
nary and partial differential equations is readily available.
Popular software packages include MATLAB, Mathematica,
IMSL, Mathcad, and GNU Octave.
For dynamic models that contain large numbers of al-
gebraic and ordinary differential equations, generation of
solutions using standard programs has been developed to
assist in this task. A graphical user interface (GUI) allows the
user to enter the algebraic and ordinary differential equations
and related information such as the total integration period,
error tolerances, the variables to be plotted, and so on. The
simulation program then assumes responsibility for:
1. Checking to ensure that the set of equations is exactly
specified
2. Sorting the equations into an appropriate sequence for
iterative solution
3. Integrating the equations
4. Providing numerical and graphical output
Examples of equation-oriented simulators used in the pro-
cess industries include gPROMS, Aspen Custom Modeler,
and Aspen HYSYS.
One disadvantage of many equation-oriented packages is
the amount of time and effort required to develop all of the
equations for a complex process. An alternative approach
is to use modular simulations where prewritten subroutines
provide models of individual process units such as distillation
columns or chemical reactors. Consequently, this type of
simulator has a direct correspondence to the process flow-
sheet. The modular approach has the significant advantage
that plant-scale simulations only require the user to identify
the appropriate modules and to supply the numerical values
of model parameters and initial conditions. This activity
requires much less effort than writing all of the equations
and, furthermore, the software is responsible for all aspects of
the solution. Because each module is rather general in form,
the user can simulate alternative flowsheets for a complex
process, for example, different configurations of distillation
towers and heat exchangers, or different types of chemical
reactors. Similarly, alternative process control strategies can
be quickly evaluated. Some software packages allow the user
to add custom modules for novel applications.
Modular dynamic simulators have been available since
the early 1970s. Several commercial products are available
from Aspen Technology and Honeywell (Unisim). Modelica
is an example of a collaborative effort that provides modeling
capability for a number of application areas. These packages
also offer equation-oriented capabilities. Modular dynamic
J. Hahn and B. W. Bequette
simulators are achieving a high degree of acceptance in
process engineering and control studies because they al-
low plant dynamics, real-time optimization, and alternative
control configurations to be evaluated for an existing or
a new plant. They also can be used for operator training.
This feature allows dynamic simulators to be integrated with
software for other applications such as control system design
and optimization.
While most processes can be accurately represented by a
set of nonlinear differential equations, a process is usually
operated within a certain neighborhood of its normal op-
erating point (steady state), thus the process model can be
closely approximated by a linearized version of the model. A
linear model is beneficial because it permits the use of more
convenient and compact methods for representing process
dynamics, namely Laplace transforms. The main advantage
of Laplace transforms is that they provide a compact repre-
sentation of a dynamic system that is especially useful for the
analysis of feedback control systems. The Laplace transform
of a set of linear ordinary differential equations is a set of
algebraic equations in the new variable s, called the Laplace
variable. The Laplace transform is given by
 ∞
F(s) = L [f (t)] = f (t)e−st dt (25.1)
0
where F(s) is the symbol for the Laplace transform, f (t) is
some function of time, and L is the Laplace operator, defined
by the integral. Tables of Laplace transforms are well doc-
umented for common functions [3, 4]. A linear differential
equation with a single input u and single output y can be
converted into a transfer function using Laplace transforms
as follows:
Y(s) = G(s) U(s), (25.2)
where U(s) is the Laplace transform of the input variable u(t),
Y(s) is the Laplace transform of the output variable y(t), and
G(s) is the transfer function, obtained from transforming the
differential equation.
The transfer function G(s) describes the dynamic charac-
teristic of the process. For linear systems it is independent
of the input variable and so it can readily be applied to any
time-dependent input signal. As an example, the first-order
differential equation
dy(t)
τ + y(t) = Ku(t) (25.3)
dt
can be Laplace-transformed to
K
Y(s) = U(s). (25.4)
τs + 1
25 Process Automation
Note that the parameters K and τ , known as the process
gain and time constant, respectively, map into the transfer
function as unspecified parameters. Numerical values for
parameters such as K and τ have to be determined for
controller design or for simulation purposes. Several different
methods for the identification of model parameters in transfer
functions are available. The most common approach is to
perform a step test on the process and collect the data along
the trajectory until it reaches steady state. In order to identify
the parameters, the form of the transfer function model needs
to be postulated and the parameters of the transfer function
can be estimated by using nonlinear regression. For more
details on the development of various transfer functions, see
[3, 4].
25.4 Regulatory Control
When the components of a control system are connected,
their overall dynamic behavior can be described by combin-
ing the transfer functions for each component. Each block
describes how changes in the input variables of the block
will affect the output variables of the block. One example
is the feedback/feedforward control block diagram shown
in Fig. 25.2, which contains the important components of
a typical control system, namely process, controller, sensor,
and final control element. Regulatory control deals with
treatment of disturbances that enter the system, as shown in
Fig. 25.2. These components are discussed in more detail
below.
Most modern control equipment require a digital signal
for displays and control algorithms, thus the analog-to-digital
converter (ADC) transforms the transmitter analog signal to
a digital format. Because ADCs may be relatively expensive
if adequate digital resolution is required, incoming digital
Error,
Set point, E Controlled
Supervisory YSP Feedback
control controller
Manipulated
variable, U
Fig. 25.2 Block diagram of a process
589
signals are usually multiplexed. Prior to sending the desired
control action, which is often in a digital format, to the final
control element in the field, the desired control action is
usually transformed by a digital-to-analog (DAC) converter
to an analog signal for transmission. DACs are relatively
inexpensive and are not normally multiplexed. Widespread
use of digital control technologies has made ADCs and DACs
standard parts of the control system.
25
25.4.1 Sensors
The hardware components of a typical modern digital control
loop shown in Fig. 25.2 are discussed next. The function of
the process measurement device is to sense the values, or
changes in values, of process variables. The actual sensing
device may generate, e.g., a physical movement, a pressure
signal, or a millivolt signal. A transducer transforms the
measurement signal from one physical or chemical quantity
to another, e.g., pressure to milliamps. The transduced signal
is then transmitted to a control room through the transmission
line. The transmitter is therefore a signal generator and a line
driver. Often the transducer and the transmitter are contained
in the same device.
The most commonly measured process variables are tem-
perature, flow, pressure, level, and composition. When ap-
propriate, other physical properties are also measured. The
selection of the proper instrumentation for a particular appli-
cation is dependent on factors such as: the type and nature of
the fluid or solid involved; relevant process conditions; range,
accuracy, and repeatability required; response time; installed
cost; and maintainability and reliability. Various handbooks
are available that can assist in selecting sensors for partic-
ular applications (e.g., [5]). Sensors are discussed in detail
in Ch.  14.
Disturbance, D
Feedforward
controller
variable, Y
Final control
Process
element
Measurement
device
590
25.4.2 Control Valves
Material and energy flow rates are the most commonly
selected manipulated variables for control schemes. Thus,
good control valve performance is an essential ingredient for
achieving good control performance. A control valve consists
of two principal assemblies: a valve body and an actuator.
Good control valve performance requires consideration of
the process characteristics and requirements such as fluid
characteristics, range, shutoff, and safety, as well as control
requirements, e.g., installed control valve characteristics and
response time. The proper selection and sizing of control
valves and actuators is an extensive topic in its own right [5].
25.4.3 Controllers
The most commonly employed feedback controller in the
process industry is the proportional-integral (PI) controller,
which can be described by the following equation:
   common to use cascade control, where the output of a higher-
1 t   
u(t) = u + KC e(t) + e t dt .
τi 0
Note that the controller includes proportional as well as
integrating action. The controller has two tuning parameters:
the proportional constant KC and the integral time constant
τ I . The integral action will eliminate offset for constant load
disturbances but it can potentially lead to a phenomenon
known as reset windup. When there is a sustained error,
the large integral term (25.5) causes the controller output to
saturate. This can occur during start-up of batch processes, or
after large set-point changes or large sustained disturbances.
PI controllers make up the vast majority of controllers that
are currently used in the chemical process industries. If it is
important to achieve a faster response that is offset free, a PID
(D = derivative) controller can be utilized, described by the
following expression:
 
1 t   de(t)
u(t) = u + KC e(t) + e t dt + τD
τi 0 dt
The PID controller of (25.6) contains three tuning pa-
rameters because the derivative mode adds a third adjustable
parameter τ D . However, if the process measurement is noisy,
the value of the derivative of the error may change rapidly
and derivative action will amplify the noise, as a filter on the
error signal can be employed.
Digital control systems are ubiquitous in process plants,
mostly employing a discrete (finite-difference) form of the
PID controller equation given by
J. Hahn and B. W. Bequette

t 
k
ek − ek−1
uk = u + KC ek + ei + τD (25.7)
τi i=0 t
where t is the sampling period for the control calculations
and k represents the current sampling time. If the process and
the measurements permit to choose the sampling period t
to be small then the behavior of the digital PID controller will
essentially be the same as for an analog PID controller.
25.4.4 PID Enhancements
The derivative action in a PID controller is particularly ben-
eficial for counteracting unmeasured disturbances. When a
disturbance can be measured, then feedforward control is
often used for better disturbance rejection. For many blend-
ing or combustion problems it is useful to maintain a ratio
between two stream flowrates. For example, a ratio controller
can be used to supply combustion air to a furnace at a desired
air-to-fuel ratio to assure complete combustion. It is also
(25.5) level loop is the setpoint to a faster lower-level loop (e.g., flow
control).
25.5 Control System Design
Traditionally, process design and control system design have
been separate engineering activities. Thus, in the traditional
approach, control system design is not initiated until after
plant design is well underway and major pieces of equipment
may even have been ordered. This approach has serious
limitations because the plant design determines the process
dynamics as well as the operability of the plant. In extreme
situations, the process may be uncontrollable, even though
the design appears satisfactory from a steady-state point
of view. A more desirable approach is to consider process
dynamics and control issues early in the process design.

The two general approaches to control system design
(25.6) are:
1. Traditional approach. The control strategy and control
system hardware are selected based on knowledge of the
process, experience, and insight. After the control system
is installed in the plant, the controller settings (such as in
a PID controller) are adjusted. This activity is referred to
as controller tuning.
2. Model-based approach. A dynamic model of the process
is first developed that can be helpful in at least three
ways: (a) it can be used as the basis for model-based
25 Process Automation 591

controller design methods, (b) the dynamic model can

be incorporated directly in the control law (for example, Information from Formulate
Management
model predictive control), and (c) the model can be used existing plants control
objectives
(if available) objectives
in a computer simulation to evaluate alternative control
strategies and to determine preliminary values of the con-
troller settings. Computer
simulation

For many simple process control problems controller

Physical
and chemical
Develop
process
25
principles model
specification is relatively straightforward and a detailed Plant data
analysis or an explicit model is not required. However, for (if available)
complex processes, a process model is invaluable both for Process control
theory
control system design and for an improved understanding of
Device control Computer
the process. strategy simulation
The major steps involved in designing and installing a Experience with
existing plants
control system using the model-based approach are shown (if available)
in the flowchart of Fig. 25.3. The first step, formulation of
the control objectives, is a critical decision. The formulation Select control Vendor
hardware information
is based on the operating objectives for the plants and the and software
process constraints; for example, in the distillation column
control problem, the objective might be to regulate a key
component in the distillate stream, the bottoms stream, or
key components in both streams. An alternative would be Install control
system
to minimize energy consumption (e.g., heat input to the
reboiler) while meeting product quality specifications on one
or both product streams. The inequality constraints should
include upper and lower limits on manipulated variables, Adjust controller
conditions that lead to flooding or weeping in the column, settings
and product impurity levels. Engineering
activity
After the control objectives have been formulated, a dy-
namic model of the process is developed. The dynamic Information Final control
base system
model can have a theoretical basis, for example, physical
and chemical principles such as conservation laws and rates
of reactions, or the model can be developed empirically Fig. 25.3 Major steps in control system development [3]
from experimental data. If experimental data are available,
the dynamic model should be validated, with the data and
the model accuracy characterized. This latter information is variables are shown in Fig. 25.4. These examples illustrate
useful for control system design and tuning. a characteristic feature of MIMO control problems, namely
The next step in the control system design is to devise the presence of process interactions, that is, each manipulated
an appropriate control strategy that will meet the control variable can affect both controlled variables. Consider the
objectives while satisfying process constraints. As indicated inline blending system shown in Fig. 25.4a. Two streams
in Fig. 25.3, this design activity is based on models and plant containing species A and B, respectively, are to be blended to
data. Finally, the control system can be installed, with final produce a product stream with mass flow rate w and compo-
adjustments performed once the plant is operating. sition x, the mass fraction of A. Adjusting either manipulated
flow rate, wA or wB , affects both w and x.
Similarly, for the distillation column in Fig. 25.4b, adjust-
25.5.1 Multivariable Control ing either reflux flow rate R or steam flow S will affect both
distillate composition xD and bottoms composition xB . For
In most industrial processes, there are a number of variables the gas-liquid separator in Fig. 25.4c, adjusting the gas flow
that must be controlled, and a number of variables can be rate G will have a direct effect on pressure P and a slower,
manipulated. These problems are referred to as multiple- indirect effect on liquid level h because changing the pressure
input multiple-output (MIMO) control problems. For almost in the vessel will tend to change the liquid flow rate L and thus
all important processes, at least two variables must be con- affect h. In contrast, adjusting the other manipulated variable
trolled: product quality and throughput. Several examples of L directly affects h but has only a relatively small and indirect
processes with two controlled variables and two manipulated effect on P.
592
a) Inline blending system
wA
w Set points
x (targets)
wB
b) Destillation column
Coolant
C AT
o Model
Feed
l
u R
Steam m
S n AT
xB
B Fig. 25.5 Block diagram for model predictive control [3]
c) Gas–liquid separator
Gas
G of potential problems. Clearly, the success of MPC (or any
P PT
Feed
h LT
Liquid
L
Fig. 25.4 Physical examples of multivariable control problems [3]
Pairing of a single controlled variable and a single manipu-
lated variable via a PID feedback controller is possible, if the
number of manipulated variables is equal to the number of
controlled variables. The relative gain array (RGA) provides
insights about the best pairing of multiple single-input single-
output (SISO) controllers, as well as sensitivity to individual
loop failures (including saturation of manipulated variables).
MIMO control problems are inherently more complex than
SISO control problems because process interactions occur
between controlled and manipulated variables. In general, a
change in a manipulated variable, say u1 , will affect all of
the controlled variables y1 , y2 , . . . , yn . Because of process
interactions, selection of the best pairing of controlled and
manipulated variables for a multiloop control scheme can be
a difficult task. In particular, for a control problem with n
controlled variables and n manipulated variables, there are n!
possible multiloop control configurations.
There is a growing trend to use multivariable control,
in particular an approach called model predictive control
(MPC). Model predictive control offers several important
advantages: (1) the process model captures the dynamic and
static interactions between input, output, and disturbance
variables; (2) constraints on inputs and outputs are considered
in a systematic manner; (3) the control calculations can be
coordinated with the calculation of optimum set points; and
(4) accurate model predictions can provide early warnings
J. Hahn and B. W. Bequette
Set-point
calculations
Predicted Control Inputs Process
Prediction Process
outputs calculations outputs
Inputs Model
xD outputs
D
Residuals
other model-based approach) depends on the accuracy of
the process model. Inaccurate predictions can make matters
worse, instead of better.
First-generation MPC systems were developed indepen-
dently in the 1970s by two pioneering industrial research
groups. Dynamic matrix control (DMC) was devised by Shell
Oil [6], and a related approach was developed by ADERSA
[7]. Model predictive control has had a major impact on
industrial practice; for example, an MPC survey by Qin and
Badgwell [8] reported that there were over 4500 applications
worldwide by the end of 1999, primarily in oil refineries and
petrochemical plants. In these industries, MPC has become
the method of choice for difficult multivariable control prob-
lems that include inequality constraints.
The overall objectives of an MPC controller are as fol-
lows:
1. Prevent violations of input and output constraints
2. Drive some output variables to their optimal set points,
while maintaining other outputs within specified ranges
3. Prevent excessive movement of the manipulated variables
4. Control as many process variables as possible when a
sensor or actuator is not available
A block diagram of a model predictive control system
is shown in Fig. 25.5. A process model is used to predict
the current values of the output variables. The residuals (the
differences between the actual and predicted outputs) serve
as the feedback signal to a prediction block. The predictions
are used in two types of MPC calculations that are performed
at each sampling instant: set-point calculations and control
calculations. Inequality constraints on the input and output
variables, such as upper and lower limits, can be included in
either type of calculation.
The model acts in parallel with the process and the residual
serves as a feedback signal, however, it should be noted
that the coordination of the control and set-point calculation
25 Process Automation
is a unique feature of MPC. Furthermore, MPC has had a
significant impact on industrial practice because it is more
suitable for constrained MIMO control problems.
The set points for the control calculations, also called
targets, are calculated from an economic optimization based
on a steady-state model of the process, traditionally a linear
steady-state model. Typical optimization objectives include
maximizing a profit function, minimizing a cost function,
or maximizing a production rate. The optimum values of
set points are changed frequently owing to varying process
conditions, especially changes in the inequality constraints.
The constraint changes are due to variations in process con-
ditions, equipment, and instrumentation, as well as economic
data such as prices and costs. In MPC, the set points are
typically calculated each time the control calculations are
performed.
The control calculations are based on current measure-
ments and predictions of the future values of the outputs.
The predictions are made using a dynamic model, typically a
linear empirical model such as a multivariable version of the
step response models that were discussed in Sect. 25.2. Alter-
natively, transfer function or state-space models can be em-
ployed. For very nonlinear processes, it can be advantageous
to predict future output values using a nonlinear dynamic
model. Both physical models and empirical models, such as
neural networks, have been used in nonlinear MPC [8].
The objective of the MPC control calculations is to deter-
mine a sequence of control moves (that is, manipulated input
changes) so that the predicted response moves to the set point
in an optimal manner. The actual output y, predicted output ŷ,
and manipulated input u are shown in Fig. 25.6. At the current
sampling instant, denoted by k, the MPC strategy calculates
a set of M values of the input {u{k + i − 1), i = 1, 2, . . . , M}.
The set consists of the current input u(k) and M − 1 fu-
ture inputs. The input is held constant after the M control
moves. The
 inputs are calculated so  that a set of P predicted
outputs y (k + i) , i = 1, 2, . . . , P reaches the set point in
an optimal manner. The control calculations are based on
optimizing an objective function. The number of predictions
P is referred to as the prediction horizon while the number of
control moves M is called the control horizon.
A distinguishing feature of MPC is its receding hori-
zon approach. Although a sequence of M control moves is
calculated at each sampling instant, only the first move is
actually implemented. Then a new sequence is calculated at
the next sampling instant; after new measurements become
available, again only the first input move is implemented.
This procedure is repeated at each sampling instant.
In MPC applications, the calculated input moves are usu-
ally implemented as set points for regulatory control loops
at the distributed control system (DCS) level, such as flow
control loops. If a DCS control loop has been disabled or
placed in manual mode, the input variable is no longer
593
available for control. In this situation, the control degrees of
freedom are reduced by one. Even though an input variable is
unavailable for control, it can serve as a disturbance variable
if it is still measured.
Before each control execution, it is necessary to determine
which outputs (controlled variables [CV]), inputs (manipu-
lated variables [MV]), and disturbance variables (DVs) are
currently available for the MPC calculations. The variables
25
available for the control calculations can change from one
control execution time to the next for a variety of reasons;
for example, a sensor may not be available owing to routine
maintenance or recalibration.
Inequality constraints on input and output variables are
important characteristics for MPC applications. In fact, in-
equality constraints were a primary motivation for the early
development of MPC. Input constraints occur as a result
of physical limitations on plant equipment such as pumps,
control valves, and heat exchangers; for example, a ma-
nipulated flow rate might have a lower limit of zero and
an upper limit determined by the pump, control valve, and
piping characteristics. The dynamics associated with large
control valves impose rate-of-change limits on manipulated
flow rates.
Constraints on output variables are a key component of the
plant operating strategy; for example, a common distillation
column control objective is to maximize the production rate
while satisfying constraints on product quality and avoiding
undesirable operating regimes such as flooding or weeping.
It is convenient to make a distinction between hard and soft
constraints. As the name implies, a hard constraint cannot
be violated at any time. By contrast, a soft constraint can
be violated, but the amount of violation is penalized by
a modification of the cost function. This approach allows
small constraint violations to be tolerated for short periods of
time [3].
25.6 Batch Process Automation
Batch processing is an alternative to continuous processing.
In batch processing, a sequence of one or more steps, either
in a single vessel or in multiple vessels, is performed in
a defined order, yielding a specific quantity of a finished
product. Because the volume of product is normally small,
large production runs are achieved by repeating the process
steps on a predetermined schedule. In batch processing, the
production amounts are usually smaller than for continuous
processing; hence, it is usually not economically feasible
to dedicate processing equipment to the manufacture of a
single product. Instead, batch processing units are organized
so that a range of products (from a few to possibly hundreds)
can be manufactured with a given set of process equipment.
Batch processing can be complicated by having multiple
stages, multiple products made from the same equipment, or
594 J. Hahn and B. W. Bequette

Past Future
Set point (target)
Past output
Predicted future output
Past control action
Future control action ŷ

Control horizon, M

u
Prediction horizon, P

k–1 k k+1 k+2 k+M–1 k+P

Sampling instant

Fig. 25.6 Basic concept for model predictive control

parallel processing lines. The key challenge for batch plants

is to consistently manufacture each product in accordance Production Run-to-run
with its specifications while maximizing the utilization of management control
available equipment. Benefits include reduced inventories
and shortened response times to make a specialty product Control Equipment Sequential Logic
during the
compared with continuous processing plants. Typically, it batch
control control control
is not possible to use blending of multiple batches in order
to obtain the desired product quality, so product quality Safety
specifications must be satisfied by each batch. interlocks
Batch processing is widely used to manufacture specialty
chemicals, metals, electronic materials, ceramics, polymers,
food and agricultural materials, biochemicals and pharma- Fig. 25.7 Overview of a batch control system
ceuticals, multiphase materials/blends, coatings, and com-
posites – an extremely broad range of processes and prod-
ucts. The unit operations in batch processing are also quite principally in the production management block. In contrast
diverse, and some are analogous to operations for continuous to continuous processing, the focus of control shifts from
processing. regulation to set-point changes, and sequencing of batches
In analogy with the different levels of plant control de- and equipment takes on a much greater role.
picted in Fig. 25.1, batch control systems operate at various Batch control systems must be very versatile to be able to
levels: handle pulse inputs and discrete input/output (I/O) as well as
analog signals for sensors and actuators. Functional control
• Batch sequencing and logic controls (levels 1 and 2) activities are summarized as follows:
• Control during the batch (level 3)
• Run-to-run control (levels 4 and 5) 1. Batch sequencing and logic control: Sequencing of con-
• Batch production management (level 5) trol steps that follow a recipe involves, for example, mix-
ing of ingredients, heating, waiting for a reaction to com-
Figure 25.7 shows the interconnections of the different plete, cooling, and discharging the resulting products.
types of control used in a typical batch process. Run-to- Transfer of materials to and from batch tanks or reactors
run control is a type of supervisory control that resides includes metering of materials as they are charged (as
25 Process Automation
specified by the recipe), as well as transfer of materials
at the completion of the process operation. In addition
to discrete logic for the control steps, logic is needed for
safety interlocks to protect personnel, equipment, and the
environment from unsafe conditions. Process interlocks
ensure that process operations can only occur in the cor-
rect time sequence.
2. Control during the batch: Feedback control of flow rate,
temperature, pressure, composition, and level, including
advanced control strategies, falls in this category, which
is also called within-the-batch control [9]. In sophisti-
cated applications, this requires specification of an oper-
ating trajectory for the batch (that is, temperature or flow
rate as a function of time). In simpler cases, it involves
tracking of set points of the controlled variables, which
includes ramping the controlled variables up and down
and/or holding them constant for a prescribed period of
time. Detection of when the batch operations should be
terminated (end point) may be performed by inferential
measurements of product quality, if direct measurement
is not feasible.
3. Run-to-run control: Also called batch-to-batch control,
this supervisory function is based on offline product qual-
ity measurements at the end of a run. Operating conditions
and profiles for the batch are adjusted between runs to im-
prove the product quality using tools such as optimization.
4. Batch production management: This activity entails ad-
vising the plant operator of process status and how to
interact with the recipes and the sequential, regulatory, and
discrete controls. Complete information (recipes) is main-
tained for manufacturing each product grade, including
the names and amounts of ingredients, process variable
set points, ramp rates, processing times, and sampling
procedures. Other database information includes batches
produced on a shift, daily, or weekly basis, as well as
material and energy balances. Scheduling of process units
is based on availability of raw materials and equipment
and customer demand.
Recipe modifications from one run to the next are com-
mon in many batch processes. Typical examples are modi-
fying the reaction time, feed stoichiometry, or reactor tem-
perature. When such modifications are done at the beginning
of a run (rather than during a run), the control strategy is
called run-to-run control. Run-to-run control is frequently
motivated by the lack of online measurements of the product
quality during a batch run. In batch chemical production,
online measurements are often not available during the run,
but the product can be analyzed by laboratory samples at the
end of the run. The process engineer must specify a recipe
that contains the values of the inputs (which may be time
varying) that will meet the product requirements. The task
of the run-to-run controller is to adjust the recipe after each
595
run to reduce variability in the output product from the stated
specifications.
Batch run-to-run control is particularly useful to compen-
sate for processes where the controlled variable drifts over
time; for example, in a chemical vapor deposition process
the reactor walls may become fouled owing to by-product
deposition. This slow drift in the reactor chamber condition
requires occasional changes to the batch recipe in order to
25
ensure that the controlled variables remain on target. Even-
tually, the reactor chamber must be cleaned to remove the
wall deposits, effectively causing a step disturbance to the
process outputs when the inputs are held constant. Just as the
run-to-run controller compensates for the drifting process, it
can also return the process to target after a step disturbance
[10, 11].
The Instrument Society of America (ISA) SP-88 stan-
dard deals with the terminology involved in batch control
[12]. There are a hierarchy of activities that take place in
a batch processing system [13]. At the highest level, pro-
cedures identify how the products are made, that is, the
actions to be performed (and their order) as well as the
associated control requirements for these actions. Operations
are equivalent to unit operations in continuous processing
and include steps such as charging, reacting, separating, and
discharging. Within each operation are logical points called
phases, where processing can be interrupted by the oper-
ator or computer interaction. Examples of different phases
include the sequential addition of ingredients, heating a batch
to a prescribed temperature, mixing, and so on. Control
steps involve direct commands to final control elements,
specified by individual control instructions in software. As an
example, for {operation = charge reactant} and {phase = add
ingredient B}, the control steps would be: (1) open the B
supply valve, (2) total the flow of B over a period of time
until the prescribed amount has been added, and (3) close the
B supply valve.
The term recipe has a range of definitions in batch pro-
cessing, but in general a recipe is a procedure with the set of
data, operations, and control steps required to manufacture a
particular grade of product. A formula is the list of recipe
parameters, which includes the raw materials, processing
parameters, and product outputs. A recipe procedure has
operations for both normal and abnormal conditions. Each
operation contains resource requests for certain ingredients
(and their amounts). The operations in the recipe can adjust
set points and turn equipment on and off. The complete
production run for a specific recipe is called a campaign
(multiple batches).
In multigrade batch processing, the instructions remain
the same from batch to batch, but the formula can be changed
to yield modest variations in the product; for example, in
emulsion polymerization, different grades of polymers are
manufactured by changing the formula. In flexible batch
596
processing, both the formula (recipe parameters) and the
processing instructions can change from batch to batch. The
recipe for each product must specify both the raw materials
required and how conditions within the reactor are to be
sequenced in order to make the desired product.
Many batch plants, especially those used to manufacture
pharmaceuticals, are certified by the International Standards
Organization (ISO). ISO 9000 (and the related ISO standards
9001–9004) state that every manufactured product should
have an established, documented procedure, and the manu-
facturer should be able to document the procedure that was
followed. Companies must pass periodic audits to main ISO
9000 status. Both ISO 9000 and the US Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) require that only a certified recipe be
used. Thus, if the operation of a batch becomes abnormal,
performing any unusual corrective action to bring it back
within the normal limits is not an option. In addition, if
a slight change in the recipe apparently produces superior
batches, the improvement cannot be implemented unless the
entire recipe is recertified. The FDA typically requires prod-
uct and raw materials tracking, so that product abnormalities
can be traced back to their sources.
Recently, in an effort to increase the safety, efficiency,
and affordability of medicines, the FDA has proposed a
new framework for the regulation of pharmaceutical de-
velopment, manufacturing, and quality assurance. The pri-
mary focus of the initiative is to reduce variability through
a better understanding of processes that can be obtained
by the traditional approach. Process analytical technology
(PAT) has become an acronym in the pharmaceutical indus-
try for designing, analyzing, and controlling manufacturing
through timely measurements (i.e., during processing) of
critical quality and performance attributes of raw and in-
process materials and processes, with the goal of ensuring
final product quality. Process variations that could possibly
contribute to patient risk are determined through modeling
and timely measurements of critical quality attributes, which
are then addressed by process control. In this manner, pro-
cesses can be developed and controlled in such a way that
quality of product is guaranteed.
Semiconductor manufacturing is an example of a large-
volume batch process [10]. In semiconductor manufacturing
an integrated circuit consists of several layers of carefully
patterned thin films, each chemically altered to achieve de-
sired electrical characteristics. These devices are manufac-
tured through a series of physical and/or chemical batch unit
operations similar to the way in which specialty chemicals
are made. From 30–300 process steps are typically required
to construct a set of circuits on a single-crystalline substrate
called a wafer. The wafers are 4–12 inch (100–300 mm) in
diameter, 400–700 μm thick, and serve as the substrate upon
which microelectronic circuits (devices) are built. Circuits
are constructed by depositing the thin films (0.01–10 μm)
J. Hahn and B. W. Bequette
of material of carefully controlled composition in specific
patterns and then etching these films to exacting geometries
(0.35–10 μm).
The main unit operations in semiconductor manufacturing
are crystal growth, oxidation, deposition (dielectrics, sili-
con, and metals), physical vapor deposition, dopant diffu-
sion, dopant-ion implantation, photolithography, etch, and
chemical-mechanical polishing. Most processes in semicon-
ductor manufacturing are semibatch; for example, in a single-
wafer processing tool the following steps are carried out:
1. A robotic arm loads the boat of wafers.
2. The machine transfers a single wafer into the processing
chamber.
3. Gases flow continuously and reaction occurs.
4. The machine removes the wafer.
5. The next wafer is processed.
When all wafers are finished processing, the operator
takes the boat of wafers to the next machine. All of these
steps are carried out in a clean room designed to minimize
device damage by particulate matter.
For a given tool or unit operation, a specified number of
wafers are processed together in a lot, which is carried in a
boat. There is usually an extra slot in the boat for a pilot wafer,
which is used for metrology reasons. A cluster tool refers to
equipment which has several single-wafer processing cham-
bers. The chambers may carry out the same process or
different processes; some vendors base their chamber designs
on series operation, while others utilize parallel processing
schemes.
The recipe for the batch consists of the regulatory set
points and parameters for the real-time controllers on the
equipment. The equipment controllers are normally not ca-
pable of receiving a continuous set-point trajectory. Only
furnaces and rapid thermal processing tools are able to ramp
up, hold, and ramp down their temperature or power supply.
A recipe can consist of several steps; each step processes a
different film based on specific chemistry. The same recipe
on the same type of chamber may produce different results,
due to different processes used in the chamber previously.
This lack of repeatability across chambers is a big problem
with cluster tools or when a fabrication plant (fab) has mul-
tiple machines of the same type, because it requires that a
fab keeps track of different recipes for each chamber. The
controller translates the desired specs into a machine recipe.
Thus, the fab supervisory controller only keeps track of the
product specifications.
Factory automation in semiconductor manufacturing in-
tegrates the individual equipment into higher levels of au-
tomation, in order to reduce the total cycle time, increase
fab productivity, and increase product yield [11]. The major
functions provided by the automation system include:
25 Process Automation
1. Planning of factory operation from order entry through
wafer production
2. Scheduling of factory resources to meet the production
plan
3. Modeling and simulation of factory operation
4. Generation and maintenance of process and product spec-
ification and recipes
5. Tracking of work-in-progress (WIP)
6. Monitoring of factory performance
7. Machine monitoring, control, and diagnosis
8. Process monitoring, control, and diagnosis
Automation of semiconductor manufacturing in the future
will consist of meeting a range of technological challenges.
These include the need for faster yield ramp, increasing
cost pressures that compel productivity improvements, en-
vironmental safety and health concerns, and shrinking de-
vice dimensions and chip size. The development of 300 mm
platforms in the last few years has spawned equipment with
new software systems and capabilities. These systems will
allow smart data collection, storage, and processing on the
equipment, and transfer of data and information in a more
efficient manner. Smart data management implies that data
are collected as needed and based upon events and metrology
results. As a result of immediate and automatic processing
of data, a larger fraction of data can be analyzed, and more
decisions are data driven. New software platforms provide
the biggest opportunity for a control paradigm shift seen
in the industry since the introduction of statistical process
control.
25.7 Automation and Process Safety
In modern chemical plants, process safety relies on the prin-
ciple of multiple protection layers. A typical configuration
is shown in Fig. 25.8. Each layer of protection consists of a
grouping of equipment and/or human actions. The protection
layers are shown in the order of activation that occurs as a
plant incident develops. In the inner layer, the process design
itself provides the first level of protection, including the
specification of redundant equipment. For example, almost
all pumps in liquid service are backed up by a spare pump,
which can be switched on if the main pump fails or needs
to be removed from service. Similarly, almost all control
valves are installed in a parallel arrangement, so that a failing
control valve can be taken out of service with flow controlled
manually using a bypass valve. Level transmitters can fail, so
most tanks and vessels with a gas/liquid interface include a
slight glass, which can be used to manually check the level.
The next two layers consist of the basic process control
system (BPCS) augmented with two levels of alarms and
operator supervision or intervention. An alarm indicates that
597
Community emergency response
Plant emergency response
Physical protection (dikes)
Physical protection
(relief devices)
Automatic action SIS or ESD 25
Critical alarms, operator super-
vision, and manual intervention
Basic controls
process alarms, and
operator supervision
Process design
Note:
Protection layers for a typical process are shown in the order of
activation expected as a hazardous condition is approached
ESD = Emergency shutdown; SIS = Safety interlock system
Fig. 25.8 Typical layers of protection in a modern chemical plant [14]
a measurement has exceeded its specified limits and may
require operator action.
The fourth layer consists of a safety interlock system
(SIS), which is also referred to as a safety instrumented
system or as an emergency shutdown (ESD) system. The SIS
automatically takes corrective action when the process and
BPCS layers are unable to handle an emergency; for example,
the SIS could automatically turn off the reactant pumps after a
high-temperature alarm occurs for a chemical reactor. Relief
devices such as rupture discs and relief valves provide physi-
cal protection by venting gas or vapor if overpressurization
occurs. As a last resort, dikes are located around process
units and storage tanks to contain liquid spills. Emergency
response plans are used to address emergency situations and
to inform the community.
The functioning of the multiple layer protection system
can be summarized as follows [14]:
Most failures in well-designed and operated chemical processes
are contained by the first one or two protection layers. The
middle levels guard against major releases and the outermost
layers provide mitigation response to very unlikely major events.
For major hazard potential, even more layers may be necessary.
598 J. Hahn and B. W. Bequette

It is evident from Fig. 25.8 that automation plays an important

role in ensuring process safety. In particular, many of the a) Low-level interlock
protection layers in Fig. 25.8 involve instrumentation and
control equipment. The SIS operation is designed to provide
LSL = Level switch low
automatic responses after alarms indicate potentially haz-
ardous situations. The objective is to have the process reach
S = Solenoid switch
a safe condition. The automatic responses are implemented
via interlocks and automatic shutdown and start-up systems. Liquid
Distinctions are sometimes made between safety interlocks storage LSL S
and process interlocks; process interlocks are used for less tank
critical situations to provide protection against minor equip-
ment damage and undesirable process conditions such as the
production of off-specification product. b) High-pressure interlock
Two simple interlock systems are shown in Fig. 25.9.
S
For the liquid storage system, the liquid level must stay
above a minimum value in order to avoid pump damage Gas To
out flare stack
such as cavitation. If the level drops below the specified
limit, the low-level switch (LSL) triggers both an alarm and
PSH
a solenoid (S), which acts as a relay and turns the pump
off. For the gas storage system in Fig. 25.9b, the solenoid- PSH = Pressure switch high
Gas Gas
operated valve is normally closed. However, if the pressure in storage
tank
of the hydrocarbon gas in the storage tank exceeds a specified
limit, the high-pressure switch (PSH) activates an alarm and
causes the valve to open fully, thus reducing the pressure in
the tank. For interlock and other safety systems, a switch can
be replaced by a transmitter if the measurement is required.
Also, transmitters tend to be more reliable. Fig. 25.9 Two interlock configurations [3]
The SIS in Fig. 25.9 serves as an emergency backup
system for the BPCS. The SIS automatically starts when a problems was due to the reward structure for plant managers,
critical process variable exceeds specified alarm limits that who would typically be in the position for a year or two
define the allowable operating region. Its initiation results in a before being promoted to other positions in the company,
drastic action such as starting or stopping a pump or shutting hence important safety-related expenditures might be pushed
down a process unit. Consequently, it is used only as a last into the future. Critical equipment maintenance had been
resort to prevent injury to people or equipment. deferred, and numerous instruments were out of calibration.
It is very important that the SIS functions independently of Further, there was a history of violating process unit start-up
the BPCS, otherwise emergency protection will be unavail- procedure during previous start-ups over a five-year period. It
able during periods when the BPCS is not operating (e.g., due is known that start-ups and shutdowns are the most dangerous
to a malfunction or power failure). Thus, the SIS should be times, with an incident rate ten times that of normal [15].
physically separated from the BPCS and have its own sensors
and actuators. Sometimes redundant sensors and actuators
are utilized; for example, triply redundant sensors are used 25.8 Emerging Trends
for critical measurements, with SIS actions based on the me-
dian of the three measurements. This strategy prevents a sin- Main emerging trends in process automation have to do with
gle sensor failure from crippling SIS operation. The SIS also process integration, information integration, and engineering
has a separate set of alarms so that the operator can be notified integration. The theme across all of these is the need for a
when the SIS initiates an action (e.g., turning on an emer- greater degree of integration of all components of the pro-
gency cooling pump), even if the BPCS is not operational. cess. Emerging concepts that play important roles in future
While chemical process plants have generally become implementations of process automation include smart man-
safer over the years, there are still disasters that occur, largely ufacturing, the Industrial Internet of Things, cyber-physical
due to the lack of a “safety culture.” A prime example is the systems, and human-in-the-loop or human-cyber-physical
BP Texas City disaster in 2005, where a distillation tower systems. While most control loops consist of classic control
on an isomerization unit overfilled, resulting in an explosion algorithms, such as PID or MPC, artificial intelligence (AI),
that killed 15 people. An investigation revealed that there including machine learning (ML), is playing an increasingly
was a plant history of safety violations and that one of the important role in process automation.
25 Process Automation
Traditionally, a process plant implementing distributed
control systems would choose a specific vendor that
used proprietary hardware, software, and communication
protocols, making it difficult and/or expensive to expand or
retrofit the system. This has motivated a movement to create
open standards to enable a “plug and play” culture where
sensors, actuators, and control algorithms from different
vendors can be integrated into advanced control strategies.
The Open Process Automation (OPA) Forum is focused on
developing an standards-based open architecture for process
control (https://www.opengroup.org/forum/open-process-
automation-forum).
Open standards are an important component of what is
known as Industry 4.0 in Europe, and smart manufacturing
in the USA. The Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) enables
data across many spatial and time scales to be used in models,
leading to improved automation, control, and decision sup-
port systems throughout the entire manufacturing enterprise.
That is, better and more frequent information about both
the supply chain, manufacturing plant operations, and the
product chain can enable better decisions to be made at all
levels of the corporate enterprise [16, 17].
Particularly in the specialty chemicals and pharmaceutical
industries, it is important to be able to rapidly move from
laboratory-scale to pilot-scale, and to full-scale manufac-
turing. With smart manufacturing techniques, information
can be easily shared between each of these scales/groups.
Fundamental thermodynamic and chemical reaction model
parameters are determined using laboratory-scale experi-
ments. These models are then used to aid engineers that
perform studies in pilot-scale vessels to better understand
scale effects, such as imperfect mixing. This information is
then used in further models to design and control large-scale
production facilities.
Cyber-physical systems (CPS) are composed of physical
devices and software, which have been part of process au-
tomation for 40 years during which it has been common to
use digital control in manufacturing. In the past, the physical
and software components were largely independent, with
data transmitted to a control room or control computers,
computations performed by the control system, and com-
mands sent back to the manufacturing equipment. In mod-
ern and emerging CPS, software is increasingly integrated
directly into the equipment such that the equipment is “self-
aware.” Sensors and actuators incorporate computational de-
vices and can perform diagnostics locally. Indeed, with dis-
tributed computation, the hierarchical implementation shown
in Fig. 25.1, with the decoupling of time and spatial scales,
is a rather simplistic representation of a highly distributed
system.
While advanced algorithms automatically optimize and
control chemical manufacturing processes, humans continue
to be in the loop, so there are many research efforts to better
599
understand the role of the “human-in-the-loop” and human-
cyber-physical systems (HCPS) [18]. As automation gets
more and more complex, it is often difficult for a human op-
erator to understand and troubleshoot an operating problem.
A prime example from the aviation industry is the Boeing
implementation of a maneuvering characteristics augmenta-
tion system (MCAS), which played a role in two crashes of
Boeing 737 MAX aircraft in 2018 and 2019. Because of a
25
redesign of the aircraft, including new engines, to increase
operating efficiency, the MCAS was implemented to avoid
the risk of an aircraft stall. Unfortunately, an error in the angle
of attack sensor could lead to the aircraft control system to
force the nose of the plane down even when not in a stall
condition. Further, this “fault detection” algorithm was only
activated when the plane was under manual control, which
is counterintuitive to pilots [19]. In both of the crashes the
pilot was fighting against the actions of the MCAS, causing
the plane to oscillate vertically but eventually resulting in a
loss of control. One could envision similar events occurring
chemical process manufacturing, particularly without suffi-
cient operator training.
As noted in [17], chemical process systems have a near
40-year history of AI applications. Stephanopoulos [20] pro-
vided a comprehensive vision for AI in process develop-
ment, design, operations, and control (including planning and
scheduling). His perspective focused on automated reason-
ing, with little discussion of machine learning and related
techniques. A recent assessment of AI in chemical engineer-
ing is provided by Venkatasubramanian [21], who classifies
three overlapping phases: (i) expert systems (1984–1995),
(ii) neural networks (1990–2008), and (iii) deep learning and
data science (2005 to present). He views self-organization
and emergence as the next crucial phase of AI. Lee et al. [22]
provide an overview of machine learning applications in pro-
cess systems engineering; Shin et al. focus on reinforcement
learning, specifically for process control applications [23];
and Qin and Chiang discuss machine learning for process
data analytics [24]. On the other hand, Marcus lists ten major
limitations to current deep learning techniques [25]. The
four most relevant to this chapter include: (i) deep learning
cannot inherently distinguish causation from correlation; (ii)
deep learning has no natural way to deal with hierarchical
structure; (iii) deep learning has not been well integrated
with prior knowledge; and (iv) deep learning is difficult to
engineer with.
This chapter has reviewed process modeling and control
that are important in typical continuous and batch chemical
process plants. Specific examples of related chemical process
automation problems are detailed in the following chapters:
27. Infrastructure and Complex Systems
38. Semiconductor Manufacturing Automation
42. Automation in Wood, Paper, and Fiber Industry
44. Automation in Food Processing
600 J. Hahn and B. W. Bequette

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from Solvay to modern bio- and nanotechnology. A history of 25. Marcus, G.: Deep Learning: A Critical Appraisal.
development, successes and prospects for the future. Chem. Eng. arXiv:1801.00631. https://arxiv.org/abs/1801.00631
Sci. 66, 4272–4306 (2011)
2. Bequette, B.W.: Process control education and practice: past,
present and future. Comp. Chem. Eng. 128, 538–556 (2019) Further Reading
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cess Dynamics and Control, 4h edn. Wiley, New York (2016)
4. Bequette, B.W.: Process Control. Modeling, Design, and Simula- Cichocki, A., Ansari, H.A., Rusinkiewicz, M., Woelk, D.: Work-
tion, 2nd edn. Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River (2021) flow and Process Automation: Concepts and Technology, 1st edn.
5. Edgar, T.F., Smith, C.L., Bequette, B.W., Hahn, J.: Process control. Springer, London (1997)
In: Green, D.W., Southard, M.Z. (eds.) Perry’s Chemical Engineer- Cleveland, P.: Process automation systems. Control. Eng. 55(2), 65–74
ing Handbook. McGraw-Hill, New York (2019) (2008)
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Control in Semiconductor Manufacturing. CRC Press, Boca Raton
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Automation of Chemical Processes. AIChE, New York (1993) He received his diploma from RWTH Aachen, Germany, and his PhD
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 Service Automation
26
Christopher Ganz and Shaun West

Contents services” for a product, i.e., keeping it operational through

26.1 Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 601 maintenance and repair. Yet when planning a factory,
26.1.1 Definition of Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 602 engineering may be one of the services provided, and in
26.1.2 Service Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 602 operation, most logistics transports are services.
26.1.3 Service Industries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 603
A fast and effective industrial service, supporting
26.1.4 Life Cycle of Product-Service Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 603
26.1.5 Service Business Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 606 plants with a broad spectrum of assistance from
emergency repair to prescriptive maintenance, rests on
26.2 Operational Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 607
26.2.1 Operation Driven by Market Situation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 608 two legs: the provision and analysis of the vast variety
26.2.2 Long-Term Continuous Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 608 of information required by service personnel to figure
26.2.3 Batch or Shift Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 608 out what is going on and the remedy for the situation,
26.3 Service, Maintenance, and Repair Strategies . . . . . . . 609 including physical interaction with the equipment and
26.3.1 Key Performance Indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 609 transport of people and equipment. While the automation
26.3.2 Corrective Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 609 of physical interaction is limited, data management
26.3.3 Preventive Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 610
for efficient servicing, including optimized logistics
26.3.4 Condition-Based Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 610
26.3.5 Predictive Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 610 for transport, is increasingly expanding throughout the
26.3.6 Prescriptive Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 611 service industry.
26.4 Technology and Solutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 611 This chapter discusses the basic requirements for the
26.4.1 Condition Assessment and Prediction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 612 automation of service (predominantly but not limited to
26.4.2 Remote Services: Internet of Things . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 612 after sales services) and gives examples of how the chal-
26.4.3 Service Information Management in a Digital Twin . . . 614 lenging issues involved can be solved.
26.4.4 Service Support Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 614
26.4.5 Toward Fully Automated Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 615
26.5 Conclusions and Emerging Challenges . . . . . . . . . . . . 615 Keywords
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 615
Industrial services · Product-service systems · Product
life cycle · Servitization · Service design · Maintenance
strategies · Predictive maintenance · Remote service
Abstract

Throughout the life cycle of an industrial installation,

services play an important role. Discussion of service in
an industrial context very often refers only to “after sales 26.1 Service

Many manufacturing firms make more of their profit margins

from their service (or after-market) activities than from sell-
C. Ganz ()
C. Ganz Innovation Services, Zurich, Switzerland
ing their new products. The firm’s effort is often focused on
e-mail: christopher.ganz@cginnovation.ch the design and manufacture of a product, yet the reward here
S. West ()
is low, which has been confirmed by many studies (Fig. 26.1).
Institute of Innovation and Technology Management, Lucerne Besides generating a margin for the business, services are
University of Applied Science and Art, Horw, Switzerland essential for customers, and it has been seen that good
e-mail: shaun.west@hslu.ch

© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 601

S. Y. Nof (ed.), Springer Handbook of Automation, Springer Handbooks,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-96729-1_26
602
20%
15%
EBIT as % of sales
10%
5% Install and commissioning
New equipment
Training
0%
0% 25%
Fig. 26.1 Average margins for a range of goods and services for manufacturing firms (Adapted from [1])
services improve customer satisfaction, leading to improved
customer retention. Services in many manufacturing firms
are considered as a marketing tool and given away “free”
to sweeten the equipment sale, presenting the services as a
cost to the firm. A product sale is a one-time event, whereas
services can include presale consulting, installation, commis-
sioning, maintenance, operational support, and upgrades. We
will expand on the description of services in the following
sections and describe where automation can support services
by either supporting the customer’s processes or the
product.
26.1.1 Definition of Service
To be able to describe the automation of service, we must first
define what we mean by service. Service in general is defined
in [2] to be “useful labor that does not produce a tangible
commodity.” Another definition is given in [3]: “Work that
is done for others as an occupation or business.” While a
product is an object, service is an activity. In the context
of this chapter, we shall restrict ourselves to considering the
provision of the activities that industry requires. In particular,
we want to address organized systems of apparatus, appli-
ances, employees, etc. for providing supportive activities to
industrial operations. In this context, the term is mostly as-
sociated with repair and maintenance activities and servicing
C. Ganz and S. West
Spares Repair
Mainteance
Technical advice
Technical overhauling
Financial services
Inspections
Second-hand equipment
50% 75% 100%
equipment. However, industrial services can be interpreted
more broadly. “Useful labor” supplied to a customer can be
more than just repairing equipment; it may include other
supporting activities, i.e., operation optimization support,
logistics, or engineering. Furthermore, recent years have
made the concept of equipment as a service popular, where
equipment is not owned but charged for on a usage basis.
26.1.2 Service Properties
To distinguish properties of the two key components of
economies – goods and services – a mental model can help:
goods are typically referred to as nouns and services as verbs.
Goods as tangible commodities can be acted upon, while
services are the actions performed. Service properties derived
from that model are the following [4]:
• Intangible: as mentioned in the definition, services are
actions, not physical objects, and therefore intangible.
• Not stored: the “intangible” nature implies the inability to
store. A service activity is consumed as it is executed.
• Does not result in ownership: since there is nothing to be
stored, there is nothing to be owned.
This has a few implications for the automation of
services:
26 Service Automation
• A consequence of the lack of storage is the difference
in value chain. A service cannot be designed, produced,
stored, and delivered. Service may be designed, but de-
livery is immediate, i.e., the acting subject (the service
executor) is present at the same time the object (the
serviced equipment) is.
• While the quality of a produced item can be checked
through analysis and tests, proper delivery of a service
is much harder to assess. The evidence of the quality of
service is a property of service that is difficult to measure.
• Today, many services are delivered by people. Good ser-
vices build on people’s cognitive capabilities and rely on
the interaction between people. This is one of the major
challenges in automating services.
• As part of a service activity, some components may be
tangible and change ownership. Spare parts or replace-
ment equipment are indeed tangible and are transferred
to the customer. The service contract then covers the sale
of these goods in addition to the services provided.
26.1.3 Service Industries
In the global economy, service industries form the tertiary
sector (primary, extraction; secondary, production). This sec-
tor covers any kind of service offerings, for example: finan-
cial services, entertainment, education, healthcare, etc. Such
services can be utilizing industrial equipment for the delivery
of the service and can be automated as well. But these are not
the focus of this section. Some are discussed in more detail
in the parts G, H, and I of this handbook. In this section, we
look into tertiary (service) activities in the secondary sector
(manufacturing and production). Within these services, we
distinguish between the following:
• Administrative and business services: manufacturing in-
dustries do need financial and other externally purchased
business services to operate. Some may even need restau-
rant services (canteen) or housing (for employees). These
are covered in their respective sections of this book.
• Services along the value chain: an important component of
the manufacturing ecosystem is logistics: supplying ma-
terial to the factory and delivering products to customers.
In the case of consumer end-customers, this includes the
distribution and retail system. We also do not go into
further details on those.
• Services to the operation of the production: most promi-
nently, industrial plants utilize services when it comes to
maintaining and repairing equipment. But other services,
such as engineering, operational optimization, or quality
certification (to name a few), are important to optimize a
plant’s output. In this narrower sense, we will discuss how
industrial service is automated.
603
26.1.4 Life Cycle of Product-Service Systems
The cradle-to-grave life cycle of the equipment [5] provides
a valuable introduction to the range of products and services
that can support the customer’s processes or the product
before the initial purchase of the equipment installation,
through the operational phase to the end of its life. Many ser-
vices are hidden and often provided for free to the customer,
as they are “bundled” with the product sale. From a single
OEM perspective, the challenge of services over the life cycle 26
can be pretty complex. However, from the customer’s per-
spective, managing such services is equally complex as they
probably operate equipment from multiple suppliers. The
complex environment creates a “product-service system,”
where both the product and the services over the equipment
life cycle are essential for its successful operation.
One of the key drivers of industrial services is the life
cycle of the equipment. Figure 26.2 describes a range of
services that are typically needed over during the beginning
of life, middle of life, and end of life of the equipment. In
a perfect world, equipment is purchased, commissioned, and
operated in a plant, without the need for further interaction.
Unfortunately, equipment wears and ages, to the point where
performance is reduced or the equipment fails.
Moving from a product to a core product with added
services to a product-service system is a transformational
process known as “servitization.” The most basic offer is
when service is considered a market differentiator, making
services a bolt-on to the product. In contrast, in the product-
service system, value creation is enabled by integrating the
product and services. When developing PSS, it is always
important to consider the development of both elements
together and continue evolving the services during the middle
of life and end of life to improve value creation.
Tukker [8] provided a model based on the concept of
servitization in a product-service system context (Fig. 26.3).
The “product-orientated” block contains minimal services,
the services themselves being focused on the product, which
means that the provider generally limits their services to
installation, commissioning, warranty, and maintenance, al-
though, at the extremes, they may provide spare parts rather
than maintenance services. Generally, this is provided on a
transactional basis with the pull for “aftermarket” services
coming directly from the equipment owner or operator. With
a use-orientated product-service system, the supplier focuses
on the inputs to keep the equipment’s productivity high
by focusing on the maintenance of the equipment, so here
condition-based maintenance is many suppliers’ goal. Often
long-term agreements are used to provide a use-oriented
product-service system. A results-orientated product-service
system means that the system is now paid based on its output
and that the supplier has a much more comprehensive range
of obligations.
604 C. Ganz and S. West

Beginning of life Middle of life End of life

Distrib- Use/
Design Manufacture Support Upgrade Retire
ution operate

Product Process Plant Produc- Internal External Reverse

Optimize Train Maintain Repair MOL2 Recycle Resell
design design design tion logistics logistic logistics

Fig. 26.2 Life cycle management from multiple perspective helps firms to identify new service opportunities. (Adapted from [6] and [7])

Product-service system

Value Value
mainly in mainly in
Service content the service
product
(intangible) content
content
Product content
(tangible)

Pure product
Pure product Use oriented Results oriented Pure service
oriented

Fig. 26.3 PSS model from (Adapted from [8])

Tukker’s product-service system model [8] has been
the basis for the characterization of services [9]. In the
Kowalkowski and Ulaga model [9], the nature of the
supplier’s value proposition (input- or output-based) is
compared with the orientation of the services (e.g., the
product or the customer’s processes). This leads to four
different service classifications:
• Product life cycle services – many of the traditional
industrial services are in this category as the value
proposition is input-based and oriented toward the
product.
• Process support services – here, the supplier supports the
customer’s process and again focuses on the inputs rather
than the outcomes.
• Asset efficiency services – the focus is again the product
where the supplier is paid based on the product’s outputs
rather than the inputs.
• Process delegation services – the supplier takes respon-
sibility for the outcomes, and the customer, in effect,
outsources their process to the supplier.
Service businesses are different from product businesses
in more than just the fact that their value propositions come
mainly from the intangible rather than the tangible [10].
Mathieu [11, 12] identified that service businesses were
based on supporting the customer, whereas product-based
firms supported the product and had efficiency-based inno-
vation processes. Bretani [13] explained that product firms
had a more precise separation of production and delivery. In
contrast, services often combined production with delivery
and were frequently codependent on the customer for part of
the delivery process.
The cultural aspects of service cannot be underplayed;
Schlesinger and Hasket [14] established that the “employee
as a disposable tool” is a very costly approach in a service
26 Service Automation
business. This was in part due to the importance of personal
relationships and interactions within service transitions. To
humanize service delivery, they developed a four-element
model that:
• Values people as an investment as much as technology.
• Considers that technology is there to support people (not
replace them).
• Highlights that selection and training for frontline staff is
as important as for managers.
• Compensation should be related to performance.
According to Mathieu [12], the cultural aspect of a service
business is related to the service strategy for manufacturing
firms. The model defines three levels of organizational in-
tensity for services: “tactical” (e.g., we do it because our
competitors do it), “strategic” (e.g., we do it because our
senior managers tell us to do it), and “cultural” (e.g., why
would you not consider services?).
Service Innovation and Service Design
The effort and risk of developing services and products are
different; the Kindström, D., Kowalkowski, C., and Sand-
berg, E. [15] study into service innovation provided the
evidence for this by assessing the different development
processes (Fig. 26.4). Service development has costs in the
later stages of launch and follow-up, whereas for product
development the costs are in the earlier phases of innovation.
This can explain to some degree why innovation management
tools, such as “StageGate” processes, need adaptation to
make them more suitable for service innovation. Service in-
novation is closer to more general business development and
can be considered more disruptive as it can force adaptation
of traditional business models.
The tools used for innovating in services are also different
from product development tools as the innovation is often
“outside in” and driven by customer knowledge. It involves
a wider range of participants from the supplier and the
customer than is the case with product development. The
New product development
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
1. 2. 3. 4.
Fig. 26.4 Product vs. service development process (Adapted from [16])
605
outcome of service innovation is often much more intangible
and often difficult to visualize. However, in order to automate
services, defining and visualizing the service process are
essential.
Outcomes for Operators
For the operator of an industrial plant, it is of utmost impor-
tance that the equipment is available with optimum perfor-
mance at any time that it is needed. For some systems in a
plant, this means 24 hours a day and 365 days a year, while
26
for others, this may apply for only a few weeks spread over
the year.
Even though industrial plants prefer to have equipment
that does not require any service, maintenance, or repair,
planned outage for overhaul is generally accepted and some-
times unavoidable. A large rotating kiln in a cement plant, for
example, must usually be fitted with a new liner every year,
stopping production for a short time. What is unacceptable,
however, are unplanned outages due to malfunction of equip-
ment.
The better prepared a supplier of this equipment is to react
to these unplanned events, the more appreciated this service
will be.
Taking this into account, industrial service must strive
to:
• Keep equipment at maximum performance whenever op-
erated. Where degradation is exceeding the level of what
can be recovered in operation
• Provide well-planned service at times of planned outage.
If there are still unplanned outages
• Restore optimum performance as quickly and effectively
as possible
From these steps, it can be surmised that service strategy
planning is related to risk management: operational main-
tenance and outage planning are risk mitigation actions,
avoiding an unplanned shutdown and related contingency
costs, while operation restoration is a contingency action,
New service development
Pre-study/concept study
Development
Industrialization
Launch
Follow-up
5. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
606
aiming at minimizing the cost of lost opportunity [3]. At the
same time, over-maintenance will result in high costs, while
not adding significantly to the availability of the equipment.
We will cover this approach in more detail in Sect. 26.3.
Already described is the need to consider the entire life
cycle when considering services. For services, it can be
helpful to consider the life cycle management from both the
supplier’s and the customer’s perspectives. This is because
the customer may keep the equipment in operation for a
significantly longer time than the supplier’s “design life”
suggests. This extension of life (and by default, an increase
in the accessible installed base) means that new service
opportunities may exist that would otherwise be overlooked.
Over time new technologies are developed from the prod-
uct development process that can be reapplied to the existing
installed base. This can offer a low-risk and high-margin
opportunity for firms that have an active PSS portfolio. The
technologies can support the customer to adapt their mission
to the new market conditions or a new asset management
strategy.
26.1.5 Service Business Models
At the core of a business model discussion stands the value
proposition: what value does the offering provide to the
customer. That value defines whether and how much the
customer is willing to pay for it, which defines the supplier’s
revenue model. Osterwalder nicely visualizes this in his
“business model canvas” [17]. A value proposition is best
expressed in the customer’s words: “the solution helps [per-
sona/s] to [activity] in order to [outcome] when [situation].”
In the case of a product offering, the value proposition
materializes over time, as the customer is using the product,
while the payment is made at the time of purchase. The cus-
tomer is making an upfront investment for a foreseen value to
be delivered. In services, the value mostly materializes at the
point of service delivery, which may be over a longer period
of time (e.g., a service contract). For the customer, the “value
flow” (cash flow, if value is equated to money) is much more
favorable.
Note that the value proposition is in the eyes of the cus-
tomer. Not all value propositions may be attractive to all cus-
tomer segments, so customer segmentation and focused value
propositions are required. GE does this very well by having
three very different value positions for the maintenance of gas
turbines: one based on the “power-by-the-hour” concept, one
based on an advanced rate sheet valid for 6 years or more, and
one on a purely transactional basis. In effect, all value propo-
sitions are based on the same underlying service modules
of parts, repairs, and spares. Alstom’s gas turbine business
C. Ganz and S. West
(now part of GE) had one of the most comprehensive suites
of business models and value propositions [18] (Fig. 26.5).
In a product-service system, the value proposition of the
individual product and of the services often differs, and the
product sale and delivery may be separated from the service
sale and delivery, even when operating in the same market
segment. Buyer preferences can (and should) mean that the
value proposition is adjusted to their requirements, needs,
and preferences. Value propositions may be hierarchical,
combining those of the product and the services [5].
Traditionally, industrial services are delivered under
an activity-based revenue model. The customer (owner,
operator) asked for an activity to be executed on the plant,
and the service provider performs all actions required
to fulfill this contract. The customer is then charged
for time and materials spent.
Another common business model for service is the service
contract. Under this, the customer has the right to consume a
number of services over a defined period of time or a usage-
based metric (e.g., distance driven) for a fixed fee. Service
contracts have the advantage of easing service budgeting for
the customer and create a continuous revenue stream for the
service provider.
A variant of the service contract is performance-based
services. The agreed outcome of the service contract is not
the number of interventions but a KPI to be achieved by
the equipment. Contracts may be tied to a maximum un-
planned outage time, and the service provider has to take all
necessary service measures to make sure this is fulfilled. A
performance-based service contract may also include a bonus
clause if the KPI is significantly exceeded.
In recent years, companies are striving to increase the
service part of their business model to create more recurring
revenue. This trend is generally referred to as “servitization”
[19, 20].
One servitization variant, the product as a service, has
gained popularity particularly in the software industry. In-
stead of buying a product and then paying for software
upgrades, the software is charged for on a time or usage base.
Similar contracts have reached industry by offering a product
as a service. In many cases this is not more than a leasing
contract, where the equipment stays on the leaser’s balance
sheet. Other models, particularly those where the product
is exchanged over time, provide more customer value: Hilti
provides tools as a service (Hilti Fleet Management Service,
[21]), where a construction company gets the tools required
at every stage of the construction and later in building main-
tenance. This kind of contract provides flexibility to the
customer to not buy all tools and use them for a short time.
For the supplier to have a benefit requires the possibility
to increase the utilization of the equipment, i.e., by using
equipment in several contracts in sequence.
26 Service Automation
Value propositions
Full operation
Operational support and routine,
plan and unplanned maintenance
Operational and
o&m
maintenance support
Planned and unplanned m
Support and consulting
Planned
Field services
only
Part
Transactional
Fig. 26.5 Alstom gas turbine suite of value propositions with underlying business models. (Based on (Adapted from [18]))
The idea of manufacturing as a service goes even further:
the complete plant is used as a service, and the customer
can produce components without owning manufacturing ca-
pacity. As mentioned before, the “as a service” provider can
increase the utilization of the plant by offering this service to
several customers in sequence.
The complexity of most industrial plants may require a
mixed approach depending on the complexity and criticality
of subsystems. More and more, plants are built in a mod-
ular fashion, where individual subsystems are packaged in
modules by a supplier, including all equipment and automa-
tion. Separate modules may follow different service models,
where some modules are key to the operation and are owned
and operated by the plant owner, whereas others may be
utilized as a-service, with maintenance and possibly even
operations provided by the supplier. Modularity in services
is similar to modularity in products; it supports the standard-
ization of the back end of the service delivery to help ensure
the quality of the services with economies of scale. The front-
end modules allow a “pick-and-mix” approach that allows
the necessary customization for the customer. In effect this
enables flexibility along the continuum of “do it for me” to
“do it with me” and “do it yourself.”
Caterpillar, Hilti, and Rolls-Royce all have excellent value
propositions based on PSS concepts, and today the majority
of their growth is from the service solutions that they of-
fer. They have nested value propositions that have clearly
focused messages; each of the firms is well known for the
quality of their products. For each of the firms, the innovative
value propositions have been cannibalistic to their existing
offerings; nevertheless they successfully adapted their busi-
607
O&M
o&M Contractual
Focus on the service
outcomes agreements
Transfer of risk
26
Multi-year
Focus on the inputs
maintenance
Optimization of costs
agreements
Purchase orders
ness models to deliver the new value propositions yet still
provide the traditional products and services to a market
segment.
26.2 Operational Considerations
Any maintenance strategy needs to fit into the overall op-
eration scheme of an enterprise. Essentially, the business
processes define the operation schedule. This is the key
input required to define a maintenance strategy. When can
equipment be taken off-line and for how long, depending
on the current commitments to customers and the market
situation? Can plant operation be reduced to extend the life
cycle of an asset? What is the impact on the business? In the
following sections, we will discuss a few typical situations
and their impact on a maintenance strategy.
When considering the operation (and hence the
maintenance demand for the equipment), it is vital to consider
the relation between operations (asset load and demand
impacting asset health) and maintenance (asset maintenance
and repair requiring downtime reducing operations). Each
point of view impacts operation and the maintenance
strategy for the asset in question, and each links back to
the value proposition. It also requires the supplier firm and
the customer to understand the forms of maintenance (e.g.,
planned, unplanned, routine/operational) and the approach to
maintenance (e.g., time-based, condition-based, breakdown).
Different owners all have different strategies, and here, the
OEM’s team needs to bear in mind that service is not about
“keeping the equipment shiny.”
608
26.2.1 Operation Driven by Market Situation
Some industries are driven by highly changeable market
situations. Food and beverage industries may depend on the
harvest season. Power interruption in a winter resort is less
critical in summer. And in some industries, production is
critical prior to the launch of a new product or for large
orders from key customers. In all these examples, production
interruption has a very high impact in the high utilization
time window and is less critical in between. Some of the
utilization peaks may be shifted, but in some situations, this
is not possible without impact.
It is essential that failure is avoided while under high
utilization, and maintenance can be postponed until the low
utilization or standstill time. A maintenance schedule must
therefore minimize opportunity cost, i.e., the difference be-
tween the possible unrestricted revenue and the achieved
revenue under the maintenance regime.
26.2.2 Long-Term Continuous Operation
Industry verticals like oil and gas or conventional power
generation require continuous operation over a long period.
A complete plant shutdown is costly and time-consuming and
is avoided whenever possible so are normally scheduled up
to years ahead. It is then when all critical maintenance has to
be completed within a predefined time window.
Main Equipment Planned Shutdown
The maintenance schedule of many plants in these partic-
ularly sensitive industries is mostly defined by the main
equipment, i.e., by the manufacturer of that equipment. These
systems are the key production assets that are essential for
the operation; examples are turbines in power generation or
compressors in oil and gas extraction. All other maintenance
activities are then aligned to that schedule.
The key question for condition monitoring and predic-
tive maintenance is the probability of failure before the
next maintenance interval. If failure is predicted before the
maintenance window, intermediate action is to be taken; if
the prediction shows a potential failure after the planned
shutdown, maintenance is to be scheduled in the regular
maintenance window.
Operational risk is usually prescribed by equipment man-
ufacturers based on generic usage assumptions and conser-
vative operating models to define a recommended preven-
tative maintenance schedule. Due to market pressures on
production and the desire for more production uptime, opera-
tors are currently challenging these assumptions and models
and asking equipment manufacturers to extend the recom-
mended maintenance periods. One method to allow operators
to safely extend the maintenance period is to move from
C. Ganz and S. West
preventive maintenance (based on assumptions) to condition-
based maintenance based on the real plant operating condi-
tions.
Failures Reducing Flexibility
Most of the equipment in a plant is not part of the main
equipment fleet, but a failure still generates a plant outage.
Examples are pumps with their associated motors and drives,
cooling fans, etc. Smaller equipment that would have a high
impact when failing is often available in a redundant config-
uration, i.e., the plant still operates with one failed device.
Some of the equipment may be used in particular oper-
ational situations only, for example, at start-up or shutdown,
cleaning or grade change. Even when the facility is in full op-
eration, redundant devices or equipment that is not operating
may be exchanged between main inspections.
The maintenance window for such devices is defined by
the operational risk. A failed device in a redundant pair
significantly increases the risk of failure. Even though a plant
may operate without redundancy for some time, it is wise to
still repair the device as soon as possible.
Some equipment reduces the plant capacity, for instance,
a cooling fan that fails in a large fan arrangement may result
in a reduction of peak production or the failure of one of
six export compressors can reduce the plant capacity with-
out causing a complete shutdown. The production schedule
drives the acceptable time window of reduced production.
If a failing device is part of a configuration that is currently
not operating, the production schedule needs to be consulted
for the next scheduled use. In some situations, the production
schedule can be rearranged to avoid that particular mode of
operation.
26.2.3 Batch or Shift Operation
Some plants are shut down at regular intervals. Some facto-
ries only operate in one or two shifts, i.e., they are shut down
at night. Others are driven by batch schedules, and between
batches, a shutdown may be needed, e.g., for cooling, clean-
ing, or reconfiguring.
A comparable situation exists if the plant is reconfigured
frequently to produce a different product. A few weeks of
uninterrupted operation may be followed by a few days of
reconfiguration.
In either situation, small maintenance tasks that can be
completed during the shutdown can be scheduled quickly
without having an impact on the operation schedule. Longer
interventions may result in a delay of the production schedule
and may need to be shifted until the next planning cycle.
Depending on the business cycle, plant utilization may be
shifted. This still creates a production loss, but it does not
affect a commitment for delivery.
26 Service Automation
26.3 Service, Maintenance, and Repair
Strategies
The requirements from the business environment, the life
cycle stage, the nature of the plant (continuous, discrete), and
other boundary conditions define the requirements for the
maintenance strategy. Cost of downtime needs to be balanced
with cost of maintenance, an optimum that may also change
over time. In this section we look at different strategies for
plant maintenance.
26.3.1 Key Performance Indicators
One of the key performance indicators that can be influenced
by an optimized maintenance program is plant availability:
the proportion of time a system is in a functional condition.
Availability [A] is calculated based on the expected value [E]
of the uptime and downtime, respectively:
E [uptime]
A=
E [uptime] + E [downtime]
Depending on the formula use, there are two interpreta-
tions of availability:
• Operational availability: availability under the normal op-
eration scheme of the plant. Uptime and downtime are
driven by equipment reliability as well as by commercial
considerations. The overall plant uptime and downtime are
used, irrespective of what caused the downtime.
• Inherent availability: availability solely caused by fail-
ures and their recovery. The operational availability is
optimized based on the business conditions. The inherent
availability is a KPI that is normally maximized by min-
imizing outages or their impact. For the inherent avail-
ability, E[uptime] is equal to the mean time to failure
(MTTF), and E[downtime] is equal to the mean time to
repair (MTTR).
An optimal maintenance strategy can influence the in-
herent availability by extending the MTTF through avoiding
failures altogether. It is also influenced by reducing the
MTTR and bringing a plant back online in shorter time.
Over the life cycle of the equipment, the MTTF changes:
there is a higher probability that the equipment will fail early
in its life cycle (“infant mortality”) due to production or
installation errors, and this probability rises again when the
equipment is aging and wearing out. This reliability function
is generally referred to as the “bathtub curve,” shown in
Fig. 26.6.
In the context of predictive maintenance, MTTR has the
following aspects:
609
Failure rate
Infant
mortality Random failures Wear-out
Equipment life
26
Fig. 26.6 Failure rate over the life cycle of the equipment, “bathtub
curve”
• Detection time: the time from the plant being unavailable
until it is detected. Even though one would assume that
detection of downtime is immediate, one can imagine
cases of subsystems or remote plant sections, where a
failure goes unnoticed for some time.
• Preparation time: the time spent to prepare the repair.
• Repair time: the time spent to repair a fault.
If equipment fails unexpectedly, the preparation time can-
not be spent before the incident. MTTR is therefore the sum
of the repair time and the preparation time. If a fault can
be predicted, the preparation time can be spent before the
outage, and only the repair time affects the availability.
A comprehensive overview over the literature in the field
is given in [22].
If the maintenance strategy is aligned with the business
outcome, this optimization considers times of high and low
production. A more comprehensive, but more complex, KPI
for the effectiveness of a maintenance program may therefore
be the cumulative opportunity cost. This KPI considers repair
cost but also the lost sales due to the plant not being available
in critical business situations.
26.3.2 Corrective Maintenance
In this approach, maintenance is only done when something
fails. In the best case, the failed equipment is redundant,
either by having another device installed that is performing
the same function or by executing the function by different
means (e.g., manual instead of automatic). In most cases, this
approach leads to plant downtime.
Downtime can be shortened by keeping an inventory of
spare parts and spare equipment, which in turn has an impact
on working capital.
Relating back to the definition of availability, the factor
that can be influenced by corrective maintenance is the
duration of the downtime. Proper detection and reporting
mechanisms help to detect the failure and, in the best case,
610
also locate it and explain its reason quickly. Spare part
inventory, and well-trained service personnel, located close
to the plant further helps to shorten the preparation time.
To then repair the failed component, it is essential to have
efficient personnel as well as ease of repair built into the
design of the broken component.
One way to achieve personnel efficiency is proper train-
ing. New technologies applying augmented reality (AR) may
be of help in achieving this, as the AR allows the trainee to get
hands-on experience before seeing a real plant. Furthermore,
a service person may not need the support of a senior expert
traveling with him or her to the site, as the expert may well
be connected to the system remotely.
Ease of repair is something that needs to be designed into
the equipment. Today, design for manufacturing is state of the
art. To extend that concept to include a service environment,
where the equipment is installed in its operational environ-
ment with only limited tools available, is a challenge that is
often not considered in the design phase. To include service
technicians in the design stage of an R&D project is a best
practice worth exploring [23].
26.3.3 Preventive Maintenance
In this maintenance approach, equipment is maintained based
on a schedule, hours in operation, use cycles, or similar
indications of usage that relates to the equipment’s wear
and tear. The intervals in which the maintenance activity
has to occur are derived from statistics and the experience
of the equipment manufacturer. This approach is taken by
car manufacturers, where a car must be serviced at regular
intervals (according to time or mileage).
This approach prevents many unplanned failures. How-
ever, it requires service activity where it may not yet be
needed due to the state of the equipment. If a fault devel-
ops between maintenance intervals, it will still lead to an
unplanned outage.
To come up with an optimal preventive maintenance strat-
egy, information about the following aspects of the equip-
ment have to be analyzed:
• Design parameters: the equipment was laid out in the
design phase to fulfill life cycle requirements that have
an impact on its reliability. Tolerances are then chosen to
further reduce the failure probability within the expected
life cycle. Good industrial design flags components that
need to be serviced or replaced within the life cycle of the
equipment. This a priori information is the base of a good
preventive maintenance plan.
• Failure statistics and best practices: service records from
the field can be used to further improve the strategy. If, de-
spite the design, some failures occur more frequently, the
C. Ganz and S. West
maintenance instructions for the fleet have to be updated.
The service tools in place (covered in Sect. 26.4.1) should
be used to both collect the data and also to roll out refined
service plans to service personnel and existing customers.
26.3.4 Condition-Based Maintenance
Maintaining a device once it has broken down is one extreme
case of condition-based maintenance, where the condition
of the equipment has “failed.” Good diagnostic capabilities,
however, can indicate an upcoming failure before it results in
an outage of the plant. The device can then be maintained in
times of low or stopped production, which has a minor impact
on the plant’s production.
Some equipment conditions can be detected by the expe-
rienced maintenance person, through sound, sight, or other
senses. This can be extended by adding sensing capabilities to
the equipment and by running diagnostic algorithms to detect
developing issues before they are spotted by humans.
Automating equipment monitoring requires sensors.
These may be added to the equipment for the sake of
monitoring, but they may already be available for other
purposes, e.g., for control. In a simple case, a failure of a
component is indicated by a sensor that surpasses a defined
limit. If a bearing temperature or vibration measurement
is too high, this may point to a problem. In many cases
however, further analysis is required. The amplitude of a
vibration signal may still be in the normal range, while
some frequencies are outside the norm [24]. Such condition
monitoring systems may combine several sensor readings to
detect the failure.
In Fig. 26.7, the current machine condition is one data
point that indicates the current status (labeled “monitored
condition”).
26.3.5 Predictive Maintenance
An extension of condition-based maintenance is predictive
maintenance. In addition to monitoring the device’s condi-
tion, an algorithm is used to estimate the device’s predicted
failure time. This may be done based on past measure-
ments on that device but also based on statistics over a
fleet of devices where typical failure probabilities are calcu-
lated on the condition that a given effect is observed on a
device.
A predictive approach allows better optimization of the
maintenance schedule. How far in the future the failure can
be predicted depends on the capabilities of the analytics used
and the amount of data that is available from which to derive
the failure probabilities. The result can be an unplanned
outage that is scheduled to match a time of low production
26 Service Automation
Monitored condition
Failure initiated
Condition
Fig. 26.7 Relation of maintenance strategies
(low lost opportunity), or the prediction can even assure that
a device will survive until the next planned outage.
The longer lead time indicated by the predictive algorithm
may have an additional impact on the spare part inventory. If
the predicted time is long enough, spare parts can be ordered
ahead from the manufacturer and do not need to be kept in
stock.
To enable predictive maintenance, all aspects of condition-
based maintenance must be present, i.e., the capability to
collect and analyze data. Many of the common algorithms
applied also require recordings of past data in periods leading
to failures, in order to detect trends.
To achieve a more precise prediction that also considers
the intended future load of a plant, accurate models are re-
quired that take the current state for calibration and calculate
the future failure behavior. Since modeling of wear and aging
is difficult using first principle physical models, statistical
models or neural networks show good performance in such
applications.
Figure 26.7 shows the prediction to forecast future ma-
chine behavior given the currently assessed condition.
26.3.6 Prescriptive Maintenance
One further maintenance strategy is to investigate the options
indicated by the prediction algorithm. A device that is suf-
fering from reduced health may deteriorate more slowly if
611
Prediction
Prescription
26
Statistical spread
Catastrophic failure
not loaded to full capacity. A minor decrease in production
may prevent an outage and buy time until the next scheduled
maintenance. Alternatively, a short outage to install a tempo-
rary fix may buy the time needed to order a new device or to
properly schedule the maintenance activity according to the
overall maintenance plan.
Again, prescriptive maintenance requires all aspects of
predictive maintenance to be present. It requires predictive
algorithms that not only rely on statistics but also that can run
“what-if” simulations to calculate the impact of a particular
intervention.
Figure 26.7 indicates the impact of prescriptive
maintenance to move the failure condition further into the
future to allow for corrective actions in an optimal time
window.
26.4 Technology and Solutions
In the previous sections, we have covered the various aspects
of industrial services and what the drivers are. In this section
we will now cover the solutions available to increase the
automation level of these services. It is to be noted that
“industrial services” is one field where human intervention
is still very important. Automation technologies can support
humans in their tasks to increase their effectiveness, but
fully automated service delivery is still limited to niche
applications.
612
26.4.1 Condition Assessment and Prediction
A properly designed condition assessment and prediction
solution is tailored to the equipment it is evaluating. In an
optimal case, the functionality is already built into the device
as it is designed. The engineers who do this tailor much of the
information available and are using it to design the device for
reliability.
In order to properly construct a condition monitoring
system, the elements to be observed need to be those that
create the biggest value when monitored [25]. In the first
step, possible failure modes need to be analyzed. What can
go wrong? What impact would that failure have? If combined
with life cycle data from existing products, or market failure
statistics, the most frequent failures can be identified.
The next step in the design of a monitoring system is
to identify possible variables that would indicate a failure
as early as possible. Where are sensors installed that could
observe an effect of a degradation? The volume of sensors
now used in smartphones and cars has led to a significant
cost reduction. While vibration monitoring using accelerom-
eters was expensive in the past, such sensors have become
available in large numbers. This means adding sensors to a
device only for monitoring purposes has become possible
even for lower cost products such as low-voltage motors. If
such sensors are not available in the installed base of older
equipment, retrofitting devices with monitoring packages
that comprise sensing, basic analytics, and communication
capabilities has become possible. Figure 26.8 shows the ABB
Smart Sensor attached to motors in a factory [26].
If it is still not possible to directly measure a failure with
a sensor, it may be calculated from adjacent sensors. Are
there physical models available that provide the necessary
algorithms to do these calculations? If a failure is difficult to
model, a statistical modeling approach can be taken, where
Fig. 26.8 Condition monitoring retrofit solution for motors (ABB
Smart Sensor)
C. Ganz and S. West
data from earlier failures are analyzed and used to calculate
the respective parameters.
A special case of a statistical model is using machine
learning. Data from past operations can be used to train a
neural network that can then be used to infer the system’s
state of health. To train a neural network or statistical model,
a large number of observations of healthy as well as faulty
devices need to be available. Since industrial equipment
rarely fails in normal use, the chance of seeing a failure
within a single plant is low. Data from a vast fleet of devices
therefore needs to be used for that training. To make this data
available for analysis, concepts of the Internet of Things (IoT)
have to be applied [27].
26.4.2 Remote Services: Internet of Things
With the proliferation of the Internet of Things into industrial
applications [28], many of the monitoring and analytical
functions described so far have moved from the plant to the
cloud. Computing and storage capacity are more scalable and
elastic in cloud environments compared to on-site computa-
tion. Furthermore, to learn from as many incidents as possible
and to extract the corresponding data patterns to predict that
failure in other installations, the data needs to be accessible
from one central point where the algorithms can be trained.
This point has been established by a number of vendors to be
the IoT cloud. Figure 26.9 shows the issue resolution process,
where the issue is detected or predicted by the analytics
algorithms in the cloud platform. It is then further resolved
by the service expert, who triggers the service intervention
process that finally brings the field engineer to the plant to
fix the problem.
The data that is analyzed for the detection of potential
issues can also be used to analyze the plant’s performance
in general. Performance indicators such as energy efficiency,
throughput, or quality may also be derived from collected
data, and the plant operator can be informed about possible
measures to improve operations.
Since all required data is available off-site, broad collab-
oration between different stakeholders is enabled. The plant
that lacks the top-level experts on-site may still be guided
by those specialists (located in another plant or in a corpo-
rate office), and the supplier can add equipment specialists
to discuss any operational or maintenance issues whenever
required. Such a collaborative operation center (example
screens are shown in Fig. 26.10), where plant personnel,
customer’s experts, and supplier’s experts can interact in
real time across the globe without the need for travel, is a
key concept to deliver digital services beyond maintenance
support [29, 30].
Independent of the location and the staffing of the plant,
key experts (internal and external) can be made available
depending on the needs of the plant operation. This enables
26 Service Automation 613

3rd Party Collaborating

service provider service expert
External Service
consultant dispatcher
Web portal Service center Field service mgt

Analytics
26
Inst. Other
base IoT cloud data
Customer Secure conn. Field service
engineer

Improved operational effectiveness Fast and efficient resolution of issues

Fig. 26.9 Industrial Internet of Things service ecosystem. (Courtesy ABB)

Fig. 26.10 ABB Ability™ collaborative operation center – plant and asset view
614
faster reaction and broader analysis of technical as well as
production issues. Experts can be called upon without the
need for a physical presence on-site. And changing needs of
production can be matched by bringing in the experts needed
in a wide range of situations.
26.4.3 Service Information Management
in a Digital Twin
The detailed information about the equipment’s condition is
not sufficient to efficiently execute a maintenance task. In
addition to this information, a service organization needs to
know more, for example:
• Location of the equipment and description of how to reach
it, including local access procedures
• Purpose of the equipment and expected performance and
connection of equipment to other parts of the installation
• Proposed service actions and detailed advice of how to
carry out these actions, including required tools
• Safety issues in handling the equipment
• Technical data, including drawings and part lists
• Historical data for the equipment, including previous ser-
vice actions
• Information about spare parts and their availability and
location
• Information about urgency and time constraints
• Data for administrative procedures and work orders
Most of this information is available in digital form. It
is essential that it is available at the place and the time of
the service intervention. Ensuring that this information is
correct is not a trivial matter. All available information must
be associated with the equipment to be serviced. Outdated or
incorrect information may in the best case prolong the service
activity or in the worst case create a dangerous situation.
The challenge of managing digital information along the
life cycle has been addressed by introducing the concept
of a digital twin [31]. If properly set up, a digital twin not
only shows the cause of the problem but also contains 3D
models, work instructions, spare part bills of material, and
corresponding spare part inventory levels. If the digital twin
information is consistently managed throughout the life cycle
of the equipment, it can provide most of the information
required for a service intervention.
The digital twin information not only needs to be col-
lected, but it also needs to be available at the place and
time of the service intervention. Handheld devices such as
smartphones and tablets are a convenient way to carry the
information or to access back-end systems that provide it.
Another means to access it may be augmented reality. These
tools combine the real picture of a device with displayed
information about the object inspected. Looking at a valve
C. Ganz and S. West
in a plant, for example, the system would display the data
of last inspection; the present performance status, analyzed
by a background system; the scheduled maintenance interval;
etc. Drawings of the part can be displayed, and maintenance
instructions can be given.
26.4.4 Service Support Tools
Apart from the information required on-site, further automa-
tion can be achieved by managing the service intervention.
If the following tasks are not aligned, there may be further
delay in providing a remedy:
• Availability of a properly trained service team in optimal
distance to the plant
• Availability of the required tools and spare parts
• Deployment of people and material on-site
• Alignment with the plant’s shutdown schedule and proce-
dures
• Necessary approvals and work orders from the plant
• Administrative back-end processes, such as purchase or-
ders and billing
All these steps can be taken on paper and coordinated over
the phone, but today’s service management tools provide
the support required to keep the information flows consis-
tent and avoid misunderstandings. Connecting the real-time
information from the field to the service process tools, and
integrating the information that is available in the digital twin
to the processes managed by the corresponding service and
logistics tools, creates the information base to enable auto-
mated business processes. From notification of the service
organization through high-level event processing based on
IoT data to detection of successful remedy by analyzing IoT
data that may lead to automatic billing, many processes can
be automated.
Still, even in highly automated service delivery systems,
humans stay in the loop as well, taking the relevant deci-
sions and finally executing the service actions in the field.
The technology available in the IoT cloud, through artificial
intelligence and advanced optimization algorithms, helps to
make this process as efficient as possible to reduce downtime
and increase the productivity of a plant.
When considering automation, it is vital to consider the
digital landscape that exists, as service can tap into these
as resources to improve the service delivery, the operation
management, and the design of the next generation of prod-
ucts. The installed base information provides a core service
base as it includes information on where the equipment is,
how it is operated, how it is maintained, and who is the
operator. This provides important insights for both sales and
the service business. The installed base’s starting point can
be data in the customer relationship management (CRM)
26 Service Automation 615

system that considers the bidding process or simply the The use of industrial IoT has brought automated services
ship-to address on the delivery. When the installed base is a great step forward, but further information integration is re-
integrated with a life cycle management model CRM and quired to optimally serve an industrial customer. Service pro-
coupled with operational data, it is possible to forecast the cesses can be automated similarly to other business processes
service sales revenues. The CRM data provides information where robotic process automation is increasing efficiency.
on the customers, and this can be used to drive the service
sales team, ensuring repeat visits and triggers for sales pro-
cesses. Journey mapping can support this process further and
26.5 Conclusions and Emerging
allows for the automation of trigger marketing. ServiceMax,
Challenges
for instance, provides a system similar to a manufacturing 26
execution system (MES) for services that supports the service
Industrial services cover most of a product or system’s life
business, drawing from data in CRM and ERP systems and
cycle, from the design stages until its end of life. In par-
the installed base with operational service management. This
ticular, the services around managing the installed system’s
helps to automate the service operations to drive customer
operational performance and uptime share a common pat-
experience and efficiency. Machine data can be collected
tern: measured field data and other information available
in the form of process data and sensor data to provide,
in the plant’s or supplier’s IT systems are analyzed to de-
for example, automated replenishment as part of a service
tect or predict performance degradation or failures. Based
contract. Veolia Environment, for example, used sensors on
on this information, a service intervention is planned and
waste bins to allow an adaptive collection process to be
executed. Service automation is easiest to implement in the
developed.
data collection and analysis parts of this process. Today’s
asset management systems are capable of doing these tasks
in an automated or supported way. These systems are also
26.4.5 Toward Fully Automated Service
well suited to automate some of the background processes,
scheduling, spare parts management, etc. A well-designed
As we laid out in Sect. 26.1.2, one of the key properties
product-service system (PSS) can help optimize these steps.
of services is their intangible nature. When developing a
Where automation is still not easily implemented is in
physical product, its design is described so that a factory
the execution of the service intervention. Repair and main-
or workshop can build it from the design instructions. The
tenance activities still require human activities to perform
machines in a factory are capable of using some of these
the steps necessary to get the equipment back to optimal
instructions (possibly converted into machine instructions) to
performance.
automatically build the product.
In this chapter we have outlined some of the challenges
Service delivery is unique in time and place on each
and presented current approaches around creating product-
occasion it is performed for a customer. Its execution still
service system offerings that not only maintain the product’s
often depends on the individual performing the service. To
functionality but also extend it with services along the life
standardize service delivery, organizations have clearly de-
cycle. We have also outlined some of the technologies that
scribed the service process, similar to the instructions and
can be employed to put such systems into action.
plans that are used to build a product. Such defined processes
If properly implemented, these approaches not only pro-
are the base for service automation.
vide better margins for the supplier but also create better
As we have seen in Sect. 26.4.4, tools to support the back-
customer relationships and are a door opener to continued
end processes in a more automated way are available today.
collaboration on expanding the customer’s operations.
To properly automate service processes, feedback from the
See related topics in Chapter 31.
equipment is essential. Consistently collecting and analyzing
information as described in Sect. 26.4.2 are required to close
the automation loop: from condition assessment to failure
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 Infrastructure and Complex Systems
Automation 27
Florin Gheorghe Filip and Kauko Leiviskä

Contents new characteristic features, such as networked structure,

27.1 Background and Scope . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 618 enhanced geographical distribution associated with the
increased cooperation of subsystems, evolutionary devel-
27.2 Control Methods Large-Scale Complex Systems . . . . 620
27.2.1 Multilevel Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 620 opment, higher risk sensitivity, presence of more, possi-
27.2.2 Decentralized Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 623 bly conflicting, objectives, and security and environment
27.2.3 Computer Supported Decision-Making . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 623 concerns. This chapter aims to present a balanced review
27.3 Modern Automation Architectures and Essential of several traditional well-established methods (such as
Enabling Technologies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 625 multilevel and decentralized control) and modern control
27.3.1 Internet of Things . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 625 solutions (such as cooperative and networked control) for
27.3.2 Computing Technologies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 626
LSS together with the technology development and new
27.3.3 Tools and Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 628
27.3.4 Networked Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 629 application domains, such as smart city with heating and
water distribution systems, and environmental monitoring
27.4 Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 631
27.4.1 Smart Cities as Large-Scale Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 631 and protection. A particular attention is paid to automa-
27.4.2 Environmental Protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 634 tion infrastructures and associated enabling technologies
27.4.3 Other Infrastructure Automation Cases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 635 together with security aspects.
27.5 Design and Security Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 635
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 636 Keywords

Complex systems · Cloud Computing · Decision

Abstract
The set of traditional characteristic features of large-scale
complex systems (LSS) included the large number of vari-
ables, structure of interconnected subsystems, and other
features that complicate the control models, such as non-
linearities, time delays, and uncertainties. The advances
in information and communication technologies (ICT)
and the modern business models have led to important
evolution in the concepts and the corresponding manage-
ment and control infrastructures of large-scale complex
systems. The last three decades have highlighted several
F. G. Filip ()
The Romanian Academy, Bucharest, Romania
e-mail: ffilip@acad.ro
K. Leiviskä
Control Engineering Laboratory, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland
e-mail: kauko.leiviska@oulu.fi
support · Environment protection · ICT · Interconnected
systems · Internet of Things · Networked control · Smart
City
There is not yet a universally accepted definition of the
large-scale complex systems (LSS) though the LSS movement
started more than 50 years ago, and many definitions were
proposed [1–6, and others]. In addition, the concept has con-
tinuously evolved under the influence of the human factor,
technology advances, and changes in business models. The
LSS have traditionally been characterized by large numbers
of variables, structure of interconnected subsystems, and
other features that complicate the control models, such as
nonlinearities, time delays, and uncertainties. Their decom-
position into smaller, more manageable subsystems, possibly
organized in a hierarchy, has been associated with intense
and time-critical information exchange and with the need for
efficient decentralization and coordination mechanisms [7].

© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 617

S. Y. Nof (ed.), Springer Handbook of Automation, Springer Handbooks,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-96729-1_27
618
This chapter is an up-dated version of the Ch.  36,
entitled “Large-Scale Complex Systems,” of the first edition
of Springer Handbook of Automation.
27.1 Background and Scope
In real life, one can encounter many natural, manmade, and
social entities that can be viewed as LSS. From the early years
of the LSS movement, the general LSS class has included
several specific subclasses, such as steelworks, petrochem-
ical plants, power systems, transportation networks, water
systems, and societal organizations. The interest in designing
effective control schemes for such systems was primarily
motivated by the fact that even small improvements in the
LSS operations could lead to large savings and important
economic effects [6].
The structure of interconnected subsystems has apparently
been the characteristic feature of LSS to be found in most
definitions. Several subclasses of interconnections can be
noticed (Fig. 27.1). Firstly, there are the resource sharing
interconnections described by Findeisen [8], which can be
identified at the system level as remarked by Takatsu [9].
Also, at the system level, subsystems may be interconnected
through their common objectives, collective constraints, and
information flows. Besides the above virtual interconnec-
tions, the subsystems may also be physically interconnected
through buffer units (tanks), which are meant to attenuate
the effects of possible differences in the operation regimes of
plants, which feed or drain the stock in the buffer. This type of
flexible interconnection can frequently be met in large indus-
trial and related systems, such as refineries, steelworks, and
water systems [10]. In some cases, buffering units are not al-
lowed because of technological reasons; for example, electric
power cannot be stocked at all and reheated ingots in steel-
works must go immediately to rolling mills to be processed.
When there are no buffer units, the subsystems are coupled
through direct interconnections, at the process level [9].
In the 1990s, integration of systems continued and new
paradigms, such as the extended/networked/virtual enter-
prise, were articulated to reflect real-life developments. In
this context, Mårtenson [11] remarked that complex systems
became more and more complex. She provided several ar-
guments to support her remark. First, the ever-larger number
of interacting subsystems that perform various functions and
utilize technologies belonging to different domains, such as
mechanics, electronics, and Information and Communication
Technologies (ICT). Second, experts from different domains
can encounter hard-to-solve communication problems. Also,
people in charge of control and maintenance tasks, who
have to treat both routine and emergency situations, possess
uneven levels of skills and training and might even belong to
different cultures. Several years later, Nof et al. [12] stated:
F. G. Filip and K. Leiviskä
There is the need to create the next generation manufacturing
systems with higher levels of flexibility, allowing these systems
to respond as a component of enterprise networks in a timely
manner to highly dynamic supply-and-demand networked mar-
kets.
The ever-growing preoccupation for environment quality
as a part of sustainable development has led to circular
economy [13] and environmentally conscious manufacturing
and product recovery trends [14]. To implement those con-
cepts, a specific form of virtual LSS could be identified. It
consists of complex loops made up of forwards activities
(design, manufacturing, distribution, and use) and backwards
activities (collecting end-of-life products, disassembling, fol-
lowed by remanufacturing/reusing/repairing/disposal and re-
cycling). To make those activities effective, several multicri-
teria methods can be used [15, 16].
Besides manufacturing, there has been a growing trend to
understand the design, management, and control aspects of
complex supersystems or Systems of Systems (SoS). Systems
of Systems can be met in space exploration, military, and
civil applications, such as computer networks, integrated
education systems, healthcare networks, and air transporta-
tion systems. There are several definitions of SoS, most of
them being articulated in the context of particular applica-
tions; for example, Sage and Cuppan [17] stated that an
SoS is not a monolithic entity and possesses the majority
of the following characteristics: geographic distribution, op-
erational and management independence of its subsystems,
emergent behavior, and evolutionary development. All these
developments obviously imply ever more complex control
and decision problems. A particular case that has received
a lot of attention over recent years is the class of large-
scale critical infrastructures (communication networks, the
Internet, highways, water systems, power systems) that serve
the society in general [18]. Several SoS may show variable
structures under the influence of strong external perturbations
(weather conditions, pandemic, economic crisis, and so on)
or/and new business models and, consequently, may request
a multimodel approach. For example, the same large water
distribution system needs different models in normal, floods,
and drought situations [19].
The recent advances in information and communication
technologies have led to new developments and concepts.
Among them, the following ones are of interest: a) increased
collaboration of various entities, such as enterprises,
humans, computers, networks, and machines, b) the
digital transformation and associated concepts, such as
Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) and Cyber-Physical-Social
Systems (CPSS), and c) new control schemes, such as
Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based solutions and Networked
Control Systems (NCS). All new concepts and control
schemes are enabled by corresponding effective ICT
infrastructures.
27 Infrastructure and Complex Systems Automation 619

a) w1 m1 w2 m2

y1
u1 SSy1

Resources
y2
u2
SSy2

b) w1 m1 w2 m2
y1
u1 SSy1 z1 27
z2 u = h (z)
u2 y2
SSy2

c) w1 m1 w2 m2
y1
u1 SSy1 z1
s = g (s,z)
z2 u = h (s)
u2 SSy2 y2

Fig. 27.1 Interconnection patterns: (a) resource sharing, (b) direct interconnection, (c) flexible interconnection; SSy subsystem, m control variable,
y output variable, w disturbance, u interconnection input, z interconnection output, g(·) stock dynamics function, h(·) interconnection function

Lee [20] defines CPS as “integrations of computation and
physical processes where embedded computers and networks
monitor and control the physical processes, usually with
feedback loops where physical processes affect computations
and vice versa.” Yilma et al. [21] define a CPSS as a system
composed of two parts: a) a CPS and b) a social system
(SS). The components of CPS and SS interact in a virtual
and physical environment. See more on CPS later in Sect.
27.3.3.1.
Nof et al. [22, 23] emphasized that e-manufacturing is
highly dependent on the efficiency of collaborative human–
human and human–machine e-work. Emergency situations
of operation disruptions can be effectively handled in the
context of collaborative e-work [24] (See Ch.  18). In recent
years, the social operator 4.0 and the cooperation of social
machines within a social factory have been envisaged [25].
Industry 4.0 [26, 27] and other similar concepts, such as
Economy 4.0, Agriculture 4.0, Health 4.0, Water 4.0, Edu-
cation 4.0, Tourism 4.0, and so on, associated with digital
transformation [28] can be viewed as new specific subclasses
to the general class of LSS.
A plethora of methods have been proposed over the last
decades for managing and controlling LSS, such as de-
composition [29], multilevel control and optimization [6],
decentralized control [30], model reduction [31], singular
perturbation-based techniques [32], intelligent control in-
cluding soft computing [33, 34], multimodel approaches
[35, 36], collaborative control [23], network systems and
networked control [37–39], and so on. Several common ideas
can be found in most approaches proposed so far, such as:
1. Exploiting the particular structure of each system to the
extent possible by replacing the original problem with a
set of simpler ones, which can be solved with the avail-
able tools and accepting the satisfactory, near optimal,
solution
2. Making use of the communication infrastructures that
enables an intensive exchange of data among various
entities of a complex system, such as controlled objects,
sensors, actuators, computers, and people, as a preeminent
characteristic feature of the modern solutions for manage-
ment and control schemes
620
The rest of the chapter is organized as follows. Sec-
tion 27.2 describes several traditional and modern control
methods, such as multilevel schemes, decentralized and col-
laborative control, and decision support systems. Modern
automation architectures and several technologies, which en-
able the control of the LSS, are described in Sect. 27.3. Sev-
eral particular issues such as large heat and water distribution
systems, environment protection, and other infrastructure
automation cases are addressed in Sect. 27.4. The design and
security aspects are reviewed in Sect. 27.5.
27.2 Control Methods Large-Scale
Complex Systems
Even though many ideas and methods for controlling LSSs
have been proposed since late 1960s, one could admit that
the book of Mesarovic et al. published in 1970 [6] had a
significant role in laying the theoretical foundations for LSS
domain and triggering the LSS movement. The concepts
contained in that book have inspired many academics and
practitioners. A series of books, including those of Ho and
Mitter [40], Sage [41], Singh and Titli [42], Findeisen et al.
[43], Jamshidi [5], Šiljak [30], Brdys and Tatjewski [44],
and so on, followed and contributed to the consolidation of
the LSS domain of research and paved the way for practical
applications.
In 1976, the first International Federation of Automatic
Control (IFAC) conference on Large-Scale Systems: Theory
and Applications was held in Udine, Italy. This was followed
by a series of symposia, which were organized by the special-
ized Technical Committee of IFAC and took place in various
cities, such as Toulouse, Warsaw, Zurich, Berlin, Beijing,
London, Patras, Bucharest, Osaka, Gdansk, Lille, Shanghai,
and Delft.
27.2.1 Multilevel Methods
The central idea of the Hierarchical Multilevel Systems
(HMS) approach to LSS consists of replacing the original
system (and the associated control problem) with a multilevel
structure of smaller subsystems (and associated less
complicated subproblems). The subproblems at the bottom
of the hierarchy are defined by the interventions made by the
higher-level subproblems, which in turn utilize the feedback
information they receive from the solutions of the lower-level
subproblems. There are three main subclasses of hierarchies,
which can be obtained in accordance with the complexity of
description, control task, and organization [6].
Levels of Description
The first step in analyzing an LSS and designing the
corresponding control scheme consists of model building.
F. G. Filip and K. Leiviskä
As Steward [45] points out, practical experience witnessed
that there is a paradoxical law of systems. If the description
of the plant is too complicated, then the designer is tempted
to consider only a part of the system or a limited set of
aspects, which characterize its behavior. In this case, it is
likely that the very ignored parts and aspects have a crucial
importance. Consequently, it emerges that more aspects
should be considered, but this may lead to a problem which
is too complex to be solved in due time. To solve the conflict
between the necessary simplicity (to allow for the usage of
existing methods and tools with a reasonable consumption
of time and other computing resources) and the acceptable
precision (to avoid obtaining wrong or unreliable results),
the LSS can be represented by a family of models. These
models reflect the behavior of the LSS as viewed from
various perspectives, called [6] levels of description or
strata, or levels of influence [41, 46]. The description levels
are governed by independent laws and principles and use
different sets of descriptive variables. The lower the level is,
the more detailed the description of a certain entity is. For
example, the same manufacturing system can be described
from the top stratum in terms of economic and financial
models, and, at the same time, by control variables (states,
controls, and disturbances), as viewed from the middle
stratum, or by physical and chemical variables, as viewed
from the bottom description level. In the context of digital
transformation of the present day, a new decomposition axis
could be added to contain the physical level and the cyber
one. Smart city is a recent concept that is also associated
with digital transformation and may be viewed as an LSS
that can be described by using a 3-dimension (technology,
human, and institutions) approach [47].
Levels of Control
In order to act in due time even in emergency situations,
when the available data are uncertain and the decision conse-
quences cannot be fully explored and evaluated, a hierarchy
of specialized control functions can be an effective solution,
as shown by Eckman and Lefkowitz [48]. Several examples
of sets of levels of control are:
• Regulation, optimization, and organization [49]
• Stabilization, dynamic coordination, static optimization,
and dynamic optimization [8]
• Knowledge-based Enterprise Resource Planning-ERP
(the business level), the High-Level Controller (the
general performance level), and the Low-Level Controller
(the operative level) [50]
• Device level consisting of field devices such as sensors
and actuators, and machines and process elements such
as PLC (Programmable Logic Controllers). Control level
involving networking machines, work cells, and work
areas where Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition
27 Infrastructure and Complex Systems Automation
(SCADA) are usually implemented. Informational level
that is meant to gather the information from the lower level
and deals with large volumes of data that are neither in
constant use or time critical [51]
The levels of control, also called layers by Mesarovic
et al. [6], can be the result of a time-scale decomposition.
They can be defined based on time horizons, or the frequency
of disturbances, which may show up in process variables,
operation conditions, parameters, and structure of the plant
[46].
Levels of Organization
Brosilow et al. [52] proposed the hierarchies based on the
complexity of organization in mid-1960s, and Mesarovic
et al. [6] formalized these in detail. The hierarchy with several
levels of organization, also called echelons by Mesarovic
et al. [6], has been, for many years, a natural solution for
management of large-scale military, industrial, and social
systems, which are made up of several interconnected sub-
systems when a centralized scheme is neither technically
possible nor economically acceptable.
The central idea of the multiechelon hierarchy is to place
the control/decision units, which might have different ob-
jectives and information bases, on several levels of a man-
agement and control pyramid. While the multilayer systems
implement the vertical division of the control effort, the
multiechelon systems also include a horizontal division of
work (Fig. 27.2). Thus, on the n-th organization level, the
i-th control unit, CUn.i , has a limited autonomy. It sends
coordination signals downwards to a well-defined subset of
control units, which are placed at the level n − 1, and it
receives coordination signals from the corresponding unit
placed on level n + 1. The unit on the top of the pyramid
is called the supremal coordinator and the units to be found
at the bottom level are called infimal units [6].
Towards More Collaborative Schemes
The traditional multilevel systems proposed in the 1970s
to be used for the management and control of large-scale
systems can be viewed as pure hierarchies. They are charac-
terized by the circulation of feedback and intervention signals
only along the vertical axis, up and down, respectively, in
accordance with traditional concepts of the command-and-
control systems. They constituted a theoretical basis for
various industrial distributed control systems, which pos-
sessed at the highest level a powerful minicomputer. Also, the
multilayer and multiechelon hierarchies served in the 1980s
as a conceptual reference model for the efforts to design
computer-integrated manufacturing (CIM) systems [53].
Several new schemes have been proposed over the last
decades to overcome the identified drawbacks and limits of
the practical management and control systems designed in
621
accordance with the concepts of pure hierarchies, such as
inflexibility, difficult maintenance, and limited robustness to
major disturbances. The more recent solutions exhibit ever
more increased communication and cooperation capabilities
of the management and control units. This trend has been
supported by the advances in communication technology; for
example, already in 1977, Binder [35] introduced the con-
cept of decentralized-coordinated control with cooperation,
which allowed limited communication among the control
unit placed at the same level. Several years later, Hatvany
[54] proposed the heterarchical organization concept, which
allowed for exchange of information among the decision
and control units placed at various levels of the hierarchy. 27
Heterarchical control is characterized by the full autonomy
of local units associated with a certain limited cooperation.
Since there are no master/slave relationships among the de-
cision and control units, increased reactivity and improved
robustness to local disturbances are expected. In order to
reduce, to the extent possible, the myopic effects, semi-
heterarchical schemes were proposed by Rey et al. [55].
The term holon was first proposed by Koestler in 1967
[56] with a view to describing a general organization scheme
able to explain the evolution and life of biological and social
systems. A holon cooperates with other holons to build up a
larger structure (or to solve a complex problem) and, at the
same time, it works toward attaining its own objectives and
treats the various situations it faces without waiting for any
instructions from the entities placed at higher levels. A hol-
archy is a hierarchy made up of holons. It is characterized by
several features as follows: (1) It tends to continuously grow
up by attracting new holons. (2) The structure of the holarchy
may constantly change. (3) There are various patterns of in-
teractions among holons, such as communication messages,
negotiations, and even aggressions. (4) A holon may belong
to more than one holarchy if it observes their operation rules.
(5) Some holarchies may work as pure hierarchies and others
may behave as heterarchical organizations [57]. It can be
noticed [58] that the pure hierarchies and heterarchies are
particular cases of holarchies (Fig. 27.3).
Management and control structures based on holarchy
concepts were proposed in [59] for implementation in com-
plex discrete-part manufacturing systems. To increase the
autonomy of the decision and control units and their coopera-
tion, the multiagent technology is recommended by Parunak
[60]. An intelligent software agent encapsulates its code and
data, is able to act in a proactive way, and cooperates with
other agents to achieve a common goal [61].
Several design principles of the Collaborative Control
Theory were proposed by Nof [62] in the context of
e-activities. The original set of principles included: a)
CRP (Cooperation Requirement Planning), b) DPIEM
(Distributed Planning of Integrated Execution Method),
c) PCR (the Principle of Conflict Resolution in collaborative
622 F. G. Filip and K. Leiviskä

Coordinator

a1 a2 a3
Level 2
b1 b2 b3

CU1 CU2 CU 3

Level 1 y1 y2 y3

m1 m2 m3
u1 u2 u3
SSy1 z1 SSy 2 z2 SSy 3 z3

w y

Fig. 27.2 A simple two-level multilevel control system (CU control unit, SSy controlled subsystem, H interconnection function, m control variable,
u input interconnection variable, z output interconnection variable, y output variable, w disturbance)

Holarchy

Pure hierarchy Heterarchical system

0+ 2+ 3+ 2+ 1+
Vertical channel Holon Horizontal channel
for coordination for cooperation

Higher class has as particular forms…

Higher class is made up of…

n + There may be n or more objects related to the class…

There may be none, one or more objects related to the class…

Fig. 27.3 Holarchies: an object-oriented description

27 Infrastructure and Complex Systems Automation
e-work), d) PCFT (the Principle of Collaborative Fault
Tolerance), e) JLR (the Join/Leave/Remain), and f) LOCC
(Lines of Collaboration and Command). Monostori et al.
[63] present various advantages of the cooperative control
in the context of production and logistic applications,
such as a) openness (it is easier to build and change the
control system), b) reliability, c) higher performance due to
distributed execution of tasks, d) scalability and incremental
design, e) flexibility allowing heterogeneity and redesign,
and so on. The same authors warn about the disadvantages of
cooperative control, such as a) communication overhead, b)
potential threats for data security, c) decision “myopia”
caused by focus on local optima, d) chaotic behavior
including “butterfly effects” and bottlenecks, and so on.
27.2.2 Decentralized Control
Feedback control of LSS poses the standard control problem:
to find a controller for a given system with control input
and control output ensuring closed-loop systems stability and
reach a suitable input–output behavior. The fundamental dif-
ference between small and large systems is usually described
by a pragmatic view: A system is large scale and complex if
it is conceptually or computationally attractive to decompose
it into several less complex subsystems, which can be solved
easier than the original system. Then, the subsystem solutions
can be combined in some manner to obtain a satisfactory
result for the overall system.
Decentralized control has consistently been a control of
choice for LSS [64, 65]. The prominent reason for adopting
this approach is its capability to effectively solve the prob-
lems of dimensionality, uncertainty, information structure
constraints, and time delays. It also attenuates the problems
that communication lines may cause, such as latency and
signal corruption by noise. While in the hierarchical control
schemes, as shown above, the control units are coordinated
through intervention signals and may, sometimes, be allowed
to exchange a few cooperation messages, in decentralized
control, the units are completely independent or at least al-
most independent. This means that the information flow net-
work among the control units can be divided into completely
independent partitions. The units that belong to different
subnetworks are separate from each other. Only restricted
communication at certain time moments or intervals or lim-
ited to small part of information among the units is allowed.
The foundation of decentralized control can be traced back
in the paper of Wang and Davison [66].
The basic decentralized control schemes are as follows
[67]:
• Multichannel system. The global system is considered as
one whole. The control inputs and the control outputs
623
operate only locally. This means that each channel has at
its disposal only local information about the system and
influences only a local part of the system.
• Interconnected systems. The overall system is decom-
posed according to a selected criterion. Then, local con-
trollers are designed for each subsystem. The subsystems
can be strongly coupled or weakly interconnected. While
in the first case, the local controllers should possess a
minimal approximate model of the rest of the system, in
the second, the coupling links could be neglected.
27.2.3 Computer Supported Decision-Making 27
The Role of Human in the Control System
One traditionally speaks about automation when a computer
or another device executes certain functions that the human
agent would otherwise have to perform. There have been sev-
eral traditional approaches in allocating the tasks to human
and automation devices [68]:
• Comparison allocation based on MABA-MABA (Men
Are Better At-Machines Are Better At) list of Fitts [69].
It consists of assigning each function to the most capable
agent (either human or machine). Fitts, himself, suggested
that great caution be exercised in assuming that human can
successfully monitor complex automatic machines and
“take over” if the machine breaks down.
• Leftover allocation: allocating to automation equipment
every function that can be automated, the rest remain to
be performed by people.
• Economic design: the allocation scheme ensures
economic efficiency.
A more flexible and dynamic approach is proposed in
[70] based on several criteria, for example, authority, ability,
responsibility, and control.
A possible solution to many LSS control problems is the
use of artificial intelligence-based tools. However, in prac-
tical applications, due to strange combinations of external
influences and circumstances, rare or new situations may
show up that were not taken into consideration at time of
design. Since several decades ago, there have been cau-
tious opinions concerning the replacement of the human by
automation devices. For example, Bibby et al. [71] stated
that “even highly automated systems need human beings
for supervision, adjustment, maintenance and improvement,”
and Bainbridge [72] described the ironies of automation. In
1990, Martin et al. remarked that [73]:
Although AI and expert systems were successful in solving
problems that resisted to classical numerical methods, their role
remains confined to support functions, whereas the belief that
evaluation by man of the computerized solutions may become
superfluous is a very dangerous error.
624
Based on this observation, Martin et al. [73] recommended
appropriate automation, which integrates technical, human,
organizational, economical, and cultural factors. Schneider-
man [74] has recently expressed a similar view. Over the
years, several solutions have been proposed such as hu-
man centered automation, balanced automation, collabora-
tive automation. They have one feature in common: The
human should have a place and role in the control system.
Decision Support Systems
The Decision Support System (DSS) concept appeared in the
early 1970s [75]. As with any new term, the significance of
DSS was, at the beginning, rather vague and controversial.
Since then, many research and development activities and
practical applications have witnessed that the DSS concept
meets a real need and there is a significant market for such
information systems even in the context of real-time settings
in the industrial milieu [76]. See more on DSS in Ch.  66.
The decision is the result of human conscious activities
aiming at choosing a course of action for attaining a certain
objective (or set of objectives) and normally implies allo-
cating the necessary resources. It is the result of processing
information and knowledge performed by an empowered
person (or a decision unit composed of several persons) who
has to make the choice and is accountable for the quality of
the solution adopted to solve a particular problem or situation
[77]. If, at a certain time moment, a decision problem cannot
be entirely clarified and all possible ways of action cannot be
fully identified and evaluated before a choice is made, then
the problem is said to be unstructured or semi-structured. The
DSS forms a specific subclass of anthropocentric and evolv-
ing information systems which are designed to implement the
functions of a human support system (composed of consul-
tants, collaborating experts, and so on) that would otherwise
be necessary to help the decision-maker to overcome his/her
limits and constraints that he/she may encounter when trying
to solve semi-structured, complex, and complicated decision
problems that matter [78].
Most of the developments in the DSS domain have ini-
tially addressed business applications not involving any real-
time control. However, even in the early 1980s, DSS were
reported to be used in manufacturing control [79, 80]. The us-
age of DSS in disaster management and control is presented
in [81].
Several aspects characterize real-time decision-making
processes (RTDMP) for control applications:
• They involve continuous monitoring of a dynamic envi-
ronment.
• They are short time horizon-oriented and are carried out
on a repetitive basis.
• They normally occur under time pressure.
• Long-term effects are difficult to predict [82].
F. G. Filip and K. Leiviskä
It is quite unlikely for an econological (economically
logic) approach, involving optimization, be technically possi-
ble for genuine RTDMPs. Satisficing approaches [83], which
reduce the search space at the expense of the decision quality,
or fully automated decision-making systems, if taken sepa-
rately, cannot be accepted either, but for some exceptions.
At the same time, one can notice that genuine RT DMP are
typical for emergency situations [84].
In many practical problems concerning the management
and control of LSS, decisions are made by a group of persons
instead of an individual [85]. Consequently, a group (or
multiparticipant) DSS needs an important communication
facility, possibly ensured by ICT platforms [86]. Nof [87]
applies the collaborative control theory to DSS design and the
case of very large number of participants is treated in [88].
The generic framework of a DSS proposed by Bonczek
et al. [89] and subsequently refined by Holsapple and Whin-
ston [90] is quite general and can conceptually accommodate
the most recent technologies. It is based on three essential
components to perform specific tasks, such as a) language
subsystem (to enable the communication among user, system,
and various data feeders and actuators), b) knowledge subsys-
tem (to store and maintain the data, models, and results) and
c) problem processing subsystem.
Several decades ago, Simon [91] stated that it is worth
considering combining mathematical models with artificial
intelligence-based tools. In this context, there is a significant
trend towards combining computerized numerical models
with software that emulates the human reasoning with a view
to build advanced mixed-knowledge DSS [92–95]. Possible
work division between human and computer is also proposed
in [77, 96].
Digital Cognitive Systems
Traditional DSS have been assumed useful ICT tools when
approaching semi-structured problems. A new generation of
ICT products, namely, [digital] cognitive systems, is expected
to be of effective use in the case of the problems that do not
possess structure at all.
When proposing the Stanford Research Institute (SRI),
Engelbart [97] defined the concept of augmenting human
intellect as
increasing the capability of a man to approach a complex prob-
lem situation, to gain comprehension to suit his particular needs,
and to derive solutions to problems.
The topics of [digital] cognitive system was addressed
by Hollnagel and Woods [98] and Kelly [99] who defined
cognitive computing as
systems that a) learn at scale, b) reason with purpose, and
c) interact with humans naturally. Rather than being explicitly
programmed, they learn and reason from their interactions with
us and from their experiences with their environment. [ . . . ] a.
They can make sense of the 80 percent of the world’s data that
27 Infrastructure and Complex Systems Automation
computer scientists call “unstructured.” This enables them to
keep pace with the volume, complexity and unpredictability of
information and systems in the modern world.
Several available digital cognitive systems, such as Apple
Siri, IBM Watson, Google’s Now, Brain, AlphaGo, Home,
Assistant, Amazon’s Alexa, Microsoft’s Adam, Braina & Cor-
tana, and so on, are analyzed by Siddike et al. [100].
In a paper about the prospects for automating intelligence
versus augmenting human intelligence, Rouse and Spohrer
[101] noticed that, at present, it is necessary to device a new
perspective on the automation-augmentation continuum to
synergize the human and digital cognitive systems and to
create the best cognitive team or cognitive organization to
address the problems at hand. The repartition of functions
in the mixed teams designed to solve decision and control
problems has evolved over time under the influence of tech-
nology developments and ever more enriched knowledge
of the human/group of humans (the natural cognitive part
of the team). Siddike et al. [100] view digital cognitive
systems as a new wave of decision support tools meant to
enable humans to augment their capabilities and expertise.
The above authors forecast that the digital cognitive systems
can evolve from information tools to cognitive assistants,
collaborators, coaches, and even mediators.
However, at the end of this section, it is worth mentioning
what was stated in a recent document of the High-Level
Expert Group on Artificial Intelligence of the European Com-
mission:
AI systems should empower human beings, allowing them to
make informed decisions and fostering their fundamental rights.
At the same time, proper oversight mechanisms need to be
ensured, which can be achieved through a) human-in-the-loop
b) human-on-the-loop, and c) human-in-command approaches.
[102]
27.3 Modern Automation Architectures
and Essential Enabling Technologies
The progress of several technologies has had a clear
impact on the development of automation during the last
10–20 years:
1. Information and communications technology has changed
our view in automation from the lack of data to Big Data
concerning with processes and phenomena that we are
controlling. This is now visible in terms like Industry 4.0
and Internet of Things (IoT). This last term indicates the
origin of the technology that is now also being utilized in
automation, the Internet.
2. The increasing amount of data has led to the need for new
computing technologies, and terms like Cloud Computing
are being used quite fluently, maybe without thinking too
much about what they really represent.
625
3. The third factor is the systems technology, that is, the
methods that are needed for running the new technological
tools. How can one analyze the huge amount of data
coming from different sources? How to model the large-
scale and complex systems that have to be monitored
and controlled? This has brought two more terms along:
Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) and Big Data Analytics
(BDA).
4. The fourth factor that has changed our vision on automa-
tion is the change in the application fields. Automation is
now used in several infrastructures of the society, in the
housing sector, in power generation and distribution, in
traffic, etc. This has made it necessary to consider several 27
new features of automation compared to the industrial
applications: What is the division between the real-time
and not-so-real-time functions? What is the role of (smart)
measurements? How much user intervention is needed
(allowed)?
This technological development with increasing data com-
munications, a need for processing huge amounts of data,
explaining both fast and slow dynamics, and visualizing the
results to the operators at different levels, has given a new life
to an old paradigm, Artificial Intelligence (AI). It is present
in different forms, in Intelligent Systems, Machine Learning,
(ML), and so on. A quick look at the published literature
reveals that it is now more visible than ever before. See also
Ch.  16 on automation architectures.
27.3.1 Internet of Things
There are several definitions for the term Internet of Things
(IoT), but the following one from IoT Agenda [103] serves us
well:
The internet of things, or IOT, is a system of interrelated comput-
ing devices, mechanical and digital machines, objects, animals or
people that are provided with unique identifiers (UIDs) and the
ability to transfer data over a network without requiring human-
to-human or human-to-computer interaction.
Figure 27.4 presents the main operation cycle of the IoT
system. The system consists of web-enabled devices that col-
lect and transfer information to active nodes in the network
that process and analyze it. In automation, IoT helps in mon-
itoring and controlling larger entities, but, of course, putting
a large number of digital systems together makes the overall
system vulnerable to inside and outside threats. For example,
a failure in one of the system’s components can spread and
harm the whole system or a malevolent intrusion from outside
can stop the operation of some important machinery. This
has increased the importance of safety and security factors
in today’s digital systems.
In industrial automation, the terms like Industrial Internet
of Things (IIoT) or Industrial Internet are frequently used.
626
Internet environment
Sensors
Systems Collect
Fig. 27.4 The main functions of IoT
References [104, 105] present several definitions of IIoT that
can be combined as follows: Industrial Internet of Things is
a system consisting of “Things” that:
enable real-time, intelligent, and autonomous access, collection,
analysis, communications, and exchange of process, product
and/or service information, within the industrial environment, so
as to optimize the overall production value. [105]
The references cited above list several “Things” like net-
worked smart systems, cyber-physical systems, together with
cloud or edge computing platforms. The related term Internet
of Services is explained below in Sect. 27.3.2.
Another term widely used in this connection is Industry
4.0 (or Industrie 4.0). According to [106], Industry 4.0 lays
on nine main pillars: a) Big Data, b) autonomous robots,
c) simulation, d) additive manufacturing, e) IoT, f) cloud
computing, g) augmented reality, h) horizontal and vertical
integration, and i) cybersecurity.
27.3.2 Computing Technologies
The Internet has offered several new possibilities for dis-
tributing computations and data storage. This has led to
reforming the ICT business from the hardware and software
orientation to service orientation. The following sections
introduce some of these relatively new technologies.
Cloud Computing
Cloud computing refers to the application services offered
via Internet and the cloud infrastructure. It turned computing
resources into the utility that the service providers can offer
to clients, inside an enterprise or as commercial products.
According to the National Institute of Standards and
Technology (NIST), the following five characteristic features
define Cloud computing [107]:
1. Cloud resources (storage, applications, platforms, and
infrastructure) are available ubiquitously on demand with
the minimal human interaction from the service provider.
F. G. Filip and K. Leiviskä
Communicate Use (act)
2. Resources are available automatically through usual, con-
venient interfaces (possibly mobile) via the network (the
Internet).
3. Resources (both physical and virtual) are open to multiple
customers and they are assigned dynamically according to
the users’ needs (pooling).
4. Resources evolve with the application, that is, they scale
up and down automatically according to users’ needs
(elasticity).
5. Resources are measurable and optimizable. Providers and
customers can monitor, control, and follow their use and
activities.
A cloud infrastructure includes both hardware and
software components. Cloud computing follows a Service-
Oriented Architecture (SOA) model. According to NIST, it
provides three main services: a) software for applications
(Software as a Service, SaaS), b) platform for developers
(PaaS), and c) infrastructure for high-level applications
(IaaS). These services may form hierarchical layers, and
they are offered separately or in different combinations.
Edge Computing
Hamilton [108] states
Like the metaphorical cloud and the Internet of Things, the edge
is a buzzword meaning everything and nothing
Edge computing dates back to distributed computing of
the 1960s, but the Internet has given the new meaning for
it. Edge computing refers to data processing on the edge
of the cloud, closer to its point of origin. It decreases the
delay, latency, and the bandwidth and the overhead of the
data centers. Data processing takes place close to its origin
and fewer data (mainly for storage) goes over the network to
the cloud. This may mean an increased data security, too.
Several reasons have led to the need for edge computing
[111]: Enormous amount of data has turned data transfer to
cloud into a system bottleneck causing delays in the response.
There will be more and more data producers in the system,
27 Infrastructure and Complex Systems Automation
and it becomes impossible for cloud computing to handle all
the requests coming from several IoT systems. This is, of
course, an essential feature in process automation, where a
real-time response is a requirement. This calls for computing
closer to the data source. This becomes even more important
when the level of automation in traffic and vehicles (and other
safety-critical applications) is increasing and the personal
safety is an important feature.
Shi et al. [111] also list several potential applications for
Edge computing:
1. Moving the workload from Cloud computing in customer
applications, for example, in on-line shopping services
2. Video analytics, for example, surveillance applications
3. In large IoT applications that deal with different data and
different dynamics, for example, smart home automation
and smart cities.
4. Applications that require collaboration of different par-
ties, for example, in healthcare, pandemic follow-up, etc.,
with strict privacy requirements
Fog computing is another concept that extends the cloud
closer to the “Things” that use IoT data; it makes computing
at the edge possible. Computing devices, fog nodes, can
be any device with memory and network connection. Edge
computing focuses more on the “Things,” while Fog com-
puting emphasizes the role of the infrastructure [111]. Fog
is rather a standard and edge a concept [108]. See more on
Fog computing and LSS in Sect. 27.4.3. Internet of Services
(IoS) is a related term and standard [109, 110]. Following
the service orientation of cloud computing, it emphasizes
that the data gleaned from the IoT is useful through an
Internet of services, sometimes called Apps, which serve as
the infrastructure of IoT data-based applications and added-
value.
In automation literature, it is usual to present the relation-
ships between control operations in hierarchies. Figure 27.5
shows that Cloud computing and Edge computing locate on
the higher levels of automation hierarchy. The division is
case-dependent, but the applications that are more latency-
critical belong to the lower levels of the hierarchy.
Mobile Computing
Mobile computing is a generic term that means the possibility
to access computing systems or data storages anywhere and
at any time. It can handle data, voice, and video over a
conventional Local Area Network (LAN) or by using Wi-Fi
or wireless technology. Mobile devices cover a wide range
from smart phones to mobile computers [85].
Depending on the location of computing resources, one
can speak about mobile cloud computing [112] and mobile
edge computing [113]. In both cases, the actual computa-
627
Cloud computing
Data storage
Edge computing
Pre-processing
Internet gateways
SCADA
27
Sensors
Actuators
Fig. 27.5 Hierarchical relationships in the control hierarchy. SCADA
means Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition. (Modified from
[105])
tion takes place outside the mobile device. This increases
battery lifetime and data storage and improves reliability
and flexibility in providing and sharing computing resources.
Computing at the edge provides some more advantages with
regard to the real-time properties of the system such as:
a) faster response (lower propagation, communication, and
computation latency) and b) possibilities for the context-
aware and augmented reality computations. Also moving
from public cloud servers to edge servers can lead to an
improvement in the system privacy and security.
The distribution of computations over the networks in-
creases the vulnerability of the system to different threats.
At least four basic threats can be recognized [114]:
1. Application-based threats that come along with down-
loadable applications. Malicious software can be malware
or spyware intended to harm the user’s system or steal
and use the data. They can also come up in the form
of vulnerable applications that make it possible for the
intruder to break in the user’s system. They can also
be a privacy threat. Repackaging is one possibly used
technology solution.
2. Web-based threats stem from the continuous use of In-
ternet services. There exists malicious software, which
downloads often automatically when triggering a web
page or even when accessing the browser.
3. Network threats originate from cellular networks or local
wireless networks.
4. There are also physical threats in the form of lost or stolen
devices.
628
In industrial automation, mobile computing has several
application areas such as remote monitoring and control, mo-
bile data acquisition from moving machines and vehicles, for
example, in mining applications, for environment monitoring
purposes (air and water quality), and advisory systems for
maintenance of process or automation devices.
27.3.3 Tools and Methods
Cyber-Physical Systems
A Cyber-Physical System (CPS) in an industrial context is a
combination of computer algorithms and a physical system
with sensors and actuators for monitoring and controlling
the industrial production and products. In this basic form, it
could cover all applications of industrial automation since the
mid-1970s, that is, since the beginning of the era of digital
automation. The modern definition adds several features to
this definition such as a) the integration of physical and soft-
ware components, embedded systems, networked systems, b)
scalability in space and time, c) multiple possibilities for
user interaction, together with wireless and mobile systems
[115]. IoT makes up a perfect framework for describing
CPS architecture [116]. CPS “theory” is interdisciplinary and
includes cybernetics, mechatronics, control and process engi-
neering and design. The whole selection of signal processing,
communication, and control methods is available. In the
networked environment, cyber security is a very important
aspect of CPS. In addition to industrial automation, CPS is
used in the connection of mobile robotics, smart grid, and
autonomous vehicles.
Several aspects make the design of CPS challenging [117]
are:
• Cyber-Physical Systems are heterogeneous systems con-
sisting of smart machines, inventory systems, and manu-
facturing plants that integrate and interact at several levels.
• The high level of automation is typical for CPS and means
that the design of the “cyber” part requires using different
software environments for the design of data models, mon-
itoring and control functions, quality control, registration
of production, decision making at different organizational
levels, and so on.
• Networking at multiple spatial and temporal levels re-
quires design tools for system architectures.
• Modern systems also require capabilities for reconfiguring
(self-organizing) in order to survive in cases of changes in
production routes, new products and raw materials, and
machine failures.
Lee et al. [116] proposed a five-level CPS architecture
(5C). It is a functional hierarchy with several levels such as:
F. G. Filip and K. Leiviskä
• The lowest level – Connection – is the smart communica-
tion level, which collects the data from different systems
mentioned above and transmits and stores it for further
usage at the upper levels of the hierarchy.
• The second level – Conversion – is the data-to-information
conversion level, which upgrades the data.
• The third level – Cyber – is the computing level, which
employs models and machine learning tools to produce
information describing the status and performance of ma-
chines and processes.
• Cognition level uses the information available for mon-
itoring and decision making, be it automatic or human-
based.
• The uppermost level – Configuration – creates the feed-
back from the cyber space to the physical system.
This hierarchy is basically meant for manufacturing pro-
cesses, and the three lowermost levels usually include the
process hierarchy: Sensors – Components – Machines –
Machine groups.
Distributed architectures heavily depend on the applica-
tion area, but, in general, this architecture includes five layers
according to Fig. 27.6. This is, once again, a functional de-
scription, which utilizes the available hardware and software
resources in an IIoT system. It includes two multilevel layers:
one for process and another for automation.
Digital Twin is an object of vivid discussion nowadays.
Its origin goes back to the beginning of the 2000s. It can
be defined as the representation of the physical object in
a virtual environment that can generate information and
analysis results almost in real time. Integrating it with CPS
could transfer manufacturing systems from knowledge-
based intelligent ones to data-driven and knowledge-enabled
smart manufacturing entities [118]. See also Ch.  17
on CPS.
Distributed decision support layer
monitoring, control, reporting
Distributed IIoT tools and services
SaaS, PaaS, IaaS
Data models and storage
Cloud/edge computing
Communication layer
Public/private networks
Distributed physical layer
IOT devices, unit processes, production lines,
plants
Fig. 27.6 General description of the distributed architecture for CPS
in IIoT environment
27 Infrastructure and Complex Systems Automation
Big Data Analytics
Big Data associates in people’s minds with massive volumes
of data, but describing it more closely requires several fea-
tures [78, 119]. Three V-concepts have been initially used
[119, 120]:
1. Volume refers to the amount of data, which is available for
the application. In Big Data, one is dealing with massive
data sets that are impossible to handle with conventional
software tools.
2. Velocity means high data generation rates. It is an im-
portant attribute for automation because of the real-time
requirement and it needs efficient data flow applications
especially in wireless sensor networks to decrease latency
and reduce massive data communications.
3. Variety means the richness of data representation: nu-
meric, textual, audio, and video. Data usually changes
dynamically and it is incomplete, noisy, and corrupted.
Very often data is unstructured and unorganized, some-
times semi-structured or even structured. Extracting use-
ful information from unstructured video data dynamically
in real-time is the most difficult task.
Several other V-terms have been listed in the literature:
Veracity, Validity, Value, Variability, Venue, Vocabulary, and
Vagueness [119]. Big Data also brings certain new view-
points to the scene: data quality (repeatability, accuracy,
uncertainty), privacy, security, and storage. There are several
challenges in Big Data [78]:
1. Processing data with available Data Mining tools requires
structured data.
2. Complexity and uncertainty make systematic modeling a
challenging task.
3. Heterogeneity of data, knowledge, and decision making
require special care.
4. Engineering decision-making uses cross-industry stan-
dards, for example, for Data Mining.
There are several ways to define Big Data Analytics.
IBM’s definition is [121]:
Big data analytics is the use of advanced analytic techniques
against very large, diverse data sets that include structured, semi-
structured and unstructured data, from different sources, and in
different sizes from terabytes to zettabytes.
The advanced analytic techniques include text and data
mining methods, intelligent machine learning algorithms,
predictive analytics, together with statistical and probabilistic
methods.
In order to overcome the bottlenecks in storage and com-
putation capacity, data mining from industrial data can be
completed in the cloud environment. Industry 4.0 offers a
framework for building industrial platforms for data ana-
629
lytics. Big data has also changed process monitoring from
univariate to high-dimensional, from homogeneous data to
heterogeneous datasets, from static to dynamic and nonsta-
tionary models, from monitoring the mean values to moni-
toring the variability and correlations, and from structured to
unstructured monitoring [122].
27.3.4 Networked Control
The networked interconnection pattern has become, over
the years, one of the most characteristic features of the
modern LSS. The network theory was used in [123] for 27
the study of the controllability and dynamics of network-
type complex systems. At the same time, the advances in
computer-based communication networks have stimulated
the combination of control methods and information and
communication technologies [124]. At present, networked
control is a central constituent of large-scale infrastructure
automation solutions.
Networked Control Systems
The various entities of a control loop that are connected
via communication links have become ever more numerous
especially in the case of LSS, which are composed of several,
possibly remotely placed, subsystems. Over the years, the
links that connect the controllers, sensors, HCI (human com-
puter interface), and actuators have evolved. By tradition,
the control methods assumed that there were ideal channels
with no-delay communication links for connecting the en-
tities of control loops. The initial point-to-point centralized
solution has been proven not to be suitable for the ever-
increasing concerns with easy diagnosis and maintenance,
decentralization, modularity, and low cost. The next step in
the evolution of control architectures was the usage of a
common bus to connect the entities of the control loop [51].
The solution based on a common loop has led, in time, to new
problems, such as signal losses and transmission time delays.
The delays are caused by both the communication medium
itself and the computation time required for performing var-
ious operations, such as signal coding and communication
processing.
In the setting of a LSS composed of several subsystems,
the centralized control may be affected by a great number
of problems caused by the transfer of the signal between
the controllers and numerous sensors and actuators. The
decentralized solutions (see Sect. 27.2.2) help avoid the need
for data transferring from a local controller to other remote
constituents of the control system. The quasi-decentralized
schemes allow keeping the data transfer volume at a reduced
level.
A networked control system (NCS) can be defined as a
scheme in which the traditional control loops are closed
630
through a communication network, so that the control and
feedback signals could be exchanged among all the com-
ponents (sensors, controllers, HCI, and actuators) through a
common network [39].
There are several aspects that should be considered in
designing a NCS [124]:
• The constituents of the control loop are spatially dis-
tributed.
• The communication networks utilized in NCS are shared-
band digital ones.
• A limited set of local controllers must solve the time-
critical problems.
As it is pointed out by Antsaklis and Baillieul [124],
the current practical implementations of control systems are
influenced by the available technology and the old, hardwired
connections between sensors and controllers should be re-
placed by low-cost solutions that include microprocessors
and shared digital networks, sometimes deploying wireless
systems. The same authors notice that the analysis and design
of NCS should include many aspects concerning:
• The impact of the communication quality of the network
including the influence on the dynamic behavior of the
system
• The modification of priorities and requirements for
the algorithms and control schemes, such as limited
autonomous operation and possible reconsideration of
the feedforward solutions versus feedback ones
Two main classes of problems were defined in the context
of NCS [39, 125]:
1. Control of networks (CN) that aims at attaining a good
quality of service (QoS) for the communication networks,
which support the NCS schemes and an efficient and, at
the same time, fair usage of the network.
2. Control over the network (CON), means to attain a high
quality of control (QoC) solution and to compensate the
possible imperfect operation of the communication net-
work. The class of problems associated with CON in-
cludes sampled data control, event-triggered control, se-
curity control, and so on.
The main advantages of NCS are a) the modularity of
the solution associated with the availability of plug-and-play
devices, b) quasi-elimination of the need for wiring, and c)
agility and the premises for an easy diagnosis and main-
tenance. Consequently, the NCS solutions have got ground
in many LSS control application areas, such as automated
highways, smart grids, fleets of unmanned aerial vehicles,
and complex manufacturing systems [126, 127]. At the same
time, there are several concerns mainly related to the safety
F. G. Filip and K. Leiviskä
and security operation of the network including aspects, such
as data availability, integrity, and confidentiality.
Cloud Control Systems
Zhan et al. [128] noticed that the NCS cannot be any longer
a satisfactory solution in the current context characterized by
Big Data phenomenon, which resulted from the continuous
expanding of Internet of Things (IoT). Consequently, new
control paradigms, such as Cloud Control System (CCS) and
Fog Control System (FCS), emerged. Mahmoud [39] states
that CCS is a natural development within the NCS domain. In
a CCS, the control algorithms are placed in the cloud, which
can be physically far away from the control plant. Hence,
a CCS can be viewed as a CPS composed of two distinct
parts:
• The physical part that is made up of the plant and several
other constituents of The control loop such as sensors,
actuators, and communication lines
• The cyber part that includes the control algorithms
Since the cloud typically operates as a service providing
system, the entire CCS may also be viewed as a Service
Oriented System (SOS).
In comparison with NCS, a CCS possesses several advan-
tages such as: a) integrating and fully utilizing all kinds of
resources, b) saving energy, and c) increasing system reliabil-
ity. On the other hand, there are also several open problems
and challenges caused by various factors including:
• The vulnerability to various types of attacks
• The need to provide real-time services by a cloud simul-
taneously utilized by several users
• Possible time delays caused by big volumes of data trans-
fer from the plant to the cloud
• Supporting the initial and running costs needed for the
operation of cloud computing services [129]
Fog Computing and Control
Even though CCSs have numerous advantages, sometimes
the huge volumes of data to be transferred from the con-
stituents of the physical part to the algorithms placed in
the cloud and back may cause serious problems for the
genuine real-time operation, such as latency and network
congestion [129, 130]. In various control schemes (hierar-
chical, decentralized, quasi-decentralized), a part of data is
used for performing local functions in real-time and it is not
necessary to send it for being processed in a central site. In
order to reduce the data traffic to and from the cloud and,
consequently, to avoid the latency problems, an extension of
cloud computing, named fog computing (FC) can be used.
The basic idea of FC is to keep and process a part of the
data in an intermediate layer called fog that is near to both the
data sources (collected from the sensors) and control signal
27 Infrastructure and Complex Systems Automation
destinations (actuators) placed in the physical part of the
overall computing and control system. As its name suggests,
the fog is placed near to the field components in contrast with
the cloud, which is supposed to be placed at a higher altitude,
“in the sky.”
The Open Fog Consortium, which is now a part of Indus-
trial Internet Consortium, defines FC as
a system level horizontal architecture that distributes resources
and services of computing storage, control, and networking
anywhere along a continuum from cloud to things. [131]
Several characteristic features of FC that are useful in
the LSS (including infrastructure automation) context are:
a) allowing scalability and geographical distribution, b) het-
erogeneity and interoperability of new devices installed with
the purpose of extending he system, and c) allowing the
usage of wireless communication to reduce the costs [132].
A comparison of fog computing and cloud computing with
reference to several attributes, such as the target user, location
of servers, types of service, distance between the cloud and
the servers, latency, type of connectivity, security level, and
so on, is provided in [130]. It is worth noticing that the FC
does not replace the entire CCS, but only the real-time part.
The architecture of fog computing can be represented as
a multilevel system (see Sect. 27.2.1.) composed of several
layers [132]. The layers are a) physical and virtualization of
ground components, b) monitoring of activities and resource
services, c) preprocessing which consists of operations, such
as data analysis, filtering, reconstruction, and trimming, d)
temporary storage, f) ensuring security, privacy, and integrity,
and f) transportation of preprocessed and secured data to the
cloud.
Beside the advantages of fog computing, there are several
open problems, key concerns, and challenges. The most sig-
nificant ones are: a) authentication of end user devices before
allowing their access to resources, b) secure communication
between the user devices, fog and cloud, c) data integrity, d)
secure data storage, and e) intrusion detection and prevention
[130, 132].
Edge computing (EC) represents an extension of cloud
computing towards the source of data and is meant to di-
minish the burden of data flows even further. It consists
in embedding intelligent controllers with limited processing
power and increased security capabilities in order to create
peer-to-peer, self-organizing networks [111, 133–135].
27.4 Examples
This section includes some examples of large-scale complex
systems representing monitoring and control in smart Cities
and smart Environment.
631
27.4.1 Smart Cities as Large-Scale Systems
Smart Buildings
Figure 27.7 illustrates how the role of different automation
functions changes while moving from detached (one-family)
houses to the automation in buildings at the city level. To
keep the description simple, automation scheme is divided
into three layers: a) direct measurements and control, b) data
acquisition and communications, and c) management and
optimization.
The figure shows that the role of direct measurements and
controls is the biggest in the case of detached houses and
decreases when proceeding to larger units. It gives way to 27
the management and optimization functions for balancing the
consumption and production of commodities such as power
and water and their delivery. While taking all possible con-
straints, disturbances, and maintenance actions into account,
the importance of these functions also increases.
The role of automation in the data acquisition and
communications level is quite interesting. In comparison
with the other two layers, it remains quite constant, as
shown in Fig. 27.7. Its importance, however, increases
when the overall degree of automation increases. This is
mainly because of the increasing need for data storing and
communication. The modern tools for data transfer and
storing facilitate performing such functions. The functions
vary from one application class to another. For example, in
one-family houses, they are limited to reading measurements,
launching control actions, and recording and communicating
consumption data to the energy company. The need for
data storing and communication increases in the case
of a region and of an entire city simply because of the
high number of customers. Customer connections in the
form of registering consumption, monitoring, reporting,
accounting, and billing contribute to increasing the function
complexity.
The interactions between consumption and generation of
energy, and among the consumers, increase while moving
from one-family houses to the region or city level. Now one
comes to the area of large-scale complex systems. This calls
for optimization and balancing functions and possibilities
for controlling the energy production. It requires versatile
methods for modeling the processes sometimes with slow
and varying dynamics, optimization in choosing the best
compensating capacities, and tools for setting constraints for
consumption. The trend to increasing energy production at
the consumer site is changing this picture.
The amount of data increases radically when moving
along the horizontal axis of Fig. 27.7. The nature of data is
changing too. In the case of one-family houses, one is mostly
dealing with direct process measurements that are filtered and
used in control. In some cases, they are used in modeling and
for reporting the consumption. At region and city levels, data
632
Management and
optimization
Data acquisition,
and communication
functions
Direct
measurements
and controls
Detached
detached
Semi-
house
house
Fig. 27.7 The change in the role of automation from detached houses to larger units
is more condensed and averaged according to the customers,
customer blocks, and time interval and then, integrated over
the time period. There are also legal requirements to archive
data for longer periods.
While the amount of data increases, the number of details
in the models decreases. In the case of one-family houses,
relatively detailed physical or hybrid black-box/physical dy-
namic models are used [136]. In the case of apartment houses
or apartment blocks, physical-based experimental models are
satisfactory for optimization even at the city level [137]. The
following paragraphs highlight these two cases. See more on
smart buildings in Ch.  48.
Modeling for home electricity management. The mod-
eling of the electrical demand in buildings can use either the
top-down or the bottom-up approach. The top-down approach
views the building as a black box without detailed knowl-
edge of users or appliances inside it. It is more suitable for
studying the general behavior at higher levels. The bottom-
up approach helps modeling the electricity consumption of
individual users in a more detailed way.
Louis et al. [138] give an example of modeling for the
electricity analysis in residential homes. Model inputs consist
of daily appliances (washing machine, electric oven, electric
heater, etc.) and user profiles that, when summed up, give the
electricity demand. Converting demand information to eco-
nomic values requires the electricity price and information on
the state of the electrical grid.
The simulation starts by generating the events, that is,
by defining the starting and ending times for using each
appliance. This proceeds from weekly and daily levels to
hourly levels over the whole simulation period and for each
appliance. Typical examples are using the coffee machine
F. G. Filip and K. Leiviskä
Amount of details
Amount
in the models
of data
Interaction between
production and
consumption of energy
Apartment
Apartment
region
house
block
City
City
during the breakfast time or the sauna during the weekends.
The outputs are the power demand and its price. Separate
models are needed, if the heat demand or possible own power
generation (e.g., solar power) is calculated. Emission models
usually use fixed factors for calculations. In this case, a
dynamic model is used. It is working on an hourly base and
it takes into account the used fuel [139].
What is the role of home automation in the Smart City
concept? The data generated at the single house level is
the cornerstone for designing the large-scale automation at
the city level. Its availability and reliability are on a key
position. Combining the direct measurement data with some
representative index values and integrating it over time as
close to the data source as possible would decrease the load
for data communication. As mentioned before, an increase
in the on-the-site production and its selling to the grid would
complicate the situation.
Even though the above case refers to electric power, the
same conclusions hold true also for heat energy in district
heating network. This case is considered next from the opti-
mization point of view. Electric grids are considered in detail
elsewhere in this book (Ch.  47).
City-level optimization of heat demand in buildings.
Handling peak demand situations is important in large-scale
district heating networks at the city level. In such situations,
the heat demand exceeds the existing production capacity
and all reserve capacities are in use. This means increased
production costs and a higher environmental load. Dealing
with the peak load situations by structural means may lead
to high investment costs related to the production machinery.
It may also limit the extension of the network with more
customers.
27 Infrastructure and Complex Systems Automation
Demand Side Management (DSM) is one tool for handling
the peak demand situations. It was originally used for the
electricity networks and was defined as the set of activities
that try to change the electricity use by customers in ways
that will lead to desired changes in the load. It is equally
applicable also to the district heating networks.
Handling peak load situations requires the forecasting
of the heat consumption at the hourly level, preferable by
using the adaptive models of the single building while also
taking the uncertainties in the weather forecasts into account.
This has proved to be the bottleneck. Smart meters have
mainly solved the problem with lacking of measurements,
but the modeling work has proved to be too tedious. Mod-
els for single buildings exist, but only few studies of their
applications on a larger scale exist.
Hietaharju et al. [137] presented simulation studies us-
ing easily adaptable models for the indoor temperature and
heat demand. They tested the strategy to optimize the heat
demand and to reduce the peak loads by utilizing buildings
themselves as short-term heat storages. Measured district
heating data from 201 large buildings (apartment build-
ings, schools, and commercial, public, and office buildings)
was used.
Simple recursive discrete-time models predicted the in-
door temperature and heat demand with an accuracy of 5%
and 4%, respectively [140, 141]. It is possible to forecast the
outdoor temperature, but in this case, the measured values
were used. The forecasting period was 48 h. Each model
included four parameters. Their estimates were based on the
existing data by using the simulated annealing method [140].
The models were used in the optimization of the heat demand
at the city level. The number of free parameters and input
variables should not be too high in order to ensure the easy
application of these models to the building stock consisting
of hundreds or even thousands of individual buildings. The
biggest difficulty in parameter estimation was that the indoor
temperature was not available for all buildings. Therefore,
either the simulated value or the target value was used. The
estimated values for two physical parameters, the thermal
capacity and heat loss, were presented as the function of the
volume of the building.
The objective of the optimization was to minimize the
variance of the heating power while not increasing the total
heat demand and keeping the indoor temperature within
acceptable limits. The cost function was [137]
  
N
Jk = var Popt,k + Pp,k + Tp,k (t)
t=1
where Popt,k is the optimal heating power during the optimiza-
tion for period k, N is the number of hours in the optimiza-
tion period, Pp,k is the penalty for an increase in total heat
633
demand, and Tp,k is the penalty for the indoor temperature
getting outside the acceptable limits. The optimization was
subject to three constraints limiting the difference between
the forecasted and optimized heat demand and keeping the
heat demand and indoor temperature within the acceptable
limits. The optimization was carried out for over 480 h for
each individual building recursively in slots of 48 h using the
receding horizon approach. During each iteration, the heat
demand and the indoor temperature were forecasted for 48 h
and the optimization result of the first hour was kept over the
control horizon of one hour. These calculations were repeated
with one-hour intervals until the results for 480 h were
available. The optimization used the pattern search algorithm 27
from the Global Optimization Toolbox of MATLAB® .
The same paper also proposed another cost function that
aims at minimum peak load cutting while using the model
for the indoor temperature. The cost function for peak load
cutting minimized the difference between the forecasted and
the optimized heat demand while simultaneously keeping the
change in the total heat demand at a minimum [137]
 N 
    N
 
 
J= Pf,k − Popt,k  + Pcp,k (t) + Tp,k (t)
 
t=1 t=1
Here Pf,k is the forecasted power and Pcp,k is the penalty
for too large changes in the heating power per one hour. There
are two constraints in this case: One is limiting the change in
the heating power and the other keeps the optimized power
between 30% and 100% of the forecasted one.
In the test with 201 individual buildings, the potential for
peak load cutting varied depending on the building type and
within building categories, too. The median was 15% and
the maximum 70%. Optimization was done for individual
buildings and no advantage was noticed in coupling the op-
timization of separate buildings or building groups together.
The optimization used the simulated inside temperature of
the buildings, and better results would follow, if the actual
temperatures were available. The most important advantage
of this approach is the ease of modeling. The number of
inputs and model parameters is so low that it is possible to op-
timize even a large building stock. The parameter estimation
needs about one week’s measurement data (heating power
and output temperatures). One possible way to improve the
results would be to include the model uncertainty into the
system.
Water Treatment and Distribution Infrastructures
There are a lot of similarities between district heating and
water distributing networks, but from the automation and
optimization point of view, they differ in some very important
respects such as:
634
• In water distribution networks, the level of automation on
the consumer side is low and the smart meter is enough
for measuring the water consumption. This means a low
need for data transfer and ease of automatic reading. The
lowest frequency is usually once per hour. This does not
decrease the importance of the measuring accuracy and
necessity to check it, but this takes place at the utility
site. On the other hand, a higher level of automation
is required for monitoring and control at the treatment
plants of both drinking water and wastewater and the
requirements related to data communications are higher
there.
• In water distribution networks, the role of the water reser-
voirs is just as important for the peak level cutting as in
district heating. Water reservoirs and their compensating
capacities are easier to measure and handle than in the
above case for district heating. Because the operation of
the water supply and distribution system bases on forecast-
ing the demand, the future behavior of the water reservoirs
can be simulated on the basis of these forecasts.
• Water security is a complicated problem that includes,
in addition to ensuring the sufficiency of drinking water,
also observing the water quality and preventing possible
vandalism or cyber threats.
• When estimating the costs of the water usage and its effect
on environment, both the production of drinking water and
the purification of wastewater must be taken into account.
The water system as a whole is a large-scale complex
system and the design of its automation follows the design
methods for LSS.
The smart meter is the basic building block in Smart
Water System (SWS). It performs the real-time monitoring
of water consumption in the Smart City environment. Smart
meters are also necessary for detecting possible leaks in the
network, building forecasts of the future consumption, and
updating the models used in optimization of the network
operation.
There is a recent review with 109 references considering
SWS [142]. It presents the current definitions (SWS is also
called Smart Water Grid and Smart Water Management) and
the historical development of SWS. It introduces a new five-
layer architecture of SWS. It looks like the other five-layer
architecture presented in Sect. 27.3, but there are several
functional differences. The layers are named as Instrument,
Property, Function, Benefit, and Application. The instrument
layer includes both physical and cyber instruments. Prop-
erty layer ensures the system’s ability to respond to various
threats by four properties: automation, resourcefulness, real-
time functions, and connectivity. Instruments and properties
define the functions of the system. They are dealing with
data handling, simulation, planning, and optimization. Ben-
efit layer deals with the costs, sustainability, and lifecycle
F. G. Filip and K. Leiviskä
benefits of the system. Application layer also includes public
applications in addition to user applications.
27.4.2 Environmental Protection
Modern technologies such as IoT joining together distributed
sensors, Internet, and distributed monitoring, alarming, and
registering systems contribute a lot to environmental protec-
tion in future Smart Cities [143]. They enable the centralized
monitoring of the effects of industrial and traffic emissions
and effluents, changing weather conditions, housing and
farming, etc., on the quality of air, water, and soil. Disaster
forecasting and early warning systems are used in case of nat-
ural factors such as seismic and volcanic activity, tsunamis,
forest fires, health risks caused by heat, radiation, and so on
which belong to the area of environmental monitoring. These
systems can operate with manual samples and analyses,
automatic analyzers and data loggers, individual point-wise
measurements, results from large-scale meteorological mod-
els, and even with exceptional findings from some individuals
on the field in a crowdsourcing scheme. Data acquisition
can utilize smart sensors, wireless and wired sensors and
networks, and network connections.
As a real large-scale complex system, the design of an
environmental monitoring and protection system requires
methods for the correct decomposition of the large system
and data mining and visualization tools to provide easy-to-
use information for the system users. Li et al. [144] introduce
a three-level structure: data collection and processing layer,
network layer, and application layer. Their application relies
on Cloud computing. Zhang and Huang [145] propose the use
of Edge computing and a four-level architecture consisting
of Perception layer, Transport layer, Management layer, and
Service layer.
There is a recent review on the use of IoT and sensors in
the smart environment monitoring system [146]. It critically
analyzed 113 papers from various viewpoints: applications
in agriculture, water, and air monitoring together with the
use of Machine Learning and IoT tools. The authors noticed
a strong increase in the number of papers published in the
domain over the last 10 years. Poor quality of the sensor data
(repeatability, reliability) is a serious obstacle in applications.
As Machine Learning is concerned, more research on han-
dling big and noisy data is required.
Another extensive review considered marine environ-
ments as oceans, water quality, fish farming, coral reefs, and
wave and current monitoring [147]. It referred to various
sensors and sensor networks, communication systems, and
data analysis methods. Biggest challenges were identified
with regard to the battery management in wireless systems,
standardization in IoT devices and platforms, in computing
and data storage technologies, and in data analysis.
27 Infrastructure and Complex Systems Automation
Table 27.1 Large-scale infrastructure automation examples
Controlled object
Utility networks
Heating networks in smart cities
Electric power grids and gas networks
Water networks
Large-scale environment monitoring systems
Transportation systems
Traffic light control
Fleet control
Connected parking systems, automotive, and smart mobility
27.4.3 Other Infrastructure Automation Cases
Due to the space limitation, a detailed presentation of other
infrastructure automation examples is not possible. Conse-
quently, several papers are indicated in Table 27.1, which
mainly includes survey papers on automation in different
areas of the modern infrastructures.
The interested reader can find, in the volume edited by
Kyriakides and Polycarpou [167], several other examples of
critical infrastructure automation solutions deployed in vari-
ous domains, for example, electric power systems, telecom-
munications, water systems, and transportation networks. As
Brdys [168] notices, such systems are often characterized
by a spatial and networked structure, multiple objectives,
nonlinearities, and different time scales. In addition, their
operation conditions may be affected by numerous distur-
bances such as various operating ranges and faults in the
automation devices (sensors and actuators) and abnormal
functioning of controlled objects themselves. Consequently,
the automation schemes may vary from genuine distributed
control to hierarchical solutions.
27.5 Design and Security Issues
Designing a control system for a LSS can be viewed as a set
of decisions to be made concerning various aspects, such as:
a) the people to be involved in the project, b) the development
approach adopted: waterfall model of incremental design,
c) selection of ICT products to be deployed, d) evaluation
procedures and so on [169]. Using Multi-criterion and Multi-
attribute decision-making (MCDM/MADM) [170] could ef-
fectively support the process of choosing the appropriate
solutions. In [85], a classification of criteria to be used in
selecting ICT is provided. An example of using TOPSIS,
a multiattribute method, for selecting the cloud provider,
is presented in [171], and a DSS for selecting a piece of
software (a database management system) is described in
[172].
The LSS and their control infrastructures may show var-
ious vulnerabilities and may be affected by various attacks
635
References
[148–150]
[130, 135, 151–155, 176, 177]
[19, 44, 154, 155, 156, 178]
[157, 158, 159, 160, 161]
[42, 132, 162, 163]
[164, 165]
[130, 132, 166]
especially in the cases when they are composed of distributed
27
subsystems and communication links are used. Critical in-
frastructure systems are expected to be available 24 h a
day, 7 days a week. Nevertheless, they occasionally do not
operate as expected because of various causes such as natural
disasters, equipment malfunction, human errors, or malicious
attacks. The economic and societal consequences may be
very high.
Security concerns and open problems have been
frequently addressed all over Sect. 27.3 of this chapter. In
particular, one can mention the specific cybersecurity issues
for industrial critical infrastructures that are presented in
[173]. Two frequently used security standards (ISO 2701 and
NIST SP 800-53) are described in detail in [174]. Ogie [175]
analyzes cybersecurity incidents on critical infrastructure
and industrial networks. The author classifies the possible
incidents according to the three criteria:
• Intent: theft, intended and unintended service disruption,
sabotage, espionage, accident, and unknown
• Method of operation: malware, unauthorized insider (lo-
cal or remote) access, interruption of service, non-cyber-
attack, and unknown
• “Perpetrator” who deliberately launches the attack: lone
hacker, organized group of hackers, vendor, employee,
unknown, and none
Enoch et al. [176] compare various existing security met-
rics for networks based on the concept of network reachable
information and propose a composite one for network secu-
rity analytics. Fiedler et al. [177] propose a DSS approach
for investment in cybersecurity. This approach is based on
game theory and combinatorial optimization. Stepanova and
Zegzhda [178] have studied the IT security evolution and the
usage of control theory in analyzing the large-scale, hetero-
geneous distributed systems. The authors apply three basic
concepts of control theory – feedback, adaptive control, and
system state prediction – to define the formal representation
of the security for four types of systems: static, active, adap-
tive, and dynamic. The principles of control theory, which
are applied in security assessment, are meant to identify and
636
eliminate the threats in critical infrastructures such as those
in power systems [179], gas transmission lines [180], water
distribution systems [181], and the air transportation systems
[182].
In case of decision-making situations concerning LSS, it
is likely that the participants (the decision-makers and their
assistants) are located in various, possibly remote places,
and their number is not limited by the size of a classical
meeting room. Moreover, at present, some people may need
to attend the virtual decision-making meetings by using their
mobile devices. Security aspects concerning the authentica-
tion and access granting for participants that are authorized
to take part in sensitive decision-making activities can be
approached by using biometric methods and tools [85, 94].
A review of the current state-of-the-art in cyber-security
training offerings for critical infrastructure protection and the
key performance indicators is provided in [183].
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 Computer-Aided Design, Computer-Aided
Engineering, and Visualization 28
Jorge D. Camba, Nathan Hartman, and Gary R. Bertoline

Contents that define the object. Many of today’s modern CAD

28.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 641 tools also operate on similar interfaces with similar
geometry creation command sequences that operate
28.2 Product Lifecycle Management in the Digital
Enterprise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 642 interdependently to control the modeling process. Core
modules include the sketcher, the solid modeling system
28.3 3D Modeling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 644
itself, the dimensional constraint engine, the feature
28.4 Parametric Solid Modeling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 646 manager, and the assembly manager. In most cases, there
28.5 Parametric Geometry Creation Process . . . . . . . . . . . 647 is also a drawing tool, and other modules that interface
with analysis, manufacturing process planning, and
28.6 Electronic Design Automation (EDA) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 648
machining. These processes begin with the 3D geometry
28.7 Geometry Automation Mechanisms in the Modern generated by CAD systems in the design process or 3D
CAD Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 650
models can be created as a separate process.
28.8 User Characteristics Related to CAD Systems . . . . . . 651 The second half of the chapter examines emerging
28.9 Visualization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 652 visualization technologies (e.g., augmented and virtual
28.10 Emerging Visualization Technologies:
reality) and their connection to CAD/CAM. We provide
Virtual/Augmented/Mixed Reality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 653 an overview of the technology, its capabilities and lim-
28.10.1 Augmented Reality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 654 itations, and how it is used in industrial environments.
28.10.2 Virtual Reality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 656 Finally, we discuss the challenges that are hindering its
28.11 Conclusions and Emerging Trends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 657 implementation and adoption.
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 657
Keywords

Computer-aided design · Digital product representation ·

Abstract
This chapter is an overview of computer-aided design
(CAD) and computer-aided engineering and includes
elements of computer graphics, visualization, and
emerging visualization technologies. Commercial three-
dimensional (3D) modeling tools are dimension driven,
parametric, feature based, and constraint based. This
means that, when geometry is created, the user specifies
numerical values and requisite geometric conditions for
the elemental dimensional and geometric constraints
J. D. Camba () · N. Hartman · G. R. Bertoline
School of Engineering Technology, Purdue University, West Lafayette,
IN, USA
e-mail: jdorribo@purdue.edu; nhartman@purdue.edu;
bertolig@purdue.edu
Design intent · Product lifecycle management · Product
data management
28.1 Introduction
Computer-aided design, manufacturing, and engineering
(CAD/CAM/CAE) technologies continue to transform
engineering and technical disciplines in unprecedented ways.
The tools originally used to replace manual drafting just a few
decades ago have evolved into sophisticated design solutions
that support the entire product lifecycle with increasingly
powerful levels of automation, simulation, connectivity,
and autonomy. The recent advances in CAD/CAM and
visualization technologies coupled with the development

© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 641

S. Y. Nof (ed.), Springer Handbook of Automation, Springer Handbooks,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-96729-1_28
642
and affordability of new hardware such as high-resolution
displays, multitouch surfaces, and mixed-reality headsets
are, once again, changing the engineering landscape,
accelerating product development, and enhancing technical
communication. From automotive and aerospace engineering
to civil engineering and construction, and to electronics,
biomedicine, and fashion design, CAD tools are ubiquitous
across all disciplines and industries.
In this chapter, we discuss the technology, methods, and
practices to build 3D models for engineering applications,
emphasizing parametric feature-based solid modeling tech-
nology and its corresponding modeling processes. Finally,
we review emerging trends in product visualization and ex-
amine the state of the art of virtual/augmented/mixed-reality
technologies in industry.
28.2 Product Lifecycle Management in the
Digital Enterprise
The increased usage of digital data and tools throughout
organizations is one effect of the larger digital transforma-
tion that is sweeping the industrial sector across the globe.
Companies are now using machine learning, artificial intel-
ligence, and modeling and simulation to better design and
manufacture their products, and to make better business deci-
sions. More specifically to product design and manufacturing
is the concept of a model-based enterprise (MBE), which
is an approach to product design, production, and support
whereby a digital, three-dimensional representation of the
product serves as the ubiquitous source for information com-
municated throughout the product’s lifecycle. In the MBE
environment, the digital product model serves as a container,
carrying shape definition (i.e., geometry, PMI, annotations,
etc.), behavioral definition (i.e., materials, functional logic,
genealogy, etc.), and contextual attributes (i.e., supply chain,
in use, assembly, etc.). Since the information is embedded
in the 3D model and structured in a manner that is machine
readable, it can be used directly to feed processes such
as CAM, CNC, and coordinate-measuring machine (CMM)
applications, among others. An example of a model with
graphic PMI data is illustrated in Fig. 28.1.
At the core of the digital enterprise is product lifecycle
management, or PLM. Commonly mischaracterized as a
software tool or system itself, PLM is actually a process
leveraged by the integration of enterprise systems to manage
a product from concept to disposal. The general phases asso-
ciated with a product’s lifecycle are illustrated in Fig. 28.2.
Modern PLM technologies are designed to operate
in multi-CAD environments and interface with other
enterprise systems such as manufacturing execution systems
(MES), extending the system to suppliers and customers,
providing cloud-based solutions, and connecting with
J. D. Camba et al.
systems engineering and configuration management. Today,
the global PLM market is dominated by Siemens Teamcenter,
PTC Windchill, and Dassault Systèmes 3DExperience. Other
packages include SolidWorks PDM, Autodesk Vault, Fusion
Lifecycle PLM, Aras Innovator, and Arena Solutions.
While products have varying lifecycle spans, some may
not have a need for maintaining data for extended periods of
time; however, some industrial sectors, such as aerospace and
defense, have product platforms and programs with lifecycles
measured in decades. Understanding the characteristics of
the data needed during these lifecycles is important to both
adequate compliance and to minimizing costs [2, 3]. These
industry sectors are also two of the most dependent users
of product lifecycle management (PLM) technologies and
processes, which by nature promote the use of a 3D model-
based environment and a digital, model-based product defi-
nition. However, the process of creating and maintaining this
sort of model-based definition is made more difficult by the
current state of the art in product definition authoring tools –
their disparate proprietary data formats are incompatible.
There is no homogeneous, monolithic “file” to encompass a
model-based definition and the visualization and integration
within a PLM system is challenging [4, 5]. Moreover, the
exchange of digital product data between these different
authoring and consuming tools is often incorrect, incomplete,
and highly ambiguous. While a corporate directive to migrate
to a single-vendor PLM toolset may seem expeditious, it is
highly unlikely and incredibly costly given the organization
and makeup of modern enterprises and their respective sup-
ply chains [6, 7].
Digital, model-based product definition is an enabler for
effective communications and capturing of business value
throughout the product lifecycle in modern enterprises. As
the digital backbone that supports the modern product data
enterprise has been propagated throughout the extended
product lifecycle, an obvious medium of communication has
evolved – the 3D model and its various derivative forms – to
support their products. Not only must this channel support
human-to-human communication, but it must also support
human-to-machine, machine-to-human, and machine-to-
machine communication as well. In a drawing-based
environment, the drawing itself (particularly when paper
based) contains the relevant product data and serves as a
trusted information source for those using it. When drawings
are shared, there is typically little worry about information
being lost due to translation or exchange error in the medium
[8–10]. In order to manage a product’s lifecycle, one must
manage the data lifecycle that accompanies the product.
Naturally, as the complexity of the product increases, so
does the volume and complexity of its related data lifecycle.
The advent of the Internet of Things (IoT) and the Industrial
Internet of Things (IIoT), coupled with advances in cyber-
physical systems and their enabling technologies are fueling
28 Computer-Aided Design, Computer-Aided Engineering, and Visualization 643

28

Fig. 28.1 CAD model with PMI data. (Source: NIST – MBE PMI Validation and Conformance Testing Project [1])

Service and
Concept Design Manufacturing Disposal
support

Fig. 28.2 General phases of a product’s lifecycle

the development of new and increasingly more complex
products. In many cases, these physical products become
sophisticated systems, or systems of systems, that combine
mechanical, electrical, and embedded software components.
From a product lifecycle standpoint, being able to organize,
track, and effectively manage the vast volumes of highly het-
erogeneous data associated to a particular aspect of a product
becomes critical as well as challenging. In these scenarios,
data overlaps due to duplication are common, as the same
system must often be described from different perspectives.
Data relationships are also common, such as connecting
requirements to CAD data to test cases and simulation data.
Furthermore, handling engineering changes to a product or
system, or managing product variability and customization
is even more difficult. Indeed, variability means that variant-
specific product configurations must be created and main-
tained to drive manufacturing and coordinate supply chain
processes.
Change management is a subset of a larger field of study
called configuration management (CM) that refers to the
strategies involved in identifying, evaluating, preparing, exe-
cuting, and validating change. Configuration management in-
volves “applying appropriate processes, resources, and con-
trols, to establish and maintain consistency between product
configuration information, and the product” [11]. Successful
change management depends on robust change processes to
ensure changes are properly executed and formally docu-
mented. Change management processes can be centralized,
normalized, and to some extent automated, by leveraging the
strengths of PLM technology. The key elements and tasks
644
Fig. 28.3 Change request form in PTC Windchill
that describe a change can be captured by the PLM system,
facilitating the implementation and documentation of the
corresponding processes. An example of a change request
form in a commercial PLM system (i.e., PTC Windchill) is
shown in Fig. 28.3.
The use of embedded software and network connectivity
in modern smart products enables services such as perfor-
mance monitoring, predictive maintenance, and on-demand
software updates. However, it also means that software li-
braries, source code, and the related files become key el-
ements in the product configuration and change processes
which must be managed carefully. Software and hardware
also become tightly coupled, as software must be tested
against specific hardware configurations to ensure safety,
compliance, and performance.
A change in processes and skillsets is necessary to support
the product data lifecycle. In the sociotechnical system that
surround a product through its lifecycle, product data curators
not only need to appreciate the functional domain require-
ments for authoring and consuming product data, but they
must also understand computing architecture and commu-
nications mechanisms for dissemination; business processes
for security and archival of data; and the model data transla-
tion, validation, and exchange processes for multiple authors
and consumers.
28.3 3D Modeling
The term “model” refers to any representation of an item,
system, process, or phenomenon. Depending on the type,
J. D. Camba et al.
models may serve different purposes. For example, financial
models are used to guide investment strategies and deter-
mine the behavior of the stock market, physical models
are developed to predict the path and impact of major hur-
ricanes, and graphical models are used in many fields to
visually communicate complex ideas. In a CAD context,
modeling is “the spatial description and placement of ob-
jects, characters, environments and scenes with a computer
system” [12].
Different methods exist to represent and produce 3D com-
puter models. Wireframe models are the oldest and most ba-
sic representation, in which geometry is represented as a col-
lection of vertices connected by edges. Although wireframe
representations are relatively simple and can be processed
and rendered quickly by the computer, they are not realis-
tic (particularly when representing nonpolyhedral geometry)
and can be ambiguous (due to the lack of face information),
which makes their use very limited and unsuitable for even
basic design communication.
Surface models are a type of boundary representation
(B-Rep) where the geometry represents the infinitely thin
“boundary” that separates the inside volume of the object
from the outside. This “boundary” can be described in differ-
ent ways. For example, in a polygonal model, the “boundary”
is defined by a set of connected flat faces (i.e., polygons),
which are bound by edges, which are further bound by end
vertices, respectively. As a result, the model’s geometry is
approximated by a mesh of polygons. The finer the mesh,
the higher the resolution of the model.
An alternative approach to represent the “boundary” of the
model is through a series of mathematical equations that gen-
erate precise curves and surfaces. A common type of curve
to produce 3D surface models consist of nonuniform rational
B-splines (NURBS). Surface models are created explicitly by
manipulating the properties of the entities (vertices, edges,
and faces, in the case of a polygonal model; and curves, in the
case of a surface model) of the model in 3D space. Surface
models allow for the representation of complex geometry and
sophisticated organic shapes, which make them appropriate
for product visualization and animation applications. How-
ever, information about the physical properties of the object
represented by the model is not available, which makes these
representations unsuitable for engineering analysis and other
calculations.
Surface models can be saved to a variety of formats.
Some file formats are exclusive to specific software pack-
ages (proprietary formats), while others are portable, which
means they can be exchanged among different programs.
Two common portable formats are “.obj” (short for object)
introduced by Alias for high-end computer animation and vi-
sual effects productions, and the drawing interchange format
(DXF) developed by Autodesk and widely used to exchange
models between CAD and 3D animation programs.
28 Computer-Aided Design, Computer-Aided Engineering, and Visualization
Solid models provide a complete, accurate, unambiguous,
and topologically valid representation of the object, includ-
ing its physical properties. These characteristics make solid
models appropriate for a wide range of engineering appli-
cations, including analysis and simulation studies. In fact,
solid models are the core representation technology used in
modern CAD systems to create and manipulate engineering
models.
Unlike the boundary representation methods described
above where only the outside surface of the model is repre-
sented, volumetric models use voxels to represent the inside
of an object using a discretely sampled 3D set. Volumetric
models are common in medical visualization applications, for
example, where MRI or CT scan data are used to capture the
internal geometry.
Additional modeling techniques have been developed for
specific purposes. For example, particle-system modeling is
an approach used to represent various phenomena such as
fire, snow, clouds, smoke, etc. which do not have a stable
and well-defined shape. Such phenomena would be very
difficult to model with surface or solid modeling techniques
because they are composed of large amounts of molecule-
sized particles rather than discernible surfaces. In particle-
system modeling, the animator creates a system of particles,
i.e., graphical primitives such as points or lines, and defines
the physical attributes of the particles. These attributes con-
trol how the particles move, how they interact with each
other and with the environment, and how they are rendered.
Dynamics fields can also be used to control the particles’
motion.
Fig. 28.4 Exploration of design alternatives in a commercial CAD system. The designs were produced automatically using generative techniques
645
Procedural modeling includes a number of techniques to
create 3D models from sets of rules. L-systems, fractals, and
generative modeling are examples of procedural modeling
techniques since they apply algorithms for producing scenes;
for instance, a mountainous terrain model can be produced by
plotting an equation of fractal mathematics that recursively
subdivides and displaces a geometric patch.
For the past few years, generative modeling has been
gaining popularity in the research community, particularly
because of its potential applications in design and engineer-
ing. Generative modeling is an iterative process that involves
the automatic generation of geometry by defining a set of
design goals. The user inputs the criteria and the conditions
desired for these goals, and an algorithm generates a number
of solutions that meet those criteria. These criteria may be
related to design performance, materials and manufacturing 28
methods, and spatial requirements, among others. The re-
sulting geometry is context aware and usually organic in
form, reminiscent of natural lattice structures. Generative
design tools can be used for topology optimization [13],
exploration of design spaces [14], and as a creative tool to
automatically generate design configurations [15]. An exam-
ple of the generative design functionality applied to design
space exploration in a commercial CAD system is shown in
Fig. 28.4.
When a physical model of an object already exists, it is
possible to create a corresponding 3D model using various
digitization methods. Examples of digitization tools include
3D digitizing pens and laser contour scanners. Each time
the tip of a 3D pen touches the surface of the object to be
646
digitized, the location of a point is recorded. In this way it is
possible to compile a list of 3D coordinates that represent key
points on the surface. These points form a point cloud that is
used by the 3D modeling software to build the corresponding
digital mesh, which is often a polygonal surface. In laser
contour scanning the physical object is placed on a turntable,
a laser beam is projected onto its surface, and the distance
the beam travels to the object is recorded. After each 360◦
rotation a contour curve is produced and the beam is lowered
a bit. When all contour curves have been generated, the 3D
software builds a lofted surface.
28.4 Parametric Solid Modeling
Solid models can be created using a number of techniques.
Traditionally, solid models used constructive solid geometry
(CSG), where basic geometric primitives (e.g., cube, sphere,
cone, cylinder, etc.) are combined using Boolean operators.
Three Boolean operations are commonly used: addition or
union, subtraction, and intersection. The addition opera-
tion combines two solids into a single, unified solid; the
subtraction operation takes away from one solid the space
occupied by another solid; and the intersection operation
produces a solid consisting of only the volume shared by two
overlapping solids. Complex geometry is built by combining
these Boolean operations sequentially as a tree structure,
where the output of one operation is used as the input for
the next.
Traditionally, CSG approaches were efficient for the stor-
age of the database. However, due to the inherent limitations
of the primitive shapes, and the difficulty to manipulate
individual surfaces, CSG has evolved into more sophisti-
cated approaches such as the ability to create swept solids
on demand where needed, and combine them with existing
geometry.
Today’s 3D modeling tools implement a variety of tech-
nologies. They are dimension driven, parametric, feature
based, and constraint based. These terms have come to be
synonymous when describing modern CAD systems [16].
The term parametric means that, when geometry is created,
the user specifies numerical values and requisite geomet-
ric conditions for the elemental dimensional and geometric
constraints that define the object; for example, a rectangular
prism would be defined by parameter dimensions that control
its height, width, and depth. In addition, many of today’s
modern CAD tools also operate on similar interfaces with
similar geometry creation command sequences [17]. Gener-
ally, most constraint-based CAD tools consist of software
modules that operate interdependently to control the 3D
modeling process. They include core modules such as the
sketcher, the solid modeling system itself, the dimensional
J. D. Camba et al.
constraint engine, the feature manager, and the assembly
manager [18]. In most cases, there is also a drawing tool, and
other modules that interface with analysis, manufacturing
process planning, and machining. The core modules are used
in conjunction with each other (or separately as necessary)
to develop a 3D model of the desired product. In so doing,
most modern CAD systems will produce the same kinds of
geometry, irrespective of the software interface they possess.
Many of the modern 3D CAD tools combine constructive
solid geometry (CSG) and boundary representation (B-rep)
modeling functionality to form hybrid 3D modeling packages
[16, 18].
Constraint-based CAD tools create a solid model as a
series of features that correspond to operations that would
be used to create the physical object. Features are geometric
abstractions that can be created dependently or independently
of each other with respect to the effects of modifications
made to the geometry. If features are dependent, then an
update to the parent feature will affect the child feature. This
is known as a parent–child reference, and these references
are typically at the heart of most modeling processes per-
formed by the user [18]. The geometry of each feature is
controlled by the use of modifiable constraints that allow
for the dynamic update of model geometry as the design
criteria change. When a parent feature is modified, it typically
creates a ripple effect that yields changes in the child features.
This is one example of associativity – the fact that design
changes propagate through the geometric database and asso-
ciated derivatives of the model due to the interrelationships
between model features. This dynamic editing capability is
also reflected in assembly models that are used to document
the manner in which components of a product interact with
each other. Modifications to features contained in a part will
be displayed in the parent part as well as in the assembly
that contains the part. Any working drawings of the part
or assembly will also update to reflect the changes. This is
another example of associativity.
Feature-based modeling enables a more intuitive approach
to modeling by making design intent explicit and easy to
understand. It also links modeling with engineering and man-
ufacturing. Different classifications of features have been
proposed. Some of them, such as material and analysis fea-
tures, are nongeometric. These types of features are useful
for many engineering processes, but not directly relevant to
3D CAD modeling.
CAD systems will often organize features based on their
type. However, there is not a consistent agreed-upon classi-
fication across CAD systems. For example, based on their
effect on geometry, features can be classified as positive
(features that add new material to the part) and negative
(features that remove material from the part). Some features
(replication features) are used to replicate existing geometry
by creating patterns of existing features in the part, whereas
28 Computer-Aided Design, Computer-Aided Engineering, and Visualization
dress-up features add cosmetic and finishing geometry (such
as fillets and rounds).
Based on their functional characteristics, features can be
classified as design features (features which serve a particular
purpose related to the function of the part), form features (fea-
tures that represent certain geometric aspects of a part, with
no implied functional purpose or manufacturing method),
and manufacturing features (geometric characteristics that
result from the application of a specific manufacturing op-
eration).
A critical issue in the use of constraint-based CAD tools
is the planning that happens prior to the creation of the model
[16]. This is known as design intent. Much of the power
and utility of constraint-based CAD tools is derived from
the fact that users can edit and redefine part geometry as
opposed to deleting and recreating it. This requires a certain
amount of thought with respect to the relationships that will
be established between and within features of a part and
between components in an assembly. The ways in which the
model will be used in the future and how it could potentially
be manipulated during design changes are both factors to
consider when building the model. The manner in which the
user expects the CAD model to behave under a given set
of circumstances, and the effects of that behavior on other
portions of the same model or on other models within the
assembly, is known as design intent [16, 18]. The eventual
use and reuse of the model will have a profound effect on the
relationships that are established within the model as well as
the types of features that are used to create it, and vice versa.
28.5 Parametric Geometry Creation
Process
In modern constraint-based CAD systems, geometry is cre-
ated by using the modules and functionality described above,
especially the sketcher, the dimensional constraint engine,
the solid modeling system, and the feature manager. To create
solid geometry, the user considers their design intent and
proceeds to make the first feature of the model. The most
common way to create feature geometry within a part file is to
sketch the main feature’s cross-section on a datum plane (or
flat planar surface already existing in the part file), dimension
and constrain the sketched profile, and then apply a feature
form to the cross-section. Due to the inherent inaccuracies
of sketching geometric entities on a computer screen with a
mouse, CAD systems typically employ a constraint solver.
This portion of the software is responsible for resolving the
geometric relationships and general proportions between the
sketched entities and the dimensions that the user applies to
them, which is an example of automation in the geometric
modeling process. The final stage of geometry creation is
typically the application of a feature form, which is what
647
Ø34.925
19.05 V
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57.15
Fig. 28.5 Sketch geometry created on a plane on a 3D model
28
gives a sketch its depth element. This model creation pro-
cess is illustrated in Fig. 28.5. This automated process of
capturing dimensional and parametric information as part of
the geometry creation process is what gives modern CAD
systems their advantage over traditional engineering drawing
techniques in terms of return on investment and efficiency of
work. Without this level of automation, CAD systems would
be nothing more than an electronic drawing board, with the
user being required to recreate a design from scratch each
time.
As the user continues to use the feature creation functions
in the CAD system, the feature list continues to grow. It lists
all of the features used to create a model in chronological
order. The creation of features in a particular order also
captures design intent from the user, since the order in which
geometry is created will have a final bearing on the look
(and possibly the function) of the object. In most cases, the
feature tree is also the location where the user would go to
consider modifying the order in which the model’s features
were created (and rebuilt whenever a change is made to
the topology of the model). The notion of maintaining the
sequence of steps and making it available to the user for
editing the model is known as history-based modeling.
As a recent alternative approach to history-based para-
metric modeling, the direct modeling paradigm allows users
to create geometry without keeping a log of the modeling
sequence or any parent–child relationships between features.
Instead, geometric entities in the model can be manipulated
directly however the designer desires. This type of modeling
eliminates parent–child relationships entirely, which may be
effective for certain tasks, but it also eliminates the ability to
add design intelligence to and capture design intent within
the 3D model.
As users become more proficient at using a constraint-
based CAD system to create geometry, they adopt their
own mental model for interfacing with the software [19].
This mental model typically evolves to match the software
648
tware processes
Sof
Geometry
creation
Design consi
stics
acteri
Geometry
manipulation
har
der
rc
ati
se
n o
s
U
Fig. 28.6 Expert mental model of modern CAD system operation
interface metaphor of the CAD system. In so doing, they
are able to leverage their expertise regarding the operation
of the software to devise highly sophisticated methods for
using the CAD systems. This level of sophistication and
automation by the user is due in some part to the nature of the
constraint-based CAD tools. It is also what enables the user
to dissect geometric models created by others (or themselves
at a prior time) and reuse them to develop new or modified
designs. Effective use of the tools requires that the user’s own
knowledge base comprised of the conceptual relationships
regarding the capture of design intent in the geometric model
and the specific software skills necessary to create geometry
be used. This requires the use of an object–action interface
model and metaphor on the part of the user in order to be
effective. This interface model correlates the objects and
actions used in the software with those used in the physical
construction of the object being modeled. If a person is to use
the CAD tool effectively, these two sets of models should
be similar. In relation to the object–action interface model
is the idea of a user’s mental model of the software tool.
This mental model is comprised of semantic knowledge of
how the CAD system operates, the relationships between the
different modules and commands, and syntactic knowledge
that is comprised of specific knowledge about commands and
the interface (Fig. 28.6).
The process of creating 3D geometry in this fashion allows
the user to automate the capture of their design intent. Seman-
tic and syntactic knowledge are combined once in the initial
creation of the model to develop the intended shape of the
object being modeled. This encoding of design knowledge
allows the labor of creating geometry to be stored and used
again when the model is used in the future. This labor storage
is manifested within the CAD system inside the geometric
J. D. Camba et al.
features themselves, and the script for playing back that
knowledge-embedding process is captured within the feature
manager as described in Sect. 28.2. It is generally common
knowledge within the modern 3D modeling environment
that a user will likely work with models created by other
people and vice versa. As such, having a predictable means
to include design intent in the geometric model is critical for
the reuse of existing CAD models within an organization.
28.6 Electronic Design Automation (EDA)
The design of intelligent products and systems that integrate
electrical, mechanical, and software characteristics requires
the integration and interoperability of the various design
and engineering workflows and tools. Traditional mechanical
computer-aided design (MCAD) tools must work together
with electronic computer-aided design (ECAD) systems to
enable a unified approach to design.
Electronic design automation (EDA) refers to the soft-
ware tools for electrical or electronic computer-aided design
(ECAD) of electronic systems ranging from printed circuit
boards (PCBs) to integrated circuits (see Fig. 28.7). EDA can
work on digital circuits and analog circuits. In this section,
we focus on EDA tools for digital integrated circuits because
they are more prominent in the current EDA industry and
occupy the major portion of the EDA market. For analog and
mixed-signal circuit design automation, readers are referred
to [20] and [21] for more details. Note that we can only briefly
introduce the key techniques in EDA. Interested readers can
refer to [22–24] for additional information.
The majority of the development effort for CAD tech-
niques is devoted to the design of single-purpose processors
using semicustom or programmable logic device (PLD) in-
tegrated circuit technologies. A typical step-by-step design
flow is shown in Fig. 28.8.
The synthesis stage includes behavioral synthesis, RTL
synthesis, and logic synthesis. The basic problem of be-
havioral synthesis or high-level synthesis is the mapping of
a behavioral description of a circuit into a cycle-accurate
register transfer level (RTL) design consisting of a data path
and a control unit. Designers can skip behavioral synthesis
and directly write RTL codes for circuit design. This design
style is facing increasing challenges due to the growing
complexity of circuit design.
The next step after behavioral synthesis is RTL synthe-
sis. RTL synthesis performs optimizations on the register-
transfer-level design. Input to an RTL synthesis tool is a Ver-
ilog or VHDL design that includes the number of data path
components, the binding of operations/variables/transfers to
data path components, and a controller that contains the
detailed schedule of computational, input/output (I/O), and
memory operations.
28 Computer-Aided Design, Computer-Aided Engineering, and Visualization 649

28

Fig. 28.7 ECAD system for PCB design

Behavioral description

Behavioral RTL Logic

synthesis synthesis synthesis Synthesis
Design
stages
Partitioning Physical
Routing Placement
& floorplan design

Semicustom/ASIC flow PLD flow

GDSII generation Bitstream generation

IC fabrication Bitstream to
program PLD

Fig. 28.8 Typical design flow

Logic synthesis is the task of generating a structural synthesis and perform logic optimization on top of it. Such
view of the logic-level implementation of the design. It can optimizations include both sequential logic optimization and
take the generic Boolean network generated from the RTL combinational logic optimization.
650
In terms of physical design, the design stages include
partitioning, floorplan, placement, and routing. The input of
physical design is a circuit netlist, and the output is the layout
of the circuit. Partitioning and floorplan are optional design
stages. They are required only when the circuit is highly
complex.
Partitioning is usually required for multimillion-gate de-
signs. For such a large design, it is not feasible to layout
the entire chip in one step due to the limitation of memory
and computation resources. Instead, the circuit will be first
partitioned into subcircuits (blocks), and then these blocks
can go through a process called floorplan to set up the
foundation of a good layout.
Floorplan will select a good layout alternative for each
block and for the entire chip as well. Floorplan will consider
the area and the aspect ratio of the blocks, which can be
estimated after partitioning. The number of terminals (pins)
required by each block and the nets used to connect the
blocks are also known after partitioning. In order to complete
the layout, we need to determine the shape and orientation
of each block and place them on the surface of the layout.
These blocks should be placed in such a way as to reduce
the total area of the circuit. Meanwhile, the pin-to-pin wire
delay needs to be optimized. Floorplan also needs to consider
whether there is sufficient routing area between the blocks
so that the routing algorithms can complete the routing task
without experiencing routing congestions.
Placement is a key step in the physical design flow. It
deals with the similar problem as floorplan – determining the
positions of physical objects (logic blocks and/or logic cells)
on the layout surface. The difference is that, in placement,
we can deal with a large number of objects (up to millions
of objects) and the shape of each object is predetermined
and fixed. Therefore, placement is a scaled and restricted
version of the floorplan problem and is usually applied within
regions created during floorplanning. Because of the impor-
tance of placement, an extensive amount of research has been
carried out in the CAD community. Placement algorithms
can be mainly categorized into simulated-annealing-based
(e.g., [25, 26]), partitioning-based (e.g., CAPO [27]), analyt-
ical (e.g., BonnPlace [28]), and multilevel placement (e.g.,
mPL [29]).
After placement, the routing stage determines the geo-
metric layouts of the nets to connect all the logic blocks
and/or logic cells together. Routing is the last step in the
design flow before either creating the GDSII (graphic data
system II) file for fabrication in the semicustom/ASIC design
style or generating the bitstream to program the PLD. GDSII
is a database file format used as the industry standard for
integrated circuit layout data exchange. The objective of
routing can be reducing the total wire length, minimizing
the critical path delay, minimizing power consumption, or
improving manufacturability.
J. D. Camba et al.
Technology computer-aided design (TCAD) is an impor-
tant branch in CAD which carries out numeric simulations of
semiconductor processes and devices. Process TCAD takes
a process flow, including essential steps such as ion implan-
tation, diffusion, etching, deposition, lithography, oxidation,
and silicidation, and simulates the active dopant distribu-
tion, the stress distribution, and the device geometry. Mask
layout is also an input for process simulation. The layout
can be selected as a linear cut in a full layout for a two-
dimensional simulation or a rectangular cut from the layout
for a three-dimensional simulation. Process TCAD produces
a final cross-sectional structure. Such a structure is then
provided to device TCAD for modeling the device electrical
characteristics. The device characteristics can be used to
either generate the coefficients of compact device models or
develop the compact models themselves. These models are
then used in circuit simulators to model the circuit behavior.
Because of the detailed physical modeling involved, TCAD
is mostly used to aid the design of single devices.
TCAD has become a critical tool in the development of
next-generation integrated circuit processes and devices. The
challenge for TCAD is that the physics and chemistry of
fabrication processes are still not well understood. Therefore,
TCAD cannot replace experiments except in very limited
applications so far. Reference [30] summarizes applications
of TCAD in four areas:
• Technology selection: TCAD tools can be used to elim-
inate or narrow technology development options prior to
starting experiments.
• Process optimization: tune process variables and design
rules to optimize performance, reliability, cost, and man-
ufacturability.
• Process control: aid the transfer of a process from one
facility to another (including from development to man-
ufacturing) and serve as reference models for diagnosing
yield issues and aiding process control in manufacturing.
• Design optimization: optimize the circuits for cost, power,
performance, and reliability.
28.7 Geometry Automation Mechanisms
in the Modern CAD Environment
Computer-aided design systems are used in many places
within a product design environment, but each scenario tends
to have a common element: the need to accurately define
the geometry which represents an object. This could be in
the design engineering phase to depict a product, or during
the manufacturing planning stage for the design of a fixture
to hold a workpiece. Recently, these CAD systems have
been coupled with product data management (PDM) systems
to track the ongoing changes through the lifecycle of a
28 Computer-Aided Design, Computer-Aided Engineering, and Visualization
product. By so doing, the inherent use of the CAD system
can be tracked, knowledge about the design can be stored,
and permissions can be granted to appropriate users of the
system. While the concept of concurrent engineering is not
new, contemporary depictions of that model typically show a
CAD system (and often a PDM system) at the center of the
conceptual model, disseminating embedded information for
use by the entire product development team throughout the
product lifecycle [16].
To use a modern CAD system effectively, one must under-
stand the common inputs and outputs of the system, typically
in light of a concurrent and distributed design and manufac-
turing environment. Input usually takes the form of numerical
information regarding size, shape, and orientation of geome-
try during the product model creation process. This informa-
tion generally comes directly from the user responsible for
developing the product; however, it is not uncommon to get
CAD input data from laser scanning devices used for quality
control and inspection, automated scripts for generating seed
geometry, or translated files from other systems. As with
other types of systems, the quality of the information put into
the system greatly affects the quality of the data coming out
of the system. In today’s geographically dispersed product
development environment, CAD geometry is often exported
from the CAD system is a neutral file format (e.g., IGES or
STEP) to be shared with other users up and down the supply
chain. Detailed two-dimensional drawings are often derived
from the 3D model in a semiautomated fashion to document
the product and to communicate with suppliers. In addition,
3D CAD data is generally shared in an automated way (due
to integration between digital systems) with structural and
manufacturing analysts for testing and process planning.
Geometry creation within CAD systems is also automated
for certain tasks, especially those of a repetitive nature.
The use of geometry duplication functions often involves
copying, manipulating, or moving selected entities from one
area to another on a model. This reduces the amount of time
that it takes a user to create their finished model. However, it
is critical that the user be mindful of parent–child references
as described previously. While these references are elemental
to the very nature of modern CAD systems, they can make the
modification and reuse of design geometry tenuous at a later
date, thereby negating any positive effects of a user having
copied geometry in an effort to save time.
CAD systems provide specialized automation mecha-
nisms to work with part families and configurations. These
mechanisms leverage the fact that many products are slight
variations of the same existing design. Part families and
configuration tools allow users to build a template model for
a “base part” and define what geometric characteristics will
vary between the different model instances in the part family.
Configurations can be created manually, by describing the
parameters of each model, or through a spreadsheet type of
651
table where each row specifies the geometric characteristics
of each model instance. Likewise, they can be defined at
part level, when building the geometry of a single part, or
at the assembly level, when building variations of assembly
models with different components. When used effectively,
part families and configurations can significantly increase
productivity, simplification, and model reuse.
Standard parts and standard libraries are an additional
mechanism available in CAD to enable automation. Libraries
are organized repositories of features and models that can
be added to a design, typically by dragging and dropping
the desired item onto the geometry and selecting the desired
parameters. Some libraries are fully integrated within the
CAD system. Others are custom made, or provided by a
third-party company. Libraries allow users to create models
and features once and reuse the geometry when needed. An 28
example of a library of standard parts in a commercial CAD
system (i.e., SolidWorks) is shown in Fig. 28.9.
Finally, geometry automation also exists in the form of
scripting and programming functionality to generate geom-
etry through the definition of algorithms. This scenario re-
quires extensive knowledge of the CAD system’s applica-
tion programming interface (API), but is particularly helpful
when it is necessary to produce geometry with a high degree
of accuracy and around which exists a fair amount of tribal
knowledge and corporate practice. A set of parameters are
created that represents corporate knowledge to be embedded
into the geometry to control its shape and behavior and then
the CAD system generates the desired geometry based on
user inputs (Figs. 28.10 and 28.11).
In the example of the airfoil, aerodynamic data has been
captured by an engineering analyst and input into a CAD
system using a knowledge capture module of the software.
These types of modules allow a user to configure the behavior
of the CAD system when it is supplied with a certain type of
data in the requisite format. This data represents the work of
the analyst, which is then used to automate the creation of
the 3D geometry to represent the airfoil. Such techniques are
replacing the manual geometric modeling tasks performed
by users on designs that require a direct tie to engineering
analysis data, or on those designs where a common geometry
is shared among various design options.
28.8 User Characteristics Related to CAD
Systems
Contemporary CAD systems require a technological knowl-
edge base independent of (yet complementary to) normal
engineering fundamentals. An understanding of design intent
related to product function and how that is manifested in
the creation of geometry to represent the product is critical
[19, 31]. Users require the knowledge of how the various
652 J. D. Camba et al.

Fig. 28.9 Library of standard parts in DS SolidWorks

modules of a CAD systems work and the impact of their requires that users employ their knowledge of engineering
command choices on the usability of geometry downstream fundamentals and the tacit knowledge gathered from their
in the design and manufacturing process. In order to en- environment, in conjunction with technological and strategic
able users to accomplish their tasks when using CAD tools, knowledge of the CAD system’s capabilities, to generate a
training in how to use the system is critical. Not just at a solution to the design problem at hand.
basic level for understanding the commands themselves, but
the development of a community of practice to support the
ongoing integration of user knowledge into organizational
28.9 Visualization
culture and best practices is critical.
Complementary to user training, and one of the reasons
Information visualization is useful in automation not only
for why relevant training is important in the use of CAD
for supervision, control, and decision support, but also for
tools, is for users to develop strategic knowledge in the use of
training. A variety of visualization methods and software are
the design systems. Strategic knowledge is the application of
available, including geographic information systems (GIS)
procedural and factual knowledge in the use of CAD systems
and virtual and augmented reality (VR/AR). Information
directed toward a goal within a specific context [32, 33]. It is
visualization is an essential aspect of any decision-making
through the development of strategic knowledge that users
process. Therefore, it is critical that the information is pre-
are able to effectively utilize the myriad functionality within
sented in a clear, unambiguous, and understandable manner.
modern CAD systems and adapt, transfer, and apply that
A geographic information system is a computer-based
knowledge when migrating to a new CAD system. Nearly all
system for capturing, manipulating, and displaying informa-
commercial CAD systems have similar user interfaces, simi-
tion using digitized maps. Its key characteristic is that every
lar geometry creation techniques, and similar required inputs
digital record has an identified geographical location. This
and optional outputs. Productivity in the use of CAD systems
process, called geocoding, enables automation applications
28 Computer-Aided Design, Computer-Aided Engineering, and Visualization 653

# collect the list of fours

Collect
Reverse( _GetPointsBySide: (1, -xdc_StartingPt_TE: –1, $lineNum, $Rstk, $Phi, $slnt)) +
Reverse( _GetPointsBySide: ( xdc_StartingPt_TE: –1, RR_NPT:, $lineNum, $Rstk, $Phi, $slnt));
#
}; # end Loop Through Sections
}; # end List

(List) -Points_Radial:
If ( -PtOrder: = Sides) Then
Loop
{
For $eachSection In -Points_Section:;
Collect first (nth(1, $eachSection)) Into $LE_SS;
Collect last (nth(1, $eachSection)) Into $SS_TE;
Collect first (nth(3, $eachSection)) Into $TE_PS;
Collect last (nth(3, $eachSection)) Into $PS_LE;
Return Is {$LE_SS, $SS_TE, $TE_PS, $PS_LE}; 28
}
Else If ( PtOrder: = Wrap) Then
Loop
{
For $eachSection In .Points_Wrap:;
Collect nth( _NSP: + (2 * _NLE:) + 1, $eachSection) Into $PSLEpts;
Collect nth( _NSP:, $eachSection) Into $SSLEpts;
Collect nth((2 * _NSP:) + (2 * _NLE:) , $eachSection) Into $PSTEpts;
Collect nth(1, $eachSection) Into $SSTEpts;
Return Is {$SSLEpts, $SSTEpts, $PSTEpts, $PSLEpts};
}
Else
{};

Fig. 28.10 User script for automatic geometry generation

for planning and decision-making by mapping visualized
information.
Virtual and augmented reality technologies provide in-
teractive, computer-generated, three-dimensional imagery to
users in a variety of modalities that are immersive and/or
blend with reality. Virtual and augmented reality can be
powerful media for communication and collaboration, as
well as entertainment and learning. The capabilities of both
AR and VR will be discussed in the next section. Table 28.1
lists examples of visualization applications.
28.10 Emerging Visualization Technologies:
Virtual/Augmented/Mixed Reality
Emerging visualization technologies are drastically changing
the way 3D models are viewed, shared, and manipulated.
In design and manufacturing environments, these advanced
visualization technologies enable users to view 3D models
in context and in a more natural and intuitive setting, which
has advantages at various levels (particularly operational),
when the data can be made accessible and fully integrated
into the business processes of the organization. As such, the
technology is finding its way into many stages of the product
lifecycle. Today, many modern CAD systems provide inte-
grated support for both augmented reality and virtual reality
experiences.
According to Milgram [34], any experience that involves
a combination of real and/or virtual content can be viewed as
a point in a spectrum, as shown in Fig. 28.12. On one end of
the spectrum there is the physical reality we experience in our
daily lives. On the opposite end, there is virtuality, in which
the view and experience of reality is completely replaced by
an artificial counterpart. Any experience along this spectrum
can be described as mixed reality, augmented reality, or
extended reality. Depending on how much access is given to
the real world or how much virtual content is involved in the
experience, the terminology may vary slightly.
Virtual/Augmented/Mixed-reality technologies have been
used across a wide range of disciplines and industries for
different purposes. Although in many aspects these tech-
nologies are related, each one of them has gone through
its own evolution and development. The applications, inter-
action types, limitations, and capabilities enabled by these
technologies also differ. Therefore, it is important to exam-
ine them separately. In this section, the technological basis
654 J. D. Camba et al.

Table 28.1 Examples of visualization applications

Application domain Examples of visualization applications
Cap
Manufacturing Virtual prototyping and engineering analysis
Training and experimenting
Leading edge Process planning and logistics
Assembly processes
Suction side Ergonomics and virtual simulation
Design Urban planning and architecture
Radial spline
Civil engineering design
Electrical design
Mechanical design
Trailing edge Section splines
Business Advertising and marketing
Presentation in e-commerce, e-business
Presentation of financial information
Science Chemical and biological visualizations
Partial flowpath
Astrophysics phenomena
GIS and surveying
Pressure side Meteorological data visualization for weather
forecast
Medicine Physical therapy and recovery
Safety procedures
Interpretation of medical information and
Fig. 28.11 Airfoil geometry generated from script (labels not gener- planning surgeries
ated as part of script) Medical training
Research and Virtual laboratories
development
of virtual reality, augmented reality, and spatial augmented Representation of complex math and statistical
reality is discussed. We review current advances and trends models
Cultural heritage applications
in VR/AR/MR technologies in the context of computer-
Spatial configurations
aided design and engineering, and examine future research
Learning and Virtual explorations: art and science
directions. entertainment
Virtual reality games
Colocated learning
Learning and educational simulators
28.10.1 Augmented Reality

Augmented reality (AR) refers to the combined experience

of real and virtual content. AR technologies enable a live
interactive view of our physical world whose elements are
enhanced with virtual imagery. The goal of AR is to enhance
our interactions and experiences with everyday objects and
environments by providing on-site and on-demand informa-
tion about our world. This combination of real and virtual
content can be experienced directly or indirectly.
Indirect augmented reality employs pre-captured and pre-
registered images instead of a live video feed to provide
the blended experience to the user. The approach typically
uses a camera, such as a webcam or a phone camera, to
record the point of view of the user and then superimpose
computer-generated content. Indirect augmented reality is
generally low cost compared to other direct-view approaches.
A common technique to implement it is through the so-called
“magic mirror” paradigm, in which the user experiences
the augmented content by looking at a “reflection” in the
computer screen. In this scenario, a camera located in front of
the user captures the scene and the AR software processes the
Mixed reality
Real Augmented Augmented Virtual
environment reality (AR) virtuality (AV) environment
Fig. 28.12 Reality-Virtuality continuum [34]
image and overlays the virtual content in the right position
with respect to the real scene. The combined scene is then
displayed to the user in a computer screen.
An alternative method of indirect AR is the “magic lens”
or “magic window” approach, in which a device (usually a
phone or a tablet) is used as a “window” to the augmented
world. The user experiences the content by holding the device
and moving it around while the AR software updates the
virtual imagery based on the scene the camera is capturing.
Because of the popularity of AR software and the prevalence
28 Computer-Aided Design, Computer-Aided Engineering, and Visualization
Fig. 28.13 (a) Indirect augmented reality: “magic mirror” (left) and (b) “magic lens” (right) paradigms [36]
of mobile devices, indirect AR has become a popular and
affordable method to deliver and experience AR. Companies
have used this technology extensively in marketing cam-
paigns, gaming, and entertainment applications. In industrial
environments, indirect AR applications have been developed
for remote maintenance, servicing, and training. In educa-
tion, several books and technical materials have implemented
indirect AR as a mechanism to supplement written content
[35]. Examples of indirect augmented reality applications are
shown in Fig. 28.13.
Direct augmented reality is generally experienced via a
wearable see-through headset, which renders the virtual im-
agery in front the user’s eyes. Many commercial headsets are
available such as the Microsoft HoloLens or the MagicLeap
1. The 3D cameras integrated in these headsets map the 3D
environment in front of the user in real time. The information
is then used to determine the location where the virtual
content needs to be displayed.
Spatial augmented reality is an alternative type of direct
augmented reality that uses projectors to render virtual con-
tent onto the surfaces of physical objects. This type of expe-
rience can be viewed directly without a headset and has been
used extensively in the entertainment industry. For example,
projection mapping technology has been showcased at theme
parks, sports events, and corporate promotional events. It
has also been used in museums to enhance the visitor’s
experience. Nonentertainment uses of the technology include
the well-known augmented reality sandbox developed by
the University of California, Davis [37]. The sandbox was
designed as an interactive visualization tool for surveying,
topography, and civil engineering applications. It uses a
projector and a 3D camera – the Microsoft Kinect – to
analyze the shape of the terrain defined by the sand inside
a physical sandbox and display the corresponding contour
lines and colors to visualize elevation data. The application
655
28
is fully interactive, so users can manipulate the sand and the
visualization will update in real time. In addition, the system
can be used to visualize water flow based on the conditions of
the terrain. Spatial augmented reality has also been employed
in the automotive industry, for example, for in situ support
of spot welding tasks [38], and in space architecture appli-
cations as a mechanism to help mitigate the psychological
effects of long-duration spaceflight [39]. Augmented reality
applications for design education and creative work have also
been proposed [36, 40].
Registration of the 3D content with the real scene is
required to ensure the user experiences a consistent and
cohesive view of the combined imagery. AR software must
keep track of the position and orientation of the camera in
real time and render the correct view of the virtual content.
The content is dynamically updated as the view of the real
scene changes.
The most basic method to register the 3D content is by us-
ing fiducial markers. Fiducial markers are physical elements
that can be easily detected and processed by computer vision
algorithms. They are typically black and white images with
distinctive patterns that can be immediately recognized, as
shown in Fig. 28.14.
Each marker has an associated digital asset, which is
rendered on the screen when the physical marker is detected.
Multiple markers can be used at the same time for more
interactive and multiuser experiences. When used strate-
gically, markers enable basic interaction with the content,
such as simulating physical buttons. The action of physically
covering and uncovering the marker can be translated to the
two states of a button, which will trigger the corresponding
actions. Each action can be connected to a different 3D asset
or to a different state (e.g., animated) of the same asset.
Advances in computer vision have enabled the use of more
sophisticated image-based markers. An image-based marker
656
Fig. 28.14 Fiducial markers used in marker-based augmented reality
applications
is a type of fiducial marker that uses images instead of black
and white patterns. Image-based markers are less intrusive
and can be integrated more naturally and inconspicuously
into physical elements such as books, catalogs, posters, and
user manuals.
In engineering and industrial environments, the use of
AR dates back to the 1990s with the various AR-based
applications developed at Boeing. Since then, many more
applications have been proposed. In fact, many industrial
processes can benefit from the adoption of AR, particularly
in situations where the digital object can be linked to its
counterpart in the real world (i.e., the digital twin). However,
many technical challenges remain, which currently hinder its
adoption. One of the most significant ones is the recognition,
identification, tracking, and estimation of the position and
orientation of untextured 3D objects in real time [41]. This
is relevant as many objects in these environments are made
of untextured metallic and/or plastic materials, in some cases
with highly reflective surfaces.
In addition to the difficulties of identifying and tracking
these types of objects, the environments where these ob-
jects exist present their unique set of challenges. Industrial
settings are intrinsically complex, busy, and often visually
cluttered. Many objects may occlude others, making them
only partially visible to the AR devices. Additionally, many
industrial settings have environmental conditions that are less
than ideal for technology (poor or inconsistent lighting, high
temperatures, gas emissions, hazardous materials, grease,
liquids, etc.).
28.10.2 Virtual Reality
Virtual reality (VR) is a visualization technology that fully
replaces our view of real world with an artificial environment.
VR usually implies a stereoscopic real-time first-person view
of the environment. The environment is immersive and a
tracking system responds to the user’s changes in position
and orientation (at least at the level of head motion) to recal-
J. D. Camba et al.
Fig. 28.15 CAVE system at EVL, University of Illinois at Chicago
(public domain image)
culate the view. In truly immersive experiences, there is also
auditory, haptic, and tactile feedback when the user interacts
with the elements of the virtual world. Motion capture (Mo-
cap) suits enable the real-time capturing and recording of
body movements of the wearer during the VR experience,
which are particularly useful in human factors and ergonomic
studies.
VR can be experienced in different modalities, such as
cave automatic virtual environment (CAVE) systems, power
walls, and individual VR headsets, as shown in Fig. 28.15.
In industrial settings, the integration of VR technology with
CAD/CAM systems is becoming more prevalent not only
during conceptual design but also for detailed 3D modeling,
visualization of simulation and analysis processes, and vali-
dation and design reviews.
The use of visualization technologies in engineering
has evolved from the traditional power walls and complex
CAVE systems used to visualize digital mock-ups (DMUs)
and perform ergonomic assessments, to the immersive
environments delivered by head-mounted displays (HMDs)
and high-definition power walls used for design reviews.
The affordability of consumer VR devices has facilitated the
implementation of technology in more areas and stages of
the product lifecycle. For example, in manufacturing, VR has
been successfully employed to support plant layout design,
process planning, resource allocation, and training.
However, there are many challenges that hamper further
implementation. First, importing CAD data into a VR system
(which typically runs on some type of game engine tech-
nology) is not a straightforward process. CAD models must
be converted to appropriate formats and optimized, which is
time consuming, error prone, and requires significant exper-
tise in computer graphics. In addition, there is currently a
disconnect between the VR data and the PDM system, which
28 Computer-Aided Design, Computer-Aided Engineering, and Visualization
prevents VR from fully integrating into the product lifecycle.
As a result, when changes are made to the native CAD model,
the geometry needs to be reconverted and optimized before
it is sent back to the VR system. Moreover, the conversion
process is unidirectional. Any changes made to a model in
the VR environment cannot be automatically transferred back
to the CAD file. This results in unproductive repetitive tasks
[42] and potential data inconsistencies [43].
In many scenarios, the complexity, precision, and level
of detail of a CAD model tend to be high. In this regard,
despite the powerful computer hardware and displays avail-
able today, processing this type of geometry in real time is
challenging, especially in a VR experience that is multiuser
or if a large amount of data need to be transferred over
the network to other users with low network speed. These
limitations may have a direct impact on the rendering quality
and/or the frame rate at which the experience is delivered.
From an ergonomics standpoint, VR headsets are still
heavy, bulky, and uncomfortable to wear for long periods
of time. In some cases, the headsets are tethered, which
significantly constrain the user’s movements in the virtual
space. In addition, low frame rates and high latencies can
induce “simulator sickness” which may lead to discomfort,
dizziness, and nausea. Haptic and tactile feedback is limited,
audio is generally neglected in industrial VR applications,
and more intuitive user interfaces and interaction mecha-
nisms are needed, particularly when VR is used to create,
manipulate, and edit 3D content. Integration of additional
sensory experiences such as motion and acceleration is also
essential in immersive applications with high levels of pres-
ence (for example, in a driving simulation for the automotive
industry or a VR application for astronaut training).
Finally, the VR authoring process is still cumbersome.
There are no visual tools that are intuitive and can assist
users in the creation of VR content beyond basic product
visualization applications. Usually, the authoring process
requires significant technical knowledge and programming
experience.
28.11 Conclusions and Emerging Trends
This chapter provided an overview of computer-aided design
and computer-aided engineering and included elements of
computer graphics and visualization. Today’s commercial
brands of 3D modeling tools contain many of the same
functions, irrespective of which software vendor is selected.
CAD software programs are dimension driven, parametric,
feature based, and constraint based, and these terms have
come to be synonymous when describing modern CAD sys-
tems. Computer animations and simulations are commonly
used in the engineering design process to visualize movement
of parts, determine possible interferences of parts, and to
657
simulate design analysis attributes such as fluid and thermal
dynamics. Today most CAD systems 3D model files can
be converted into a format that can be used as input into
popular AR and VR software programs. Many modern CAD
systems are beginning to provide native support for some of
these applications. In the future, it is anticipated that there
will be a tighter integration between CAD and other systems
involved in the product lifecycle. CAD vendors will be under
greater pressure to partner with large enterprise software
companies and become more product lifecycle management
(PLM) centric. This will result in CAD and visualization
becoming a part of a larger suite of software tools used in
industry. The rapid development of information technology
and computer graphics technology will impact the hardware
platforms and software development related to CAD, visual-
ization, and simulation. This will result in even more feature- 28
rich CAD software programs and capabilities. More powerful
computer hardware, faster screen refresh rates of large CAD
models, the ability to collaborate at great distances in real
time, shorter rendering times, and higher-resolution images
are a few improvements that will result from the rapid de-
velopment of information technology and computer graphics
technology. Overall, there is an exciting future for CAD and
visualization that will result in positive impacts and changes
for the many industries and businesses that depend on CAD
as a part of their day-to-day business.
See additional details on CAD, CAE, and visualization in
Chapters 13, and 33.
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and Engineering Design Graphics with Augmented Reality. SDC
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tion technology and its design implications in space habitats. Acta
Astronaut. 160, 310–316 (2019)
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technologies to facilitate multidisciplinary design education. In:
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Jorge D. Camba is an associate professor of computer graphics tech-
nology at Purdue University. He holds degrees in computer science
(BS, MS), technology (MS), and systems and engineering management
(PhD). His research activities focus on 3D model complexity and opti-
mization, design automation and reusability, knowledge management,
and immersive environments.
28 Computer-Aided Design, Computer-Aided Engineering, and Visualization
Dr. Nathan Hartman is the Dauch Family Professor of advanced manu-
facturing and department head of the Department of Computer Graphics
Technology at Purdue University. Professor Hartman’s research areas
focus on the process and methodology for creating model-based defi-
nitions; examining the use of the model-based definition in the product
lifecycle; developing the model-based enterprise; geometry automation;
and data interoperability and reuse. He holds a B.S. in technical graphics
and M.S. in industrial technology from Purdue University and an Ed.D.
in technology education, with emphasis in training and development and
cognitive psychology from North Carolina State University.
659
Dr. Gary R. Bertoline is the dean of the Purdue Polytechnic Institute
and a distinguished professor of computer graphics technology and
computer and information technology at Purdue University. Gary’s
research interests are in scientific visualization, interactive immersive
environments, distributed and grid computing, and STEM education. He
has authored numerous papers on engineering and computer graphics,
computer-aided design, and visualization research. He has authored and
coauthored seven textbooks in the areas of computer-aided design and 28
engineering design graphics.
 Safety Warnings for Automation
29
Mark R. Lehto and Gaurav Nanda

Contents During this discussion, the chapter addresses some of the

29.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 661 types of warnings that might be used, along with issues
and challenges related to warning effectiveness. Design
29.2 Warning Roles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 662
recommendations and guidelines are also presented.
29.3 Types of Warnings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 664
29.3.1 Static Versus Dynamic Warnings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 664
Keywords
29.3.2 Warning Sensory Modality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 665
29.4 Automated Warning Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 667 False alarm · Warning system · Material safety data
sheet · Fault tree analysis · American National Standard
29.5 Models of Warning Effectiveness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 669
29.5.1 Warning Effectiveness Measures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 669 Institute
29.5.2 The Warning Compliance Hypothesis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 669
29.5.3 Information Quality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 670
29.5.4 Information Integration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 670
29.5.5 The Value of Warning Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 671
29.5.6 Team Decision-Making . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 671 29.1 Introduction
29.5.7 Time Pressure and Stress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 672
29.6 Design Guidelines and Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 672 Automated systems have become increasingly prevalent in
29.6.1 Legal Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 673 our society, in both our work and personal lives. Automation
29.6.2 Voluntary Safety Standards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 673 involves the execution by a computer (or machine) of a
29.6.3 Design Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 674
task that was formerly executed by human operators [1]; for
29.7 Challenges and Emerging Trends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 674 example, automation may be applied to a particular function
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 676 in order to complete tasks that humans cannot perform or do
not want to perform, to complete tasks that humans perform
poorly or that incur high workload demands, or to augment
Abstract the capabilities and performance of the human operator [2].
The potential benefits of automation include increased pro-
Automated systems can provide tremendous benefits to
ductivity and quality, greater system safety and reliability,
users; however, there are also potential hazards that users
as well as fewer human errors, injuries, or occupational
must be aware of to safely operate and interact with
illnesses. These benefits follow because some demanding
them. To address this need, safety warnings are often
or dangerous tasks previously performed by the operator
provided to operators and others who might be placed
can be completely eliminated through automation, and many
at risk by the system. This chapter discusses some of
others can be made easier. On the other hand, automation can
the roles safety warnings can play in automated systems.
create new hazards and increase the potential for catastrophic
human errors [3]; for example, in advanced manufacturing
M. R. Lehto () settings, the use of robots and other forms of automation has
School of Industrial Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette,
IN, USA reduced the need to expose workers to potentially hazardous
e-mail: lehto@purdue.edu materials in welding, painting, and other operations, but in
G. Nanda () turn has created a more complex set of maintenance, repair,
School of Engineering Technology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, and setup tasks, for which human errors can have serious
IN, USA consequences, such as damaging expensive equipment, long
e-mail: gnanda@purdue.edu

© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 661

S. Y. Nof (ed.), Springer Handbook of Automation, Springer Handbooks,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-96729-1_29
662
periods of system downtime, production of multiple runs of
defective parts, and even injury or death.
As implied by the above example, a key issue is that au-
tomation increases the complexity of systems [4]. A second
issue is that the introduction of automation into a system or
task does not necessarily remove the human operator from
the task or system. Instead, the role and responsibilities of
the operator change. One common result of automation is that
operators may go from active participants in a task to passive
monitors of the system function [5, 6]. This shift in roles
from active participation to passive monitoring can reduce
the operator’s situation awareness and ability to respond
appropriately to automation failures [7]. Part of the problem
is that the operator may have few opportunities to practice
their skills because automation failures tend to be rare events.
Further complicating the issue, system monitoring might be
done from a remote location using one or more displays
that show the status of many different subsystems. This also
can reduce situation awareness, for many different reasons.
Another common problem is that workload may be too low
during routine operation of the automated system, causing
the operator to become complacent and easily distracted.
Furthermore, designers may assign additional unrelated tasks
to operators to make up for the reduced workload due to
automation. This again can impair situation awareness, as
performing these unrelated tasks can draw the operator’s
attention away from the automated system. The need to
perform these additional tasks can also contribute to a poten-
tially disastrous increase in workload in nonroutine situations
in which the operator has to take over control from the
automated system.
Many other aspects of automated systems can make it
difficult for operators and others to be adequately aware of
the hazards they face and how to respond to them [4, 8].
To address this issue, safety warnings are often employed in
such systems. This chapter discusses some of the roles safety
warnings can play in automated systems, issues related to the
effectiveness of warnings, and design recommendations and
guidelines.
29.2 Warning Roles
Warnings are sometimes viewed as a method of last resort to
be relied upon when more fundamental solutions to safety
problems are infeasible. This view corresponds to the so-
called hierarchy of hazard control, which can be thought
of as a simple model that prioritizes control methods from
most to least effective. One version of this model proposes
the following sequence: (1) eliminate the hazard, (2) contain
or reduce the hazard, (3) contain or control people, (4)
train or educate people, and (5) warn people [9]. The basic
idea is that designers should first consider design solutions
M. R. Lehto and G. Nanda
that completely eliminate the hazard. If such solutions are
technically or economically infeasible, solutions that reduce
but do not eliminate the hazard should then be considered.
Warnings and other means of changing human behavior,
such as training, education, and supervision, fall in this latter
category for obvious reasons. Simply put, these behavior-
oriented approaches will never completely eliminate hu-
man errors and violations. On the other hand, this is also
true for most design solutions. Consequently, warnings are
often a necessary supplement to other methods of hazard
control [10].
There are many ways warnings can be used as a sup-
plement to other methods of hazard control; for example,
warnings can be included in safety training materials, haz-
ard communication programs, and within various forms of
safety propaganda, including safety posters and campaigns,
to educate workers about risks and persuade them to behave
safely. Particularly critical procedures include start-up and
shut-down procedures, setup procedures, lock-out and tag-
out procedures during maintenance, testing procedures, di-
agnosis procedures, programming and teaching procedures,
and numerous procedures specific to particular applications.
The focus here is to reduce errors and intentional violations
of safety rules by improving worker knowledge of what the
hazards are and their severity, how to identify and avoid them,
and what to do after exposure. Inexperienced workers are
often the target audience at this stage. Warnings can also be
included in manuals or job performance aids (JPAs), such as
written procedures, checklists, and instructions. Such warn-
ings usually consist of brief statements that either instruct less
skilled workers or remind skilled workers to take necessary
precautions when performing infrequent maintenance or re-
pair tasks. This approach can prevent workers from omitting
precautions or other critical steps in a task. To increase
their effectiveness, such warnings are often embedded at the
appropriate stage within step-by-step instructions describing
how to perform a task. Warning signs, barriers, or markings
at appropriate locations can play a similar role; for example, a
warning sign placed on a safety barrier or fence surrounding
a robot installation might state that no one except properly
authorized personnel is allowed to enter the area. Placing a
label on a guard to warn that removing the guard creates a
hazard also illustrates this approach.
Warning signals can also serve as a supplement to other
safety devices such as interlocks or emergency braking
systems; for example, presence sensing, intrusion warning,
and interlock devices are sometimes used in installations of
robots to sense and react to potentially dangerous workplace
conditions [11]. Sensors used in such systems include: (1)
pressure-sensitive floor mats, (2) light curtains, (3) end-
effector sensors, (4) ultrasound, capacitive, infrared, and
microwave sensing systems, and (5) computer vision. Floor
mats and light curtains are used to determine whether
29 Safety Warnings for Automation 663

29

Fig. 29.1 SICK deTec4 light curtain installed to ensure protection of worker from the rotating table system. (Courtesy of Sick Inc., Minneapolis)
[12]

someone has crossed the safety boundary surrounding

the perimeter of the robot. Perimeter penetration will
trigger a warning signal and, in some cases, will cause the
robot to stop. End-effector sensors detect the beginning
of a collision and trigger emergency stops. Ultrasound,
capacitive, infrared, and microwave sensing systems are
used to detect intrusions. Computer vision theoretically can
play a similar role in detecting safety problems.
Figure 29.1 illustrates how a presence sensing system, in
this case a safety light curtain device in an assembly station,
might be installed for point of operation, area, perimeter,
or entry/exit safeguarding [12]. Figure 29.2 illustrates a
safety laser scanner. By reducing or eliminating the need
for physical barriers, such systems make it easier to access
the robot system during setup and maintenance [13]. By
providing early warnings prior to entry of the operator
into the safety zone, such systems can also reduce the
prevalence of nuisance machine shutdowns (Fig. 29.3) Fig. 29.2 Safety laser scanner application. (Courtesy of Sick Inc.,
[12]. Furthermore, such systems can prevent the number Minneapolis) [13]
of accidents by providing warning signals and noises to alert
personnel on the floor (Fig. 29.4) [13]. Modern-day advanced
safety systems are intelligent enough to differentiate a
person’s presence from an object’s presence. For example,
Sick deTec4 light curtain has “mute” functionality which will working in adjacent zones defined by using two Sick deTec
trigger alerts only when a person goes through a light curtain light curtains with mute feature (Fig. 29.5) [14] and safety
boundary, not when an object goes through it. Combination system for semiautomated assembly of electric built using
of such sophisticated and intelligent safety equipment can be a combination of motors safety laser scanner, microScan3,
used to design warning systems enabling safer human-robot deTec4 Core safety light curtain, and a Flexi Soft safety
interaction, such as: robots- and human-operated forklift controller (Fig. 29.6) [15].
664
Fig. 29.3 C4000 safety light curtain hazardous point protection.
(Courtesy of Sick Inc., Minneapolis) [12]
Fig. 29.4 Safety laser scanner AGV (automated guided vehicle) appli-
cation. (Courtesy of Sick Inc., Minneapolis) [13]
29.3 Types of Warnings
Warnings can be of different types based on physical char-
acteristics (e.g., static or dynamic), sensory modality (e.g.,
visual, auditory, haptic, or multimodal), and other properties.
The effectiveness of a warning type varies depending on
the nature of human-automation interactions in a task, as
discussed in detail in this section.
M. R. Lehto and G. Nanda
Fig. 29.5 Intelligent safety concept for protecting robots. (Courtesy of
Sick Inc., Minneapolis) [14]
Fig. 29.6 Safe human-robot collaboration in the final assembly of
electric motors. (Courtesy of Sick Inc., Minneapolis) [15]
29.3.1 Static Versus Dynamic Warnings
Perhaps the most familiar types of warnings are the visually
based signs and labels that we encounter everyday whether
on the road (e.g., slippery when wet), in the workplace (in-
29 Safety Warnings for Automation
dustrial warnings such as entanglement hazard – keep clear
of moving gears), or on consumer products (e.g., do not take
this medication if you might be pregnant). These signs and
labels indicate the presence of a hazard and may also indicate
required or prohibited actions to reduce the associated risks,
as well as the potential consequences of failing to comply
with the warning. This type of warning is static in the sense
that its status does not change over time [16]. However,
as noted by Lehto [17], even these static displays have a
dynamic component in that they are noticed at particular
points in time. In order to increase the likelihood that a static
warning, such as a sign or label, is received (i.e., noticed,
perceived, and understood) by the user at the appropriate
moment, it should be physically as well as temporally placed
such that using the product requires interaction with the label
prior to the introduction of the hazard to the situation; for
example, Duffy et al. [18] examined the effectiveness of a
label on an extension cord which stated: “Warning. Electric
shock and fire. Do not plug more than two items into this
cord.” Interactive labels in which the label was affixed to the
outlet cover on the female receptacle were found to produce
greater compliance than a no-label control condition, and a
tag condition in which the warning label was attached to the
extension cord 5 cm above the female receptacle. Other stud-
ies [19, 20] have found that a warning that interrupts a user’s
script for interacting with a product increases compliance. A
script consists of a series of temporally ordered actions or
events which are typical of a user’s interactions with a class
of objects [21].
Additionally, varying the warning’s physical characteris-
tics can also increase its conspicuity or noticeability [22]; for
example, larger objects are more likely to capture attention
than smaller objects. Brightness and contrast are also im-
portant in determining whether an object is discernible from
a background. As a specific form of contrast, highlighting
can be used to emphasize different portions of a warning
label or sign [23]. Additionally, lighting conditions influence
detectability of signs and labels (i.e., reduced contrast).
In contrast to static warnings, dynamic warning systems
produce different messages or alerts based on input received
from a sensing system – therefore, they indicate the presence
of a hazard that is not normally present [16, 24]. Environ-
mental variables are monitored by a sensor, and an alert is
produced if the monitored variables exceed some threshold.
The threshold can be changed based on the criticality of po-
tential consequences – the more trivial the consequences, the
higher the threshold and, for more serious consequences, the
threshold would be set lower so as to reduce the likelihood of
missing the critical event. However, the greater the system’s
sensitivity, the greater the likelihood that an alert will be
generated when there is no hazard present. Ideally, an alert
should always be produced when there is a hazard present,
but never be produced in the absence of a hazard.
665
29.3.2 Warning Sensory Modality
Warnings serve to alert users to the presence of a hazard and
its associated risks. Accordingly, they must readily capture
attention and be easily/quickly understood. The ability of
the warning to capture attention is especially important in
the case of complex systems, in which an abundance of
available information may overload the operator’s limited
attentional resources. When designing a warning system,
it is critical to take into account the context in which the
warning will appear; for example, in a noisy construction
environment, in which workers may be wearing hearing
protection, an auditory warning is not likely to be effective.
Whatever the context, the warning should be designed to
stand out against any background information (i.e., visual
clutter and ambient noise). Sanderson [25] has provided a
taxonomy/terminology for thinking about sensory modality
in terms of whether information is persistent in time; whether 29
information delivery is localized, ubiquitous, or personal;
whether sensing the information is optional or obligatory;
whether the information is socially inclusive; whether mon-
itoring occurs through sampling, peripheral awareness, or is
interrupt based; and information density (Table 29.1). Next,
advantages and disadvantages of different modes of warning
presentation will be discussed in related terms.
Visual Warnings
The primary challenge in using visual warnings is that the
user/operator needs to be looking at a specific location in
order to be alerted, or the warning needs to be sufficiently
salient to cause the operator to reorient their focus toward
the warning. As discussed earlier in the section on static
warnings, the conspicuity of visually-based signals can be
maximized by increasing size, brightness, and contrast [22].
Additionally, flashing lights attract attention better than con-
tinuous indicator-type lights (e.g., traffic signals incorporat-
ing a flashing light into the red phase) [22]. Since flash rates
should not be greater than the critical flicker fusion frequency
(≈24 Hz, resulting in the perception of a continuous light),
or so slow that the on time might be missed, Sanders and
McCormick [26] recommend flash rates of around 10 Hz.
Auditory Warnings
Auditory stimuli have a naturally alerting quality and, unlike
visual warnings, the user/operator does not have to be ori-
ented toward an auditory warning in order to be alerted, that
is, auditory warnings are omnidirectional (or ubiquitous in
Sanderson’s terminology) [27, 28]. Additionally, localization
is possible based on cues provided by the difference in time
and intensity of the sound waves arriving at the two ears.
To maximize the likelihood that the auditory warning is
effective, the signal should be within the range of about
800–5000 Hz (the human auditory system is most sensitive
666 M. R. Lehto and G. Nanda

Table 29.1 Contrast between the fundamental properties of visual, auditory, and haptic modalities of information processing. (After Sanderson
[25])
Visual
Persistent – signal typically persistent in time so
that information about past has same sensory
status as information about present
Localized – can be sensed only from specific
locations such as monitors or other projections
(eyeballs needed)
Optional – there are proximal physical means
for completely eliminating signal (eyeballs,
eyelids, and turn)
Moderately socially inclusive – others aware of
signal but need not look at screen
Sampling-based monitoring – temporal sampling
process needed for coverage of all needed
variables
High information density – many variables and
relationships can be simultaneously presented
Auditory
Transitory – signal happens in time and
recedes into past: creating persistent
information or information about past is a
design challenge
Ubiquitous – can be sensed from any location
unless technology is used to create localized
qualities
Obligatory – there are no proximal physical
means for completely eliminating signal
(unless earplugs block signal)
Socially inclusive – others always receive
signal unless signal is sent only to an earpiece
Peripheral monitoring – temporal properties
of process locked into temporal properties of
display
Moderate information
density – several variables and relationships
can be simultaneously presented
Haptic
Transitory – signal happens in time and
recedes into past: creating persistent
information or information about past is a
design challenge
Personal – can be sensed only by the person
whom the display is directed (unless network
or shared)
Obligatory – there are no proximal physical
means for completely eliminating signal
(unless remove device)
Not socially inclusive – others probably
unaware of signal
Interrupt-based monitoring – monitoring
based on interrupts
Low information density – few variables and
relationships can be simultaneously
presented

to frequencies within this range – frequencies contained in
speech; e.g., Coren and Ward [29]) – and should have a tonal
quality that is distinct from that of expected environmental
sounds – to help reduce the possibility that it will be masked
by those sounds (see Edworthy and Hellier [30] for an in-
depth discussion of auditory warning signals).
Verbal Versus Nonverbal Warnings
Any auditory stimulus, from a simple tone to speech, can
serve as an alert as long as it easily attracts attention. How-
ever, the human auditory system is most sensitive to sound
frequencies contained within human speech. Speech warn-
ings have the further advantage of being composed of signals
(i.e., words) which have already been well learned by the
user/operator. There is a redundancy in the speech signal
such that, if part of the signal is lost, it can be filled in
based on the context provided by the remaining sounds [31,
32]. However, since speech is a temporally based code that
unfolds over time, it is only physically available for a very
limited duration. Therefore, earlier portions of a warning
message must be held in working memory while the remain-
der of the message continues to be processed. As a result,
working memory may become overloaded and portions of
the warning message may be lost. With visually based verbal
warnings, on the other hand, there is the option of returning
to, and rereading, earlier portions of the warning; that is,
they persist over time. However, since the eyes must be
directed toward the warning source, the placement of visually
based warnings is critical so as to minimize the loss of other
potentially critical information (i.e., such that other signals
can be processed in peripheral vision).
While verbal signals have the obvious advantage that
their meaning is already established, speech warnings require
the use of recorded, digitized, or synthesized speech which
will be produced within a noisy background – therefore,
intelligibility is a major issue [30]. Additionally, as indicated
earlier, the speech signal unfolds over time and may take
longer to produce/receive than a simpler nonverbal warning
signal. However, nonverbal signals must somehow encode
the urgency of the situation – that is, how quickly a response
is required by the user/operator. Extensive research in the
auditory domain indicates that higher-frequency sounds have
a higher perceived urgency than lower-frequency sounds,
that increasing the modulation of the amplitude or frequency
of a pulse decreases urgency, that increases in number of
harmonics increases perceived urgency, and that spectral
shape also impacts perceived urgency [30, 33, 34]. Edworthy
et al. [34] found that faster, more repetitive bursts are judged
to be more urgent; regular rhythms are perceived as more
urgent than syncopated rhythms; bursts that are speeded up
are perceived as more urgent than those that stay the same or
slow down; and the larger the difference between the highest
and lowest pitched pulse in a burst, the higher the perceived
urgency.
Haptic/Tactile Warnings
While the visual and auditory channels are most often used
to present warnings, haptic or tactile warnings are also some-
times employed; for example, the improper maneuvering of
a jet will cause tactile vibrations to be delivered through the
pilot’s control stick – this alert serves to signal the need
to reorient the control. In the domain of vehicle collision
warnings, Lee et al. [35] examined driver preferences for
auditory or haptic warning systems as supplements to a
visual warning system. Visual warnings were presented on
a head-down display in conjunction with either an auditory
warning or a haptic warning, in the form of a vibrating
seat. Preference data indicated that drivers found auditory
29 Safety Warnings for Automation
warnings to be more annoying and that they would be more
likely to purchase a haptic warning system.
In the domain of patient monitoring, Ng et al. [36] reported
that a vibrotactile wristband results in a higher identification
rate for heart rate alarms than does an auditory display.
In Sanderson’s [25] terminology, a haptic alert is discrete,
transitory, has low precision, has obligatory properties, and
allows the visual and auditory modalities to continue to mon-
itor other information sources. Therefore, patient monitoring
represents a good use of haptic alarms. Another example of a
tactile or haptic warning is the use of rumble strips on the side
of the highway. When a vehicle crosses these strips, vibration
and noise is created within the vehicle. Some studies have
reported that the installation of these strips reduced drift-off
road accidents by about 70% [37].
Multimodal Warnings
For the most part, we have focused our discussion on the
use of individual sensory channels for the presentation of
automated warnings. However, research suggests that multi-
modal presentation results in significantly improved warning
processing. Selcon et al. [38] examined multimodal cockpit
warnings. These warnings must convey the nature of the
problem to the pilot as quickly as possible so that immedi-
ate action can be taken. The warnings studied were visual
(presented using pictorials), auditory (presented by voice), or
both (incorporating visual and auditory components) and de-
scribed real aircraft warning (high-priority/threat) and cau-
tion (low-priority/threat) situations. Participants were asked
to classify each situation as either warning or caution and
then to rate the threat associated with it. Response times
were measured. Depth of understanding was assessed using a
measure of situational awareness [39, 40]. Performance was
faster in the condition incorporating both visual and auditory
components (1.55 s) than in the visual (1.74 s) and auditory
(3.77 s) conditions and there was some indication that this
condition was less demanding and resulted in improved depth
of understanding as well.
Sklar and Sarter [41] examined the effectiveness of visual,
tactile, and redundant visual and tactile cues for indicating
unexpected changes in the status of an automated cockpit
system. The tactile conditions produced higher detection
rates and faster response times. Furthermore, provision of
tactile feedback and performance of concurrent visual tasks
did not result in any interference suggesting that tactile feed-
back may better support human-machine communication in
information-rich domains (see also Ng et al.s [36] findings
reviewed earlier). Ho et al. [42] examined the effectiveness of
unimodal auditory, unimodal vibrotactile, and multisensory
combined audiotactile warning signals to alert drivers about
likely rear-end collision while driving. They found that mul-
tisensory warning signals were more effective in capturing
667
attention of users already engaged in a demanding task such
as driving.
Previous studies have found multimodal presentation of
warnings in form of voice and text to be more effective than
a single modality of either voice or text. Some examples
include: better awareness of wet floor at a shopping center in
a field study; higher compliance of personal protective equip-
ment in a chemical laboratory [27, 28]; and higher compli-
ance with supplementary voice and print warnings with prod-
uct manual during unpacking of a computer disk drive [43].
To summarize, by providing redundant delivery channels, a
multimodal approach helps to ensure that the warning attracts
attention, is received (i.e., understood) by the user/operator,
and is remembered [44]. Future research should focus on
further developing relatively underused channels for warning
delivery (i.e., haptic) and using multiple modalities in parallel
in order to increase the attentional and performance capacity
of the user/operator [25]. 29
29.4 Automated Warning Systems
Automated warning systems come in many forms, across
a wide variety of domain applications including aviation,
medicine, process control and manufacturing, automobiles
and other surface transportation, military applications, and
weather forecasting, among others. Some specific examples
of automated systems include collision warning systems and
ground proximity warning systems in automobiles and air-
craft, respectively. These systems will alert drivers or pilots
when a collision with another vehicle or the ground is likely,
so that they can take evasive action. In medicine, anesthe-
siologists and medical care workers must monitor patients’
vitals, sometimes remotely. Similarly, in process control,
such as nuclear power plants, workers must continuously
monitor multiple subsystems to ensure that they are at safe
and tolerable levels. In these situations, automated alerts can
be used to inform operators of any significant departures
from normal and acceptable levels, whether in the patients’
condition or in plant operation and safety. Automation may
be particularly important for complex systems, which may
involve too much information (sometimes referred to as raw
data), creating difficulties for operators in finding relevant
information at the appropriate times. In addition to simply
informing or alerting the human operator, automation can
play many different roles, from guiding human information
gathering to taking full control of the system.
The role of a warning system varies significantly depend-
ing on its level of automation. For example, in the case of
automobiles, five levels of automation are defined by the
Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) [45], as illustrated
in Fig. 29.7.
668 M. R. Lehto and G. Nanda

• No automation
• Zero autonomy, driver performs all driving tasks
Level 0

• Driver assistance
Level 1 • Vehicle controlled by driver, but some driving assist feature may be included in the vehicle design

• Partial automation
• Vehicle has combined automated functions such as acceleration and steering but driver must remain engaged with
Level 2 driving task and always monitor the environment

• Conditional automation
• Driver is a necessity but is not required to monitor the environment. Driver must be ready to take control of the vehicle
Level 3 at all time with notice

• High driving automation

Level 4 • Vehicle can perform all driving functions under certain conditions. The driver may have the option to control the vehicle

• Full driving automation

Level 5 • Vehicle can perform all driving functions under all conditions. The driver may have the option to control the vehicle

Fig. 29.7 Different levels of automation in automobiles defined by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) [45]

For each level of automation shown in Fig. 29.5, the role
of humans and warning systems vary significantly. To model
the human interaction with different levels of automation,
various psychological models have been developed. Parasur-
aman et al. [46] proposed a taxonomy of human-automation
interaction according to the psychological human informa-
tion processing steps where they are intended to replace
or supplement. This model proposed by Parasuraman et al.
[46] also aligns with other psychological models of situation
awareness (SA) [47, 49] which indicate that automation in
early stages of human information processing contributes
to the establishment and maintenance of SA [47–49]. Next,
we discuss the varying role of warning systems for different
levels of automation.
There has been extensive research into the automated
warning systems that alert users for target detection tasks.
Basic research has reliably demonstrated the capacity for
visual cues to reduce search times in target search tasks
[50]. Applied research has also demonstrated these bene-
fits in military situations [51, 52], helicopter hazard de-
tection [53], aviation and air traffic control [6, 54], and a
number of other domains. These generally positive results
support the potential value of stage 1 automation in appli-
cations where operators can receive an excessive number
of warnings. Example applications might filter the warn-
ings in terms of urgency or limit the warnings to relevant
subsystems.
Advanced automated warning systems further help the
operators by integrating the raw data, drawing inferences,
and/or generating predictions. Lower levels of automation
may extrapolate current information and predict future status
(e.g., cockpit predictor displays [55]). Higher levels of au-
tomation may reduce information from a number of sources
into a single hypothesis regarding the state of the world; for
example, collision warning systems in automobiles will use
information regarding the speed of the vehicle ahead, the
intervehicle separation, and the driver’s own velocity (among
other potential information) to indicate to the driver when
a forward collision is likely [56–59]. In general, operators
are quicker to respond to the relevant event when provided
with these alerts. Studies of such automated alerts have been
performed in many different domains, including aviation
[60], process control [61], unmanned aerial vehicle operation
[62], medicine [63], air traffic control [6], and battlefield
operations [49].
Some automated warning systems may provide users with
a complete set (or subset) of alternatives from which the
operator will select which one to execute (whether correct or
no). Higher levels of automation in the warning system may
only present the optimal decision or action or may automati-
cally select the appropriate course of action. At this stage the
automation will utilize implicit or explicit assumptions about
the costs and benefits of different decision outcomes; for
example, the ground proximity warning system in aviation –
29 Safety Warnings for Automation
a system designed to help avoid aircraft-ground collisions –
will recommend a single maneuver (pull up) to pilots when
the aircraft is in danger of hitting the ground.
Automated warning systems also aid the user in the ex-
ecution of the selected action. A low level of automation
may simply provide assistance in the execution of the action
(e.g., power steering). High levels of automation may take
control from the operator; for example, adaptive cruise con-
trol (ACC) systems in automobiles will automatically adjust
the vehicle’s headway by speeding up or slowing down in
order to maintain the desired separation. In general, one of
the ironies of automation is that those systems that incor-
porate higher stages of automation tend to yield the greatest
performance in normal situations; however, these also tend to
come with the greatest costs in off-normal situations, where
the automated response to the situation is inappropriate or
erroneous [64].
29.5 Models of Warning Effectiveness
In this section, we will first introduce some commonly used
measures of effectiveness. Attention will then shift to model-
ing perspectives and related research findings which provide
guidance as to when, where, and why warnings will be
effective.
29.5.1 Warning Effectiveness Measures
The performance of a warning can be measured in many
different ways [24]. The ultimate measure of effectiveness
is whether a warning reduces the frequency and severity
of human errors and accidents in the real world. However,
such data is generally unavailable, forcing effectiveness to
be evaluated using other measures, sometimes obtained in
controlled settings that simulate the conditions under which
people receive the warning; for example, the effectiveness of
a collision avoidance warning might be assessed by compar-
ing how quickly subjects using a driving simulator notice and
respond to obstacles with and without the warning system.
For the most part, such measures can be derived from models
of human information processing that describe what must
happen after exposure to the warning, for the warning to be
effective [17, 24]. That is, the human operator must notice
the warning, correctly comprehend its meaning, decide on
the appropriate action, and perform it correctly. Analysis of
these intervening events can provide substantial guidance
into factors influencing the overall effectiveness of a partic-
ular warning.
669
A complicating issue is that the design of warnings is
a polycentric problem [65], that is, the designer will have
to balance several conflicting objectives when designing a
warning. The most noticeable warning will not necessarily
be the easiest to understand, and so on. As argued by Lehto
[17], this dilemma can be partially resolved by focusing
on decision quality as the primary criterion for evaluating
applications of warnings; that is, warnings should be eval-
uated in terms of their effect on the overall quality of the
judgments and decisions made by the targeted population
in their naturalistic environment. This perspective assumes
that decision quality can be measured by comparing people’s
choices and judgments to those prescribed by some objective
gold standard. In some cases, the gold standard might be
prescribed by a normative mathematical model, as expanded
upon below.
29
29.5.2 The Warning Compliance Hypothesis
The warning compliance hypothesis [66] states that people’s
choices should approximate those obtained by applying the
following optimality criterion:
If the expected cost of complying with the warning is greater than
the expected cost of not complying, then it is optimal to ignore
the warning; otherwise, the warning should be followed.
The warning compliance hypothesis is based on statistical
decision theory which holds that a rational decision-maker
should make choices that maximize expected value or utility
[67, 68]. The expected value of choosing an action Ai is
calculated by weighting its consequences Cik over all events
k, by the probability Pik that the event will occur. More gener-
ally, the decision-maker’s preference for a given consequence
Cik might be defined by a value or utility function V(Cik ),
which transforms consequences into preference values. The
preference values are then weighted using the same equation.
The expected value of a given action Ai becomes

EV [Ai ] = Pik V (Cik ) (29.1)
k
From this perspective, people who decide to ignore the
warning feel that avoiding the typically small cost of com-
pliance outweighs the large, but relatively unlikely cost of
an accident or other potential consequence of not comply-
ing with the warning. The warning compliance hypothesis
clearly implies that the effectiveness of warnings might be
improved by:
1. Reducing the expected cost of compliance
2. Increasing the expected cost of ignoring the warning
670
Many strategies might be followed to attain these objec-
tives; for example, the expected cost of compliance might be
reduced by modifying the task or equipment so the required
precautionary behavior is easier to perform. The benefit of
following this strategy is supported by numerous studies
showing that even a small cost of compliance (i.e., a short de-
lay or inconvenience) can encourage people to ignore warn-
ings (for reviews see Lehto and Papastavrou [69], Wogalter
et al. [70], and Miller and Lehto [71]). Some strategies
for reducing the cost of compliance include providing the
warning at the time it is most relevant or more convenient
to respond to.
Increasing the expected cost of ignoring the warning is
another strategy for increasing warning effectiveness sug-
gested by the warning compliance hypothesis. The potential
value of this approach is supported by studies indicating
that people will be more likely to take precautions when
they believe the danger is present and perceive a significant
benefit to taking the precaution. This might be done through
supervision and enforcement or other methods of increasing
the cost of ignoring the warning. Also, assuming the warning
is sometimes given when it does not need to be followed (i.e.,
a false alarm), the expected cost of ignoring the warning will
increase if the warning is modified in a way that reduces the
number of false alarms. This point leads us to the topic of
information quality .
29.5.3 Information Quality
In a perfect world, people would be given warnings if, and
only if, a hazard is present that they are not already aware of.
When warning systems are perfect, the receiver can optimize
performance by simply following the warning when it is
provided [72]. Imperfect warning systems, on the other hand,
force the receiver to decide whether to consult and comply
with the provided warning.
The problem with imperfect warning systems is that they
sometimes provide false alarms or fail to detect the hazard.
From a short-term perspective, false alarms are often merely
a nuisance to the operator. However, there are also some im-
portant long-run costs, because repeated false alarms shape
people’s attitudes and influence their actions. One problem
is the cry wolf effect which encourages people to ignore (or
mistrust) warnings [73, 74]. Even worse, people may decide
to completely eliminate the nuisance by disconnecting the
warning system [75]. Misses are also an important issue,
because people may be exposed to hazards if they are relying
on the warning system to detect the hazard. Another concern
is that misses might reduce operator trust in the system [53].
Due to the potentially severe consequences of a miss,
misses are often viewed as automation failures. The designers
of warning systems consequently tend to focus heavily on
M. R. Lehto and G. Nanda
designing systems that reliably provide a warning when a
hazard is present. One concern, based on studies of opera-
tor overreliance upon imperfect automation [1, 54, 76], is
that this tendency may encourage overreliance on warning
systems. Another issue is that this focus on avoiding misses
causes warning systems to provide many false alarms for
each correct identification of the hazard. This tendency has
been found for warning systems across a wide range of
application areas [72, 74].
29.5.4 Information Integration
As discussed by Edworthy [77] and many others, in real-life
situations people are occasionally faced with choices where
they must combine what they already know about a hazard
with information they obtain from hazard cues and a warning
of some kind. In some cases, this might be a warning sign or
label. In others, it might be a warning signal or alarm that
indicates a hazard is present that normally is not there. A
starting point for analyzing how people might integrate the
information from the warning with what they already know
or have determined from other sources of information is given
by Bayes’ rule, which describes how to infer the probability
of a given event from one or more pieces of evidence [68].
Bayes’ rule states that the posterior probability of hypothesis
Hi given that evidence Ej is present, or P(Hi | Ej ), is given by
 
  P Ej |Hi
P Hi |Ej =   P (Hi ) (29.2)
P Ej
where P(Hi ) is the probability of the hypothesis being true
prior to obtaining the evidence Ej , and P(Ej | Hi ) is the prob-
ability of obtaining the evidence Ej given that the hypothesis
Hi is true. When a receiver is given an imperfect warning, we
can replace P(Ej | Hi ) in the above equation with P(W | H)
to calculate the probability that the hazard is present after
receiving a warning. That is,
P (W|H)
P (H|W) = P(H) (29.3)
P(W)
where P(H) is the prior probability of the hazard, P(W)
is the probability of sending a warning, P(W | H) is the
probability of sending a warning given the hazard is present,
and P(H | W) is the probability that the hazard is present after
receiving the warning.
A number of other models have been developed in psy-
chology that describe mathematically how people combine
sources of information. Some examples include social judg-
ment theory, policy capturing, multiple cue probability learn-
29 Safety Warnings for Automation
ing models, information integration theory, and conjoint mea-
surement approaches [17]. From the perspective of warnings
design, these approaches can be used to check which cues
are actually used by people when they make safety-related
decisions and how this information is integrated. A potential
problem is that research on judgment and decision-making
clearly shows that people integrate information inconsis-
tently with the prescriptions of Bayes’ rule in some settings
[78]; for example, several studies show that people are more
likely to attend to highly salient stimuli. This effect can
explain the tendency for people to overestimate the likelihood
of highly salient events.
One overall conclusion is that significant deviations from
Bayes’ rule become more likely when people must combine
evidence in artificial settings where they are not able to fully
exploit their knowledge and cues found in their naturalistic
environment [79–81]. This does not mean that people are
unable to make accurate inferences, as emphasized by both
Simon and researchers embracing the ecological [82, 83]
and naturalistic [84] models of decision-making. In fact,
the use of simple heuristics in rich environments can lead
to inferences that are in many cases more accurate than
those made using naive Bayes, or linear, regression [82].
Unfortunately, many applications of automation place the
operator in a situation which removes them from the rich
set of naturalistic cues available in less automated settings,
and forces the operator to make inferences from information
provided on displays. In such situations, it may become
difficult for operators to make accurate inferences since they
no longer can rely on simple heuristics or decision rules that
are adapted to particular environments.
29.5.5 The Value of Warning Information
As mentioned earlier, the designers of warning systems tend
to focus heavily on designing systems that reliably provide a
warning when a hazard is present, which results in many false
alarms. From a theoretical perspective, it might be better to
design the warning system so that it is less conservative. That
is, a system that occasionally fails to detect the hazard but
provides fewer false alarms might improve operator perfor-
mance. From the perspective of warning design, the critical
question is to determine how selective the warning should be
to minimize the expected cost to the user as a function of the
number of false alarms and correct identifications made by
the warning [75, 85, 86].
Given that costs can be assigned to false alarms and
misses, an optimal warning threshold can be calculated that
maximizes the expected value of the provided information. If
it is assumed that people will simply follow the recommen-
dation of a warning system (i.e., the warning system is the
sole decision-maker) the optimal warning threshold can be
671
calculated using classical signal detection theory (SDT) [87,
88]. That is, a warning should be given when the likelihood
ratio P(E | S)/P(E | N) exceeds the optimal warning threshold
β, calculated as shown below:
1 − PS cr − ca
β= × (29.4)
PS ci − cm
where
PS The a priori probability of a signal (hazard) being present
P(E | S) The conditional probability of the evidence given a signal
(hazard) is present
P(E | N) The conditional probability of the evidence given a signal
(hazard) is not present
cr Cost of a correct rejection
ca Cost of a false alarm
29
ci Cost of a correct identification
cm Cost of a missed signal
In reality, the problem is more complicated because, as
mentioned earlier, people might consider other sources in
addition to a warning when making decisions. The latter
situation corresponds to a team decision made by a person
and warning system working together, as expanded upon
below.
29.5.6 Team Decision-Making
The distributed signal detection theoretic (DSDT) model
focuses on how to determine the optimal decision thresholds
of both the warning system and the human operator when
they work together to make the best possible decision [72].
The proposed approach is based on the distributed signal
detection model [89–93]. The key insight is that a warning
system and human operator are both decision-makers who
jointly try to make an optimal team decision.
The DSDT model has many interesting implications and
applications. One is that the warning system and human
decision-maker should adjust their decision thresholds in a
way that depends upon what the other is doing. If the warning
system uses a low threshold and provides a warning even
when there is not much evidence of the hazard, the DSDT
model shows that the human decision-maker should adjust
their own threshold in the opposite direction. That is, the
rational human decision-maker will require more evidence
from the environment or other source before complying with
the warning. At some point, as the threshold for providing the
warning gets lower, the rational decision-maker will ignore
the warning completely.
672
The DSDT model also implies that the warning system
should use different thresholds depending upon how the
receiver is performing. If the receiver is disabled or unable
to take their observation from the environment, the warning
should take the role of primary decision-maker, and set its
threshold accordingly to that prescribed in traditional signal
detection theory threshold (i.e., the optimal warning thresh-
old β, calculated as shown above in Eq. 29.4). If the decision-
maker is not responding in an optimal manner when the
warning is or not given, the DSDT model prescribes ways of
modifying the warning systems threshold; for example, if the
decision-maker is too willing to take the precaution when the
warning is provided, the warning system should use a stricter
warning threshold. That is, the warning system should require
more evidence before sending a warning.
Previous research has observed human behavior to be con-
sistent with the predictions of the DSDT model [72, 94, 95].
For example, a study comparing collision avoidance system
thresholds showed that using the DSDT threshold resulted
in significantly improved passing decisions by drivers in a
truck driving simulator compared to using the optimal SDT
warning threshold β (which assumes a single decision-maker
and is calculated as shown above in Eq. 29.4). Drivers also
changed their own decision thresholds, in the way the DSDT
model predicted they should, when the warning threshold
changed. Another interesting result was that use of the DSDT
threshold resulted in either risk-neutral or risk-averse be-
havior, while, on the other hand, use of the SDT threshold
resulted in some risk-seeking behavior; that is, people were
more likely to ignore the warning and visual cues indicating
that a car might be coming. Overall, these results suggest that,
for familiar decisions such as choosing when to pass, people
can behave nearly optimally.
One of the more interesting aspects of the DSDT model is
that it suggests ways of adjusting the warning threshold, as
explained above, in response to how the operator is perform-
ing to improve team performance. This implies that warning
systems can improve their effectiveness by monitoring the
receiver’s behavior and making adjustments based on how
the receiver responds [94].
29.5.7 Time Pressure and Stress
Time pressure and stress is another important issue in many
applications of warnings. Reviews of the literature suggest
that time pressure often results in poorer task performance
and that it can cause shifts between the cognitive strategies
used in judgment and decision-making situations [96, 97].
One change is that people show a tendency to shift to non-
compensatory decision rules. This finding is consistent with
contingency theories of strategy selection. In other words,
this shift may be justified when little time is available, be-
M. R. Lehto and G. Nanda
cause a noncompensatory rule can be applied more quickly.
Maule and Hockey [96] also note that people tend to filter out
low-priority types of information, omit processing informa-
tion, and accelerate mental activity when they are under time
pressure.
The general findings above indicate that warnings may be
useful when people are under time pressure and stress. People
in such situations are especially likely to make mistakes.
Consequently, warnings that alert people after they make mis-
takes may be useful. A second issue is that people under time
pressure will not have a lot of extra time available, so it will
become especially important to avoid false alarms. A limited
amount of research addresses the impact of time stress on
warnings compliance. In particular, a study by Wogalter
et al. [70] showed that time pressure reduced compliance
with warnings. Interestingly, subjects performed better in
both low- and high-stress conditions when the warnings were
placed in the task instructions than on a sign posted nearby.
The latter result supports the conclusion that warnings which
efficiently and quickly transmit their information may be
better when people are under time stress or pressure. In some
situations, this may force the designer to carefully consider
the trade-off between the amount of information provided
and the need for brevity. Providing more detailed information
might improve understanding of the message but actually
reduce effectiveness if processing the message requires too
much time and attentional effort on the part of the receiver.
29.6 Design Guidelines and Requirements
Safety warnings can vary greatly in behavioral objectives,
intended audiences, content, level of detail, format, and mode
of presentation. Lehto [98] proposed a model of human
behavior that described four hierarchical levels of operator
performance and suggested suitable warning design for each
level based on likely errors and information overload con-
siderations associated with each performance level. The four
levels of performance in decreasing order were: judgement
based, knowledge based, rule based, and skilled based. The
different forms of warning information were: values, sym-
bols, signs, and signals. Based on the model, values would be
appropriate for judgement-based performance level. Symbols
are most likely to be effective when changing behavior from a
knowledge-based to a rule-based level or a judgement-based
level. Signs are likely to be effective at a rule-based level.
Signals are best for guiding needed transitions from a skill-
based to a rule-based level. Design of adequate warnings
often require extensive investigations and development ac-
tivities involving significant resources and time [99], which
is beyond the scope of this chapter. Some of the main ap-
proaches and guidelines for warnings are discussed here.
29 Safety Warnings for Automation
The first step in the development of warnings is to identify
the hazards to be warned against. This process is guided
by past experience, codes and regulations, checklists, and
other sources, and is often organized by separately consid-
ering systems and subsystems, and potential malfunctions
at each stage in their life cycles. Numerous complementary
hazard analysis methods, which also guide the process of
hazard identification, are available [100, 101]. Commonly
used methods include work safety analysis, human error
analysis, failure modes and effects analysis, and fault tree
analysis.
Work safety analysis (WSA) [102] and human error anal-
ysis (HEA) [103] are related approaches that organize the
analysis around tasks rather than system components. This
process involves the initial division of tasks into subtasks.
For each subtask, potential effects of product malfunctions
and human errors are then documented, along with the im-
plemented and the potential countermeasures. In automation
applications, the tasks that would be analyzed fall into the cat-
egories of normal operation, programming, and maintenance.
Failure modes and effects analysis (FMEA) is a systematic
procedure for documenting the effects of system malfunc-
tions on reliability and safety [101, 104]. It lists the compo-
nents of a system, their potential failure modes, the likelihood
and effects of each failure, and both the implemented and the
potential countermeasures that might be taken to prevent the
failure or its effects. Fault tree analysis (FTA) is a closely re-
lated approach where the approach is top-down analysis that
begins with a malfunction or accident and works downward
to basic events at the bottom of the tree [101]. Computerized
tools for FTA have made the analysis and construction of
fault trees more convenient [105–107]. FTA and FMEA are
complementary tools for documenting sources of reliability
and safety problems, and also help organize efforts to control
these problems. The primary shortcoming of both approaches
is that the large number of components in many automated
systems imposes a significant practical limitation on the
analysis, that is, the number of event combinations that might
occur is an exponential function of the large number of
components. Applications for complex forms of automation
consequently are confined to fairly simplified analyses of
failures [108].
Dhillon [109] provides a comprehensive overview of doc-
uments, data banks, and organizations for obtaining failure
data to use in robot reliability analysis. Component relia-
bilities used in such analysis can be obtained from sources
such as handbooks [110], data provided by manufacturers
[111], or past experience. Limited data is also available that
documents error rates of personnel performing reliability-
related tasks, such as maintenance [112]. Methods for esti-
mating human error rates have been developed [113], such
as technique for human error rate prediction (THERP) [114]
and success likelihood index method-multiattribute utility
673
decomposition (SLIM-MAUD) [115]. Based on the system
component failure rates or probabilities, quantitative models
such as the systems block diagram or the system fault tree
can be developed showing how system reliability is function-
ally determined by each component. Fault trees and system
block diagrams are both useful for describing the effect of
component configurations on system reliability. The most
commonly considered configurations in such analysis are: (1)
serial systems, (2) parallel systems, and (3) mixed serial and
parallel systems.
29.6.1 Legal Requirements
In most industrialized countries, governmental regulations
require that certain warnings be provided to workers and
others who might be exposed to hazards. The most well-
known governmental standards in the USA applicable to
applications of automation are the general industry standards
29
specified by the Occupation Safety and Health Administra-
tion (OSHA). Training, container labeling and other forms of
warnings, and material data safety sheets are all required el-
ements of the OSHA hazard communication standard. Other
relevant OSHA publications addressing automation are the
Guidelines for Robotics Safety [116] and the Occupational
Safety and Health Technical Manual [117].
In the USA, the failure to warn also can be grounds for
litigation holding manufacturers and others liable for injuries
incurred by workers. In establishing liability, the theory of
negligence considers whether the failure to adequately warn
is an unreasonable conduct based on (1) the foreseeability of
the danger to the manufacturer, (2) the reasonableness of the
assumption that a user would realize the danger, and (3) the
degree of care that the manufacturer took to inform the user
of the danger. The theory of strict liability only requires that
the failure to warn caused the injury or loss.
29.6.2 Voluntary Safety Standards
A large set of existing standards provide voluntary recom-
mendations regarding the use and design of safety informa-
tion. These standards have been developed by both: (1) in-
ternational groups, such as the United Nations, the European
Economic Community (EURONORM), the International Or-
ganization for Standardization (ISO), and the International
Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), and (2) national groups,
such as the American National Standards Institute (ANSI),
the British Standards Institute, the Canadian Standards As-
sociation, the German Institute for Normalization (DIN),
and the Japanese Industrial Standards Committee. Among
consensus standards, those developed by ANSI in the USA
are of special significance. Some of the ANSI standards
focusing on safety signs and labels include: (1) ANSI Z535.1-
674
2006 (R 2011) Safety Color Code; (2) ANSI Z535.2 -2011
Environmental and Facility Safety Signs; (3) ANSI Z535.3
-2011 Criteria for Safety Symbols; (4) ANSI Z535.4-2011
Product Safety Signs and Labels; (5) ANSI Z535.5-2011
Accident Prevention Tags; and (6) ANSI Z129.1-2000, Haz-
ardous Industrial Chemicals – Precautionary Labeling. Fur-
thermore, ANSI has also published a Guide for Developing
Product Information.
Warning requirements for automated equipment can also
be found in many other standards. The most well-known
standard in the USA that addresses automation safety is
ANSI/RIA R15.06-2012, which was revised in 2013 and is an
adoption of the international standards ISO 10218-1 and ISO
10218-2 for industrial robots and robot systems. This stan-
dard was first published in 1986 by the Robotics Industries
Association (RIA) and the American National Standards In-
stitute (ANSI) as ANSI/RIA R15.06, the American National
Standard for Industrial Robots and Robot Systems – Safety
Requirements [118]. ISO 10218 for robots and robotic de-
vices details safety requirements for industrial robots specif-
ically. ISO 13482 is focused toward personal care robots
that deals with closer human-robot interaction and contact.
ISO/TS 15066 technical specification provides guidance on
safe operations in a workspace shared by humans and collab-
orative robots [119]. Several other standards developed by the
ANSI are potentially important in automation applications.
The latter standards address a wide variety of topics such as
machine tool safety, machine guarding, lockout/tagout pro-
cedures, mechanical power transmission, chemical labeling,
material safety data sheets, personal protective equipment,
safety markings, workplace signs, and product labels. Other
potentially relevant standards developed by nongovernmen-
tal groups include the National Electric Code, the Life Safety
Code, and the UL1740 safety standard for industrial robots
and robotics equipment. Also, many companies that use
or manufacture automated systems will develop their own
guidelines [120]. Companies often start with the ANSI/RIA
R15.06-2012 robot safety standard, and then add detailed
information relevant to them.
29.6.3 Design Specifications
Design specifications can be found in consensus and govern-
mental safety standards specifying how to design (1) mate-
rial safety data sheets (MSDS), (2) instructional labels and
manuals, (3) safety symbols, and (4) warning signs, labels,
and tags. ANSI and other standards organizations provide
very specific recommendations about how to design warning
signs, labels, and tags. These include, among other factors,
particular signal words and text, color coding schemes, ty-
pography, symbols, arrangement, and hazard identification
[9, 24].
M. R. Lehto and G. Nanda
There are also standards which specifically address the
design of automated systems and alerts; for example, the
Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Adminis-
tration’s (FAA) Human Factors Design Standard (HFDS)
(2003) indicates that alarm systems should alert the user
to the existence of a problem, inform of the priority and
nature of the problem, guide the user’s initial response, and
confirm whether the user’s response corrected the problem.
Furthermore, it should be possible to identify the first event
in a series of alarm events (information valuable in deter-
mining the cause of a problem). Consistent with our earlier
discussion, the standard suggests that information should be
provided in multiple formats (e.g., visual and auditory) to
improve communication and reduce mental workload, that
auditory signals be used to draw attention to the location
of a visual display, and that false alarms should not occur
so frequently so as to undermine user trust in the system.
Additionally, users should be informed of the inevitability
of false alarms (especially in the case of low base rates). A
more in-depth discussion of the FAA’s recommendations is
beyond the scope of this chapter – for additional information,
see the Human Factors Design Standard [121]. Recommen-
dations also exist for numerous other applications including
automated cruise control/collision warning systems for com-
mercial trucks greater than 10,000 pounds [122] as well as
for horns, backup alarms, and automatic warning devices for
mobile equipment [123].
29.7 Challenges and Emerging Trends
The preceding sections of this chapter reveal that warnings
can certainly play an important role in automated systems.
In today’s era, where the level of automation in vehicles
is continuously increasing and highly automated vehicles
are being deployed in populated environments [124], in-
effective human-automation interaction can lead to serious
consequences such as fatal crashes of highly automated ve-
hicles [125]. The nature of human-automation interaction
in highly automated vehicles has similar characteristics of
a vigilance task where drivers have to maintain constant
attention over a long period of time and be able to identify
and react to rare and unpredictable hazardous events which
the automated system is not trained to handle [126]. Studies
[126, 127] examining drivers of highly automated vehicles
have found their ability to monitor and detect automation
failures declines with time due to vigilance decrement, which
is a well-studied phenomenon in psychology, described as
“deterioration in the ability to remain vigilant for critical
signals with time, as indicated by a decline in the rate of
the correct detection of signals” [128]. This human factors
challenge in operating highly automated vehicles can be
addressed to some extent with the use of effective warning
29 Safety Warnings for Automation
systems that can identify potentially hazardous conditions
accurately and alert the user in advance by allowing sufficient
reaction time to take appropriate decision and action in the
real-world situation [129].
One of the more encouraging results is that people often
tend to behave consistently with the predictions of normative
models of decision-making. From a general perspective, this
is true both if people comply with warnings because they
believe the hazard is more serious, and if people ignore
warnings with little diagnostic value or when the cost of
compliance is believed to be high. This result supports the
conclusion that normative models can play an important role
in suggesting and evaluating design solutions that address
issues such as operator mistrust of warnings, complacency,
and overreliance on warnings.
The “paradox of automation” refers to the phenomenon
that factors (such as automation reliability, level of automa-
tion, operator’s trust on system, and complacency poten-
tial) that have a positive impact on performance when the
automation is working may undermine performance when
the automation fails. The paradox of automation can be ad-
dressed to some extent by designing effective visual displays
and warning systems, providing training to reduce compla-
cency, and enabling better understanding of the logic of
automated system [130]. Perhaps the most important design
challenge is that of increasing the value of the information
provided by automated warning systems. Doing so would
also address the issue of operator mistrust. There have been
recent studies to model and evaluate interventions to better
calibrate the driver’s trust on automated vehicles changing
with experience [131]. An experimental study that examined
the response of drivers of vehicle with highly reliable but
supervised automation for crash or avoidance with conflict
object observed that drivers with higher level of trust in
automation system were slower to respond which led to
crashing, and drivers with lower level of trust in automation
were quicker to react and were able to avoid the crash [132].
The most fundamental method of addressing this issue
is to develop improved sensor systems that more accurately
measure important variables that are strongly related to haz-
ards or other warned against events. Successful implemen-
tations of this approach could increase the diagnostic value
of the warnings provided by automated warning systems by
reducing either false alarms or misses, and hopefully both.
Given the significant improvements and reduced costs of
sensor technology that have been observed in recent years,
this strategy seems quite promising. Another promising strat-
egy for increasing the diagnostic value of the warnings is
to develop better algorithms for both integrating information
from multiple sensors and deciding upon when to provide a
warning. Such algorithms might include methods of adaptive
automation that monitor the operator’s behavior and respond
accordingly; for example, if the system detects evidence that
675
the user is ignoring the provided warnings, a secondary, more
urgent warning that requires a confirmatory response might
be given to determine if the user is disabled (i.e., unable
to respond because they are distracted or even sleeping).
Recent studies have found such alerts about inattention to
be effective in case of driving a SAE Level-2 (Fig. 29.7)
automobile [133]. Other algorithms might track the perfor-
mance of particular operators over a longer period and use
this data to estimate the skill of the operator or determine
the types of information the operator uses to make decisions.
Such tracking might reveal the degree to which the operator
relies on the warning system. It also might reveal the extent
to which the other sources of information used by operator
are redundant or independent of the warning. Chancey et al.
investigated the link between trust in automation systems
and the compliance-reliance paradigm which is based on
operator’s trust in signals and nonsignals provided by the
system. They found that false alarm rate affected compliance 29
but not reliance and the missed rate affected reliance but
not compliance [134]. For successful interaction with auto-
mated systems, it is important that the design parameters of
automation align well with operator’s system representation.
People gather information about the automation system they
are interacting with and adjust their behavior (e.g., calibrating
reliance on warnings based on false alarm rate) to collaborate
with the automation to achieve optimal human-automation
system performance [135].
Another challenge that has been barely, if it all, addressed
in most current applications of warning systems is related to
the tacit assumption that the perceived costs and benefits of
correct detections, misses, false alarms, and correct rejections
are constant across operators and situations. This assumption
is clearly false, because operators will differ in their attitudes
toward risk. Furthermore, the costs and benefits are also
likely to change greatly between situations; for example,
the expected severity of an automobile accident changes,
depending on the speed of the vehicle. This issue might be
addressed by algorithms based on normative models which
treat the costs and benefits of correct detections, misses, false
alarms, and correct rejections as random variables which are
a function of particular operators and situations.
Many other challenges and areas of opportunity exist for
improving automated warnings; for example, more focus
might be placed on developing warning systems that are eas-
ier for operators to understand. Such systems might include
capabilities of explaining why the warning is being provided
and how strong the evidence is. Other systems might give
the user more control over how the warning operates. Such
capabilities will help in building trust for warning systems in
highly automated systems such as self-driving automobiles
and increase their customer acceptance and commercial via-
bility.
See a related Case Study example in Chapter 71.
676
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5 years.
 Part V
Automation Management
 Economic Rationalization of Automation
Projects and Quality of Service 30
José A. Ceroni

Contents for rapid change in structure, as well as in hardware and

software components. Its objective is to quickly adjust
30.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 683
production capacity and functionality within a part family
30.2 General Economic Rationalization Procedure . . . . . . 684 in response to sudden changes in market or regulatory
30.2.1 General Procedure for Automation Systems Project
Rationalization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 684 requirements. Reconfigurability of a system is a key factor
30.2.2 Pre-cost-Analysis Phase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 684 affecting automation systems’ economic evaluation due to
30.2.3 Cost-Analysis Phase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 689 the reusability of equipment and software for the service
30.2.4 Considerations of the Economic and manufacturing of multiple products. A new method
Evaluation Procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 691
based on an analytical hierarchy process for project se-
30.3 Alternative Approach to the Rationalization lection is reviewed. A brief discussion on risk and salvage
of Automation Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 692
30.3.1 Strategical Justification of Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 692
consideration is included, as are emerging aspects needing
30.3.2 Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 693 further development in future rationalization techniques.
30.4 Final Additional Considerations in Automation
Rationalization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 693
30.4.1 Investment Risk Effects on the Minimum Acceptable
Rate of Return . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 693
Keywords
30.4.2 Equipment Depreciation and Salvage Value Profiles . . . 695
30.5 Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 696 Cash flow · Analytical hierarchy process ·
Reconfigurable system · Depreciation schedule ·
30.6 Recommended Additional Reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 696
Automation project
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 697

Abstract
30.1 Introduction
The future of any investment project is undeniably linked
to its economic rationalization. The chance that a project is
Industry-wide recognition of automation’s contribution to the
realized depends on our ability to demonstrate the benefits
generation of benefits that lay down the creation of products
that it can convey to a company. However, traditional
and services has strongly led to the adoption of advanced au-
investment evaluation must be enhanced and used care-
tomation technologies [1]. Adequate definition and selection
fully in the context of rationalization to reflect adequately
of automation technology offers substantial potential for cost
the characteristics of modern automation systems. Nowa-
savings, increased flexibility, better product consistency, and
days, automation systems often take the form of complex,
higher throughput. Hence, automation technology cannot be
strongly related autonomous systems that are able to op-
justified solely based on traditional economic criteria and is
erate in a coordinated fashion in distributed environments.
at least biased and often wrong. Disregarding consideration
Reconfigurability is the capacity of a system designed
of automation strategic and long-term benefits on company
strategies has often led to failure in adopting it [2–5]. Nowa-
J. A. Ceroni () days, the long-range cost of not automating can turn out to
School of Industrial Engineering, Pontifica Universidad Católica de
Valparaíso, Valparaiso, Chile
be considerably greater than the short-term cost of acquiring
e-mail: jose.ceroni@pucv.cl automation technology [6].

© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 683

S. Y. Nof (ed.), Springer Handbook of Automation, Springer Handbooks,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-96729-1_30
684
An automation project is the effort of engineering and
other related disciplines for the development of a new in-
tegrated system able to provide financial, operational, and
strategic benefits, avoiding replication of current operational
methods and support systems. The automation project should
make clear the four differences from any other capital equip-
ment project:
• Automation provides flexibility in production capabil-
ity, enabling companies to respond effectively to market
changes, an aspect with clear economic value.
• Automation solutions force users to rethink and system-
atically define and integrate the functions of their opera-
tions. This reengineering process creates major economic
benefits.
• Modern automation solutions are reprogrammable and
reusable, with components often having lifecycles longer
than the planned production facility.
• Using automation significantly reduces requirements for
services and related facilities.
These differences led to operational benefits that
include:
Increased flexibility Elimination of health and safety hazard
Increased productivity Higher precision
Reduced operating costs Ability to run longer shifts
Increased product quality Reduced floor space
Time-based competition and mass customization of global
markets are key competitive strategies of present-day manu-
facturing companies [7]. Average product lifecycle in mar-
ketplaces has changed from years to months for products
based on rapidly evolving technologies. This demands agile
collaborative and reconfigurable automated systems, created
through the concept of common manufacturing processes
organized modularly to allow rapid deployment in alternative
configurations.
Justification of reconfigurable automation systems must
necessarily include strategic aspects when comparing them
with traditional manufacturing systems developed under the
product-centric paradigm. Product-specific systems gener-
ally lack the reconfiguration ability that would allow them
to meet the needs of additional products. Consequently, tra-
ditional systems are typically decommissioned before their
capital cost can be recovered and held in storage until fully
depreciated for tax purposes and sold at salvage value. How-
ever, reconfigurability claims for additional investment in
design, implementation, and operation of the system. It is
estimated that generic system capabilities can increase the
cost of reconfigurable system hardware by as much as 25%
over that of a comparable dedicated system. On the other
hand, software required to configure and run reconfigurable
J. A. Ceroni
automation systems is often much more expensive than sim-
ple part-specific programs. Traditional economic evaluation
methods fail to consider benefits from capital reutilization
over multiple projects and also disregard strategic benefits
of technology. Upgrade of traditional economic evaluation
methods is required to account for the short-term economic
and long-term strategic value of investing in reconfigurable
automation technologies to support the evolving production
requirements of a family of products. In this chapter, the
traditional economic justification approach to automation
system justification is first addressed. A related discussion on
economic aspects of automation not discussed in this chapter
can be found in Ch.  5. New approaches to automated
system justification based on strategic considerations are pre-
sented next. Finally, a discussion on justification approaches
currently being researched for reconfigurable systems is pre-
sented.
30.2 General Economic Rationalization
Procedure
An economic rationalization enables us to compare the finan-
cial benefits expected from a given investment project with
alternative use of investment capital. Economic evaluation
measures capital cost plus operating expenses against cash-
flow benefits estimated for the project. This section describes
a general approach to economic rationalization and justifica-
tion of automation system projects.
30.2.1 General Procedure for Automation
Systems Project Rationalization
The general procedure for rationalization and analysis
of automation projects presented here consists of a pre-
cost-analysis phase, followed by a cost-analysis phase.
Figure 30.1 presents the procedure steps and their sequence.
The sequence of steps in Fig. 30.1 is reviewed in detail in
the rest of this section and an example cost-analysis phase is
described.
30.2.2 Pre-cost-Analysis Phase
The pre-cost-analysis phase evaluates the automation project
feasibility. Feasibility is evaluated in terms of the technical
capability to achieve production capacity and utilization as
estimated in production schedules. The first six steps of
the procedure include determining the most suitable man-
ufacturing method, selecting the tasks to automate, and the
feasibility assessment of these options (Fig. 30.1). Noneco-
30 Economic Rationalization of Automation Projects and Quality of Service 685

2.2.1
Cost per unit produced ($)
1000
30
Alternative automated New
Programmable automation
manufacturing methods development
or improve 100
present method Dedicated automation
2.2.2 Fails Develop new
Technical feasibility methods 10
evaluation without Manual
automation
1
Passes Hold the plan
2.2.3
Selection of tasks to 0.1
automate 102 103 104 105 106
Units per year
2.2.4
Noneconomic and
intangible considerations Fig. 30.2 Comparison of manufacturing methods for different produc-
tion volumes
2.2.5
Determination of costs
and benefits production volumes, ranging from a few tens or hundreds
of products per year per part type to hundreds of thousands
2.2.6
of products per year. Finally, annual production volumes of
Fails
Utilization analysis 500,000 or above seem to justify the utilization of dedicated
(hard) automation systems.
Passes Pre-cost-analysis phase Boothroyd et al. [9] have derived specific formulas for
determining the assembly cost (Table 30.1). By using these
2.3.1 formulas, they compare alternative assembly systems such
Period evaluation, depreciation, as the one-operator assembly line, assembly center with two
and tax data requirements
arms, universal assembly center, free-transfer machine with
2.3.2 programmable workheads, and dedicated machine. The last
Project cost analysis three systems are robotics-based automated systems. The
general expression derived by Boothroyd et al. [9] is
2.3.3
Economic evaluation  
WM 
Cpr = tpr Wt + ,
2.3.3.a 2.3.3.b 2.3.3.c SQ
Net present Return on Payback
value invested capital period
where: Cpr = unitary assembly cost, tpr = average assembly
time per part, Wt = labor cost per time, W = operator rate
Decision Cost-analysis phase in dollars per second, M  = assembly equipment cost per
time, S = number of shifts, and Q = operator cost in terms
of capital equivalent.
Fig. 30.1 Automation project economic evaluation procedure Parameters and variables in this expression present al-
ternative relationships, depending on the automation and
flexibility of assembly system.
nomic considerations must be studied and all data pertinent Figures 30.3 and 30.4 show the unitary cost for the assem-
to product volumes and operation times gathered. bly systems at varying annual production volumes. It can be
seen that production of multiple products increases costs, by
Alternative Automated Manufacturing Methods approximately 100%, for the assembly center with two arms
Production unit cost at varying production volumes for three and free-transfer machine with programmable workheads,
main alternative manufacturing methods (manual labor, and by 1000% for the dedicated hybrid machine.
flexible automation, and hard automation) are compared in
Fig. 30.2 [8]. Manual labor is usually the most cost-effective Evaluation of Technical Feasibility for Alternative
method for low production volumes; however, reconfigurable Methods
assembly is changing this situation drastically. Flexible, Feasibility of the automation system plan must be reviewed
programmable automation is most effective for medium carefully. It is perfectly possible for an automation project to
686 J. A. Ceroni

Table 30.1 Assembly equipment cost for alternative automation levels

Average
assembly time Labor cost per
Automation level per part time Assembly equipment cost per time
Manual assembly and Kt0 (1 + x) nW/k (n/k)(2CB + Np CC )
feeding
Manual assembly with Kt 0 (1 + x) nW/k (n/k)(2CB + Np CC ) + Np (ny + Nd CF )
automated feeding
Dedicated hybrid assembly t + xT 3W [nyCT +(T/t)(ny)CB ] + Np {(ny + Nd )(CF + Cw ) + [ny + (T/2 t)(ny)]CC }
machine
Assembly machine with k(t + xT) 3W (n/k)[CdA +(T/t + 1)CB + Np [(ny + Nd )CM + nCg + (n/k)(T/2 t + 0.5)CC ]
programmable workheads
and automated transfer of
parts
Automated assembly center n(t/2 + xT) 3W 2CdA + Np [CC + nCg + (ny + Nd )CM ]
with two robotic arms
Flexible universal assembly n(t/2 + xT) 3W (2CdA + nyCPF + 2Cug ) + Np CC
machine center
Cpr product unit assembly cost, S number of shifts, Q equivalent cost of operator in terms of capital equivalent, W operator rate in dollars per
second, d degrees of freedom, k number of parts assembled by each operator or programmable workhead, n total number of parts, Np number of
products, Nd number of design changes, CdA cost of a programmable robot or workhead, CB cost of a transfer device per workstation, CC cost
of a work carrier, CF cost of an automatic feeding device, Cg cost of a gripper per part, CM cost of a manually loaded magazine, CPF cost of a
programmable feeder, CS cost of a workstation for a single station assembly, Ct cost of a transfer device per workstation, Cug cost of a universal
gripper, CW cost of a dedicated workhead, T = machine downtime for defective parts, t0 , t 0 machine downtime due to defective parts, t mean time
of assembly for one part, x ratio of faulty parts to acceptable parts, y product styles

Assembly cost per part Cpr /n (US $) Assembly cost per part Cpr /n (US $)
0.5 0.5
Assembly center Assembly center
with two arms Dedicated
with two arms hybrid machine
Free-transfer machine
0.1 0.1 with programmable
Free-transfer machine workheads
Universal with programmable workheads
assembly
center
Operator Operator
0.01 assembly line 0.01 assembly line
50 parts in one assembly (n = 50) 50 parts in one assembly (n = 50)
One product (Np = 1) 20 product (Np = 20) Universal
One style of each product (y = 1) Dedicated One style of each product (y = 1) assembly center
No design changes (Nd = 0) hybrid machine No design changes (Nd = 0)
0.001 0.001
0.01 0.1 1 10 0.01 0.1 1 10
Annual product volume V Annual product volume V
(millions of assemblies per year) (millions of assemblies per year)

Fig. 30.3 Comparison of alternative assembly systems (one product) Fig. 30.4 Comparison of alternative assembly systems (20 products)

have a positive economic evaluation but have problems with

its feasibility. Although this situation may seem strange, it
must be considered that an automation project is rather com-
plex and demands specific operational conditions, far more
complex than those in conventional production systems. A
thorough feasibility review must consider aspects such as
the answers to the following questions in case of automated
assembly:
• Is the product designed for automated assembly?
• Is it possible to do the job with the planned procedure and
within the given cycle time?
• Can reliability be ensured as a component of the total
system?
• Is the system sufficiently staffed and operated by assigned
engineers and operators?
• Is it possible to maintain safety and the designed quality
level?
• Can inventory and material handling be reduced in the
plant?
• Are the material-handling systems adequate?
• Can the product be routed in a smooth batch-lot flow
operation?
30 Economic Rationalization of Automation Projects and Quality of Service
The comprehensive analysis of these aspects of any
given automation project is rather cumbersome and prone to
shortcomings in the full understanding of decision makers in
charge of choosing the best automation proposal. Techniques
such as technology-enabled engagement process (TEEP)
[10–12] are leading the way for providing decision makers
with a submissive environment to perceive through virtual
reality automation components functioning in an integrated
operation. However, operation of the system is not only
visual but also reported as the key performance indicators that
will provide the most insightful decision-making appraisal.
This new framework is currently being utilized in education
in design training programs [13]. A similar approach, if
followed in Ref. [14] for proposing a system that uses data
mining, is able to evaluate alternative automation projects in
companies.
Following the feasibility analysis, alternatives are con-
sidered further in the evaluation. If the plan fails due to
lack of feasibility, a search for other type of solutions is
in order. Alternative solutions may involve the development
of new equipment, improvement of proposed equipment, or
development of other manufacturing alternatives.
Selection of Tasks to Automate
Selection of tasks for automation is a difficult process. The
following five job grouping strategies may assist the determi-
nation of tasks to automate:
• Components of products of the same family
• Products presently being manufactured in proximity
• Products consisting of similar components that could
share part-feeding devices
• Products of similar size, dimensions, weight, and number
of components
• Products with simple design possible to manufacture
within a short cycle time
Noneconomic and Intangible Considerations
Issues related to specific company characteristics, company
policy, social responsibility, and management policy need
to be addressed both quantitatively and qualitative in the
automation project. Adequate justification of automation sys-
tems needs to consider aspects such as:
• Compliance with the general direction of the company’s
automation strategy
• Satisfaction of equipment and facilities standardization
policies
• Adequate accommodation of future product model
changes or production plans
• Improvement of working life quality and workers morale
• Reliability and consistency to achieve and maintain the
expected operational results
687
• Positive impact on company reputation
• Promotion of technical progress and knowledge creation 30
at the company
Differences among automated solutions (e.g., robots) and
other case-specific capitalization equipment also provide nu-
merous intangible benefits, as the following list illustrates:
• Robots are reusable.
• Robots are multipurpose and can be reprogrammed for
many different tasks.
• Because of reprogrammability, robotic systems service
life can often be three or more times longer than that of
fixed (hard) automation devices.
• Tooling costs for robotic systems also tend to be lower ow-
ing to the programming capability around certain physical
constraints.
• Production startup occurs sooner because of less construc-
tion and tooling constraints.
• Plant modernization can be implemented by eliminating
discontinued automation systems.
Determination of Costs and Benefits
Although costs and benefits expected from automation
projects vary according to each particular case being
analyzed, a general classification of costs can include
operators’ wages, capital, maintenance, design, and power
costs. However, it must be noted that, while usually wages
decrease at higher levels of automation, the rest of the cost
tend to increase. Figure 30.5 shows the behavior of assembly
costs at different automation levels [15]. Consequently,
it would be possible to determine the optimal degree of
automation based on the minimum total operational cost of
the system.
Costs Km ln
Assembly cost
Capital cost
Personnel cost
Maintenance and energy cost
Degree of automation a op l
Fig. 30.5 Assembly costs as functions of the degree of automation in
the assembly case
688
Considering automation’s potential to sustainably deliver
value to the organization, a useful concept regarding cost and
expected benefits of automation projects is quality of service
(QoS) [16]. QoS involves issues of cost, affordability, energy,
maintenance, and dependability being delivered by the au-
tomated system at a stable rate, according to a service-level
agreement. For the purposes of this chapter, relevant aspects
of QoS are cost, affordability, and energy. Cost-effective or
cost-oriented automation is part of a strategy called low-
cost automation which covers the life cycle of an automation
system with respect to their owners: design, production, op-
erating, and maintenance, refitting or recycling. Affordable
automation is another part of the strategy and focuses on
automation or automatic control in small enterprises to en-
hance their competitiveness in manufacturing and service. It
is directly observable how the cost control aspect of the latter
two strategies contribute to the economic evaluation process
of alternative automation projects. Despite relative expensive
components, the automation system may present low cost
with respect to its operation and maintenance. To be utilized
broadly, a new technology must demonstrate tangible and
sustainable benefits, be easier to implement and maintain,
and/or substantially improve performance and efficiency.
Sometimes a new control method is not pursued due to poor
usability during operation and troubleshooting in an indus-
trial environment. Low-cost automation is now established as
a strategy to achieve the same performance as sophisticated
automation but with lower costs. The designers of automation
systems therefore have a cost frame to find solutions. This is
a challenge to theory and technology of automatic control, as
the main parts of automation projects. Cost aspects are mostly
considered when designing automation systems. However, in
the end, industry is looking for intelligent solutions and en-
gineering strategies for saving cost but that nevertheless have
secure, high performance. Field robots in several domains
such as manufacturing plants, buildings, offices, agriculture,
and mining are candidates for reducing operation cost. En-
terprise integration and support for networked enterprises are
considered as cost-saving strategies. Condition monitoring of
machines to reduce maintenance cost and avoid downtime of
machines and equipment, if possible, is also a new challenge,
and promotes e-Maintenance [17] and e-Service [18].
Reliability of low-cost automation is independent of the
grade of automation, i.e., it covers all possible circumstances
in its field of application. Often it is more suitable to reduce
the grade of automation and involve human experience and
capabilities to bridge the gap between theoretical findings
and practical requirements [19]. Low-cost automation also
concerns the implementation of automation systems. This
should be as easy as possible and also facilitate maintenance.
Maintenance is very often the crucial point and an important
cost factor to be considered. Standardization of components
of automation systems could also be very helpful to reduce
J. A. Ceroni
cost, because it fosters usability, distribution, and innovation
in new applications, for example, fieldbus technology in
manufacturing and building automation. Distributed collabo-
rative engineering, i.e., the control of common work over re-
mote sites, is an important topic in cost-oriented automation.
Integrated product and process development as a cost-saving
strategy has been partly introduced in industry. However, as
Nnaji et al. [20] mention, lack of information from suppli-
ers and working partners, incompleteness and inconsistency
of product information/knowledge within the collaborating
group, and incapability of processing information/data from
other parties due to the problem of interoperability hamper
effective use. Hence, collaborative design tools are needed
to improve collaboration among distributed design groups,
enhance knowledge sharing, and assist in better decision-
making [21]. (See also Chs.  18 and  19.) Mixed-reality
concepts could be useful for collaborative distributed work
because they address two major issues: seamlessness and
enhancing reality. In mixed-reality distributed environments,
information flow can cross the border between reality and
virtuality in an arbitrary bidirectional way. Reality may be
the continuation of virtuality, or vice versa [22], which pro-
vides a seamless connection between the two worlds. This
bridging or mixing of reality and virtuality opens up some
new perspectives not only for work environments but also
for learning or training environments [23, 24]. (See also
Chs.  32 and  63.) The changing global context is hav-
ing an impact on local and regional economies, particularly
on small and medium-sized enterprises. Global integration
and international competitive pressures are intensifying at
a time when some of the traditional competitive advan-
tages – such as relatively low labor costs – enjoyed by certain
countries are vanishing. Energy-saving strategies and also
individual solutions for reducing energy consumption are
challenging politicians, the public, and researchers. The cost
aspect is very important. Components of controllers such
as sensors and actuators may be expensive, but one has to
calculate savings in energy costs over a certain period or
life cycle of a building or plant. Cost-oriented automation
as part of the strategy of low-cost automation considers
the cost of ownership with respect to the life cycle of the
system:
• Designing
• Implementing
• Operating
• Reconfiguring
• Maintenance
• Recycling
Life cycle assessment of automation projects could be-
come very cumbersome due to the amount of data needed
to gather and process if the analysis is intended to be as com-
30 Economic Rationalization of Automation Projects and Quality of Service 689

prehensive as possible [25]. Methods to assist this evaluation Table 30.2 Difficult-to-quantify impacts of automation
are available elsewhere in the literature, for example, in Ref. Automation can
[26], an open source tool for modeling and performing the increase/improve/maximize
life cycle assessment of a wide variety of projects is provided, 1. Flexibility
being possible to use it for automation projects as well. The 2. Sustainability
3. Resilience
research by Yeom et al. [27] presents a life cycle analysis of 4. Quality of service
the robot system for buildings’ exterior painting and can be 5. Convenience
used as reference. 6. Plant modernization
Components and instruments could be expensive if life 7. Labor skills of employees
8. Employee satisfaction
cycle costs are to decrease. An example is enterprise inte- 9. Methods and operations
gration or networked enterprises as production systems that 10. Manufacturing productivity
are vertically (supply chain) or horizontally and vertically capacity
(network) organized. Cost-effective product and process re- 11. Reaction to market
fluctuations
alization has to consider several aspects regarding automatic 12. Product quality
control [24]: 13. Business opportunities
14. Market share
• Virtual manufacturing supporting integrated product and 15. Profitability
16. Competitiveness
process development 17. Growth opportunities
• Web-based maintenance (cost reduction with 18. Handling of short product
e-Maintenance systems in manufacturing) lifecycles
• Small and medium-sized (SME)-oriented agile manufac- 19. Handling of potential labor
shortages
turing 20. Space utility of plant
Automation can 30
decrease/eliminate/minimize
1. Regulatory violations and
deviations
2. Hazardous and unsafe human
jobs
3. Tedious human jobs
4. Safety violations
5. Accidents and injuries
6. Scrap and rework
7. Errors and conflicts
8. Time for training
9. Trainers costs
10. Clerical costs
11. Food costs
12. Dining rooms
13. Restrooms, bathrooms,
parking areas
14. Burden, direct, and other
overhead costs
15. Manual material handling
16. Inventory levels
17. Scrap and errors
18. Time to market

Agile manufacturing here is understood as the synthesis

of a number of independent enterprises forming a network
to join their core skills. As mentioned above, life cycle
management of automation systems is important regarding
cost of ownership. The complete production process has to
be considered with respect to its performance, where main-
tenance is the most important driver of cost. Nof et al. [28]
consider the performance of the complete automation system,
which interests the owner in terms of cost, rather than only
the performance of the control system, i.e., a compromise
between cost of maintenance and cost of downtime of the
automation system has to be found.
Questions regarding benefits of automation systems often
arise concerning long-range, unmeasurable effects on eco-
nomic issues. A few such issues include the impact of the
automation system on:
• Product value and price
• Increase of sales volume
• Decrease of production cost
• Decrease of initial investment requirements
• Reduction of products lead time
• Decrease of manufacturing costs
• Decrease of inventory costs
• Decrease of direct and indirect labor costs
• Decrease of overhead rate
• Full utilization of automated equipment
• Decrease of setup time and cost
• Decrease of material-handling cost
• Decrease of damage and scrap costs
However, automation may also result in hard-to-quantify
benefits that could improve system performance or help to
ameliorate negative impacts in industrial operations. The cor-
rect economical assessment of each these intangible factors
is required for them to be included in the financial analysis
in order to discriminate among the automation alternatives.
Some examples of hard to quantify automation impacts are
listed in Table 30.2.
Utilization Analysis
Underutilized automated systems usually cannot be cost-
justified, mainly due to the high initial startup expenses and
low labor savings they result in. Consideration of additional
applications or planned future growth are required to drive
the potential cost-effectiveness up; however, there are also
additional costs to consider, for example, tooling and feeder
costs associated with new applications.
30.2.3 Cost-Analysis Phase
This phase of the methodology focuses on detailed cost
analysis for investment justification and includes five steps
(Fig. 30.1). To evaluate economically the automation project
installation, the following data are required:
• Capital investment of the project
• Estimated changes in gross incomes (revenue, sales, and
savings) and costs expected from the project
690 J. A. Ceroni

To illustrate the remaining steps of the methodology, an depreciation for year j, T = tax rate (assumed constant),
example will be developed. Installation cost, operation costs, K = project cost (capital expenditure), and Lj = salvage value
and salvage for the example are as given in Table 30.3. in year j.
The net cash flows are given in Table 30.6.
Period Evaluation, Depreciation, and Tax Data
Requirements Net Present Value (NPV)
Before proceeding with the economic evaluation, the eval- Once the cash flows have been determined, the net present
uation period, tax rates, and tax depreciation method must value (NPV) is determined using the equation
be specified. We will consider in the example an evalua-
tion period of 6 years. We will use the US Internal Rev- 
n
Xj  n
NPV = = Xj (P/F, k, j) ,
enue Service’s Modified Accelerated Cost Recovery System
j=0
(1 + k) j
j=0
(MACRS) for 5 years (Table 30.4). Tax rate considered is
40%. These values are not fixed and can be changed if where Xj = net cash flow for year j, n = number of years of
deemed appropriate. cash flow, k = minimum acceptable rate of return (MARR),
and 1/(1 + k)j = discount factor, usually designated as (P/F,
Project Cost Analysis k, j).
The project cost is as given in Table 30.3 (US$168,000). To With the cash flows of Table 30.6 and k = 25%, the NPV
continue, it is necessary to determine (estimate) the yearly is
changes in operational cost and cost savings (benefits). For
the example, these are as shown in Table 30.5. NPV = −168 000 + 53 640 (P/F, 25, 1)
+ 61 704 (P/F, 25, 2) + · · ·
Economic Rationalization + 78 271 (P/F, 25, 6) = $18 431.
Techniques used for the economic analysis of automation
applications are similar to those for any manufacturing equip- The project is economically acceptable if its NPV is
ment purchase. They are usually based on net present value, positive. Also, a positive NPV indicates that the rate of return
rate of return, or payback (payout) methods. All of these is greater than k.
methods require the determination of the yearly net cash
flows, which are defined as Return on Invested Capital (ROIC)
The ROIC or rate of return is the interest rate that makes the
Xj = (G − C)j − (G − C − D)j (T) − K + Lj , NPV = 0. It is sometimes also referred to as the internal rate
of return (IRR). Mathematically, the ROIC is defined as
where Xj = net cash flow in year j, Gj = gross income (sav-

n
Xj  n
ings, revenues) for year j, Cj = total costs for year j, Dj = tax 0= = Xj (P/F, i, j) ,
j=0
(1 + i)j
j=0

Table 30.3 Example data where i = ROIC.

Project costs For this example, the ROIC is determined from the fol-
Machine cost $80,000 lowing expression
Tooling cost $13,000
Software integration $30,000 0 = −168 000 + 53 640 (P/F, i, 1)
Part feeders $20,000 + 61 704 (P/F, i, 2) + · · · + 78 271 (P/F, i, 6) .
Installation cost $25,000
Total $168,000 To solve the previous expression for i, a trial-and-error
Actual realizable salvage $12,000 approach is needed. Assuming 25%, the right-hand side
gives $ 18,431 (NPV calculation) and with 35%, it is $
Table 30.4 MACRS percentages −11,719. Therefore, the ROIC using linear interpolation
Year Percentage is approximately 31%. This ROIC is now compared with
1 20.00 the minimum acceptable rate of return (MARR). In this
2 32.00 example, the MARR is that used for calculating the NPV.
3 19.20 If ROIC ≥ MARR, the project is acceptable; otherwise it is
4 11.52 unacceptable. Consequently, the NPV and the rate-of-return
5 11.52 methods will give the same decision regarding the economic
6 5.76 desirability of a project (investment). It is pointed out that
30 Economic Rationalization of Automation Projects and Quality of Service 691

Table 30.5 Costs and savings (dollars per year)

Year 1 2 3 4 5 6 30
Labor savings 70,000 70,000 88,000 88,000 88,000 88,000
Quality savings 22,000 22,000 28,000 28,000 28,000 28,000
Operating costs (increase) (25,000) (25,000) (19,000) (12,000) (12,000) (12,000)

Table 30.6 Net cash flow with project cost of K = 168,000 and uled shutdown tasks. Automation also contributes to reduce
salvage value of L6 = 12,000 impacts (often hard to quantify) due to health, safety, and
End of year Total Ga C Db X environmental issues in production systems.
0 – – – −168,000 Profits could increase due to automation by increasing the
1 92,000 25,000 33,600 53,640 yield of more valuable products. Reduced work-in-process
2 92,000 25,000 53,760 61,704 inventory and waste result in higher revenue per unitary
3 116,000 19,000 32,256 71,102 input to the system. Although higher production yield will
4 116,000 12,000 19,354 70,142 be meaningful only if the additional products can be sold, to-
5 116,000 12,000 19,354 70,142 day’s global markets will surely respond positively to added
6 116,000 12,000 9677 78,271 production capacity.
a These are the sums of labor and quality savings (Table 30.5)
b Computed with the MACRS for each year
Payback (Payout) Period
An alternative method used for economic evaluation of a
the definitions of cash flow and MARR are not independent. project is the payback period (or payout period). The payback
Also, the omission of debt interest in the cash-flow equation period is the number of years required for incoming cash
does not necessarily imply that the initial project cost (capital flows to balance the cash outflows. The payback period (p)
expenditure) is not being financed by some combination of is obtained from the expression
debt and equity capital. When total cash flows are used, the
debt interest is included (approximately) in the definition of 
p
0= Xj .
MARR as j=0

MARR = ke (1 − c) + kd (1 − T) c, This is one definition of the payback period, although an

where ke = required return for equity capital, kd = required
return for debt capital, T = tax rate, and c = debt ratio of the
pool of capital used for current capital investments.
It is not uncommon in practice to adjust (increase) ke
and kd to account for project risk and uncertainties in eco-
nomic conditions. In this case, risk is the combination of the
probability or frequency of occurrence of a defined threat or
opportunity and the magnitude of the consequences of the
occurrence.
The effects of automation on ROIC (Fig. 30.6) are doc-
umented elsewhere in the literature [29]. The main effects
of automation can be classified into reduction of capital or
increased profits or, more desirably, both simultaneously. Au-
tomation may generate investment capital savings in project
engineering, procurement costs, purchase price, installation,
configuration, calibration, or project execution. Working cap-
ital requirements may be lowered by reducing raw mate-
rial (quantity or price), product inventories, spare parts for
equipment, reduced energy and utilities utilization, or in-
creased product yields. Maintenance costs are diminished in
automation solutions by reducing unscheduled maintenance,
the number of routine checks, time required for maintenance
tasks, material purchase, and the number and cost of sched-
alternative definition that employs a discounting procedure
is most often used in practice. Using the cash flow given in
Table 30.6, the payback equations for 2 years gives
−168 000 + 53 640 + 61 704 = $ − 52 656
and for 3 years, it is
−168 000 + 53 640 + 61 704 + 71 102 = $18 446.
Therefore, using linear interpolation, the payback period
is
52 656
p=2+ = 2.74 years.
71 102
30.2.4 Considerations of the Economic
Evaluation Procedure
The application of the general economic evaluation proce-
dure and related techniques described previously must take
into consideration the aspects described next. The risk of
ending with a wrong economic evaluation and therefore an
692 J. A. Ceroni

Increased ROIC

Reduce capital Increase profit

Reduce costs Increase revenue

Increase price Increase production

Increased:
Reduced: Reduced:
Equipment
Capital investment Energy and
Increased: capacity
Product, Input, utilities
Production yield Reduced:
WIP Maintenance
Improved: Unscheduled
Inventory Waste
Products quality downtime
Warehouse Staff
Scheduled
Spares Exceptions
shutdowns

Fig. 30.6 Effects of automation on ROIC

incorrect alternative project selection is usually the result of
not considering the following aspects:
• Cash flows are incremental since they represent increases
or decreases resulting directly from the investment alter-
native under consideration.
• NPV and rate of return are inversely related to the payback
period.
• Payback period should not be used as a primary selection
criterion since it disregards cash flows generated after it.
• Mutually exclusive alternative automation projects should
be evaluated only by selecting the project with the highest
NPV. Using the highest rate of return is incorrect (see Refs.
[30–32]).
• Selecting a subset of projects from a group of independent
projects, in order to consider some restriction, the selec-
tion objective should maximize the NPV of the subset.
30.3 Alternative Approach
to the Rationalization of Automation
Projects
30.3.1 Strategical Justification of Automation
the literature, there are well-documented issues that make
hard to justify and adopt strategic automation technologies
[33]. Additionally, difficulties in justifying integrated au-
tomation technologies may arise from considering cultural
and organizational aspects when implementing them. The
success or failure of the implementation depends heavily
on the commitment of all participants involved, people and
companies. Such widespread impacts are usually not con-
sidered in traditional economic evaluation methodologies,
which normally overlook the need for consensus on the
technology to adopt.
Flexibility is recurrently considered in the literature as a
key benefit related to the implementation of automated sys-
tems [34]. Jönsson et al. [35] analyze the types of flexibility
resulting from the operation of automated systems:
• Product mix flexibility: having different products using
the same production process at the same time
• Product volume flexibility: set the process for achieving
additional or less throughput
• Equipment multifunction flexibility: devices do different
production with tool changes
• New product flexibility: change and reprogram of the pro-
cess to accommodate products changes or new products

The evaluation analysis described so far in this chapter is
financially driven and covers the span of the automation
project itself. However, the adoption of automation systems
and its related technology has undeniable strategic and in-
tangible benefits surpassing the capabilities of traditional
economic evaluation methods. Plenty available elsewhere in
Additional frequently reported benefits include improved
product quality, process resilience and sustainability, shorter
response time, increased product and process consistency,
lower inventory levels, improved worker safety, effective
management processes, shorter cycle times and setups, and
support for continuous improvement [3–6].
30 Economic Rationalization of Automation Projects and Quality of Service
30.3.2 Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP)
Rarely do automation systems comprise out-of-the-box solu-
tions. In fact, most automated systems nowadays comprise a
collection of equipment properly integrated into an effective
solution. This integration process makes evaluation of alter-
native solutions by traditional economic evaluation methods
more complex, due to the many combinations possible for the
configuration of all available components and the inherent
fuzziness of the selection criteria. To assist the equipment
selection process, AHP has been implemented in the form of
decision support systems (DSSs) [36]. AHP was developed
by Saaty [37] as a way to convey the relative importance
of a set of activities in a quantitative and qualitative mul-
ticriteria decision problem. The AHP method is based on
three principles: the structure of the model [38], comparative
judgment of alternatives and criteria [39], and synthesis of
priorities. Despite the wide utilization of AHP, selection of
casting process [40], improvement of human performance
in decision-making [41], and improvement of quality-based
investments [42], the method has shortcomings related to
its inability to handle decision-maker’s uncertainty and im-
precision in determining values for the pairwise comparison
process involved. Another difficulty with AHP lies in the fact
that not every decision-making problem may be cast into a
hierarchical structure.
Next, a proposed method implementing AHP is reviewed
using a numerical application for computer numerical control
(CNC) machine selection.
The AHP-PROMETHEE Method
The preference ranking organization method for enrichment
evaluation (PROMETHEE) is a multicriteria decision-
making method developed by Brans et al. [42, 43].
Implementation of PROMETHEE requires two types of
information: (1) relative importance (weights of the criteria
considered) and (2) decision-maker’s preference function
(for comparing the contribution of alternatives in terms of
each separate criterion). Weights coefficients are calculated
in this case using AHP. Figure 30.7 presents the various steps
of the AHP-PROMETHEE integration method.
The AHP-PROMETHEE method is applied to a manu-
facturing company wanting to purchase a number of milling
machines in order to reduce work-in-process inventory and
replace old equipment [36]. A decision-making team was
devised and its first task was to determine the five milling
machines candidates for the purchasing and six evaluation
criteria: price, weight, power, spindle, diameter, and stroke.
The decision structure is depicted in Fig. 30.8. The next step
is for decision team experts to assign weights on a pairwise
basis to decision criteria, as presented in Table 30.7. Results
from AHP calculations are shown in Table 30.8 and show
that the top three criteria for the case are spindle, weight, and
693
diameter. The consistency ratio of the pairwise comparison
matrix is 0.032 < 0.1, which indicates weights consistency 30
and validity.
The AHP results shown in the previous table are obtained
with a largest Eigenvalue (λmax = 6.201), a consistency ratio
(CR = 0.032), a consistency index (CI = 0.040), and a
random index (RI = 1.24).
Following the application of AHP, PROMETHEE steps
are carried out. The first step comprises the evaluation of
five alternative milling machines according to the evaluation
criteria previously defined. The resulting evaluation matrix is
shown in Table 30.9.
Next, a preference function (PF) and related thresholds
are defined by the decision-making team for each criterion.
PF and thresholds consider features of the milling machines
and the company’s purchasing policy. Table 30.10 shows
preference functions and their thresholds.
The partial ranking of alternatives is determined according
to PROMETHEE I, based on the positive and negative flows
shown in Table 30.11. The resulting partial ranking is shown
in Fig. 30.9 and reveals that machine 5, machine 2, machine
4, and machine 1 are preferred over machine 3, and machine
4 is preferred over machine 1. The partial ranking also shows
that machine 5, machine 4, and machine 2 are not compara-
ble, as well as machine 5 and machine 1, and machine 2 and
machine 1.
PROMETHEE II uses the net flow in Table 30.11 to
compute a complete ranking and identify the best alternative.
According to the complete ranking, machine 5 is selected as
the best alternative, while the other machines are ranked ac-
cordingly as machine 4, machine 2, machine 1, then machine
3 (Fig. 30.10).
The geometrical analytic for interactive aid (GAIA) plane
[44] representing the decision (Fig. 30.11) shows that price
has a great differentiation power, criteria 1 (price) and 3
(power) are conflicting, machine 2 is very good in terms of
criterion 3 (power), and machine 3 is very good in terms of
criteria 2 and 4. The vector π (decision axis) represents the
compromise solution (selection must be in this direction).
30.4 Final Additional Considerations
in Automation Rationalization
30.4.1 Investment Risk Effects
on the Minimum Acceptable Rate
of Return
Capital investment projects involve particular levels of risk,
where risk is an expected measure of project aspects that
could fail. Including risk into the economical analysis would
imply taking into consideration the probabilities of occur-
rence of each possible scenario, turning the evaluation model
694 J. A. Ceroni

Step 1: Forming decision-making team

Step 2: Determining alternative equipment

Determining the criteria to be used

Step 3:
in evaluation
Stage 1: Data gathering
Step 4: Structuring decision hierarchy

Approve
No decision
Step 5:
hierarchy
?

Step 6: Assigning criteria weights via AHP Structuring decision hierarchy

Approve Stage 2: AHP calculations

No decision
Step 7:
weights
?

Determining the preference functions

Step 8: and parameters for the criteria

Approve
No preference
Step 9:
functions
? Stage 3: PROMETHEE calculations

Step 10: Partial ranking via PROMETHEE I

Step 11: Complete ranking via PROMETHEE II

Step 12: Determining GAIA plane

Step 13: Determining the best equipment Stage 4: Decision making

Fig. 30.7 Steps of AHP-PROMETHEE method

Selection of
the best equipment

Price Weight Power Spindle Diameter Stroke

Machine 1 Machine 2 Machine 3 Machine 4 Machine 5

Fig. 30.8 Decision structure

highly complex. A simpler way to consider risk into the with higher risk levels. Additionally, other considerations
normal economic evaluation is to relate the MARR to project on the automation project characteristics may be related to
risk [45–47], resulting in higher MARR values for projects MARR as well. Consider, for example, the possibility the
30 Economic Rationalization of Automation Projects and Quality of Service 695

proposed equipment to acquire could be utilized in current Table 30.7 Pairwise comparison of criteria and weights
or alternative automation projects, diminishing the potential Criteria Price Weight Power Spindle Diameter Stroke 30
losses from a failed project due to internal or external causes. Price 1.00 0.52 0.62 0.41 0.55 0.59
As a note of caution, higher MARR rates should be Weight 1.93 1.00 2.60 1.21 1.30 2.39
applied only to those components of the proposed automation Power 1.61 0.38 1.00 0.40 0.41 1.64
project exposed to the risk being considered. In such a way, Spindle 2.44 0.83 2.47 1.00 0.40 0.46
the aspects of the automation project under good levels of Diameter 1.80 0.77 2.40 2.49 1.00 2.40
control by the organization should not be altered. Expecting Stroke 1.69 0.42 0.61 2.17 0.42 1.00
higher levels of return from risky decisions, companies could
find a way to force strategic concerns into the automation Table 30.8 AHP results
projects initial configuration. In such scenario, companies Criteria Weights (ω)
will have strong incentives to consider low risk projects with Price 0.090
reconfigurable automation equipment allowing the consider- Weight 0.244
ation of lower MARR rates [48, 49]. Power 0.113
Spindle 0.266
Diameter 0.186
30.4.2 Equipment Depreciation and Salvage Stroke 0.101
Value Profiles
Table 30.9 Evaluation matrix for the milling machine case
Financial evaluation of automation projects is deeply affected Criteria Price Weight Power Spindle Diameter Stroke
by how equipment capital is depreciated during the project Unit US $ kg W Rpm Mm mm
life and estimated project salvage values at the end of the Max/min Min Min Max Max Max Max
project are determined [50–52]. Two alternative depreciating Weight 0.090 0.244 0.113 0.266 0.186 0.101
mechanisms (equipment loss of monetary value within the Machine 1 936 4.8 1300 24,000 12.7 58
company assets) are to be considered: tax and book depre- Machine 2 1265 6.0 2000 21,000 12.7 65
ciation. Tax depreciation methods consists of a systematic Machine 3 680 3.5 900 24,000 8.0 50
mechanism to reduce the capital asset value over time. Be- Machine 4 650 5.2 1600 22,000 12.0 62
Machine 5 580 3.5 1050 25,000 12.0 62
ing depreciation tax-deductible, companies usually seek to
depreciate in the shortest period of time possible, usually
Table 30.10 Preference functions
determined by the country tax code where the company
operates. Careful consideration of tax depreciation is due Preference
function
when comparing product-specific automation for reconfig-
Criteria type Thresholds
urable systems for cases when the projected product life is q p s
shorter than the tax law depreciation life. In this scenario, Price Level 600 800 –
product-specific systems can be sold and the remaining tax Weight Gaussian – – 4
depreciation would be lost. Alternatively, the reconfigurable Power Level 800 1200 –
system would be decommissioned and kept by the company Spindle Level 20,000 23,000 –
until fully depreciated and then sold. Due to its reconfigura- Diameter Gaussian – – 6
bility, the automation project usually will no shorter than tax Stroke V-shape – 50 –
depreciation period. Tax depreciation terms depend on local q: Indifference threshold (the largest deviation to consider as negligible
tax and accounting conventions disregarding the equipment on that criterion)
operation. Book depreciation schedules are predictions of the p: Preference threshold (the smallest deviation to consider decisive in
the preference of one alternative over another)
equipment realizable salvage value at the end of its useful
s: Gaussian threshold (only used with the Gaussian preference func-
life. Realizable salvage value can be determined based on the tion)
internal asset value for the organization (given its usability
in alternative projects) or by the asset value in the salvage
market. Redeploying automation equipment within the same materials, if usable. Alternatively, if the system is based
company usually results in higher profit values than selling on known modular and reusable components, its value
to third parties. may result comparable to new components. The reusable
Product-specific automation equipment usually has value automation resources inventory of a company will enable
for potential salvage buyers because of its key system it to quickly redeploy such resources into new systems,
components. Custom product and process tooling will have improving its time to market and equipment profitability,
no value for equipment resellers, reducing the salvage to raw among other positive impacts [53].
696 J. A. Ceroni

Table 30.11 PROMETHEE flows

Alternatives Φ+ Φ− Φ
Criterion 3
Machine 1 0.0199 0.0139 0.0061
Machine 2 0.0553 0.0480 0.0073 Machine 3
Machine 1
Machine 3 0.0192 0.0810 −0.0618 Machine 2
Criterion 4
Machine 4 0.0298 0.0130 0.0168
Machine 5 0.0478 0.0163 0.0315 Criterion 2
Machine 5

Machine 4
1 Criterion 6
p
Machine 5 Criterion 5
Φ+ 0.05 Criterion 1
Φ– 0.02

Fig. 30.11 GAIA decision plane

2 4 5
Machine 4 Machine 1 Machine 3
Φ+ 0.03 Φ+ 0.02 Φ+ 0.02
Φ– 0.01 Φ– 0.01 Φ– 0.08
providing the traditional economic rationalization method-
ology, strategical considerations are included plus a dis-
cussion on current trends of automation systems towards
3
agility and reconfigurability. These last two aspects of mod-
Machine 2 ern automation systems should be considered altogether with
Φ+ 0.06 the already established collaboration environment present in
Φ– 0.05 modern production and automation systems [21, 22, 28, 50,
57]. Higher focus on extremely complex technical processes
has led production of goods and services into collaborative
Fig. 30.9 PROMETHEE I partial ranking efforts. Therefore, collaboration necessarily should be taken
into account in modern automation economical evaluation.
Quality of service (QoS) is also an important part of the
1 3 5 rationalization efforts of automation projects since it ensures
Machine 5 Machine 2 Machine 3 that automation benefits will be reached in a sustainable
Φ 0.03 Φ 0.01 Φ –0.06 manner [4, 58]. This benefit from QoS also has impact at
strategical level since it establishes organizational guidelines
and policies for achieving automation sustainability, for ex-
2 4
ample, through reconfigurability of automation alternative
Machine 4 Machine 1
projects. Evaluation methods are finally complemented with
Φ 0.02 Φ 0.01
the analytical hierarchy process for covering those situations
where selection criteria are not only economical but consider
other aspects, sometimes conflicting among them.
Fig. 30.10 PROMETHEE II complete ranking

30.5 Conclusions 30.6 Recommended Additional Reading

Although computation of economic performance indicators
for automation projects is often straightforward, rational-
ization of automation technology is fraught with difficulty
and many opportunities for long-term improvements are lost
because purely economic evaluation apparently showed no
direct economic benefit. Modern methods, taking into ac-
count risks involved in technology implementation or com-
parison of complex projects, are emerging to avoid such
high-impact mistakes [54–56]. In this chapter, in addition to
Readers interested in more detailed published material may
look for the following references:
Production Economics, Evaluating Costs of Operations in
Manufacturing and Service Industries, Anoop Desai, Aashi
Mital, June 11, 2018, CRC Press ISBN 9781138033269
The Digital Shopfloor: Industrial Automation in the In-
dustry 4.0 Era, Editors: Soldatos, John, Lazaro, Oscar, Cava-
dini, Franco, 2019, River Publishers Series in Automation,
Control and Robotics, ISSBN 9788770220415
30 Economic Rationalization of Automation Projects and Quality of Service 697

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Knut, 2003, Fagbokforlaget Ed., ISSBN 8251918405 tools for next-generation maintenance systems. In: Proceedings of
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member of IFAC and IEEE.
 Reliability, Maintainability, Safety,
and Sustainability 31
Elsayed A. Elsayed

Contents safety are also discussed. The reliability metrics are then
31.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 699
extended to include the impact of the system’s failure
due to external hazards on its performance by introducing
31.2 Reliability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 700
resilience measures. The ability of the system to “absorb”
31.2.1 Non-repairable Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 700
31.2.2 Repairable Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 702 the impact of the hazards and the ability to quickly recover
to its normal performance level are captured in the quan-
31.3 Maintainability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 703
tification of its resilience.
31.4 Safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 705
31.4.1 Fault-Tree Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 705
31.4.2 Failure Modes and Effects Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 706
31.5 Resilience . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 707 Keywords
31.5.1 Definition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 707
31.5.2 Resilience Quantification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 708 Reliability of manufacturing systems · Availability ·
31.6 Reliability, Maintainability, Safety, and Resilience
Maintainability · Safety · Resilience quantification ·
(RMSR) Engineering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 709 Burn-in testing · Accelerated life testing · Degradation
31.6.1 Resilience Quantifications of Supply modeling
Chain Network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 710
31.6.2 Degradation Modeling in Manufacturing Systems . . . . . 710
31.6.3 Product Reliability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 712
31.7 Conclusion and Future Trends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 714
31.1 Introduction
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 714

The continuous and accelerated rate of developments of new

Abstract
This chapter presents modeling and analysis of the relia-
bility, maintainability, safety, and resilience of manufac-
turing and automation systems and its elements. It serves
as a guide during the design and operation of highly “reli-
able” automation systems. It discusses reliability metrics
for both non-repairable and repairable systems. The main-
tainability of the system and methods for its improvements
are presented. The reliability and safety of the systems
are intertwined and approaches for the minimization of
the effect of system failures on its production output and
E. A. Elsayed ()
Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, Rutgers
University, Piscataway, NJ, USA
e-mail: elsayed@soe.rutgers.edu
materials, manufacturing processes, sensors, data acquisition
systems, and software with extensive capabilities have re-
sulted in the introduction of many new products, monitor-
ing and control systems, and system automation of many
processes and their functions. One of the most important
characteristics of these products and systems is its safety and
reliability. Assessing and ensuring the safety and reliability
of such complex systems is challenging, and it requires
expertise of multidisciplinary teams. In addition, the increase
in cyber threats and natural hazards such as hurricanes, earth-
quakes, fires, and floods have extended the system reliability
concept to include system resilience. Automation systems are
complex systems that require the integration of machines,
sensors, control, software, and safety to provide high relia-
bility and uninterrupted functions over its design life. This
chapter provides definitions and methods for estimating and
improving systems’ reliability, availability, maintainability,
safety, and resilience.

© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 699

S. Y. Nof (ed.), Springer Handbook of Automation, Springer Handbooks,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-96729-1_31
700 E. A. Elsayed

31.2 Reliability

The generic reliability term is used loosely to imply the

durability of components, units, or systems. It also implies

Failure rate, h(t)

their expected operational life, availability for use and their
remaining useful lives. However, it is important to quantify
“reliability” so proper actions for improvements can be taken.
Therefore, we classify systems (components, subsystems, 1 2 3
units) as either non-repairable or repairable. Each has differ-
Early life Constant failure Wear out
ent reliability metrics and methods for their estimation. Ex- region rate region region
amples of non-repairable systems include satellites, missiles,
rockets, and disposable products. Examples of repairable T1 T2

systems include: power-distribution network, automation and Time

manufacturing systems, automotives, planes, and most house
appliances. This section introduces definitions and quantifi- Fig. 31.1 Failure rate regions
cation of the reliability metrics of both systems.

product as in the case of most of the rotating (or sliding)

31.2.1 Non-repairable Systems mechanical components such as shafts, brake systems, and
bearings.
The formal definition of reliability of non-repairable system The reliability of a product or system is estimated based
is the probability that a system, subsystem, component, prod- on its failure rate function which is often expressed by a
uct operates properly for a specified period under design con- probability density function (p.d.f.). This is demonstrated
ditions without failure. It is a metric of the product (system) by considering Region 2 where the failure rate (used
performance [1]. The reliability is therefore a monotonically interchangeably with hazard rate) is constant and is
decreasing function of time and systems (products) are con- expressed as
sidered operating properly until failures occur or when the
reliability reaches an unacceptable specified threshold [1]. h(t) = λ (31.1)
Therefore, the failure-time distributions of the system (and
its components) are important for estimating the system’s where h(t) is the hazard rate function at time t. Since the
reliability. These distributions are obtained through relia- failure rate is constant then the failure times are exponentially
bility testing, failure observations in the field, engineering distributed p.d.f., f (t), given by
experience of similar components, and reliability information
references. The characteristics of the distribution are based f (t) = λe−λt (31.2)
on the components’ failure rate, which is defined as “the
probability that a failure per unit time occurs in a small The probability of failure at time t, F(t) (or cumulative
interval of time given that no failure has occurred prior to distribution function, CDF), is
the beginning of the interval” [1]. In general, the failure rate  t
of a product, piece of equipment, or a system, exhibits the F(t) = f (τ ) dτ (31.3)
well-known bathtub curve shown in Fig. 31.1. The limit of 0
the failure rate as time approaches zero is referred to as
The reliability, probability of survival at time t, is then
the hazard rate. The hazard rate and failure rate are used
obtained as
interchangeably in the reliability engineering field.
There are three failure rate regions as shown in Fig. 31.1.  t
Region 1 is the early life region where the failure rate R(t) = 1 − F(t) = 1 − f (τ ) dτ (31.4)
0
starts with a high value attributed to poor assembly, material
defects, manufacturing defects, design blunders, and others. Dividing Eq. (31.2) by Eq. (31.3) results in
The manufacturers attempt to “weed out” such early failures
before the release of the product or the system. It is followed f (t) λe−λt
by Region 2 where the failure rate is constant and occurs = −λt = λ = hazard rate (31.5)
R(t) e
randomly during the period T1 − T2 which is common for
most of the electronic products. In Region 3, the failure rate Equations (31.3), (31.4), and (31.5) are the key equations
increases with time due to wear out and degradation of the for the reliability modeling.
31 Reliability, Maintainability, Safety, and Sustainability 701

Back to Fig. 31.1, the hazard rates in Regions 1 and

3 are decreasing and increasing, respectively. One of the 1 g = 0.6
most commonly used expression in practice for modeling g =1
0.8
the hazard function (decreasing or increasing) under this
g = 2.2 31

Reliability
condition is expressed as 0.6
g = 3.2
γ  t γ −1 0.4
h(t) = . (31.6)
θ θ 0.2

This model is referred to as the Weibull Model, and its 0

0 2000 4000 6000 8000 10000
probability density function of the failure-time distribution,
Time
f (t), is given as

γ  t γ −1 −( t )γ Fig. 31.3 The reliability function for different γ and θ = 5000

f (t) = e θ t > 0, (31.7)
θ θ

where θ and γ are positive and are referred to as the char-
acteristic life and the shape parameter of the distribution,
respectively. When γ = 1 this f (t) becomes an exponential
density. When γ = 2 the density function becomes a Rayleigh
distribution (linearly increasing failure rate). Figure 31.2
shows the p.d.f. of the Weibull model for different values of
the shape parameter γ .
Other models may be used to describe the failure rate as a
function of the operating conditions (temperature, humidity,
vibration, shocks, impact loads, volt, current, and others).
A clear understanding of the failure mechanism and failure
modes are key to obtain accurate estimates of the unit’s
reliability function. For example, the reliability function of
the Weibull model in Fig. 31.2 is obtained using Eq. (31.4)
The parameters of the reliability function are obtained
using failure-time data obtained through actual reliability
testing, field data, historical data, or other data sources. The
data are then analyzed using reliability software, mean rank
or median rank models, or probability-distribution fitting
approaches [1].
In addition to the failure rate and reliability function,
the reliability metrics of non-repairable systems include the
mean time to failure (MTTF), time to first failure (TTFF),
and mean residual life (MRL). They are estimated using Eqs.
(31.3), (31.6), and (31.8) and are expressed as
 ∞
MTTF = R(t) dt. (31.9)
0

and is expressed as given in Eq. (31.8). The corresponding

Alternatively, it can be obtained as
reliability graphs are shown in Fig. 31.3.
 ∞

R(t) = e −( θt )
γ
(31.8) MTTF = t f (t) dt
0

For the Weibull model

In Fig. 31.3, reliability decreases rapidly as the shape  
parameter increases. 1
MTTF = θ  1 +
γ

where (.) is the incomplete gamma function and its value

0.0005 can be obtained from gamma tables or by using software such
g = 0.6 as Matlab© .
0.0004 g = 3.2
Probability density

g=1 The TTFF is commonly used for one-shot products such

0.0003 g = 2.2 as airbags, missiles, and disposable medical devices. When a
0.0002
batch of products is released for actual use, the producers are
interested in estimating the time for the first failure from this
0.0001 batch (it is important for recalls of the product or estimating
0 warranty length). Assume a batch of N units is produced and
0 2000 4000 6000 8000 10000 that the failure time distribution is exponential with p.d.f. for
Time
a single unit given by Eq. (31.2), where 1/λ is the design life
of the units. The probability that the first failure occurs in
Fig. 31.2 Weibull density function for different γ and θ = 5000 [t, t + dt] is f1 (t):
702 E. A. Elsayed

 ∞ N−1 In other words,

f1 (t) = Nf (t) f (τ ) dτ
t
Rs (t) = R1 (t) × R2 (t) × · · · × Rn (t) and the system’s
In other words, it is the probability that a unit fails in n 

[t, t + dt] and N − 1 units fail in [t, ∞]. Other characteristics MTTF = 1/ λi .
can then be obtained based on the above expression. Other i
reliability metrics include the mean residual life (MRL),
defined as Similarly, when n components are configured in parallel,
then the system’s reliability is Rs (t) = 1 − (1 − R1 (t))(1 − R2
L(t) = E [T − t|T ≥ t] , t ≥ 0. (31.10) (t)) . . . (1 − Rn (t)) and the system’s MTTF is obtained using
Eq. (31.9) which results in
Indeed, the mean residual life function is the expected
remaining life, T − t, given that the product, component, or
n
1

n−1 n
1

n−2
n−1
n
MTTF = − +
a system has survived to time t [2]. It is expressed as λ
i=1 i
λ + λj
i=1 j=i+1 i i=1 j=i+1 k=j+1
 ∞ 1 1
1 − · · · + (−1)n+1 n
L(t) = τ f (τ ) dτ − t
R(t)
t λi
System Configurations
Systems are composed of subsystems and components that
are configured to perform required functions. The failure
rates of the components and their configuration in the sys-
tem are considered simultaneously in estimating the overall
system reliability metrics. The system configuration has a
major impact on its reliability. The configuration of the
system refers to the arrangement and interconnection among
its components to provide the desired function of the system
while meeting the required reliability metrics. The most
common and simplest configuration is connecting the com-
ponents to form a series system. The components may also
be arranged in parallel to provide redundancy and improve
system reliability. Configurations that combine both series
and parallel arrangements are common in series-parallel and
parallel series arrangements. In complex configurations, the
components are arranged to form a network with multiple
path between nodes (components) to perform the desired
function and topology of the network such as the case of elec-
tric power distribution networks and telecommunication net-
works. There are other special configurations such as gamma
networks and k-out-of-n (where a minimum of k components
out of a total n components must operate properly for the
system to perform its function). Once the system is config-
ured, its reliability needs to be evaluated and compared with
the expected reliability metric of the system. If it does not
meet the requirements, the system is redesigned by changing
its configuration, selecting components with different failure
rates or combinations of both until the system achieves its
reliability goals. This is illustrated for the two most common
configurations: the series and the parallel systems as follows.
Consider a series system consisting of n components each
has a constant failure rate λi for component i. The reliability
of each component is Ri (t) = e−λi t and the system relia-
bility, (Rs (t), is the product of the components’ reliabilities.
(31.11) 
λi + λj + λk
i=1
Of course, many systems are configured as networks
and the estimation of its reliability becomes more complex
especially when the there are many components (nodes) and
links in the network. Methods for estimating the reliability
metrics of such complex structures are presented [1, 3, 4].
31.2.2 Repairable Systems
Repairable systems are those systems that are repaired upon
failure, such as power distribution networks, communica-
tion networks, computers, airplanes, automobiles, and most
household appliances. The reliability metric of such systems
is its availability which is defined as “the probability that
the system is available for use when requested” [1]. It is
important to note that availability is one of the key reliability
metrics of repairable systems. There are variant definitions of
availability; they include instantaneous availability, steady-
state availability, mission availability, achieved availability,
and others.
Failures and repairs have a major impact on the system
availability. Therefore, the availability estimation includes
both the failure and repair rates of the system. There are sev-
eral approaches for availability estimation such as simulation
modeling of the system failure and repairs, the alternating
renewal process, and the Markov process model. The Markov
process is commonly used under the assumption that both
the failure and repair rates are constant, that is, the failure
time and the repair time follow exponential distributions.
Both the instantaneous and steady-state availabilities are
obtained by defining all of the mutually exclusive states of the
system and deriving its state transition equations (from one
state to another) which are then solved simultaneously. The
availability is then estimated by summing the probabilities of
31 Reliability, Maintainability, Safety, and Sustainability
the system being in a working state (up). This is illustrated as
follows.
∞the−stcorresponding density functions, that is, f (s) =
Consider a component that exhibits a constant failure
rate, λ. When the component fails, it is repaired with a
constant repair rate, μ. We define two mutually exclusive
states for the component: State s0 represents the working state
of the component, and State s1 represents the nonworking
state of the component. Let Pi (t) be the probability that the
component is in State i at time t and Ṗi (t) is its derivative with
time. The state-transition equations of the component are
dP0 (t)
= Ṗ0 (t) = −λP0 (t) + μP1 (t)
dt
dP1 (t)
= Ṗ1 (t) = −μP1 (t) + λP0 (t).
dt
Solutions of these equations results in the estimation of
the instantaneous availability of the component as
μ λ
P0 (t) = + e−(λ+μ)t
λ+μ λ+μ
The steady-state availability is obtained by taking the
limits of Eq. (31.14) as t → ∞
μ m∗ (s) =
A(t → ∞) =
λ+μ
t number of failures in the interval (0, tp ) is
Based on Eq. (31.15), a general steady-state availability of
systems (units or components) is
MTBF
A(t → ∞) =
MTTBF + MTTR
where MTBF and MTTR are the mean time between failures
and the mean time to repairs, respectively.
Markov model is inapplicable when the failure rate and/or
repair rate are time dependent and the alternating renewal
process becomes an alternative approach for estimating the
availability of systems. This process is briefly described as
follows: consider a repairable system that has a failure-time
distribution with a probability density function, w(t), and a
repair-time distribution with a probability-density function,
g(t). When the system fails, it is repaired and restored to its
initial working condition (repair may occur immediately or
after a delay). This process of failure and repair is repeated
[1]. We refer to this process as an alternating-renewal pro-
cess. We define, f (t), as the density function of the renewal
process, and it is the convolution of w and g. In other words,
f ∗ (s) = w∗ (s)g∗ (s),
703
where f∗ (s) = w∗ (s), and g∗ (s) are the Laplace transforms
∗
of
0 e f (t)dt. It is shown in [1] that the Laplace transform
of the system availability is expressed as
31
∗
1 − w (s)
A∗ (s) = . (31.18)
s [1 − w∗ (s)g∗ (s)]
The Laplace inverse of A∗ (s) results in obtaining the
instantaneous availability, A(t). Often, a closed-form expres-
sion of the inverse of A∗ (s) is difficult to obtain and numerical
solutions or approximations become the only alternatives for
(31.12)
obtaining A(t). The steady-state availability, A, is
A = lim A(t) = lim s A∗ (s) (31.19)
t→∞ s→0
(31.13) The alternating renewal process is a general approach
for obtaining the system availability by simply substituting
the Laplace transforms of both the p.d.f. of the failure time
and repair-time distributions in Eq. (31.18). The steady-
state availability is also obtained by using Eq. (31.19), and
the expected number of renewals during time period tp is
(31.14)
estimated by obtaining the inverse of the renewal density
expressed in terms of w∗ (s) and g∗ (s) then integrating the
inverse between 0 and tp . The renewal density is
w∗ (s) g∗ (s)
(31.15) 1 − w∗ (s) g∗ (s)
The
 expected
M tp = 0 tp m(t) dt. This can be obtained numerically [5]
or using closed form expressions.
The second important reliability metrics of the repairable
systems is the mean time between failures which is ob-
(31.16)
tained as follows: consider the alternating-renewal process,
the time to failure is the result of the failure-time density
function w(t), and the system goes under repair for a pe-
riod based on the probability-density function of the repair
time distribution g(t). Once repaired, the system resumes its
function until it fails; it is then repaired, and the cycle is
repeated. The mean time between failures is the expected
length of time that includes the failure time and repaired time;
MTBF = MTTF + MTTR.
31.3 Maintainability
Maintainability is applicable for repairable systems. It is
defined as the probability of performing a successful repair
action within a given time under normal operating condition
of the unit under repair. In other words, maintainability
is a measure of the ease with which a device or system
(31.17) can be repaired or modified to correct and prevent faults,
704
anticipate degradation, improve performance, or adapt to a
changed environment. Beyond simple physical accessibility,
it is the ability to reach a component to perform the required
maintenance task: maintainability should be described [6]
as the characteristic of material design and installation that
determines the requirements for maintenance expenditures,
including time, manpower, personnel skill, test equipment,
technical data, and facilities, to accomplish operational ob-
jectives in the user’s operational environment.
Mathematically, we express maintainability, M(t), as the
probability of repairing the failed unit before an elapsed
repair time, t, assuming a repair rate, μ(t), and is expressed
as
t
M(t) = 1 − e− 0 μ(τ )dτ (31.20)
When μ(t) is constant with rate μ, then
t
M(t) = 1 − e− 0 μdt
= 1 − e−μt (31.21)
It is important to note that there are different inspection
and maintenance approaches that are utilized to improve the
overall system’s availability. They include corrective main-
tenance (CM) or failure replacement where maintenance and
repair are performed when failures occur. This is common for
components that exhibit constant failure rates and do not have
degradation indicators to monitor their performance such
as the controllers’ circuit boards and display monitors for
examples. This type of maintenance might cause significant
down time of the manufacturing equipment and interruptions
of the production output. In this situation, analysis of the
historical failure data of such units becomes necessary for
estimating the number of spares for the components, in-
spection strategies, and redundancies of critical components.
The second maintenance approach is preventive maintenance
(PM), which is applicable when the system exhibits increas-
ing failure rate (Region 3 in Fig. 31.1). Thus, in an automation
environment, PM is performed at prescheduled times that
minimize the downtime of the equipment and machines or
minimizes its cost. Parts and components that may utilize PM
include rotating and sliding components and cutting tools. On
the other hand, PM does not improve the availability of units
that exhibit constant failure rate (Region 2) due to the memo-
ryless property of the exponential distribution. In this region,
we perform failure replacement (replace or maintain the unit
only when it fails). The optimal time interval for performing
PM is obtained by minimizing system downtime or cost.
The advances in sensors technology, image analysis, data
acquisition, and data analysis gave rise to the development
of dynamic maintenance and self-maintenance systems. Lee
et al. [7] refer to the former as condition-based mainte-
nance (CBM) or predictive maintenance and the latter as
prescriptive maintenance. CBM is only suitable when there
is a degradation indicator for the units or components being
E. A. Elsayed
monitored. The degradation measurements are continuously
observed, and the degradation path (relationship between the
“amount” of degradation and time) is updated when new
observations are obtained and the reliability is estimated
accordingly, as described later in this chapter. Thus, main-
tenance and/or replacement decisions are made based on a
predefined threshold of the degradation level. The threshold
level may be obtained based on physics-of-failure (PoF)
approach or statistics approach. Accurate determination of
the threshold level is important since a low level of the
threshold results in more frequent maintenance (higher cost
and less system availability), whereas a high threshold level
results in potential failures of the system before it reaches the
threshold causing system’s unavailability.
On the other hand prescriptive maintenance extends CBM
beyond failure prediction and maintenance decisions, it al-
lows the units (machines) to carry out their own decisions
based on machine learning, for example, and on-line analysis
of historical observations. It integrates inputs from sensors,
historical data, and current data to carry out its own mainte-
nance actions when possible.
In general, in automation environment, sensors can be
widely implemented for units that exhibit degradation and
can be continuously monitored to obtain accurate predictions
of the time when the degradation reaches a specified thresh-
old level for maintenance and repair.
Integrating these maintenance approaches leads to
e-Maintenance which is an organizational point of view
of maintenance. Morel et al. [6] state that “The concept of
e-Maintenance comes from remote maintenance capabilities
coupled with information and communication capabilities.
Remote maintenance was first a concept of remote data
acquisition or consultation. Data are accessible during a
limited time. In order to realize e-Maintenance objectives
data storage must be organized to allow flexible access to
historical data.”
In order to improve remote maintenance, a new concept
of e-Maintenance emerged at the end of the 1990s. “The
e-Maintenance concept integrates cooperation, collaboration,
and knowledge-sharing capabilities in order to evolve the
existing maintenance processes and to try to tend towards
new enterprise concepts: extended enterprise, supply-chain
management, lean maintenance, distributed support and ex-
pert centers, etc.” (Morel et al. [6]). Recent advances in
computation, data storage capacity, ease of access to histor-
ical data, and data exploration methods such as data mining
and machine learning have accelerated the e-maintenance
implementations.
Morel et al. [6] also state that “e-Maintenance is not
based on software functions but on maintenance services that
are well-defined, self- contained, and do not depend on the
context or state of other services. So, with the advent of
service-oriented architectures (SOA) and enterprise service-
31 Reliability, Maintainability, Safety, and Sustainability
bus technologies [8], e-Maintenance platforms are easy to
evolve and can provide interoperability, flexibility, adaptabil-
ity, and agility. e-Maintenance platforms are a kind of hub
for maintenance services based on existing, new, and future
applications.”
31.4 Safety
In general, systems, equipment, and machines experience
failures, which might cause minor or major interruptions
of its functions and/or catastrophic failures that result in
injuries or deaths. Therefore, understanding the physics of
failures, potential failure modes, and effect of the failures on
the operator, machines and products provide the designers
of manufacturing and automation systems with important
information for designing fail-safe systems. Moreover, iden-
tifying potential failure modes and their causes results in
determining the critical components and subsystems and
implementation of approaches that minimize such failures
(or potential accidents). As presented in the maintainability
section, the availability of a wide range of sensors and on-
board control systems makes it possible to design effective
and safe systems. There are many approaches that can be used
to determine the criticality of systems’ components. Among
them are the well-known importance measures commonly
used to quantify the importance of components in terms of
their effect on the system’s reliability [9, 10].
These measures do not necessarily address systems’ safety
due to failures of its component. However, there are two
commonly used approaches to design safety into systems.
They include Fault Tree Analysis [11] and Failure Mode
and Effects Analysis (FMEA). FTA is widely used and is a
requirement safety analysis of critical systems such as nu-
clear power generation, medical equipment such as comput-
erized tomography scan (CAT Scan), aerospace industries,
and chemical plants. The main objective of FTA is identify
the critical components of the system whose failure may
result in “unsafe” outcome. Therefore, FTA is conducted
using a graphical presentation of the events and components
or causes that result in the occurrences of the events. It starts
by defining the top event in the tree (undesired event such as
radiation leak in a nuclear energy generation) and all potential
causes that may lead to the occurrence of this event are
identified. The next level of the tree uses the events or causes
of the previous level and identifies the events, components
failures and conditions that cause these events. The process
continues until the all-potential events and their causes at all
levels are identified. The probabilities of the occurrence of
events are estimated upward (from the lowest level of the
fault tree) until the probability of the top event is estimated.
Actions are then taken to reduce this probability as described
below.
705
FTA considers the probability of event occurrence but
does not consider the severity of the event in terms of
losses and associated risk. Therefore, Failure Mode and
Effects Analysis (FMEA) is conducted in parallel to assign
“weights” to the events (in addition to their probabilities). 31
FMEA is a method for evaluating a process, a system, or
a product to estimate the severity of the failures and their
associated risk, that is, it considers both the frequency of
failures (obtained from reliability modeling and failure time
distribution) and the severity of the failure in terms of safety
and other losses. As the acronym implies, it also deals with
identifying the failure modes and their effect as discussed
next.
31.4.1 Fault-Tree Analysis
Construction of the fault tree is a logical process. It is usually
constructed by a team of experts and professionals in the
field of the subject to be analyzed. As stated earlier, the
top event is clearly identified and logical gates and events
are used to construct the tree. The most common gates are
AND and OR gates [12]. Some gates could be conditional
or dependent on others. In automation and manufacturing
system, a top event such as system fails to produce items as
specified or a manufacturing cell does not start. This event
could be attributed to either hardware or software failures.
Then we explore each type of failures to the lowest level
of the tree and inserting the proper logical gates for every
event. In complex systems, it suggested that they should be
decomposed to subsystems and each has its own FTA then
the probability of the system top event is obtained using the
probabilities of the top events of each subsystem and the
associated logical gates.
For example, a system consists of three components con-
nected in series fails (an undesired event occurs) due to the
failure of the first OR the second OR the third component. In
this case, the logic gate is an OR gate and is represented by
the symbol shown in Fig. 31.4a; the events are the failures of
the components 1, 2, and 3. Likewise, in a system composed
of three components in parallel, the system fails (undesired
event) when the first AND, the second AND, and the third
component fail. In this case, the logic gate is an AND gate
and is represented by the symbol shown in Fig. 31.4b. Fault-
tree diagrams of three-component series and parallel systems
are shown in Fig. 31.4c.
More logical gates and their functions are provided in
[13]. The probability of the occurrence of an event in the
fault-tree diagram is then calculated using probability laws
as exemplified for Fig. 31.5.
We utilize Eqs. (31.22) and (31.23) to obtain the probabil-
ity of events occurring as a result of AND or OR gates.
706 E. A. Elsayed

a) b)

c)
OR AND

Component 1 Component 2 Component 3 Component 1 Component 2 Component 3

Series system Parallel system

Fig. 31.4 OR and AND gates

where ∧ and ∨ are the AND and OR Boolean operators,

respectively. Therefore,
Top

P(E1) = P(A1 ∧ A2) = P(A1)P(A2)

P(E2) = P(B1 ∨ B2) = P(B1) + P(B2) − P(B1B2)

E1 E2 Thus P(Top) = P(E1 ∨ E2) = P(E1) + P(E2) − P(E1E2).

Other gates may have conditional probabilities and Bayes’
theorem and rule of total probability may be applied.
When the top event represents different undesired safety
events an individual fault-tree diagram for each event is
A1 A2 B1 B2
constructed to ensure that all of the potential safety haz-
ards are investigated and addressed during the design of
the system. It is important to conduct FTA on regular basis
Fig. 31.5 Fault-tree diagram since the reliability and degradation of the components may
introduce new undesired safety concerns. Moreover, updates
of software, hardware, design changes, and the addition of
The probability of either Event A or B occurring (assuming new equipment may cause other top events to occur.
independence) is expressed as

P(A ∨ B) = P(A) + P(B) − P(AB) (31.22) 31.4.2 Failure Modes and Effects Analysis

FMEA is a method for evaluating a process, a system, or a

The probability of Event A and Event B occurring assum-
product to identify potential failures and assess their impacts
ing independence is
on the overall performance and safety of the system in order
to identify the critical components. FMEA methods have
P (A∧) B) = P(A)P(B) (31.23) three general steps [1].
31 Reliability, Maintainability, Safety, and Sustainability 707

Step 1: FMEA begins by identifying all potential failures and
failure modes of the process, product, and system under
consideration as discussed in the FTA process. These
failures are usually based on historical data such as repair
and warranty data and/or based on the input of experts
and professionals in the system being studied. This step
should be conducted regularly since new failure modes
may occur.
Step 2: This is a quantification step of the failures (frequency
and severity). Weights are assigned to the probability of
the failure occurrence (based on failure time distribution
or the degradation path of the unit as discussed later in
this chapter). Weights are also assigned to the severity of
the failure and its impact on the process (it may cause
interruptions of the process for a long time or may cause
interruptions for short durations). Finally, probability es-
timates for the detection of the failure are obtained. This
quantification step requires extensive discussions with
Subject Matter Experts (SME) and several iterations be-
fore reaching these weights.
Step 3: Assign a score value on a 1–10 scale for the three
attributes in Step 2 and multiply the three scores to obtain
a Risk Priority Number (RPN). This RPN is used to assign
priorities for component improvements, monitoring, and
repair [1].
loss) which is generally understood as system robustness.
The system’s ability to adapt to the degraded environment
and still maintain (at least partially) its functionality is inter-
preted as system’s adaptive ability. As stated earlier, systems
are classified as non-repairable and repairable. The resilience 31
of a non-repairable system is the ability of the system to
absorb the impact of the hazard while its normal perfor-
mance does not fall below the non-functional level of the
system. Whereas the resilience of the repairable systems, in
addition to its ability to degrade slowly to the unacceptable
performance level, is the ability to recover to its normal
performance level in a short time. These are explained further
in Fig. 31.6. Like reliability, which assumes values between
0 and 1 inclusive, resilience needs to be quantified in order to
assess the proper counter measures against the hazards during
the design and operation phases of the system.
P(th)
a)
Performance measure

31.5 Resilience
P(td)
Using the methods presented in the previous sections and
the reliability metrics such as reliability, mean time to failure
(MTTF), and failure rate, the system designers gain insights
into the inherent failures of the systems and make appro-
t0 th td
priate decisions that result in improvements of the system’s
Time
reliability, safety, and performance. Apart from the inher-
ent failures, unexpected natural and manmade hazards (e.g.,
b)
earthquakes, hurricanes, flood, physical-attacks, and cyber- P(th)
attacks) account for a large proportion of the interruption of
systems’ expected performance. Indeed, severe hazards may
Performance measure

render repairable systems to be non-repairable such as in the

case of the triple meltdown at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear P(tr)
reactor in Japan in 2012 and Chernobyl nuclear power plant
in the Ukraine in 1986. Therefore, systems need to extend
P(td)
the reliability metrics to include its resilience (a measure of
a system’s ability to absorb the hazards effects and resume
operation at a desired level in a short time).

t0 th td tr

31.5.1 Definition Time

Resilience is defined as the system’s ability to minimize Fig. 31.6 Schematic diagram of the system performance behavior for
the negative impact of the hazards (e.g., system-performance non-repairable systems (a) and repairable systems (b)
708
31.5.2 Resilience Quantification
Figure 31.6 illustrates system’s resilience behavior. We de-
note P(t) as the system performance at time, t. A system
operates with steady-state system performance (under inher-
ent failures) P(t0 ) from time t0 until the occurrence of the
hazard at time th . For a non-repairable system, the system
performance deteriorates to level P(td ) at time td . The level
of deterioration of the system performance and the time
elapses to reach this level are indicatives of the system’s
E. A. Elsayed
where 2 (tn ) is the resilience of the system at time tn .
Note, we normalize the time period (td , tr )such that td = 0
and tr = 1. Resilience during this period reflects the
average rate of the system performance improvements
with time.
Combining Eqs. (31.24) and (31.25), the resilience of
repairable systems at time instant t can then be written as
shown in Eq. (31.26).
⎧
resilience. The higher the level of P(td ), and the longer the ⎪ 
n
⎪
⎪ 1+ 1 P(ti )−P(ti−1 )
th ≤ t < td
time td , the more resilient the system. For a repairable system, ⎪
⎨ n
i=1
ti −ti−1

the maintenance and recovery actions start the restorations (tn ) =

⎪
⎪ 
until the system reaches a desired performance level P(tr ) ⎪
⎪
n
P(ti )−P(ti−1 )
⎩ 1 (td ) + 1
n ti −ti−1
td < t = tr
at time, tr , where we assume without loss of generality that i=1
P(tr ) ≤ P(t0 ). Higher levels of P(tr ) in a shorter time of tr are (31.26)
indicatives of the resilience of the repairable system.
As shown in Fig. 31.6b, the resilience curve generally A highly resilient system should exhibit low performance
includes two segments: Segment 1 starts from th when the degradation rate, that is, it is expected to take a long time to
hazards occur to the unacceptable performance inflection reach the unacceptable performance level P(td ) in Segment 1
time td . This segment represents the period when no recovery and a short time period to reach an acceptable performance
action is taken and the systems sustain the impact of the level during its recovery in Segment 2.
hazard. Segment 2 starts from time, td , to the current recovery We further derive the overall system resilience s (tn ) as
time, tr . Considering that under most circumstances, system the integral of the two segments over their corresponding
performance data are presented in discrete time instants, we time periods, Eq. (31.27). Considering the computational
denote, ti , as the ith time unit (say, day, hour, etc.) after the efficiency and the difficulty in obtaining an explicit form of
hazard’s occurrence. The explicit form of each segment of the resilience curve, the integral operation in Eq. (31.27) can
the resilience curve is developed as follows [14]: be replaced by the summation of the discrete times of the
integration range.
• For period (th , td ), i.e., Segment 1 (Eq. (31.24)):
s (tn ) =
1
P(ti ) − P(ti−1 )
n ⎧
1 (tn ) = 1 + th ≤ t < td ⎪
tn 1  P(ti )−P(ti−1 )
n
n ti − ti−1 ⎪
⎨ th 1 + n dti th < tn < td
ti −ti−1
i=1 i=1
(31.24) ⎪
td
tn 1  P(ti )−P(ti−1 )
n
⎪
⎩ th 1 (ti ) dti + td n dti td < tn = tr
ti −ti−1
i=1
where 1 (tn ) is the resilience of the system at time tn . Note (31.27)
that in Eq. (31.24), the time, ti , needs to be normalized
w.r.t. period (th , td ) such that th = 0 and td = 1 after Analogous to the average failure rate (AFR) in the reli-
the normalization. In essence, the resilience considers the ability engineering, the average resilience can be used as an
weighted performance decrement per unit time during this effective measure for comparing the resilience of two systems
time period. Clearly, this rate is not necessarily constant, over a period T as shown in Eq. (31.28)
and the average of the performance decrement rate until
time, t, is adopted as presented in Eq. (31.24). Since s (tn )
s (tn ) = (31.28)
P(ti ) ≤ P(ti − 1 ) is always a valid assumption during this T
period, 1 (t) ranges between (0, 1). Note that Eq. (31.24)
is the resilience of non-repairable systems at arbitrary time Note, that since P(th ), P(td ), P(tr ), th , td and tr have dif-
instant, t. ferent units, they need to be normalized. Specifically, the
• For period (td , tr ), that is, Segment 2 (Eq. (31.25)): resilience is built from low level and increases with time;
therefore, the normalization needs to be done within each
1
P(ti ) − P(ti−1 ) segment. This will always ensure that in Segment 1 the sys-
n
2 (tn ) = 1 (td ) + td < t = tr tem is losing performance (and resilience), and in Segment
n i=1 ti − ti−1
2 the system is building recovery (resilience) from td = 0
(31.25) onward.
31 Reliability, Maintainability, Safety, and Sustainability
31.6 Reliability, Maintainability, Safety,
and Resilience (RMSR) Engineering
RMSR methods for estimating system’s reliability, maintain-
ability, safety, and resilience are presented in Sects. 31.2,
31.3, 31.4, and 31.5. These methods are interrelated in a
typical automated manufacturing system and together they
constitute system “dependability” as shown in Fig. 31.7.
Manufacturing systems encompass several interdependent
entities starting with the input supply chain of material,
parts, equipment, and other resources for product manu-
facturing from different vendors (V1, V2, . . . ) and supply
chain of the finished and semi-finished products for distribu-
tions to different users, warehouses, customers, and vendors
(D1, D2, . . . ). Both supply chains are subject to interruptions
due to natural hazards such as flood, hurricanes, earthquakes,
and others as well as man-made hazards such as the introduc-
tion of counterfeit components, cyber-attacks and blockage
of ports, shipping lanes, and labor strikes. In other words,
the supply chains are subject to interruptions in terms of
Dependability
Reliability Maintainability Safety Resilience
Fig. 31.7 System dependability
Fig. 31.8 Schematic diagram of
a typical manufacturing system
Resilience modeling
V1
V2
Input supply chain
V3
Manufacturing
equipment, processes
Reliability, maintainability
safety and resilience
709
severity and duration. Therefore, resilience quantifications of
these supply chains are essential to minimize the impact of
the interruptions of the manufacturing systems’ operations
as shown in Fig. 31.8.
Manufacturing systems also include manufacturing equip- 31
ment and processes for product manufacturing and the re-
liability and availability of such equipment are important
to ensure minimum interruptions of the production output.
Therefore, reliability modeling is a necessary task that as-
sesses the ability of the system to operate without interrup-
tions. Moreover, the ability of the system to recover (resume
production) after failures or events that cause its interruption
need to be assessed (maintainability and resilience).
Likewise, at the process level, the optimal process parame-
ters need to be maintained by continuous monitoring and con-
trol. Continuous degradation of the tools and other process
parameters may be modeled to determine their degradation
threshold levels that result in unacceptable products.
The degradation of the manufacturing equipment and
wear out may result in the production of products with
unacceptable quality metrics. Continuous monitoring of the
critical components of the equipment results in condition-
based maintenance strategies that minimize the equipment
downtime and replacement and repair cost. Therefore, the
implementation of condition-based maintenance is essential
in automated manufacturing systems. Finally, the product
reliability and safety need to be continuously monitored and
assessed. Figure 31.8 shows a schematic diagram of the
typical components of automated manufacturing systems,
and the RMSR use in each is demonstrated in the following
sections.
Resilience modeling
D1
Manufacturing
Output supply chain D2
system
D3
Products
Reliability and safety
710 E. A. Elsayed

31.6.1 Resilience Quantifications of Supply Table 31.1 Performance degradation due to supply chain interruptions
Chain Network Day Performance Resilience
1 0.99892499 0.0085562
In this section, we demonstrate the resilience calculations for 2 0.99836931 0.0171219
a supply chain network. The calculations are applicable to 3 0.99756546 0.0085679
components of the manufacturing system. 4 0.9964764 0.0343089
Consider Fig. 31.9, the supply chain network has a steady- 5 0.99504787 0.0429477
state performance indicator of 0.998 at normal operations. 6 0.99318768 0.0516338
When a threat (hazard) occurs at time th the performance 7 0.99081119 0.0603839
degrades to unacceptable level at time td (Day 30) when the . 0.98784861 0.0692172
recovery begins until the performance reaches the stead-state . 0.98432309 0.0781482
level at time tr . Clearly, the rate of performance degradation . 0.98042943 0.0871762
is a function of the supply chain deign (redundancy, for 27 0.87103539 0.2649367
example) and the recovery rate which is a function of the 28 0.86713773 0.2759841
available resources. The loss of performance until time td 29 0.86501332 0.2865427
(Day 30) and the gain of performance until time tr (Day 116) 30 0.86481703 0.2964908
are included in resilience calculation as given by Eq. (31.26) 31 0.86613552 0.4525686
and are shown in Table 31.1. Since supply chain network is 32 0.86879608 0.5301306
33 0.87264202 0.6022163
an integral component of the total manufacturing systems it is
34 0.87731266 0.6623856
incumbent on the designer of such systems to quantify the re-
silience of its supply chain networks and ensure its ability to
absorb the effect of the hazards (threats) and quickly recover
to its steady-state performance. Resilience quantification can
also be considered within the manufacturing systems as in the the manufacturing system. The reliability, maintainability,
case of the configuration of the processing and manufacturing and safety are essential to ensure its proper function with
equipment in such a way that the impact of failures of one minimum or no interruptions. These components may exhibit
or more of the processes does not significantly affect the failures and degradations. We described in Sect. 31.2.1 how
processes output and the quality of its products. reliability is estimated and predicted based on failure data.
In this section, we address one of the critical indicators
of components’ failure, namely the degradation indicator.
Degradation is observed in tool wear, machine and equip-
31.6.2 Degradation Modeling
ment wear out, oils, and fluids degradation (presence of
in Manufacturing Systems
particles, loss of viscosity). In such cases, the degradation
indicator can be continuously monitored and the “degrad-
As shown in Fig. 31.8 the manufacturing processes, equip-
ed” units may be maintained or replaced before failure oc-
ment, and products constitute the main components within
currences. Modeling degradation in order to estimate the
component’s reliability (time to failure, for example) may
be achieved through understanding of the physics-of-failure
Steady-state performance indicator models [15], physics-statistics-based model, or statistics-
1 based models (data-driven). The last approach is more preva-
lent due to the advances in sensors technologies, data collec-
0.95
tion, and analysis. Moreover, the approach can be effectively
Performance level

0.9 used in monitoring machines, process parameters, tool wear,

and others as described next.
0.85

0.8
Degradation Modeling and Reliability Prediction
0.75 There are several stochastic models for categorizing the
1
6
11
16
21
26
31
36
41
46
51
56
61
66
71
76
81
86
91
96
101
106
111
116

th td tr degradation path (cumulative degradation with time). They

Time include gamma process, inverse Gaussian process, modified
inverse Gaussian process, and the Brownian motion process
Fig. 31.9 Performance degradation and recovery of the supply chain
[16]. We describe the Brownian motion process due it wide
network use in many applications.
31 Reliability, Maintainability, Safety, and Sustainability 711

Brownian Motion Degradation Model

A Brownian motion with drift degradation process is the
solution to the following stochastic differential equation with 0.07 μ = 0.081, σ = 0.00181
constant drift μ and diffusion σ coefficients, where X(t) is the
degradation level at time t as given by Eq. (31.29).
0.06 31
0.05 μ = 0.061, σ = 0.00151

Degradation
dX(t) = μdt + σ dW(t) (31.29)
0.04
μ = 0.001,
W(t) is the standard Brownian motion at time t and it is 0.03 σ = 0.00151
normally distributed with mean zero and variance t. Eq.
0.02
(31.29) assumes the initial condition X(0) = x0 . By direct
integration, the degradation X(t) is given by Eq. (31.30). 0.01

   0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8
dX(t) = μi dt+ σ dW(t) = X(t) = x0 +μi t+σ W(t)
Time
(31.30)
Fig. 31.10 Brownian motion degradation paths
Since the degradation X(t) is a linear function of a nor-
mally distributed random variable, the degradation also fol-
lows a normal distribution with mean μi t and variance σ 2 t.
The variable Y is normally distributed. Therefore, the
Similarly, the degradation for any increment of time t
likelihood function L is described by Eq. (31.34).
follows a normal distribution with mean μi t and variance
σ 2 t. This is due to the independent increment property of
the standard Brownian motion. The density function for X(t) 
n
L (μi , σ |y1 , y2 , . . . , yn ) = f (yi |μi , σ )
is given by Eq. (31.31). i=1
Let v = σ 2 t and mi = μi (31.33)
 
n
1 −(x − x0 − μt)2 L (mi , v|y1 , y2 , . . . , yn ) = f (yi |mi , v)
fX(t) (x; t) = √ exp (31.31) i=1
σ 2π t 2σ 2 t
The log-likelihood is given by Eq. (31.34).
The drawback of the standard Brownian motion assump-
tion is that the degradation can assume decreasing values.
n
Therefore, there is a challenge in the physics interpretation log (L (mi , v|y1 , y2 , . . . , yn )) = log (f (yi |mi , v))
n    
of this model. The geometric Brownian motion model is a i=1
 2
suitable alternative since it is strictly positive process or the = log √2π 1
v
− (yi −m2v
i)
= − 21 n log (2π )
n1  
i=1
gamma process model where the degradation is monotoni-  (yi −mi )2
cally increasing with time [17, 18]. Typical Brownian motion − 2n log(v) − 2v
i=1
degradation paths are shown in Fig. 31.10 for different values
(31.34)
of μ and σ . The parameters μ and σ of a degradation path are
estimated from the degradation data as shown next.
The maximum likelihood estimates of the parameters are
Maximum Likelihood Estimation of the Brownian obtained by equating the partial derivatives of the log likeli-
Motion Parameters hood with respect to the model parameters to zero. The closed
The property in Eq. (31.32) is applied in order to estimate the form expressions for parameters, μ and σ , are obtained using
parameters of the Brownian motion model. Eq. (31.35).


n 
n
(yi −m̂i )2
m̂i = yi
v̂ =
Y = X (t + t) − X(t) =   i=1
n
i=1
n

(μi ) t + σ (W (t + t) − W(t)) ∼ N μi t, σ 2 t m̂i = μ̂i t v̂ = σ̂ t

2
(31.35)
1  
n n
(31.32) μ̂i = t yi
σ̂ =
2 1 (yi −m̂i )2
n t n
i=1 i=1
712 E. A. Elsayed

Reliability Prediction
The reliability function for a degradation model is defined as 1
the probability of not failing over time for a given degradation μ = 0.061, μ = 0.081, σ = 0.00181
threshold level. In the degradation context, failure implies σ = 0.00151

Reliability
that the degradation level has crossed the threshold level Df . 0.5 μ = 0.081,
In another context of degradation analysis, a failure could σ = 0.00181
imply that the unit suddenly ceases total functioning and fails
suddenly as we presented in the reliability section of this
0
chapter or the unit considered failed when the degradation 0 100 200
level reaches the threshold as given in Eq. (31.36). Time
   
F(t) = P(T ≤ t) = Pr X t; μ, σ 2 ≥ Df (31.36)
Fig. 31.11 Reliability function of three degradation paths
2
Since X(t)∼Normal(μ t, σ t), therefore the probability of
failure is defined as in Eq.(31.37). manufacturing, the verification of the reliability requirements
  before release. This is accomplished by performing “burn-
Df − μt in” testing, acceptance testing, and accelerated life testing as
F(t) = P(T ≤ t) = 1 −
√ (31.37)
σ t described next.

It is well known that, when the degradation path is linear, Burn-in Testing
the first passage time (failure time), T, of the process to a As shown in Fig. 31.1, the early life region (Region 1) shows
failure threshold level, Df , follows
 the Inverse Gaussian (IG) high failure rate at the release time of the product. This is
distribution [19], IG t; μ, σX2 , with mean time to failure attributed to manufacturing defects, poor assembly, material
(MTTF), Df −x(0)
μ
, and probability density function (p.d.f.) as defects, and others. Burn-in testing is conducted at conditions
given in Eq. (31.38). slightly higher than normal operating conditions to “weed
  out” unacceptable units from production and identify the
  Df − x(0) Df − x(0) − μt causes of the early failures. This in turn increases the mean
IG t; μ, σX2 , Df = √ φ √ ,
σX t3 σX t residual life (MRL) of the released production units and
μ > 0, Df > x(0), minimizes the dead-on-arrival (DOA) units at the end users.
(31.38)
The two parameters of the test are: test conditions (stresses,
temperature, humidity, volt, . . . ) and test duration. Long test
where φ(·) is the p.d.f. of the standard Normal distribution.
times reduce the mean useful life of the units and increase the
The reliability function is given by
cost of the test whereas short test times may be insufficient
  to remove unacceptable units and increase the cost of product
Df − x(0) − μt
R(t) =
√ service after release. Therefore, it is important to determine
σX t
    the optimal test duration as described in the following numer-
−2μ (Df − x(0)) Df − x(0) + μt ical example.
− exp
− √
σX2 σX t Let Cb be the cost per unit time of burn-in, Cf cost of
(31.39) failure in the actual use of units (field use), Cfb cost of failure
during burn-in (Cfb < Cf ), and tb burn-in test period. Assume a
where
(·) is the cumulative distribution function (CDF) product run of n units to be tested before release and each has
of the standard Normal distribution and x(0) is the initial a reliability function R(t). All units are subjected to burn-in
degradation. testing, and the failed units are analyzed and are not released
Figure 31.11 shows the reliability functions of the degra- to users whereas surviving units are released.
dation paths shown in Fig. 31.10 for a degradation threshold The probability of a failure of a unit during burn-in
of 0.10. These functions are obtained using Eq. (31.39). is (1 − R(tb )), the total cost of failures during burn-in is
n Cfb (1 − R(tb ), and the expected number of failed units in
the field is n R(tb )[1 − R(tb + t)] = n[R(tb ) − R(t + tb )] and
31.6.3 Product Reliability the corresponding expected cost is n Cf [R(tb ) − R(t + tb )]
and the cost of burn-in of the units is Cb n tb . The sum of
One of the major activities in manufacturing systems is ensur- these expected cost elements results in
ing that produced units meet the reliability requirements. This E[TC] = n Cb tb + n cf [R(tb ) − R(t + tb )] + n Cfb (1 − R(tb ))
entails, in addition to the quality engineering activities during and the expected cost per unit is
31 Reliability, Maintainability, Safety, and Sustainability 713

E [C] = Cb tb + Cf [R (tb ) − R(t + tb )] + Cfb (1 − R (tb )) Table 31.2 Partial listing of the expected cost per for different burn-in
(31.40) periods
Burn-in time Expected cost per unit
The optimum burn-in period is obtained by the minimiza- 0.45 $6,583
tion of Eq. (31.40). 0.50 $6,576 31
The Weibull model exhibits a decreasing failure rate re- 0.55 $6,571
gion when the shape parameter γ < 1. Therefore, Eq. (31.40) 0.60 $6,566
0.65 $6,562
for the Weibull model is obtained as shown in Eq. (31.41).
0.70 $6,559
 
tb +t
γ  0.75 $6,556
t
−( θb )
γ
−
E [C] = Cb tb + Cf exp − exp θ
0.80 $6,554
  (31.41) 0.85 $6,552
t γ
−( θb )
+ Cfb 1 − exp 0.90 $6,551
0.95 $6,550
1.00 $6,550
where t is the design life of the unit. 1.05 $6,549
Assume that the manufacturer is interested in conducting 1.10 $6,549
a burn-in test for a product with the following parameters: 1.15 $6,550
θ = 18 000 hours, γ = 0.25, the cost of failure during burn- 1.20 $6,550
in testing Cfb = $1000, the cost per unit of burn-in test 1.25 $6,551
Cb = $150 and the cost of failure during the operational 1.30 $6,552
life (design life) of 1,000,000 h is $9000. Substituting in Eq.
(31.41) yields
   
t +100000 0.25
7100
tb
−( 18000 )
0.25
− b 18000
E [C] = 150 tb + 9000 exp − exp 7000
Expected cost

 tb 0.25 
6900
+ 1000 1 − exp−( 18000 ) (31.42) 6800

Equation (31.42) is solved numerically results in tb = 1
hour, partial listing of the expected cost for different burn-
in periods is shown in Table 31.2 and its plot versus time is
shown in Fig. 31.12. A typical burn-in period ranges from
1 to 48 h for electronic products and longer for electro-
mechanical systems.
Accelerated Testing
The significant annual increase in the introduction of new
products coupled with the significant reduction in time from
product design to manufacturing, as well as the ever increas-
ing customer’s expectation for high reliability and longer
warranties have prompted industry to shorten its product test
duration. In many cases, accelerated life testing (ALT) might
be the only viable approach to assess whether the product
meets the expected long-term reliability requirements. In
ALT experiments, a sample of production units are selected
and subjected to stresses (one or more) more severe than
normal operating stress. Failure and/or degradation data are
then used to extrapolate the reliability at normal conditions.
Traditionally, ALT is conducted under constant stresses
during the entire test duration. The test results are used to
extrapolate the product life at normal conditions. In practice,
constant-stress tests are easier to carry out but need more test
units and a long time at low stress levels to yield sufficient
6700
6600
6500
0.00 1.00 2.00 3.00 4.00
Burn-in period
Fig. 31.12 Expected cost of burn-in
degradation or failure data. However, in many cases the
available number of test units and test duration are extremely
limited. This has prompted industry to consider step-stress
test where the test units are first subjected to a lower stress
level for some time; if no failures or only a small number
of failures occur, the stress is increased to a higher level and
held for another amount of time; the steps are repeated until
all units fail or a predetermined test time has expired. Usually,
step-stress tests yield failures in a much shorter time than
constant-stress tests, but the statistical inference from the data
is more difficult to make. Moreover, since the test duration is
short and a large proportion of failures occur at high stress
levels far from the design stress level, much extrapolation
has to be made, which may lead to poor estimation accuracy.
On the other hand, there could be other choices in stress
loadings (e.g., cyclic-stress and ramp-stress) in conducting
714
ALT experiments. In this section, we present a simple extrap-
olation approach for predicting reliability at normal operating
conditions using the results from accelerated life testing.
One of the most commonly used extrapolation model
assumes that the accelerated stresses are within the range of
normal operating conditions and they do not induce different
failure mechanisms. It also assumes that the life time scale
between normal conditions and stress conditions is linear.
The subscripts s and o refer to stress conditions and normal
operating conditions, respectively. Since the lives of the
units at s and o are linearly proportional, we express this
relationship by Eq. (31.43).
to = Af ts
where Af is the acceleration faction; it is obtained experi-
mentally by testing samples at three different stress levels
and relating their mean lives to the applied stresses. Thus,
the cumulative distribution function of failure time at normal
operating conditions
  is related to CDFat stress testing as
Fo (t) = Fs Atf and Ro (t) = Rs Atf . The p.d.f. is the
derivative of CDF w.r.t. t, thus
 
t t
fo (t) = fs and ho (t) =
Af Af
The above general relationships are applicable to all fail-
ure time distributions as shown for the Weibull model next.
   γs
t − t
Fo (t) = Fs = 1 − e θAf (31.44)
Af
It is noted that the underlying failure-time relationship of
AFT assumes the shape parameters and scale parameters of
stress testing and normal operating conditions are θ o = Af θ s
and γ o = γ s . The p.d.f. at normal operating conditions is
   γ
γ t − t
fo (t) = e θs Af
γ ≥ 0 and θs ≥ 0
θs Af θs Af
The MTTF is
 
1
MTTF = θo  1 +
γ 7. Lee, J., Ni, J., Singh, J., Jiang, B., Azamfar, M., Feng, J.: Intelligent
Of course, the design of ALT plans and extrapolation
models depend on the product, stress types, and the physics of
failure [20]. Similar accelerated testing for units that exhibit
degradation is referred to as accelerated degradation testing
(ADT). In this case, the number of units required for testing
is reduced significant [21]. Other reliability testing includes
acceptance testing and reliability demonstration testing. An
overview of a variety of reliability testing is given in [22].
E. A. Elsayed
31.7 Conclusion and Future Trends
The performance of automated manufacturing systems de-
pends on its reliability, maintainability, safety, and resilience.
As demonstrated in this chapter, these must be fully in-
tegrated during the design and operational stages of the
systems. Reliability ensures that the system and its products
need to function properly during their design lives, must be
readily available for use, safe to operate and use, and must
be resilient to meet random hazards and threats whether they
are natural or manmade.
Advances in sensors and computational resources as well
as the development of data analytics methods and tools
(31.43) present new trends in automation. Systems will be con-
tinuously monitored, and extensive data are acquired and
analyzed as soon as new observations are collected. The
systems will identify abnormal behavior, changes in process
parameters, predict potential failures and self-correct and
repair, when possible. Failures and down time of the systems
will be minimized and the quality of the products will be
improved. Major challenges will continue to exit due to
the wide range of manufacturing processes from traditional
processes to 3D printing and nano-manufacturing. However,
 
t t the pace of the advances in the technological innovations,
hs manufacturing processes, and computational algorithms such
Af Af
as machine learning will continue to accelerate and will result
in significant and continuous improvements in automated
manufacturing systems.
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587 (2006)
 Education and Qualification for Control
and Automation 32
Juan Diego Velasquez de Bedout, Bozenna Pasik-Duncan,
and Matthew A. Verleger

Contents areas of knowledge and it is that same level of integration

that control, systems, and automation societies should
32.1 Education for Control and Automation: Its
Influence on Society in the Twenty-First Century . . . 717 pursue. Organizations such as the International Federa-
tion of Automatic Control (IFAC), IEEE Control Sys-
32.2 Automation Education in K-12 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 719
32.2.1 Systems and Control Education in K-12 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 719 tems Society (CSS), and the American Automatic Control
32.2.2 Automation in K-12 Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 720 Council (AACC) have recognized that, to better support
32.3 Control and Automation in Higher Education . . . . . . 720
interdisciplinary work, control education must move well
32.3.1 First-Year College Students: Building an Early beyond isolated courses in upper-division STEM curricula
Understanding of Control Through Modeling Skills . . . 720 to broaden participation and knowledge about controls for
32.3.2 A First Course in Systems and Control Engineering . . . 722 all STEM and non-STEM disciplines and to look at the
32.3.3 Integrating Research, Teaching, and Learning
in Control at a University Level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 723
entire educational pipeline starting in K-12.
32.3.4 Remote and Virtual Labs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 724 This chapter focuses on the importance of education
in control and automation as well as some of the efforts
32.4 Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 725
and approaches being used to introduce controls within the
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 726 educational pipeline from K-12 to higher education insti-
tutions (HEIs). The focus is on innovative approaches to
teaching control and automation while engaging students
Abstract as being major players in the learning process. Student
Control is used in most common devices and systems: cell feedback is an essential input in the continuous adaptation
phones, computer hard drives, automobiles, aircrafts, and of developing teaching techniques and learning new skills,
many more, but it is usually hidden from our view. This and therefore, teaching itself, we believe, needs to be
deep integration means that the control and automation viewed as a control system.
fields span science, technology, engineering, and mathe-
matics (STEM) but lacks oftentimes much needed visibil-
ity. To advance the discipline, we must expand our out-
reach and education efforts. Integrating interdisciplinary Keywords
research, teaching, learning, and outreach at all levels Control education · Holistic modeling · K-12 education ·
of education has become the key for success in other Computational thinking · Remote and virtual labs ·
Teaching · Pipeline programs
J. D. V. de Bedout ()
Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA
e-mail: jvelasqu@purdue.edu
B. Pasik-Duncan 32.1 Education for Control
Department of Mathematics, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS,
USA
and Automation: Its Influence
e-mail: bozenna@ku.edu; bozenna@math.ku.edu on Society in the Twenty-First Century
M. A. Verleger
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Engineering Fundamentals In 2017, the US National Science Foundation (NSF) an-
Department, Daytona Beach, FL, USA nounced the 10 Big Ideas for Future Investment [1] and
e-mail: verlegem@erau.edu has since been financially supporting pioneering work in

© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 717

S. Y. Nof (ed.), Springer Handbook of Automation, Springer Handbooks,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-96729-1_32
718
these areas. These research ideas, such as “Harnessing the
Data Revolution,” or the “Future of Work at the Human-
Technology Frontier,” all require expertise from multiple
disciplines to come together to address the challenges that
societies are facing. For instance, one of the ideas, “Growing
Convergence Research” is explicitly about expanding our
need to conduct interdisciplinary research that stimulates
discovery and innovation by merging ideas, technologies,
and methods from diverse areas of knowledge. “The goal
was to motivate dynamic, fundamental, interdisciplinary re-
search building on a theme that science is strongest when
science works together” said Dawn Tilbury, head of the
NSF Directorate of Engineering in the opening of her talk
during the plenary of the National Academy of Sciences
2020 Symposium [2]. Advances in computing and sensor
development, and systems and control education will have
a significant role in the interdisciplinary research needed to
address and provide solutions to NSF’s 10 Big Ideas for the
Future. Similarly, since the release of the Engineer of 2020:
Visions of Engineering in the New Century [3] and Educating
the Engineer of 2020: Adapting Engineering Education to the
New Century [4], which collectively explored ways to better
prepare STEM graduates for an ever-changing world market
and context, the challenges of educating a new society and
its needed workforce continue to resonate. The systems and
control communities need to remain attentive and engaged to
address the societal needs and reshape curriculums to bring
attention to the power of systems, controls, automation, and
tools not only in STEM fields but in all areas of knowledge as
they become more and more embedded in our everyday lives
and way of life. It is a better integration of control and sys-
tems education in the education systems that will enable us
to provide meaningful solutions to cross-disciplinary efforts
like the 10 Big Ideas for Future Investment and the United
Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Automatic control has had a broad and rich history [5–7]
that has permeated many fields of work. At the center of
control systems are functions that include modeling, iden-
tification, simulation, planning, decision-making, optimiza-
tion, deterministic, and stochastic adaptation, among others.
While the overarching goal of any control system is to aid
automation, the successful application of the defining prin-
ciples requires the integration of tools from complimentary
disciplines like electronics, communication, algorithms, sen-
sors and actuators, as well as real-time computing to name
a few. As new discoveries emerge, and its corresponding
knowledge communities are built, control and automation
will very likely play an integral role in continuing to add
to its history of transforming the world. In 2020, a public
symposium sponsored by the National Science Foundation
and the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and
Medicine attracted participation from academia, government,
and industry to discuss the future of undergraduate STEM
J. D. V. de Bedout et al.
education to better meet the needs of students, science, and
society with an eye on the graduates of 2040 [8] and start the
conversation on what that graduate should look like as the
world enters new knowledge frontiers. It is imperative that the
control and systems communities continue to advocate and
participate in these types of discussions and open societal and
academic forums to bring to the forefront the importance of
these areas of knowledge as the graduate of 2040 is defined.
In yet another example of the influence of control and
automation in a global context, in “Back to the Future of
Education: Four OECD Scenarios for Schooling” [9] the
organization showcases how even well-crafted plans can be
upended by the uncertainties of the world we live in. For
example, COVID-19 brought to forefront needs and areas
of attention for the world to better prepare and mitigate, or
reduce, the effects on pandemics in society. In the case of
education, the authors showcase four scenarios (see Table
32.1) for the future of schooling as we look at the grad-
uates of 2040, and they are discussed along factors like:
teaching workforce, governance, organization and structure,
etc. When one considers the different scenarios, it behooves
control and automation societies, working groups, and con-
nected industries to be prepared to collaborate and innovate
with its active members (students, teachers, families, and
providers) in the different scenarios. Several of the scenarios
presented in Table 32.1 will require significant investments
in automation and control to reach larger populations, and
handle decentralized learning and learn-as-you go models
(they are bolded for ease of illustration).
However, it is not just health crises like COVID-19 that
remind the world the need for more robust infrastructure and
a better educated society to respond to the unforeseen. In the
OECD report the authors also bring to the reader’s attention
a few other shocks that the world might experience in the
not-so-distant future. Several of those shocks might be borne
in control and automation or will require solutions provided
by the control and automation knowledge communities and
they include: cyber war or attacks, Internet and communica-
tions disruptions both in undersea fiber cables or satellites,
human-machine interfaces, and artificial intelligence. There-
fore, starting to build pipeline programs for students to be
exposed at an early age to automation and control will be key
to our success on addressing these challenges.
Lastly, another reminder of the need and influence on
our society of automation and control education comes from
the world’s existing physical infrastructure. With aging soci-
eties and infrastructure in many countries around the world,
it is imperative to equip students with the most compre-
hensive education that allows them to navigate complex
problems framed from a systems-of-systems perspective all
while working in a more inclusive society. For instance, the
American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) grades every
four years different segments of the US infrastructure to share
32 Education and Qualification for Control and Automation 719

Table 32.1 Four OECD scenarios for the future of schooling (modified from original figure) [9]
Organization and Governance and Challenges for public
OECD scenario Goals and functions structure Teaching workforce geopolitics authorities
Schooling extended Schools as actors in Education monopolies Teachers in Traditional Accommodate diversity
socialization, retain all functions of monopolies with newadministration and ensure quality.
qualification, and school systems economies of scale emphasis on Trade-off between
credentialing and division of tasks
international consensus and
collaboration innovation
32
Outsourced Fragmentation of Multiple organization Diversity of roles and Schooling systems as Supporting access, fixing
education demand with structures available to status within and players in wider “market” failures.
self-reliant clients individuals outside schools markets Competing with others
looking for flexibility and ensure information
flows
Schools as hubs for Flexible arrangements Schools as hubs of Professional teachers String focus on local Diverse interests and
learning allow personalization multiple local-global as nodes of networks decisions power dynamics. Large
and community resources of flexible expertise Self-organizing units variation in local capacity
involvement configurations in partnerships
Learn-as-you-go Technology Dismantling of school Open market with Global governance of Potential for high
model overwrites traditional as a social institution central role for data and digital interventionism
goals and functions communities of technologies is key (public/private) impacts
practice democracy and individual
rights

with citizens and policymakers investment needs, which in Table 32.2 North America’s infrastructure report card from 2001 to
turn can be extended as human capacity building needs. In 2017 by the American Society of Civil Engineers [11]
2009, Pazik-Duncan and Verleger [10] linked the National Trend
Academies of Engineering report on the vision of the Engi- (since
Area 2001 2009 2017 2001)
neer of 2020 to the needs of STEM graduates to address the
Aviation D D D
upcoming challenges. As seen from Table 32.2, not much has
Bridges C C C+ ↑
changed since then as far as trends go; infrastructure needs
Dams D D D
and its ratings and the workforce needed to provide solutions
Drinking water D D− D ↓
continue to be among the issues requiring attention. Many
Energy D+ D+ D+
of these infrastructure areas will continue to demand highly
Hazardous waster D+ D D+
trained STEM graduates, many in areas in which control Inland waterways D+ D− D ↓
plays a dominant role (i.e., aviation, rail, transit, access to Levees D− D ↑
water, etc.). Ports C+
Public parks C− D+ ↓
Rail C− B ↑
Roads D+ D− D ↓
Schools D− D D+ ↑
32.2 Automation Education in K-12 Solid waste C+ C+ C+
Transit C− D D− ↓
32.2.1 Systems and Control Education in K-12 Wastewater D D− D+ ↑
Overall D+ D D+
Getting students exposed to control theory and automation
early in their educational formation is critical to their de-
velopment and future careers; and therefore, it is imperative In the work by Yadav, Hong, and Stephenson [14], the
to start that exposure early and to connect the concepts to authors highlight the importance and significance of embed-
applications relevant to their context. In the USA includ- ding computational thinking in K-12 and provide insight into
ing the concepts of automation, control theory and the like doing so within the Next Generation Science Standards and
have to often be framed within the context of educational the Common Core Standards Initiative. The authors focus
initiatives like the Next Generation Science Standards [12] their attention on computational thinking as the foundation
and the Common Core Standards Initiative [13] as most for covering topics like algorithms, abstraction, and automa-
school boards and K-12 educators use them as their basis tion and provide examples by which teachers can embed
for covering concepts in all areas of knowledge and meeting the ideas into their content being presented. Computational
testing standards. thinking is defined by the authors as a process by which
720
one breaks down complex problems into more manageable
components, going through a sequence of steps to solve the
problems, reviewing the solution and how it might transfer
to other contexts, and finally exploring if a computer can
help find the solution (automation). Finally, the importance of
embedding the concept of computational thinking, and there-
fore automation, within multiple contexts is brought to the
forefront when one looks at the hesitancy of school boards in
rural communities to embed the concepts often because of the
lack of relevance to their communities. However, we might
have an opening due to COVID to get rural communities to
embrace the concepts of computational thinking because of
the challenges the pandemic placed on educational systems.
Another activity that requires the attention of the com-
munity for building pipelines of K-12 students interested
in control and automation, as previously discussed, is to
engage girls (young women) early on with content that is
relevant and that addresses their interests. STEM areas are
highly dominated by men and control and automation is a
fitting example of how that lack of representation translates
to academia from students to faculty [15]. There are many
stereotypes regarding the preferences and interests of young
women that need to be addressed [16, 17] and, therefore,
programs that explore ways to do outreach and are more
inclusive are critical to automation and control educators –
a few examples of such programs and their descriptions
can be found and accessed online. Some of the initiatives
include: National Girls Collaborative Project [18], Girls Who
Code [19], Million Women Mentors [20], etc. But not all
efforts require large infrastructure and complex organiza-
tions. During the 21st IFAC World Conference held in 2020
and virtually hosted by Germany a workshop titled “Girls in
Control (GiC)” [21] researchers from Germany and Norway
welcomed over 100 girls (10–15 years old) from 20 countries
to stimulate interest in control and the pursuit of careers in
STEM. Likewise, the Society for Women Engineers (SWE)
student chapter at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University has
been leading an annual “Introduce a Girl to Engineering”
workshop for up to 350 girls in third through fifth grade [22].
32.2.2 Automation in K-12 Education
It is not just students that need to be exposed to control and
automation, so do teachers in K-12 settings to gain deeper
knowledge and to understand how the profession and their
qualifications need to evolve. The profession of teaching
is facing many pressures, among them: (1) the number of
working hours a week – an average of 50 h per week – a
number that has grown 3% over the last five years according
to an OECD survey [23], (2) teacher turnover due to burnout
and high attrition rates, and (3) the concern of being replaced
by robots and artificial intelligence. But the picture is not
J. D. V. de Bedout et al.
as dire for K-12 teachers as some have painted, in part due
to the need in emerging economies for more educators and
the realization that automation can in fact be a benefit for
teachers if those benefits are garnered properly and the fact
that many of the activities they do do not lend themselves
to be automated (Fig. 32.1). In India and China, for example,
the estimated demand for teachers will grow more than 100%
from 2016 to 2030 [24]. Automation, particularly aspects
of artificial intelligence, can free educator’s time between
20% and 40% from routine work using automated tools and
technologies [25]. This “gained” time can then be used with
students for more meaningful interactions that computers,
robots, and artificial intelligence cannot provide.
32.3 Control and Automation in Higher
Education
32.3.1 First-Year College Students: Building
an Early Understanding of Control
Through Modeling Skills
Control engineering is functionally dependent on one’s abil-
ity to develop sophisticated system models and while control
engineering tends to focus on applying discipline-specific
tools to those models, students need a broader foundational
knowledge about models to be successful in their studies and
careers [26, 27]. One approach to building those competen-
cies is presented by Rodgers and colleagues [28–30], through
a holistic modeling perspective (HMP). HMP focuses on
students’ interactions with all types of models placing a
strong emphasis on moving beyond simple model creation
into a deeper understanding of how models can represent
real systems and phenomena. HMP is a perspective on how
students interact with models; models representing a broader
set of tools and techniques for translating problem complex-
ity that includes mathematical models, physical models (e.g.,
drawings and prototypes), and computational models (e.g.,
simulations, programming – logic tree, concept map, and
flow chart). The goal is to increase students’ awareness and
comfort with engineering as modeling, which should then
translate into greater skill across a broad range of topics,
including systems and control.
In the authors work, the primary approach to implement-
ing HMP has been through revising the language and activ-
ities used in first-year engineering courses. For example, at
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, there are three core
courses that have been revised: EGR101 – Introduction to
Engineering Design, EGR120 – Introduction to Graphical
Communication, and EGR115 – Introduction to Computer
Programming.
EGR101 – Introduction to Engineering Design course covers
a multitude of professional skills and introductory material.
32 Education and Qualification for Control and Automation 721

32

Fig. 32.1 Technical potential for automation across sectors depending on mix of activity types [24]
722 J. D. V. de Bedout et al.

The two required components of the course are teamwork and the daily statistics for an entire year for seven locations. By
ethics training. In redesigning the course, an explicit unit about changing the datasets in this way, the expectation is made that
modeling was added, exploring the various kinds of models and
students’ solutions are meant to be iterated on and evolve over
how modeling is a fundamental design tool. Greater emphasis
was placed on modeling a design for a physical object, iterating time.
on the design to address any underlying issues, and then imple- These changes have caused a meaningful shift in students’
menting it according to their modeled design. A key outcome ability to solve complex modeling problems as compared to
from this course was building familiarity with the language and
students who did not receive the modeling intervention. The
terminology around modeling.
focus on modeling in the first year sets the stage for more
EGR120 – Introduction to Graphical Communications is split advanced courses, including control and systems engineering
into two primary topics: (1) hand sketching and (2) paramet-
ric modeling using CATIA. The revision involved adjusting
courses, building on that familiarity in a meaningful way.
the terminology to emphasize that the work being done is a
form of modeling. Because of the inherent nature of parametric
modeling, few changes were needed to the existing content.
The biggest change was in better demonstrating the potential 32.3.2 A First Course in Systems and Control
interplay between the mathematical/computational models and Engineering
the virtual physical models that students were developing. This
took the form of demonstrating how CATIA has built-in or
add-on toolboxes for visualizing kinematics, conducting finite Control theory appears in most engineering curricula but has
element analysis, and computational fluid dynamics. Emphasis historically come across as dull and purely mathematical. In
was also placed on how each of these three components involves introductory courses we need to inspire and engage students
mathematical and computational modeling as part of their calcu- to see and experience the exciting possibilities that an under-
lation processes.
standing of control enables, so that they are keen to select
EGR115 – Introduction to Computer Programming received the more advanced courses, and yet better, to pursue this area or
most revision. This course is split into two primary topics: (1) work within their careers.
problem-solving and algorithm development and (2) computer
programming in MATLAB. The goal is to teach students how With this in mind, two main international technical com-
to develop mathematical models and then code these models mittees on control education (Control Systems Society –
into MATLAB – making them computational models. This shift CSS and the International Federation of Automatic Control –
required explicitly teaching students mathematical and computa- IFAC) undertook a survey of the global community on what
tional modeling skills by revising and replacing the current topic
about problem-solving and algorithm development. would constitute an ideal first course in control [31]. Perhaps
unsurprisingly, the most important output was an overwhelm-
One key approach in this revision was the introduction of ing consensus that a first course should focus on concepts,
modeling problems. Each term, two problems are given, each case studies, motivation, context, and so forth as shown
with three phases. During the first phase, students develop by the responses in Fig. 32.2. While some mathematical
a written solution to the modeling problem, identifying the depth/rigor is important and needed, students can focus on
inputs and outputs, relevant diagrams, needed theory, neces- these aspects later once their interest and enthusiasm are con-
sary assumptions, working a small test case, and verifying firmed. Furthermore, stimulating industrial case studies and
its accuracy. During the second phase, they develop a pseu- hardware experiments are strongly encouraged to emphasize
docode/flowchart to implement their model, describing not the context and core issues.
only the specific steps and calculations but also their rationale
for taking each step. During the final phase, they translate
their pseudocode into a MATLAB program. Throughout each
phase, the problem evolves, including additional inputs and 50%
49%
larger sample datasets. As an example of the types of prob- 45%
38% Academia Industry
lems being given to students, one problem asks students to 40%
develop a model for selecting wind farm locations. They are 35% 29%
30%
provided with a basic diagram relating wind speed to power 25% 21%
output, with indicators of the speeds necessary for starting a 20% 16% 18%
15% 13%
turbine (cut-in speed), the speed at which peak output power 12%
10%
is given (rated output speed), and the maximum speed, after 3%
5% 1%
which the turbine is locked down for safety reasons (cut- 0%
out speed). In solution phase 1, students are given annual Strongly Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly
average and peak wind speeds for five locations. In phase agree disagree
2, the dataset is expanded to include average and peak wind
speeds and average temperature and pressure for each month Fig. 32.2 Survey response: focus on concepts, case studies, motiva-
for seven locations. In phase 3, the data is expanded to be tion, and context
32 Education and Qualification for Control and Automation
Concepts accepted, the next question instructors might
ask is what topics and content should be included and how
should these be delivered? A detailed survey into pedagogical
issues and good practices for content delivery in control
education is presented in [32] suffice to say that the un-
derstanding of effective learning and teaching approaches is
always evolving and they need to adopt these new insights.
For example, flipped learning approaches [33, 34] supported
by suitable resources are now well accepted and becoming
more common in most STEM courses. One popular example
is the potential for remote access laboratories [35] and take-
home laboratories [36] to give students more freedom to
explore and apply their learning on authentic scenarios. Such
independent learning approaches are increasingly relevant in
a modern digital world and also support wider student skills
development. A good course should also include a sizable
amount of self-assessment resources (e.g., computer quizzes
and software tools) that students can use independently to
support and self-assess their progress. Moreover, staff should
include a range of learning outcomes which go beyond the
technical aspects and include professional skills.
In terms of technical content, there has been reasonable
international consensus over the more important topics to be
included. Aside from authentic case studies and laboratories
to set the scene the following topics are important: (i) first
principles modeling for a range of systems; (ii) systems
dynamics and the quantification of behaviors including sta-
bility; (iii) performance measures leading to quantification of
the weaknesses of open-loop control; (iv) the importance of
feedback and simple implementations; and (v) an introduc-
tion to PID tuning. Finally, there was a strong consensus that
Laplace tools would be appropriate to support much of the
above learning as well as software tools for supporting the
simulation aspects. Many important topics are not included
in this first course description, but it is better with limited
lectures and time to get students to buy into the importance
and prevalence of the topic so they can transition smoothly to
the workplace. A good independent learner who is enthused
and convinced of a topic importance will easily pick up
further technical content as they need it.
32.3.3 Integrating Research, Teaching,
and Learning in Control at a University
Level
At the University of Kansas, Math 750 – Stochastic Adaptive
Control, a course developed 30 years ago based on research
initiated in Poland [37] has been adapted regularly according
to new developments in stochastic adaptive control area. This
course focuses on innovative methods of teaching stochastic
adaptive control with students who represent all science,
technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields.
723
The course attracts junior and senior undergraduate and grad-
uate students, and leads toward honors theses for undergrad-
uates, and masters’ and doctoral theses for graduate students.
The theory of stochastic adaptive control generates many
attractive problems for mathematics, engineering, and com-
puter science as well as for economics and business students.
The Math 750 course on stochastic adaptive control was
developed and designed for students from all STEM fields
32
to increase, in a friendly and welcoming way, the general
awareness of the importance of control and control technol-
ogy and its cross-disciplinary nature. It requires a very good
mathematical understanding of real analysis, probability, and
statistics as well as good computational skills. The diversity
of students differs from year to year, therefore the way how
the course is taught, its content, and illustrative examples of
applications differ too. Some of the major ideas and concepts
of teaching this course are described below and some of the
same techniques have been adopted in other courses such as:
probability, mathematical statistics, and calculus.
Classroom Teaching as a Stochastic Adaptive Control
Problem
The classroom with students and their instructor is consid-
ered as a controlled system. It is stochastic because there is a
lot of randomness in the classroom. A classroom becomes a
scientific laboratory. Information is collected. The students
in the class are unknown to the instructor at the begin-
ning of a semester. They come from different departments
with different academic backgrounds. The challenge for the
instructor is to learn about students by collecting relevant
course information about them. Too many unknowns in the
system make the system unknown, so learning or identifying
the system is a critical issue in teaching as in research.
Short Bio as the First Assignment
One of the best practices for learning about the students
from the beginning of a semester is to ask them to prepare
a well-done short bio with information that will help the
instructors find optimal adaptive strategies. The information
should contain student’s family and academic background,
math and science courses taken, any significant recognitions,
motivation for taking this course, short- and long-term goals
for studying and career, research and real-world problem in-
terests, and hobbies and favorite things to do during free time.
These short bios should be revisited by the instructor as a
semester progresses, and students should have an opportunity
to update them twice: during the middle and at the end of
a semester. This method of teaching is called scholarship in
teaching. The idea is to treat teaching as a stochastic process
that changes over time, a process with several components
such as vision, design, data collection, and data analysis, and,
finally, integrate teaching and learning.
724
C5: Curiosity, Creativity, Connections, Communication,
and Collaboration: A Key for a Success
Curiosity is the most important part of learning in this course
as it covers many different topics. Students are engaged in
research discussion through curiosity and creativity. They are
alert in this course of what they are doing, they ask why things
are the way they are, they try different ways to explain to
each other what they observe. They make connections. The
cross-boundaries nature of stochastic adaptive control, prob-
ability mathematical statistics, or even calculus are exciting
for students. Students love collaboration. They bring their
individual skills while searching for the correct models for
solving problems of the modern real complex world.
Reviewing Papers Is a Powerful Method to Prepare Stu-
dents for Writing a Scientific Project
In recent years a new practice of reviewing a conference
paper has been added to the course, and it has turned to be the
most effective way of teaching students how to write a scien-
tific project. Students are provided with a sample of very well
professionally done reviews. Students have done outstanding
work. Their reviews are very constructive, detailed, providing
missing references, providing missing steps in mathematical
proofs, as well as indicating weaknesses in interpretations
of results and in particular graphs, and amazing remarks on
editing. Their reviews have led to a significant improvement
of the quality of the paper presentation.
Guest Speakers Provide New Perspective
Guest speakers energize, inspire, and motivate students.
Former students who took the Stochastic Adaptive Control
course or research collaborators are invited as guest
speakers during the middle of a semester to have a
conversation with students and share their industrial or
academic career experiences. Real-world problems generate
new mathematical problems. Mathematics of finance and
mathematics of networks, as well as understanding of the
brain as the most complex system, generate new stochastic
control problems, such as the identification, detection, and
control of stochastic system with a noise modeled by a
fractional Brownian motion. Neurologists, mathematicians,
and engineers from the medical research centers talk about
epilepsy, seizures, and COVID-19. Students discovered
amazing creativity and connections of STEM fields. Bringing
research collaborators, especially those from other countries,
to the classroom with good preparation for their visit changes
students’ perspectives. It opens their eyes, and it awakes their
imagination and creativity. They see how math and control
can be found everywhere and how often it is hidden. They
see the role of the broad and inspiring vision of control.
They find them to be most inspirational and most motivating
for continuing study of mathematics and engineering to do
research in stochastic adaptive control. In a summary of the
J. D. V. de Bedout et al.
reflections from a talk a student wrote, “Today’s visitor is
a fine example of how an engineer should proceed with his
career and deal with his success. I hope that the inspiration
I have drawn from the speaker can help fuel some creativity
for me in my field and motivate me to do my work for the
betterment of the world.”
Vertical and Horizontal Integration and Peer Tutoring
In the courses with a very diverse group of undergraduate and
graduate students, vertical and horizontal integrations as well
as peer tutoring play crucial roles by building a community of
learners. Vertical integration incorporates students at differ-
ent levels in their studying and learning approach. It involves
and engages undergraduate and graduate students. Horizontal
integration incorporates students from various disciplines in
learning and in teaching. Through peer tutoring students be-
come teachers for their peers. They enthusiastically volunteer
to teach the entire class a topic which they learned well or
which they studied independently. A peer tutoring program
was created because there were some students who needed
help, and others who could offer that help. The students build
not only a community of learners but importantly they are
building lifetime friendships.
Students Who Are Broadly Prepared Have a Higher
Chance to Find Attractive Jobs
The Math 750 – Stochastic Adaptive Control course pre-
pares students broadly for studying and for doing research.
It prepares them for new challenges and opportunities of
the twenty-first century. Students are better prepared to pro-
cess information, work with complex systems, manage large
datasets using advanced mathematical and statistical meth-
ods, and to understand randomness and uncertainties in the
system. Integrating research, learning, and teaching using
the stochastic adaptive control approach described above has
demonstrated to be both effective and enjoyable.
32.3.4 Remote and Virtual Labs
A key tool for solidifying the teaching and understanding of
key concepts for students is with laboratories. Laboratories
provide students the ability to try and apply their learning
in a setting that allows them to interact with the system,
make mistakes, see results, and learn in an interactive fashion.
Leaning by doing, a theory first promoted by John Dewey,
reinforces the significance of learning environments like
laboratories to adapt and learn. Remote labs and virtual labs
are now part of the pedagogical tools that educators can
leverage to help their students reinforce concepts particularly
in STEM fields.
Virtual and remote labs (VRLs)) have for the last 15–
20 years been used in academic settings to supplement stu-
32 Education and Qualification for Control and Automation
Fig. 32.3 Global reach of nanoHUB. Red dots represent lectures
and tutorials. Yellow dots represent simulation users, and green lines
represent collaborations documented by publications citing nanoHUB
as a resource. (Network for Computational Nanotechnology/Purdue
University)
dents learning [35]. Virtual labs have allowed educational
institutions to reach students in many locations as the labs
can be accessed anywhere and at any time. They have also
enabled greater accessibility for students with disabilities
and in some settings provides a safer environment for stu-
dents to learn (e.g., manipulation of chemical reactions).
For instance, Purdue University’s nanoHUB was the first
of its kind end-to-end science and engineering cloud that
allows the users to model and simulate for enhanced collab-
oration and learning and in turn enable simulation-powered
curriculums. nanoHUB was launched in 2002 with support
from the National Science Foundation as a collaboration
among six partner universities and its reach is now global as
seen in Fig. 32.3. Although the work started in 2002 with
nanoHub, Purdue has continued to innovate and lead in the
development of virtual and online labs. In 2020 to address
the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, the College of
Engineering was well positioned to provide quality education
to its students during these times. The college had already
started to transition to online and virtual labs to address a
decades’ growth in undergraduate and graduate education as
well as the significant increase in online classes. The push to
bring educational content online or to the cloud like VRLs
and massive online courses (MOOCs) was brought to the
forefront and gotten more attention and investments due to
the COVID-19 pandemic [38].
32.4 Conclusions
Control education is at a crossroad. Low-cost computing and
sensors, advances in artificial intelligence and big data man-
agement, and the necessity of interdisciplinary research for
solving modern problems have increased the need for broader
participation and awareness in control education. Control
systems now play critical roles in many fields that include
725
electronics manufacturing, communications and telecommu-
nications, autonomous vehicles and transportation, power
systems and energy, finance, biology, biomedicine, actuarial
sciences, computer and networks, neuroscience and compu-
tational neuroscience, neurology, many biological systems,
and many military systems. Meaningful advancements in
these and other areas are dependent on us to adequately
engage future engineers and scientists in control education
32
and to foster a curiosity well before they reach a formal
controls course. Readers might want to look at Chs.  54
“Library Automation and Knowledge Sharing” and Ch.  63
“Automation in Education, Training, and Learning Systems”
as two chapters that discuss in detail the emerging capabil-
ities to expand the reach, engagement, and accessibility to
augmenting educational tools and knowledge that are com-
plementary to our discussion on emerging needs. In addition,
readers might also want to read in Ch.  68 “Case Study:
Automation Education and Qualification Apprenticeships”
as another related extension to the work described in this
chapter.
In the new era, stochastic control and stochastic systems
will play an increasingly important role. Not only are they
used in the traditional fields such as engineering, but also
in emerging application areas as financial engineering, eco-
nomics, risk management, mathematical biology, environ-
mental sciences, and social networks, to mention just a few
among others. It is well known that good understanding of
randomness in systems is a critical and central issue in all
areas of science. A noise in the systems cannot be disregarded
as there are examples showing that a noise can stabilize
or destabilize the system. This is particularly important in
rapidly advanced biomedical and financial engineering areas
of applications but also in all areas where measurements carry
on errors. Mathematical statistics with good understanding
of randomness in big data, analyzing and modeling data,
making properly statistical inferences are all must learn by
students along with programming languages now and for
the next 10 years. Specific topics of central interest include
societal systems, autonomous systems, infectious diseases
systems, the brain system, universal access to technology
with its focus on security, privacy, ethics. Data driven science
approaches will lead towards Artificial Intelligence (AI).
Education training curricula for K-12 and beyond need
to respond to all the new challenges described before. As
we look into the emerging future of education one can see
efforts like the Colombia Purdue Partnership, a university-to-
country win-win collaboration as a means to reduce educa-
tional disparities, provide access to higher education without
borders, and addressing and providing solutions to local,
glocal, and global challenges including in areas of control
and systems. Programs like the Undergraduate Research Ex-
perience that pairs students with mentors at Purdue to work
on jointly devised research programs will enable students
726
who are usually limited to their exposure to global programs
the opportunity to collaboratively work with their advisors
to pursue apprenticeship and certification of skills they did
not possess prior to the experience. It is programs like that
which include experiential learning, research internships, that
educators need to leverage to awaken the interest of student
to pursue work in the areas of controls and systems. The
longevity of the control field depends on its continuous
success in attracting the most gifted young people to the
profession. Early exposure is the key to that goal. The idea is
that education is at all levels an inclusive process: It should in-
tegrate scholarship, teaching, and learning both horizontally
and vertically creating a learning experience for students of
all ages, from K-12 to higher education and beyond.
This year marked the twentieth anniversary of the Ideas
and Technology Control Systems workshops for middle and
high school teachers and students, renamed recently as the
Power, Beauty, and Excitement of Cross-Boundaries Nature
of Control, a Field that Spans Science, Technology, Engineer-
ing, and Mathematics (STEM). These workshops are held
twice a year in conjunction with the ACC, CDC, and IFAC
Meetings and Congresses. During the last 20 years, over
20,000 middle and high school students and their teachers
as well as undergraduate students have been reached through
our educational activities. Over 225 academic and industry
representatives have shared their passion and have given
inspirational talks at these workshops. The purpose of these
workshops is to increase awareness among students and
teachers of the importance and cross-disciplinary nature of
control and systems technology in everyday life. The work-
shops show the power of cross-boundaries research and have
been presented to students and teachers in Atlanta, Balti-
more, Chicago, Denver, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Maui, New
Orleans, Orlando, Portland, San Diego, Seattle, St. Louis
and Washington DC, Boston, Milwaukee, Philadelphia, and
have been held in the Czech Republic, Cyprus, South Korea,
Poland, Spain, and South Africa.
The model of a sustainable outreach partnership among
our control communities and the school districts at the places
where our major conferences are held was established and
subsequently followed by other organizations and societies.
This outreach partnership has provided a vehicle for demon-
strating the importance of control. The workshop activities
include presentations by control systems experts from the
control community, informal discussions, and the opportu-
nity for teachers to meet passionate researchers and educators
from academia and industry. A discussion on “Plain Talks”
was initiated, and this initiative was closely related to the
outreach efforts. The goal was to develop short and inspi-
rational presentations for teachers and students but also for
noncontrol engineering communities.
J. D. V. de Bedout et al.
Acknowledgments We would like to recognize the contributions of
John Anthony Rossiter from the University of Sheffield in the UK for
his contribution to courses in systems and control engineering.
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control education: a survey. Annu. Rev. Control. 42, 1–10 (2016). telecommunications. Her other interests include STEM and control
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728 J. D. V. de Bedout et al.

Dr. Matthew A. Verleger received his PhD in engineering education

from Purdue University (2010). He is currently a professor of engi-
neering fundamentals at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. His
research interests are in developing educational software to enhance
student learning and exploring how students learn to develop models and
modeling skills. Currently, he is developing the tools to gamify courses
within a standard LMS environment as a means of increasing student
engagement.
 Interoperability and Standards for Automation
33
François B. Vernadat

Contents mentation, integration, maintenance, and operations. This

chapter combines two parts. First, it defines systems in-
33.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 729
teroperability in the context of automation and enterprise
33.2 Interoperability in Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 730 integration; reviews relevant interoperability frameworks;
33.2.1 The Need for Integration and Interoperability . . . . . . . . . 730
33.2.2 Systems Interoperability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 731 discusses technical, semantic, and organizational dimen-
33.2.3 Enterprise Interoperability sions of interoperability; and presents essential underlying
and Enterprise Integration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 731 technologies. Second, major international standards for
33.3 Integration and Interoperability Frameworks . . . . . . 733 automation projects in small, medium, or large organiza-
33.3.1 Technical Interoperability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 734 tions are listed before concluding.
33.3.2 Semantic Interoperability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 735
33.3.3 Organizational Interoperability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 735
33.3.4 Technologies for Interoperability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 735
33.4 Standards for Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 738 Keywords
33.4.1 Standards for Automation Project or System
Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 738 Automated systems · Systems interoperability ·
33.4.2 Standards for Automated Systems Modeling, Enterprise interoperability · Enteprise integration ·
Integration, and Interoperability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 740
33.4.3 Standards for E-Commerce and E-Business . . . . . . . . . . 740 Automation standards · ISO · IEC · ANSI · CEN
33.4.4 Standards for Emerging Industry (Including I4.0, IoT, standards
and CPS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 740
33.4.5 Standards for Industrial Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 740
33.4.6 Standards for Industrial Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 740
33.4.7 Standards for Industrial and Service Robotics . . . . . . . . 742
33.4.8 Standards on Usability and Human-Computer 33.1 Introduction
Interaction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 742
33.5 Overview and Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 743 Automation is the art of providing devices, machines, or any
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 751 kind of man-made systems with autonomy (i.e., operation
and self-regulation) and even decision-making or collabo-
rative abilities resulting in automated systems, i.e., systems
Abstract acting in and reacting to their environment without signif-
icant human intervention. In simpler terms, “Automation is
Interoperability is an essential characteristic of systems a way for humans to extend the capabilities of their tools
when they have to communicate, cooperate, or collaborate and machines” as stated by Prof. Williams [1]. While initially
within an organization or across organizations, be they extensively applied to manufacturing, industrial, and military
single organizations or networked organizations. Auto- systems, automation is nowadays present in all sectors of
mated systems are subject to interoperability when they human society (e.g., home robotics, automobile industry and
have to work together, i.e., to interoperate. They are also automotive products, aeronautical and space industries, mar-
subject to a number of standards for their design, imple- itime systems, energy power plants, water treatment, medical
equipment and health care systems, agriculture, or financial
F. B. Vernadat ()
systems to name a few) as illustrated in Ch.  1 Automation:
Laboratoire de Génie Informatique, de Production et de Maintenance What It Means to Us Around the World, Definitions, Its
(LGIPM), University of Lorraine, Metz, France Impact and Outlook.

© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 729

S. Y. Nof (ed.), Springer Handbook of Automation, Springer Handbooks,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-96729-1_33
730
Automation has its foundation in automatic control but
also heavily relies on advances in information and communi-
cations technologies (ICT) as well as artificial intelligence
(AI) techniques, the best example being robotics develop-
ments.
Due to the ever-increasing complexity of human society,
automated systems no longer exist in isolation and islands
of automation become the exception. In many cases, these
systems have to interact within cooperative or collaborative
environments. For instance, if a bank and an insurance com-
pany want to jointly offer real estate loans with life insurance,
they have to align their customer data files, agree on loan ac-
ceptance conditions and rules, and coordinate respective local
services (e.g., loan request processing, loan approval/refusal,
insurance condition setting, etc.) into a common business
process to offer a composite service to customers. In other
words, they have to be integrated and to interoperate. Indeed,
integration and interoperability come into play any time that
two or more systems need to work together or need to share
common information.
Industrial automation has been an intensive application
domain of automation for decades with programmable
logic controllers (PLCs), computer numerically controlled
(CNC) machines, flexible manufacturing systems (FMSs),
automated guided vehicles (AGVs), industrial robotics,
or computer-integrated manufacturing (CIM). The history
of industrial automation in process industries has been
reviewed by Williams [1] and in Ch.  2 while examples
of applications to process and discrete manufacturing can be
found in chapters throughout this handbook.
New trends in automated manufacturing are called smart
manufacturing [2] and Ch.  45 or Industry 4.0 (I4.0) [3],
presented as the fourth revolution in manufacturing (after
the first revolution on the late eighteenth century based on
steam power that enabled mechanization, the second revolu-
tion based on electricity power that made mass production
possible in the first half of the twentieth century, and the
recent third revolution based on computerization that led
to industrial automation). The term Industry 4.0 has been
introduced in 2011 by the German government as a national
program to boost research and development of the manu-
facturing industry [4]. I4.0 is based on intensive digitaliza-
tion, i.e., integration of digital technologies with production
facilities and technologies, altogether forming a so-called
cyber-physical system (CPS) that can sense its environment
and quickly respond to changes [5]. While the idea of smart
manufacturing is to interconnect all manufacturing resources
as smart entities (e.g., smart products, smart devices, smart
machines, etc.) to decentralize decision-making and increase
agility, the aim of I4.0 is to utilize recent advances in informa-
tion technologies and the Internet (cloud computing, Internet
of Things or IoT, IoS, CPS, big data, etc.) to interconnect
people, machines, tools, devices, sensors, and their digital
F. B. Vernadat
twins, into decentralized intelligent systems that can sense
and adapt to the environment. In addition to interoperability,
both require big data analytics and data mining technologies
to analyze the tremendous amount of data exchanged.
Putting in place automation solutions, be it in private,
public, or government sectors, is the subject of automation
projects. These projects are themselves subject to a number of
constraints, best practices, rules, and applicable standards in
terms of risk management, quality management, environment
regulations, or sustainable development, as well as in terms
of design and analysis methods, applicable technologies, or
human-related factors such as safety and man-machine inter-
action. The role of international standards in these projects
must be stressed because in many cases their application and
respect facilitate easier communication, smooth collabora-
tion, and better interoperability between systems.
The chapter has the mandate to cover both automation
interoperability and automation standards. It therefore con-
sists of two parts. First, interoperability in the context of
integrated automated systems is defined, relevant architec-
tural frameworks are indicated, and the underlying tech-
nologies are discussed from three perspectives (technical,
application/semantic, and organizational dimensions). Next,
important international standards to be considered for car-
rying out automation projects in small, medium, or large
organizations are listed. Finally, an overview discussion is
given for concluding.
33.2 Interoperability in Automation
This section concentrates on interoperability aspects of auto-
mated systems in particular but also addresses their integra-
tion aspects to explain the global context of the problem.
33.2.1 The Need for Integration
and Interoperability
Broadly speaking, integration and interoperability aim at
facilitating data/information exchange and collaboration be-
tween systems or business entities. A business entity is any
part of an organization (such as a work team, an organization
unit, a manufacturing plant, an information system such an
ERP system, a set of business processes, a node in a supply
chain, etc.) or the organization itself. It is made of people,
processes, and/or technologies.
Caution The two terms, integration and interoperability, are
intentionally used in this chapter, but they have their own
meaning and are not interchangeable. Integration is about
making a consistent whole from heterogeneous components,
while interoperability is about using functionality of another
33 Interoperability and Standards for Automation
entity. While integration is the big picture and can apply
to people, organization, processes, or data, interoperabil-
ity is specific to systems. While entities can be more or
less integrated (fully, tightly, loosely, or not all), systems
are either interoperable or not (although some authors have
tried to define degrees of interoperability and interoperability
maturity models). Indeed, people are not interoperable but
they can communicate, collaborate, cooperate, or coordinate
their actions. Data per se cannot interoperate because they
are facts without behavior, but data exchanges can be made
interoperable.
The need for systems integration and interoperability re-
sults from the increasing need to interconnect and seam-
lessly operate technical, social, and information systems of
different nature and technology, of geographically dispersed
enterprises, or of different enterprises working together. It
also comes from the need to integrate business entities, i.e.,
remove organizational boundaries between these entities [6].
This mostly concerns IT systems and software applications
but also the internal business processes and services of a
given enterprise (i.e., intraorganizational integration) as well
as cross-organizational business processes spanning partner
companies or enterprise networks (i.e., interorganizational
integration). Part of the need also comes from the emer-
gence of new organizational structures such as collaborative
networked organizations (CNOs), the objective of which is
to bring together largely autonomous, geographically dis-
tributed, and heterogeneous business entities in terms of
their operating environment, culture, and goals, that have to
collaborate to better achieve common or compatible goals,
thus jointly generating value, and whose interactions are
supported by ICT [7, 8]. The best examples of CNOs are
extended enterprises, virtual enterprises, or supply chains.
Finally, since 2000, the need for interoperability has been
intensified by the ever-growing development of collaborative
e-work, e-business, and e-services and their requirements
for efficient communication, coordination, cooperation, and
collaboration mechanisms ([9]; Ch.  18).
The greatest challenge of integrating enterprise systems
or business entities and making them interoperable comes
from the large number and high heterogeneity of components
that are subject to be interconnected. When two systems have
to talk to each other or interoperate, they have to agree on
common message formats, transfer protocols, shared (data)
semantics, security and identification aspects, and possibly
on legal aspects. In terms of solution, the major pitfall to
be avoided is building monolithic solutions that may result
from dependence on commercial offerings from the same or
preferred suppliers. This would trap users into staying with a
given solution because the costs of conversion become very
significant barriers, thus denying the users of achieving the
benefits of new technology as it becomes available. Hence, a
731
recommended practice is to base solutions on open standards
and open solutions to avoid such a dependency and to control
the pain and costs of maintainability.
33.2.2 Systems Interoperability
Interoperability is defined in the Webster dictionary as “the
ability of a system to use parts of another system.” In IT
terms, it has been defined as the ability of systems to ex- 33
change information and use the information that has been
exchanged [10]. From an enterprise engineering point of
view, interoperability of enterprise applications has been
defined by the EU Athena research project as the ability of a
system to work with other systems without special effort on
the part of their users [11].
More generally and in systemic terms, interoperability can
be defined as the ability of two or more systems to exchange
data, share common information and knowledge, and/or use
functionality of one another to get synergistic gains [6, 12].
For instance, in the context of Industry 4.0, the digital
twin of a product, i.e., a software entity representing the
physical product in the cyber world, must remain connected
in real time to its physical counterpart in the real world
to be a faithful digital image of the product while, at the
same time, be able to exchange data with machine tools for
its assembly, call functions of the production management
system to update its status or get information, and possibly
interact with other products or pieces of equipment.
This assumes on the part of the ICT infrastructure the abil-
ity for systems to send and receive messages (requests or re-
sponses) or data streams, to call functions or services of other
systems, and to provide execution services to orchestrate
operation execution (e.g., workflow engines or enterprise
operating systems [13]). These exchanges can be performed
in synchronous or asynchronous modes depending on the
communication or the collaboration needs. The Internet and
the web service technologies, and especially their associ-
ated open standards (TCP/IP, HTTP, and XML as explained
in Sect. 33.3.4), have boosted technical development and
widespread use of systems interoperability in industry as well
as in many other sectors of our modern life.
As already mentioned, interoperability is a specific char-
acteristic of technical systems but it has been extended to the
business process and even enterprise levels.
33.2.3 Enterprise Interoperability
and Enterprise Integration
Enterprise interoperability can be defined as the ability of an
enterprise to use information and/or services (i.e., function-
ality) provided by one or more other enterprises [12, 14].
732
In other words, enterprise interoperability is the ability
of a business entity of an enterprise, or more generally
of an organization, to work with business entities of other
enterprises or organizations without special effort [11]. The
capability to exchange information, interact, or use third-
party services both internally or with external stakeholders
(partners, suppliers, subcontractors, and customers) is a key
feature in the economic and public sectors, especially to
facilitate e-business, e-government, e-work, e-services, or
any type of collaborative networked activities. Enterprise
interoperability emerged as an essential feature in enter-
prise integration, which itself has been a generalization of
computer-integrated manufacturing (CIM), i.e., integration
in manufacturing enterprises, toward the integration of all
functions of the enterprise [15].
Enterprise integration (EI) occurs when there is a need to
remove organizational barriers and/or improve interactions
among people, systems, applications, departments, and com-
panies (especially in terms of rationalizing and/or fluidifying
material, information/decision, and workflows) [6, 15]. The
goal is to create synergy, i.e., the integrated system must offer
more capabilities than the sum of its components.
The complexity of EI relies on the fact that enterprises
typically comprise hundreds, if not thousands, of applica-
tions (be they packaged solutions, custom-built, or legacy
systems), some of them being remotely located and sup-
porting an even larger number of business processes. Such
environments get even more complicated as companies are
often involved in merger, fusion, acquisition, divestiture, and
partnership opportunities.
Integration of enterprise activities has long been, and often
still is, considered as a pure IT problem. While it is true that at
the end of the day the prime challenge of EI is to provide the
right information to the right place at the right time, business
integration needs must drive information system integration
and not vice versa. Thus, EI has a strong organizational
dimension in addition to its technological dimensions.
From a pure IT standpoint, EI mostly means connecting
computer systems and IT applications to support business
process operations. It involves technologies such as enter-
prise portals, service-oriented approaches, shared business
functions with remote method invocation, enterprise service
buses, distributed business process management (or work-
flow engines), and business-to-business (B2B) integration
[16, 17].
From an organizational standpoint, EI is concerned with
facilitating information, control, and material flows across
organization boundaries by connecting all the necessary
functions and heterogeneous functional entities (e.g.,
information systems, devices, applications, and people) in
order to improve the 4Cs: communication (data and in-
formation exchanges at physical system level), coordination
(synchronized and oderly interoperation at application level),
F. B. Vernadat
and cooperation or collaboration (trust-based transactions
and timely orchestration of process steps at business
level) (Fig. 33.1) [6, 15]. The goal is to enhance overall
productivity, flexibility, and capacity for the management of
change (i.e., agility). Li and Williams [18] provided a broader
definition of EI stating that enterprise integration is the
coordination of all elements including business, processes,
people, and technology of the enterprise(s) working together
in order to achieve the optimal fulfillment of the business
mission of that enterprise(s) as defined by the management.
Enterprise integration can apply vertically, horizontally, or
end to end within an organization. Vertical integration refers
to integrating a line of business from its top management
down to its tactical planning and operational levels (i.e., along
the control structure). Horizontal integration refers to inte-
grating various domains (i.e., business areas) of the enterprise
or with its partners and market environment (i.e., along the
supplier/consumer chain structure). End-to-end integration
refers to integrating an entire value chain such as a supply
chain.
Integration can range from no integration at all to loosely
coupled, tightly coupled, up to full system integration. Full
integration means that component systems are no longer dis-
tinguishable in the whole system. Tightly coupled integration
means that components are still distinguishable in the whole
but any modification to one of them may have direct impact
on others. Loosely coupled integration means that component
systems continue to exist on their own and can still work as
independent entities of the integrated system.
In this context, enterprise interoperability appears to be
one of the many facets of enterprise integration. Indeed,
an integrated family of systems must necessarily comprise
interoperable components in one form or another while in-
teroperable systems do not necessarily need to be integrated.
In fact, enterprise interoperability equates to loosely coupled
enterprise integration. It provides two or more business enti-
ties (of the same organization or from different organizations
and irrespective of their location) with the ability to exchange
or share information (wherever it is and at any time) and to
use functions or services of one another in a distributed and
heterogeneous environment. Interacting component systems
are preserved as they are, can still work on their own, but can
at the same time interoperate seamlessly. This is the reason
why, although EI provides the broad picture and was studied
first in the 1990s, emerging from all the efforts made on CIM
in the 1980s, enterprise interoperability is receiving more
attention nowadays because of its greater flexibility and less
monolithic approach.
Putting in place interoperable enterprise systems is essen-
tial to achieving enterprise integration with the level of flex-
ibility and agility required by public or private organizations
in order to cope with the need for frequent organizational
changes.
33 Interoperability and Standards for Automation 733

A prerequisite for developing integrated or interoperable
enterprise systems is enterprise modeling (EM) [6]. EM
is the art of developing models (e.g., functional, process,
information, resource, or organizational models) describing
the current or desired structure, behavior, and organization
of business entities that need to work together. EM has been
defined as “the art of externalizing knowledge about the
enterprise that needs to be shared or adds value to the enter-
prise” [19]. The models should be interpretable by humans
and computers, be expressed in terms of enterprise modeling
languages (EMLs), and be stored in enterprise model repos-
itories for sharing, reuse, and cleaning (i.e., validation and
verification) purposes.
Examples of well-known EMLs are the IDEF suite of
languages (IDEF0, IDEF1x, and IDEF3), GRAI, CIMOSA,
or ARIS languages as well as the set of modeling constructs
of ISO 19440 or the business process modeling notation
(BPMN) for business processes as surveyed by Vernadat
[6, 19].
As indicated by Fig. 33.1, building interoperable enter-
prise systems and reaching the successive levels of integra-
tion require building on a number of standards, languages,
and technologies. Some of the key technologies are summa-
rized in Sect. 33.3.4 while the initial standardization efforts
have been reviewed in [20] and are summarized in Sect. 33.4.
33.3 Integration and Interoperability
Frameworks
Enterprise integration and interoperability frameworks are
made of a set of principles, standards, guidelines, methods,
33
and sometimes models that practitioners should apply to put
in place the right components in the proper order to achieve
integration and interoperability in their organization.
An example of EI framework is given by Fig. 33.1. It
comes from the computer-integrated manufacturing open
system architecture (CIMOSA)) that has specifically been
designed around 1990 for CIM systems [15]. The framework
defines three integration levels, namely systems integration,
application/service integration, and business integration, and
positions different technologies or languages to be used at
each level.
Other similar architectures or frameworks for enterprise
integration exist; for instances, PERA (Purdue enterprise
reference architecture), GIM (GRAI [graphes de résultats

Integration levels
Business
integration
Trust-based transactions
Coordination / CNO, e-Work, e-Business & e-Government stds
cooperation enterprise architectures, enterprise portals, CSCW
BP coordination, ISO 19440, BPMN, EDM/WCM

Application / service
integration

Service orchestration, workflow engines, BPEL

Coordination
EDI/EDIFACT, STEP, ebXML, RosettaNet
SQL/xPath, KQML/KIF, RDF/OWL, WSDL
web services, MOM/ESB, service registries, UDDI

Physical system
integration
Communication FTP, SMTP, HTTP / HTTPS, HTML, XML
.Net / J2EE, SOAP / REST, cloud computing
ISO-OSI, TCP/IP, IPv6, ATM, Fast ethernet, fieldbuses

Integration evolution

Fig. 33.1 Enterprise integration levels and related technologies (essen- can be found at http://whatis.techtarget.com) (FTP file transfer protocol,
tial technical terms and acronyms appearing in the figure are explained ISO-OSI International Standards Organization Open System Intercon-
in Sect. 33.3.4 of this chapter and more information on each of them nection, J2EE Java to Enterprise Edition, CSCW Computer Supported
Collaborative Work)
734
et activités interreliés] integrated methodology), or GERAM
(generalized enterprise reference architecture and methodol-
ogy). Details on those can be found in [6, 21].
Similarly, a number of frameworks have been developed
for interoperability; for instances, LISI, FEI, and EIF.
The framework of levels of information systems interoper-
ability (LISI)) has been proposed by an Architecture Working
Group of the US Department of Defense (on Command,
Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveil-
lance and Reconnaissance – C4ISR). It defines five levels of
interoperability [22]:
• Level 0 – isolated systems (manual extraction and integra-
tion of data)
• Level 1 – connected interoperability in a peer-to-peer
environment
• Level 2 – functional interoperability in a distributed envi-
ronment
• Level 3 – domain-based interoperability in an integrated
environment
• Level 4 – enterprise-based interoperability in a universal
environment
The Framework for Enterprise Interoperability (FEI))
[23], developed by the EU Network of Excellence
INTEROP-NOE, is useful to identify different barriers to
interoperability and potential approaches to be adopted for
solving the identified barriers. It is organized as a cubic
structure along three dimensions (Fig. 33.2): interoperability
concerns, which represent the different levels of an
enterprise where interoperation can take place (namely,
data, service, process, and business levels); interoperability
barriers, which refer to the incompatibilities between two
enterprise systems (classified as conceptual, technical, and
Interoperability
barriers
Interoperability
approaches
Integrated
Unified
Interoperability
Federated
concerns
Business
Process
Service
Data
Conceptual Organizational
Technological
Fig. 33.2 Framework for Enterprise Interoperability (FEI). (After
[23])
F. B. Vernadat
organizational barriers); and interoperability approaches
regarding the solution to be implemented for removing
identified barriers (namely, federated, unified, and integrated
approaches). FEI has been adopted as an international
standard under the number ISO 11354-1.
The European Interoperability Framework (EIF)) is a
more generic framework jointly developed by the European
Commission (EC) and the member states of the European
Union (EU) to address business and government needs for
information exchange [24]. This framework defines three
essential levels (or dimensions) of interoperability, namely
technical, semantic, and organizational from bottom up, as
depicted by Fig. 33.3. In the new version (2017), a fourth
layer has been added to deal with legal aspects, i.e., alignment
of legal frameworks, policies, or strategies that might hinder
interoperability. Because EIF is gaining wide acceptance,
these dimensions are further explained in the next sections.
33.3.1 Technical Interoperability
This dimension covers technical issues or plumbing aspects
of interoperability. It deals with connectivity and is to date
the most developed dimension. It ensures that systems get
physically connected and that data and messages can be
reliably transferred across systems. It is about linking com-
puter systems and applications or interconnecting informa-
tion systems by means of so-called middleware components.
It includes key aspects such as open interfaces, interconnec-
tion services, data transport, data presentation and exchange,
accessibility, and security services.
At the very bottom level are network protocols (e.g.,
TCP/IP [Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol],
SOAP [Simple Object Access Protocol], etc.) and on top
European interoperability framework
Organization interoperability
Organisation & process alignment
(BPM; process coordination)
Real-world system Real-world system
Semantic interoperability
Semantic alignment
(Metadata registries, ontologies)
Technical interoperability
Information system Syntax, interaction & transport Information system
(HTTP, SMTP ... over TCP/IP; SOAP)
Fig. 33.3 European Interoperability Framework (EIF). (After [24])
33 Interoperability and Standards for Automation
transport protocols (e.g., HTTP [Hypertext Transfer Proto-
col], SMTP [Simple Mail Transfer Protocol], etc.) to ex-
change data in the form of XML messages.
33.3.2 Semantic Interoperability
This dimension of interoperability concerns semantic align-
ment, i.e., the ability to achieve meaningful exchange and
sharing of information, and not only data, among indepen-
dently developed systems. It is concerned with ensuring that
the precise meaning of exchanged information is understand-
able by any other application that was not initially developed
for this purpose.
Semantic interoperability, using encoded domain or ex-
pert knowledge, enables systems to interpret, reformat, or
adapt received information (e.g., interpret social security
code or adapt applicable value-added tax rates depending
on countries), combine it with other information resources
(for instance, apply machining compensation factors in some
circumstances depending on material hardness, temperature,
pressure, or else), or process it in a meaningful manner for
the recipient. It is therefore a prerequisite for the front-end
(multilingual) delivery of services to users.
Beyond system interoperability, coordination between
systems should also be possible. This means that the different
systems must be able to provide each other context-aware
services, i.e., services that can be used in different types of
situations, that they can call oruse to enable the emergence
of higher-level composite services.
Technologies involved at this level include metadata reg-
istries, thesauri, or ontologies to map semantic definitions of
the same concepts used by the different systems involved. In
IT, an ontology is is defined as “a shared formal specification
of some domain knowledge” [25]. For instance, a circle can
be formally defined by its center and radius, themselves
formally defined as a point in space and a strictly positive
real number, respectively. An ontology is usually expressed
by means of a set of axioms and predicates in first-order
logic or formal languages such as knowledge query and
manipulation language (KQML), common logic (CL), now
an international standard (ISO/IEC 24707:2007), or in the
form of semantic networks or taxonomies, for instance, using
Resource Description Framework (RDF) and Web Ontology
Language (OWL), the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C)
Web Ontology Language [26].
Another technology is semantic annotation, or tagging
[27]. It consists in adding textual or formal annotations or
comments to objects (e.g., information items, data schemata,
process models, and even web services) to enrich their de-
scription. These annotations can even refer to an ontological
definition of the concept at hand in a domain ontology.
The added information can then be interpreted depending
735
on context and purpose. Semantic annotation uses ontology
information to enrich object description that tells a computer
the meanings and relations of the object to be interpreted. It
can for instance be used to bridge the gap between models as
additional information that helps description, discovery, and
composition of data items or web services [28].
33.3.3 Organizational Interoperability
33
This dimension of interoperability is concerned with defining
business goals, engineering business processes, and bringing
cooperation or collaboration capabilities to organizations that
wish to exchange information and may have different internal
structures and processes. Moreover, organizational interop-
erability aims at addressing the requirements of the user
community by making services available, easily identifiable,
accessible, and user centric. In other words, it is the ability of
organizations to provide services to each other as well as to
users or the wider public.
To achieve organizational interoperability, it is necessary
to align business processes of cooperating business enti-
ties, define synchronization steps and messages, and de-
fine coordination and collaboration mechanisms for interor-
ganizational processes. This requires enterprise modeling
to describe the organization, business process management
(BPM) for the modeling analysis, and control of the business
processes, workflow engines for the coordination of the
execution of the process steps defined as business services,
trust-based and collaborative tools, and enterprise portals to
provide user-friendly access to business services and infor-
mation pages made available to end users.
33.3.4 Technologies for Interoperability
As illustrated by Figs. 33.1 and 33.3, a certain number
of technologies and open standards need to be considered
for achieving the three levels of enterprise integration and
interoperability. Essential ones include (from bottom up of
both figures):
1. TCP/IP: The transmission control protocol over Inter-
net Protocol remains the easier-to-use transfer protocol
for web services, mail messages, XML messages, file
transfer, and multimedia data. It is based on the ISO-OSI
standard for open system interchange (ISO 7498) but
only uses four layers of the seven-layer structure defined
by ISO-OSI. The only recent evolution is the use of IPv6,
the sixth version of IP, that replaced IPv4 for faster data
transfer and larger addressing of IP addresses.
2. XML: The extended markup language is a widely used,
standardized tagged language proposed and maintained
736
by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). It has been
proposed to be a universal format for structured content
and data on the web but can indeed be used for any
computer-based exchange. Its simple and open structure
has revolutionized data, information, and request/reply
exchanges among computer systems because XML mes-
sages can be handled by virtually any transport protocol
due to its alphanumeric and platform-independent nature
[29].
3. HTTP/HTTPS: Hypertext transfer: protocol is the set of
rules for transferring files (text, graphics, images, sound,
video, and other multimedia files) on the World Wide
Web. HTTP is an application protocol that runs on top of
the TCP/IP suite of protocols. Because of its ubiquity it
has become an essential standard for communications.
HTTP 1.1 is the current version (http://www.w3.org/
Protocols/). HTTPS is the secured version with encryp-
tion of messages using public and private keys.
4. Web services and service-oriented architectures (SOAs):
Since the year 2000, service-oriented architectures repre-
sent a new generation of IT system architectures taking
advantage of message-oriented, loosely coupled, asyn-
chronous systems as well as web services [30–32]. SOAs
provide business analysts, integration architects, and IT
developers with a broad and abstract view of applications
and integration components to be dealt with as encapsu-
lated and reusable high-level services. Web services can
be defined as interoperable software objects that can be
assembled over the Internet using standard protocols and
exchange formats to perform functions or execute busi-
ness processes [31]. They are accessible by the external
world by their uniform resource locator (URL), they are
described by their interface, and can be implemented in
any computer language. Web services use the following
de facto standards for their implementation:
• WSDL: The web service description language is a
contract language used to declare the web service
interface and access methods in a universal language
using specific description templates [33].
• SOAP: The simple object access protocol is a commu-
nication protocol and a message layout specification
that defines a uniform way of passing XML-encoded
data between two interacting software entities (for
instance, web services). It has been designed to be a
simple way to do remote procedure calls (RPCs) over
Internet using the GET and POST methods. SOAP
became a W3C standard in the field of Internet com-
puting in 2002 (SOAP 1.1) and the current version
is SOAP 1.2 [34]. While SOAP 1.1 was based on
XML 1.0, SOAP 1.2 is based on XML information
set (XML Infoset). The XML information set (in-
foset) provides a way to describe an XML document
with XML schema definition (XSD). SOAP still lacks
F. B. Vernadat
security mechanisms for the transfer of sensitive data
and messages but can deal with data encryption.
• REST: Representational state transfer is a constrained
interface architecture often presented as an alternative
to SOAP. REST promotes the use of HTTP and its
basic operations for building large-scale distributed
systems. In this architecture, the HTTP operations
PUT, POST, GET, and DELETE form a standardized,
constrained interface. These operations are then ap-
plied to resources, located by their uniform resource
locator (URL). REST makes possible to build large
distributed applications using only these four opera-
tions [35].
• UDDI: The universal description, discovery, and in-
tegration specification is an XML-based registry pro-
posal for worldwide businesses to list their services
offered on the Internet as web services. The goal is to
streamline online transactions by enabling companies
to find one another on the web and make their services
interoperable for e-commerce. UDDI is often com-
pared to a telephone book’s white, yellow, and green
pages. Within a company or within a network of com-
panies, a private service registry can be established in
a similar way and format to UDDI in order to manage
all shared business and data services used across the
business units.
5. Service registries: A service registry is a metadata repos-
itory that maintains a common description of all services
registered for the functional domain for which it has been
set up. Services are described by their name, their owner,
their service level agreement and quality of service, their
location, and their access method. It is used by service
owners to expose their services and by service users to
locate services. Commercial products based on UDDI
specs are available.
6. Message and service buses – MOM/ESB: The key to
building interoperable enterprise systems and service-
oriented architectures that are reliable and scalable is to
ensure loose coupling among services and applications.
This can be achieved using message queuing techniques,
and especially message-oriented middleware (MOM)
products and their extensions known as enterprise
service buses (ESB) [36]. Services and IT applications
exchange messages in a neutral format (preferably XML)
using simple transport protocols (e.g., XML/SOAP
on TCP/IP, SMTP, or HTTP). A message-oriented
middleware is a messaging system that provides the
ability to connect applications in an asynchronous
message exchange fashion using message queues. It
provides the ability to create and manage message
queues, to manage the routing of messages, and to
fix priorities of messages. Messages can be delivered
according to three basic messaging models:
33 Interoperability and Standards for Automation
• Point-to-point model, in which only one consumer
may receive messages that are sent to a queue by one
or more producers
• Publish and subscribe, in which multiple consumers
may register, or subscribe, to receive messages (called
topics) from the same message queue
• Request/reply, which allows reliable bidirectional
communications between two peer systems (using
input queues and output queues)
An enterprise service bus goes beyond the capabilities
of a MOM. It is a standards-based integration plat-
form that combines messaging of a MOM, web services,
data transformation, database access services, intelli-
gent routing of messages, and even workflow execution
to reliably connect and coordinate the interaction of
significant numbers of diverse applications across an
extended organization with transactional integrity. It is
capable of being adopted for any general-purpose inte-
gration project and can scale beyond the limits of a hub-
and-spoke enterprise application integration broker. Data
transformation is the ability to apply XSLT (extended
style sheet transformation) (or XML style sheets) to
XML messages to reformat messages during transport
depending on the type of receivers that will consume
the messages (for instance, the ZIP code is interpreted
as a separate piece of information for one application
while it is part of a customer address for another one).
Intelligent or rule-based routing is the ability to use
message properties to route message delivery to different
queues according to message content. Database services
simplify access to database systems using SQL (struc-
tured query language) and Java database connectivity
(JDBC) or object database connectivity (ODBC). Useful
enterprise integration patterns to be used in messaging
applications can be found in the book by Hohpe and
Woolf [17], who have thoroughly analyzed and described
patterns most commonly used in practice.
7. Workflow engines: A workflow engine is a software
application that is able to enable and monitor the exe-
cution of instances of a business process from its model
specification (for instance, expressed in the BPEL lan-
guage – see next bullet). It executes a process step
by step and monitors the state of each process step.
Workflow engines are widely available on the market
place.
8. BPM: Business process management consists of review-
ing, reengineering, and automating business processes of
the organization. A business process is a partially ordered
sequence of steps. Among the process steps are services
offered by IT systems, others are activities or tasks. Once
automated, these processes take the form of workflows,
i.e., state-transition machines. Two languages can be
used to model business processes, one at the business
737
user level and one at the workflow system level. These
are:
• BPMN: The business process modeling notation is a
diagrammatic and semistructured notation that pro-
vides business analysts with the capability to rep-
resent internal business procedures in a graphical
language [37]. It gives organizations the ability to
depict and communicate these procedures in a stan-
dard manner. Furthermore, the graphical notation fa-
cilitates the description of how collaborations as well 33
as business transactions are performed between or-
ganizations. This ensures that business participants
will understand each other’s business and that they
will be able, when necessary, to adjust organization
process models to new internal and B2B business
circumstances quickly. The current version is BPMN
2.0.2 and has become a standard (ISO/IEC 19510).
• BPEL: The business process execution language is an
XML-based language designed to enable task sharing
for a distributed computing environment – even across
multiple organizations – using a combination of web
services (BPEL was first named BPEL4WS). It has
been developed as a de facto standard by the IT
industry [38]. BPEL specifies the business process
logic that defines the choreography of interactions
between a number of web services as a workflow.
The BPEL standard defines the structure, tags, and
attributes of an XML document that corresponds to
a valid BPEL specification. Conversion mechanisms
exist to translate BPMN models into BPEL specifica-
tions so that the corresponding business processes can
be executed by workflow engines.
9. Enterprise portals: Enterprise portals provide a single
point of access to enterprise information and services
organized as web pages, easily made accessible via a web
browser. Services are implemented as web services (also
called portlets) and information contents are stored in
web content managers. Enterprise portals provide a uni-
fied web-based framework for integrating information,
people, and processes across organizational boundaries.
If the portal is only accessible by the employees of an
enterprise, it is called an intranet. If in addition it can
be accessed by authorized external people, it is called an
extranet. If it can be freely accessed by anyone, it is a
web portal or public Internet site.
10. EDM/WCM: Enterprise content management (ECM))
consists in managing unstructured information in elec-
tronic form (letters, cont consists in managing unstruc-
tured information in electronic form (letters, contracts,
invoices, e-mails, miscellaneous electronic documents,
photos, films, etc.), as opposed to structured information
stored in databases. It includes all of the management
and formatting of content published on large-scale
738
company websites (intranets, extranets, and Internet
websites). Web content management (WCM)) specif-
ically deals with content published on web pages. A
web content management system (WCMS) provides
website authoring, collaboration, and administration
tools that help users with little knowledge of web
programming languages or markup languages that create
and manage website contents. Both EDM and WCM
tools are essential systems to store and manage contents
presented by enterprise portals.
33.4 Standards for Automation
Standardization is the process of elaborating official docu-
ments, i.e., sets of guidelines and standards, on the basis
of a large consensus at national or international level on a
specific technical domain, a technology, a methodology or set
of procedures, or a body of knowledge. Standards are useful
to public or private organizations, and especially to industry,
because they provide commonly agreed terminology, rules,
and normative information or specifications about proce-
dures, methods, or technical solutions for their design, man-
agement, improvement, operations, maintenance, or decom-
missioning, or those of the products or services they produce
or offer.
The aim of this section is to list major standards applicable
to the design, implementation, and management of auto-
mated systems, be they interoperable or not. Standardization
organizations producing relevant standards for automation
domains include ISO, IEC, ANSI, CEN, and NIST.
ISO (International Standardization Organization), based
in Geneva, Switzerland, was founded in 1946 and counts 165
participating countries. Standardization work at ISO is orga-
nized in technical committees (TCs), each TC being made of
subcommittees (SCs) comprising working groups (WGs). TC
184 on automation systems and integration is the main ISO
TC dealing with industrial automation and covering physical
device control (SC 1), industrial and service robotics (SC 2),
industrial data (SC 4), and interoperability and integration
technologies (SC 5).
IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission), ,
founded in 1906 and also based in Geneva, Switzerland,
is the world’s leading organization for the preparation
and publication of international standards for all so-called
“electrotechnologies,” i.e., electrical, electronic, and related
technologies. ISO and IEC formed the joint technical
committee JTC 1 dealing with development of worldwide
information and communication technology (ICT) standards
for business and consumer applications.
ANSI (American National Standards Institute)) is a pri-
vate, not-for-profit organization founded in 1918 and based
in Washington, DC, USA. Its mission is to enhance both the
F. B. Vernadat
global competitiveness of US business and the US quality of
life by promoting and facilitating voluntary consensus stan-
dards and conformity assessment systems, and safeguarding
their integrity.
CEN (European Committee for Standardization)) is
based in Brussels, Belgium. It is an association that brings
together the National Standardization Bodies of 34 European
countries. It provides a platform for the development of
European standards. CEN/TC 310 on advanced automation
technologies and their applications has been working
since 1990 to ensure the availability of the standards the
European industry needs for integrating and operating the
various physical, electronic, software, and human resources
required for automated manufacturing. It works closely with
ISO/TC 184 and other committees. CEN/ISO documents
are referenced as EN ISO documents for European
norms (EN).
NIST (National Institute for Standards and Technology))
is a US standardization institute founded in 1901 and based in
Gaithersburg, MD. It is now a branch of the US Department
of Commerce and is organized in laboratories. The true
central mission of NIST is to enable innovation and indus-
trial competitiveness through standards. Together with ISO
and ANSI, NIST has significantly contributed to automation
standards developments, e.g., automation frameworks, cyber-
physical system frameworks, risk management framework
(RMF) automation, security automation, etc.
The following list of standards is by no means an ex-
haustive presentation. It contains the most popular stan-
dards relevant for automation projects or automated systems.
Standards are presented in tabular form and classified by
themes, excluding industrial communications and computer
networks technologies which are addressed in Ch.  23.
Copies of the standards can be obtained from the respective
website of the responsible organization body (usually with
a fee) using the standard identification code indicated in
the following tables. For each standard, a short description
extracted from publicly available information on its website
is proposed.
33.4.1 Standards for Automation Project
or System Management
Table 33.1 identifies high level standards relevant for
project managers of automation projects or automated
systems. Indeed, depending on projects, managers must
pay attention to quality management of products, services,
or processes (ISO 9000), assess and mitigate risks (ISO
31000), care about environmental responsibilities (ISO
14000) as well as social responsibilities including sustainable
development (ISO 26000), guarantee information asset
security (ISO/IEC 27000), measure and control performance
33 Interoperability and Standards for Automation
Table 33.1 Standards for automation project or system management
Standard identification Title
ISO 9000 Family Quality management
ISO 14000 Family Environmental management
ISO 19011:2018 Guidelines for auditing
management systems
ISO 22301:2012 Societal security – Business Specifies requirements to plan, establish, implement, operate,
continuity management
systems – Requirements
ISO 22400 Family Automation systems
integration – Key performance composing, exchanging, and using key performance indicators
indicators (KPIs) for
manufacturing operations
management
ISO 26000:2010 Guidance on social
responsibility
ISO/IEC 27000 Family Information Technology –
Security management
ISO 31000:2018 Risk management – Guidelines Provides guidelines and a common approach to managing any
739
Short description Responsible entity
Proposes a number of quality management principles ISO/TC 176/SC2
including a strong customer focus, the motivation and
implication of top management, the process approach, and
continual improvement. ISO 9001 can be used as the basis for
audit or certification of enterprise processes or services. The
family comprises:
ISO 9000:2015 Quality management systems – Fundamentals
and vocabulary
ISO 9001:2015 Quality management systems – Requirements
ISO 9004:2018 Quality management – Quality of an 33
organization – Guidance to achieve sustained success
Concerns companies or organizations of any type that require ISO/TC 207
practical tools to manage their environmental responsibilities.
It comprises:
ISO 14001:2015 Environmental management systems –
Requirements with guidance for use
ISO 14004:2016 Environmental management systems –
General guidelines on implementation
ISO 14005:2019 Environmental management systems –
Guidelines for a flexible approach to phased implementation
ISO 14040: 2006 Environmental management – Life cycle
assessment – Principles and framework
Provides guidance on auditing management systems, including ISO/TC 176/SC3
the principles of auditing, managing an audit program, and
conducting management system audits, as well as guidance on
the evaluation of competence of individuals involved in the
audit process
ISO/TC 292
monitor, review, maintain, and continually improve a
documented management system to protect against, reduce the
likelihood of occurrence, prepare for, respond to, and recover
from disruptive incidents when they arise
Specifies an industry-neutral framework for defining, ISO/TC 184/SC5
(KPIs) for manufacturing operations management, as defined
in IEC 62264-1 for batch, continuous, and discrete industries.
It comprises:
ISO 24001:2014 Part 1: Overview, concepts, and terminology
ISO 24002:2014 Part 2: Definitions and descriptions (contains
a selected number of KPIs)
ISO 24010:2018 Part 10: Operational sequence description of
data acquisition
Is intended to assist organizations in contributing to ISO Technical
sustainable development; also intended to encourage them to Management Board
go beyond legal compliance, recognizing that compliance with
law is a fundamental duty of any organization and an essential
part of their social responsibility
Enables organizations of any kind to manage the security of ISO/IEC JTC
assets such as financial information, intellectual property, 1/SC27
employee details, or information entrusted by third parties in
their information systems
ISO/TC 262
kind of risks faced by organizations. The application of these
guidelines can be customized to any organization and its
context
740
of manufacturing operations (ISO 22400), ensure business
continuity of operations (ISO 22301), and carry out audits
or obtain certification for their products, services, or systems
(ISO 19011).
33.4.2 Standards for Automated Systems
Modeling, Integration,
and Interoperability
Table 33.2 summarizes the most important standards ap-
plicable to interoperability or integration projects of en-
terprise systems or automation applications. They concern
project managers and business analysts when they have to
plan and organize enterprise/automation system integration
or interoperability projects (ISO 15704), assess interoper-
ability maturity (ISO 11354-2), define system architecture
(EN ISO 19439, ISO/IEC 10746), apply enterprise or sys-
tem modeling techniques to describe business entities (ISO
14258, ISO 19440, ISO/IEC 15414) or business processes
(ISO/IEC 19150), specify and analyze system design with
Petri nets (ISO/IEC 15909), and put in place interoper-
ability solutions using open systems application integration
(ISO 15745) or manufacturing software capability profiling
(ISO 16100).
33.4.3 Standards for E-Commerce
and E-Business
Table 33.3 mentions only three standardization documents,
including one in working draft (WD) status and one stan-
dard family (ISO 15000) on ebXML for e-commerce and
e-business as far as automation is concerned.
33.4.4 Standards for Emerging Industry
(Including I4.0, IoT, and CPS)
Table 33.4 indicates a few standards relevant to Industry
4.0/smart manufacturing. Because these are recent and still
emerging concepts, only a limited number of standards or
prestandards can be pointed out. The most important one
at the moment is the publicly available specification (PAS)
document about the reference architecture for Industry 4.0
known as RAMI 4.0 (IEC/PAS 63088). For this reason, it is
listed first.
Also included in this category are standards on RFID
(ISO/IEC 18000 Series) as used in inventory management,
Reference Architecture for Service-Oriented Architectures
(SOA RA) (ISO/IEC 18384:2016), drones (ISO 21384 and
ISO 21895) to be used to deliver shipments, Internet of
Things (IoT) (ISO/IEC 21823 and ISO/IEC TR 30166:2020)
F. B. Vernadat
for smart devices and their connection, and the digital factory
framework (IEC 62832-1:2016).
33.4.5 Standards for Industrial Data
Table 33.5 suggests a list of major standards to be considered
when handling or processing industrial data in automated
systems. They concern data quality and the exchange of
master data (ISO 8000), exchange of product data with the
STEP format (ISO 10303)), exchange of parts library data
(ISO 13584), and specification and exchange of manufac-
turing process data with the PSL language (ISO 18629).
It also concerns industrial manufacturing management data
as defined in the various parts of the MANDATE standard
(ISO 15531) for which it defines a series of conceptual
models (resource model, time model, and flow management
model).
33.4.6 Standards for Industrial Automation
The sum of standardization efforts in industrial automation
is immense. It covers specifications for everything from
network communications profiles all the way through to the
tools physically interacting with the products, interoperabil-
ity of devices, or to equipment reliability, safety, or efficiency.
Therefore, Table 33.6 only provides a list of essential stan-
dards for industrial automation as recommended by ANSI
and ISA (the International Society of Automation).
Among this set of documents, we specifically recommend
reading documents of the ISO/IEC 62264 family (listed first),
formerly known as ANSI/ISA-95, which defines a generic
hierarchical control framework, also called the automation
pyramid, for the management and control of manufacturing
and production systems. The pyramid defines five levels:
level 0 at the bottom for production processes with sensors
and signals, level 1 for sensing and manipulating using PLCs,
level 2 for monitoring and supervising using supervisory
control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems accessible
by means of human-machine interfaces (HMIs), level 3 for
manufacturing operations management using manufacturing
executive systems (MESs), and level 4 at the top for business
planning and management using enterprise resource planning
(ERP) systems. Part 3 of the standard also needs considera-
tion as it defines generic activity models of manufacturing
operations management that enable enterprise systems to
control system integration.
Three other significant and widely used standards are:
IEC 61131 about programmable logic controllers (PLCs),
ISO 9506 about manufacturing message specification
(MMS), and ANSI/MTC1.6-2020 about MTConnect, an
ANSI/ISA-95-compliant interoperability solution for data
33 Interoperability and Standards for Automation 741

Table 33.2 Standards for automated systems modeling, integration, and interoperability
Responsible
Standard identification Title Short description entity
ISO/IEC 10746 Family Information technology – Provides a coordinating framework for the standardization of open ISO/IEC JTC
(known as RM-ODP) Open distributed distributed processing (ODP). This supports distribution, 1/SC 7
processing – Reference interworking, portability, and platform and technology independence.
model It establishes an enterprise architecture framework for the
specification of ODP systems based on five model views (namely
enterprise, information, computational, engineering, and technology
viewpoints). The family comprises:
ISO/IEC 10746-1:1998 Part 1: Overview
ISO/IEC 10746-2:2009 Part 2: Foundations 33
ISO/IEC 10746-3:2009 Part 3: Architecture
ISO/IEC 10746-4:1998 Part 4: Architectural semantics
EN ISO 11354 Family Advanced automation Specifies Framework for Enterprise Interoperability (FEI) that ISO/TC 184/SC5
technologies and their establishes dimensions and viewpoints to address interoperability
applications – barriers, their potential solutions, and the relationships between them,
Requirements for and specifies maturity levels to represent the capability of an
establishing manufacturing enterprise to interoperate with other enterprises. It comprises:
enterprise process ISO 11354-1:2011 Part 1: Framework for Enterprise Interoperability
interoperability ISO 11354-2: 2015 Part 2: Maturity model for assessing enterprise
interoperability
ISO 14258:1998 Industrial automation Defines general concepts and rules applicable for elaborating ISO/TC 184/SC5
systems – Concepts and enterprise models
rules for enterprise models
ISO/IEC 15414:2015 Information technology – Provides (a) a language (the enterprise language) comprising ISO/IEC JTC
Open distributed concepts, structures, and rules for developing, representing, and 1/SC 7
processing – Reference reasoning about a specification of an open distributed processing
model – Enterprise system from the enterprise viewpoint (as defined in ISO/IEC
language 10746-3); and (b) rules which establish correspondences between the
enterprise language and the other viewpoint languages (defined in
ISO/IEC 10746-3) to ensure the overall consistency of a specification
ISO 15704:2019 Enterprise modeling and Specifies a reference base of concepts and principles for enterprise ISO/TC 184/SC5
architecture – architectures that enable enterprise development, enterprise
Requirements for integration, enterprise interoperability, human understanding, and
enterprise-referencing computer processing. The document further specifies requirements
architectures and for models and languages created for expressing such enterprise
methodologies architectures. It specifies those terms, concepts, and principles
considered necessary to address stakeholder concerns and to carry out
enterprise creation programs as well as any incremental change
projects required by the enterprise throughout the whole life of the
enterprise. The document forms the basis by which enterprise
architecture and modeling standards can be developed or aligned
ISO 15745 Family Industrial automation Defines an application integration framework, i.e., a set of elements
systems and integration – and rules for describing integration models and application
Open systems application interoperability profiles, together with their component profiles
integration framework (process profiles, information exchange profiles, and resource
profiles). It is applicable to industrial automation applications such as
discrete manufacturing, process automation, electronics assembly,
semiconductor fabrication, and wide-area material handling. It may
also be applicable to other automation and control applications such
as utility automation, agriculture, off-road vehicles, medical and
laboratory automation, and public transport systems. It comprises:
ISO 15745-1:2003 Part 1: Generic reference description
ISO 15745-2:2003 Part 2: Reference description for ISO 11898-based
control systems
ISO 15745-3:2003 Part 3: Reference description for IEC 61158-based
control system
ISO 15745-4:2003 Part 4: Reference description for Ethernet-based
control system
(continued)
742 F. B. Vernadat

Table 33.2 (continued)

Responsible
Standard identification Title Short description entity
ISO 16100 Family Industrial automationSpecifies a framework, independent of a particular system ISO/TC 184/SC5
systems and integration –
architecture or implementation platform, for the interoperability of a
Manufacturing software
set of software products used in the manufacturing domain and to
capability profiling for
facilitate its integration into a manufacturing application. The full
interoperability framework addresses information exchange models, software object
models, interfaces, services, protocols, capability profiles, and
conformance test methods. It comprises:
ISO 16100-1:2009 Part 1: Framework
ISO 16100-2:2003 Part 2: Profiling methodology
ISO 16100-3:2005 Part 3: Interface services, protocols, and capability
templates
ISO 16100-4:2006 Part 4: Conformance test methods, criteria, and
reports
ISO 16100-5:2009 Part 5: Methodology for profile matching using
multiple capability class structures
ISO/IEC 19150:2013 Information technology – Provides a notation that is readily understandable by all business ISO/IEC JTC 1
(on BPMN) Object Management Group users, from the business analysts that create the initial drafts of the
Business Process Model processes to the technical developers responsible for implementing
and Notation the technology that will perform those processes, and finally to the
business people who will manage and monitor those processes. Based
on BPMN 2.0
EN ISO 19439:2006 Enterprise integration – Specifies a framework based on CIMOSA, PERA, and GERAM ISO/TC 184/SC5
Framework for enterprise conforming to requirements of ISO 15704 made of four model views
modeling (function, information, resource, and organization). It serves as the
basis for further standards for the development of enterprise models
that will be computer-enactable and enable business process
model-based decision support leading to model-based operation,
monitoring, and control
EN ISO 19440:2020 Enterprise integration – Identifies and specifies a set of constructs necessary for modeling ISO/TC 184/SC5
Constructs for enterprise enterprises aspects in conformance with ISO 19439. This document
modeling focuses on, but is not restricted to, engineering and the integration of
manufacturing and related services in the enterprise. The constructs
enable the description of structure and functioning of an enterprise for
use in configuring or implementing in different application domains
ISO/IEC 15909 Family Systems and software Defines a Petri net modeling language or technique, called high-level ISO/IEC JTC 1
engineering – High-level Petri nets, including its syntax and semantics. It provides a reference
Petri nets definition that can be used both within and between organizations to
ensure a common understanding of the technique and of the
specifications written using the technique. The standard also defines
an XML-based transfer format for Petri nets to facilitate the
development and interoperability of Petri net computer support tools.
It comprises:
ISO/IEC 15909:2019 Part 1: Concepts, definitions, and graphical
notation
ISO/IEC 15909:2011 Part 2: Transfer format

exchanges between machine tools and other pieces of facility general characteristics, coordinate systems, effectors,
equipment. mechanical interfaces, or safety requirements.

33.4.7 Standards for Industrial and Service 33.4.8 Standards on Usability

Robotics and Human-Computer Interaction

Many standards apply to industrial and service robots. Table 33.8 provides a nonexhaustive list of useful standards
Table 33.7 gives a limited but useful list for manipulating related to ease of use and interactions between humans and
robots covering aspects such as established vocabulary, computerized systems in automated systems with a focus
33 Interoperability and Standards for Automation 743

Table 33.3 Standards for e-commerce and e-business

Standard identification Title
ISO 10008:2013 Quality management –
Customer satisfaction –
Guidelines for
business-to-consumer
electronic commerce
transactions
ISO 15000 Family Electronic business
(ebXML) eXtensible Markup
Language (ebXML)
ISO/IEC 15944-1:2011 Information
(Open-edi) technology – Business
operational view – Part
1: Operational aspects
of Open-edi for
implementation
ISO/WD 32110 Transaction assurance
in e-commerce
Short description Responsible entity
Provides guidance for planning, designing, developing, ISO/TC 176/SC3
implementing, maintaining, and improving an effective and
efficient business-to-consumer electronic commerce transaction
system within an organization
Commonly known as e-business XML, or ebXML, it is a family ISO/TC 154
of XML-based standards sponsored by OASIS and UN/CEFACT
to provide an open, XML-based infrastructure, that enables the
global use of electronic business information in an interoperable, 33
secure, and consistent manner by all trading partners. It currently
comprises:
ISO/DIS 15000-1: Part 1: Messaging service core specification
ISO/DIS 15000-2: Part 2: Applicability Statement (AS) profile of
ebXML messaging service
ISO 15000-5:2014 Part 5: Core Components Specification (CCS)
Concerns open electronic data interchange (Open-edi) and ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 32
addresses the fundamental requirements of the commercial and
legal frameworks and their environments on business transactions
of commercial data between the participating organizations
Ongoing work on standardization in the field of transaction ISO/TC 321
assurance in e-commerce-related upstream/downstream processes

on ergonomic requirements (including multimedia systems),
different aspects of man-machine interaction, and usability.
33.5 Overview and Conclusion
To synthesize, Fig. 33.4, adapted from [39], puts together a
number of concepts and principles addressed in this chapter
to draw a comprehensive view of the big picture. In addi-
tion, it indicates some of the research challenges that are
receiving a lot of attention from different academic com-
munities in the various domains of enterprise integration,
interoperability, and networking, when they have to apply
to enterprise automation. As illustrated in Sect. 33.4, all
these domains are the subject of extensive standardization
efforts to consolidate advances and encourage harmonized
developments.
Due to the tremendous needs for data/information/
knowledge exchange or sharing as well as for the ever-
increasing needs for cooperative or collaborative work
around the world and between organizations, nearly all
activity sectors are facing integration and interoperability
problems, ranging from manufacturing supply chains to
banking activities, the insurance sector, medical services,
and public or government organizations.
Typical recent examples are the manufacturing world
on one hand with smart manufacturing/Industry 4.0, and
all kinds of e-activities on the other hand (e.g., e-business,
e-commerce, e-services, e-work, or e-government). In both
cases, the state of the art to face their needs is to implement
XML-based messaging communications and loosely coupled
system interoperation thanks to XML/HTTP or web
services over Internet (TCP/IP). More specifically, electronic
commerce is a rapidly growing application domain (for web-
based shopping, B2B commerce, e-procurement, electronic
payment, EDI, etc.). Dedicated technologies developed for
this domain include ebXML (electronic business XML –
now ISO 15000) for XML electronic data interchange, and
RosettaNet (www.rosettanet.org) for standard electronic
data exchange in supply chains. In addition, e-work, and
especially teleworking and videoconferencing, is another
application domain that has boomed as an effect of the
COVID-19 crisis in 2020. Regarding Industry 4.0, the
needs are going to decouple and primary technologies
used are cyber-physical systems (CPSs), Internet-of-
Things/Internet-of-Services, service-oriented architectures,
and MOM/ESB internally, while cloud computing, enterprise
portals, and collaborative platforms are required to support
interorganization exchanges.
In terms of trends that can be observed, there has been a
shift from the pure business process paradigm that prevailed
until the end of the 1990s to the service orientation paradigm
since 2000. This puts more emphasis on services interop-
erability than on IT systems interoperability or enterprise
application integration than before [40].
Among the future trends, one can mention the emer-
gence of composite services, i.e., services made of services,
744 F. B. Vernadat

Table 33.4 Standards for Industry 4.0

Responsible
Standard identification Title Short description entity
IEC/PAS 63088:2017 Smart manufacturing – Describes a reference architecture model in the form of a cubic layer IEC/TC 65
(known as RAMI 4.0) Reference architecture model, which shows technical objects (assets) in the form of layers,
model industry 4.0 (RAMIand allows them to be described, tracked over their entire lifetime (or
4.0) “vita”), and assigned to technical and/or organizational hierarchies. It
also describes the structure and function of Industry 4.0 components
as essential parts of the virtual representation of assets
ISO/IEC 18000 Series Information technology – Describes a series of diverse radio frequency identification (RFID) ISO/IEC JTC
(on RFID) Radio frequency technologies, each using a unique frequency range. The series is made 1/SC 31
identification for item of several parts:
management Part 1: Reference architecture and definition of parameters to be
standardized
Parts 2 to 7: Parameters for air interface communications for
frequency ranges below 135 KHz, at 13.56 MHz, at 2.45 GHz, at
860 MHz to 960 MHz, and 433 MHz, respectively
Part 6 (ISO/IEC 18000-6) is a large document that has been split into
five parts as follows:
Part 6: Parameters for air interface communications at 860 MHz to
960 MHz General
Part 61: Parameters for air interface communications at 860 MHz to
960 MHz Type A
Part 62: Parameters for air interface communications at 860 MHz to
960 MHz Type B
Part 63: Parameters for air interface communications at 860 MHz to
960 MHz Type C
Part 64: Parameters for air interface communications at 860 MHz to
960 MHz Type D
ISO/IEC 18384:2016 Information technology – Describes a Reference Architecture for SOA Solutions which applies ISO/IEC JTC
Reference Architecture for to functional design, performance, development, deployment, and 1/SC 38
Service-Oriented management of SOA Solutions. It includes a domain-independent
Architecture (SOA RA) – framework, addressing functional requirements and nonfunctional
Part 2: Reference requirements, as well as capabilities and best practices to support
Architecture for SOA those requirements
Solutions
ISO 21384 Series (for Unmanned aircraft systems Refers to unmanned aircraft systems (UASs) that are widely used in ISO/TC 20/SC
drones) science and technology and specifies the requirements for safe 16
commercial UAS operations. The series, still under development and
approval, comprises:
ISO/DIS 21384-1 Part 1: General specification
ISO/CD 21384-2 Part 2: Product systems
ISO 21384-3:2019 Part 3: Operational procedures
ISO 21384-4:2020 Part 4: Vocabulary
ISO 21895:2020 Categorization and Specifies requirements for the classification and grading of civil ISO/TC 20/SC
classification of civil unmanned aircraft system (UAS). It applies to the industrial 16
unmanned aircraft systems conception, development, design, production, and delivery of civil
UAS
ISO/IEC 21823 Family Internet of Things (IoT) – Deals with interoperability as it applies to IoT systems, providing a ISO/IEC JTC
Interoperability for IoT framework for interoperability for IoT systems that enables 1/SC 41
systems peer-to-peer interoperability between separate IoT systems. It
comprises:
ISO/IEC 21823-1:2019 Part 1: Framework
ISO/IEC 21823-2: 2020 Part 2: Transport interoperability
ISO/IEC TR Internet of Things (IoT) – Technical report that describes: general Industrial IoT (IioT) systems ISO/IEC JTC
30166:2020 Industrial IoT and landscapes which outline characteristics, technical aspects and 1/SC 41
functional as well as nonfunctional elements of the IioT structure, and
a listing of standardizing organizations, consortia, and open-source
communities with work on all aspects on IIoT
IEC 62832-1:2016 Industrial process It is a technical specification (TS) that defines the general principles IEC/TC 65
measurement, control, and of the digital factory framework (DF framework), which is a set of
automation – Digital model elements (DF reference model) and rules for modeling
factory framework – Part 1: production systems
General principles
33 Interoperability and Standards for Automation 745

Table 33.5 Standards for industrial data

Responsible
Standard identification Title Short description entity
ISO 8000 Series Data quality Is a global set of standards for data quality and enterprise master data ISO/TC 184/SC4
(including critical business information about products, services and
materials, constituents, clients and counterparties, and for certain
immutable transactional and operational records). It describes the
features and defines the requirements for standard exchange of master
data among business partners
ISO 10303 Series Industrial automation Is the standard for the computer-interpretable representation and ISO/TC 184/SC4
(informally known as systems and integration – exchange of product manufacturing information, and especially
STEP) Product data representation product data for the entire product life cycle, using STEP (standard 33
and exchange for the exchange of product data models). STEP can be used to
exchange geometric, dimensioning, tolerancing, or descriptive data
between computer-aided design, computer-aided manufacturing,
computer-aided engineering, product data management/enterprise
data modeling, and other computer-aided systems. ISO 10303 is
closely related to ISO 13584 (PLIB). ISO 10303 is made of many
parts and many application protocols (APs). Essential ones are:
ISO 10303-1:1994 Part 1: Overview and fundamental principles
ISO 10303-11:2004 Part 11: Description methods: The EXPRESS
language reference manual
ISO 10303 Parts 2x: Implementation methods (STEP-file,
STEP-XML . . . )
ISO 10303 Parts 3x: Conformance testing methodology and
framework
ISO 10303 Parts 4x and 5x: Integrated generic resources
ISO 10303 Parts 1xx: Integrated application resources
AP 201, Explicit draughting. Simple 2D drawing geometry related to
a product. No association, no assembly hierarchy
AP 202, Associative draughting. 2D/3D drawing with association, but
no product structure
AP 203, Configuration-controlled 3D designs of mechanical parts and
assemblies
AP 204, Mechanical design using boundary representation
AP 214, Core data for automotive mechanical design processes
AP 242, Managed model-based 3D engineering
ISO 13584 Family Industrial automation Is an international standard for the computer-interpretable ISO/TC 184/SC4
(known as PLIB) systems and integration – representation and exchange of parts library data. The objective is to
Parts library provide a neutral mechanism capable of transferring parts library
data, independent of any application that is using a parts library data
system. The nature of this description makes it suitable not only for
the exchange of files containing parts, but also as a basis for
implementing and sharing databases of parts library data
ISO 15531 Family Industrial automation MANDATE addresses the modeling of manufacturing management ISO/TC 184/SC4
(know as MANDATE) systems and integration – data such as: resources management data (resource model),
Industrial manufacturing time-related features (time model), or flow management data in
management data manufacturing (flow management model). MANDATE, in association
with STEP, PLIB, and other ISO/SC 4 (or non-SC 4) standards, may
be used in any software application that addresses manufacturing
management–related information such as resources management data,
flow management data, etc. As such, the standard is intended at
facilitating information exchanges between software applications
such as ERP, manufacturing management software, maintenance
management software, quotation software, etc. MANDATE has been
written in EXPRESS (ISO 10303-11)
ISO 18629 Family (on Industrial automation Defines a process specification language (PSL) aimed at identifying, ISO/TC 184/SC4
PSL) systems and integration – formally defining, and structuring the semantic concepts intrinsic to
Process specification the capture and exchange of process information related to discrete
language manufacturing. PSL is defined as a set of logic terms, specified in an
ontology, used to describe manufacturing, engineering, and business
processes. This family is made of nine parts, among which the most
important are:
ISO 18629-1:2004 Part 1: Overview and basic principles
ISO 18629-11:2005 Part 11: PSL core
ISO 18629-12:2005 Part 12: PSL outer core
746 F. B. Vernadat

Table 33.6 Essential standards for industrial automation

Responsible
Standard identification Title Short description entity
ISO/IEC 62264 Enterprise control system Is an international standard for developing an automated interface ISO/TC
Family(known as integration between enterprise and control systems, developed to be applied in all 184/SC 5
ANSI/ISA-95 or industries, and in all sorts of processes, like batch processes,
ISA-95) continuous, and repetitive processes. It comprises:
IEC 62264-1:2013 Part 1: Models and terminology
IEC 62264-2:2015 Part 2: Objects and attributes for enterprise control
system integration
IEC 62264-3:2016 Part 3: Activity models of manufacturing
operations management
IEC 62264-4:2016 Pat 4: Activity models of manufacturing
operations management integration
IEC 62264-5:2016 Part 5: Business to manufacturing transactions
ISO 9506 Family Industrial automation Deals with manufacturing messaging specification (MMS) for ISO/TC
(known as MMS) systems – Manufacturing transferring real-time process data and supervisory control 184/SC 5
message specification information between networked devices or computer applications. It
comprises:
ISO 9506-1:2003 Part 1: Service definition
ISO 9506-2:2003 Part 2: Protocol specification
ISO 11161:2007 Safety of machinery – Specifies the safety requirements for integrated manufacturing ISO/TC 199
Integrated manufacturing systems that incorporate two or more interconnected machines for
systems – Basic specific applications, such as component manufacturing or assembly.
requirements It gives requirements and recommendations for the safe design,
safeguarding, and information for the use of such systems
ISO 13281:1997 Industrial automation Specifies the functional architecture of MAPLE, a manufacturing ISO/TC
(known as MAPLE) systems – Manufacturing automation programming environment. MAPLE is a 184/SC 5
Automation Programming vendor-independent neutral facility for the programming of multiple
Environment (MAPLE) – manufacturing devices and controls. For the programming of
Functional architecture manufacturing devices and controls the following areas will be
supported: Connection between various manufacturing data and
manufacturing application programs; management of several
manufacturing databases; and sharing of manufacturing application
programs and software tools
ISO 20242-1:2005 Industrial automation Provides an overview of the particularities of the international ISO/TC
systems and integration – standard ISO 20242 and its use in the computer-aided testing 184/SC 5
Service interface for testing environment
applications – Part 1:
Overview
ISO 23570-1:2005 Industrial automation Specifies the interconnection of elements in the control system of ISO/TC
systems and integration – machine tools and similar large pieces of industrial automation and 184/SC 1
Distributed installation in specifies the interconnection of sensors and actuators with I/O
industrial applications – modules. This specification includes cable types, sizes and sheath
Part 1: Sensors and colors, connector types and contact assignments, and diagnostic
actuators functions appropriate to the sensors and actuators
IEC 61131:2020 Series Programmable controllers Is a set of IEC standard for programmable controllers. It comprises: IEC/TC
IEC 61131-1:2003 Part 1: General information 65/SC 65B
IEC 61131-2:2017 Part 2: Equipment requirements and tests
IEC 61131-3:2013 Part 3: Programming languages
IEC TR 61131-4:2004 Part 4: User guidelines
IEC 61131-5:2000 Part 5: Communications
IEC 61131-6:2012 Part 6: Functional safety
IEC 61131-10:2019 Part 10: PLC open XML exchange format
IEC 61158-1:2019 Industrial communication Specifies the generic concept of fieldbuses. This document presents IEC/TC
networks – Fieldbus an overview and guidance for the IEC 61158 series explaining the 65/SC 65C
specifications – Part 1: structure and content of the IEC 61158 series, relating the structure of
Overview and guidance for the IEC 61158 series to the ISO/IEC 7498-1 OSI Basic Reference
the IEC 61158 and IEC Model and showing how to use parts of the IEC 61158 series in
61784 series combination with the IEC 61784 series
(continued)
33 Interoperability and Standards for Automation 747

Table 33.6 (continued)

Responsible
Standard identification Title Short description entity
IEC 61298-1:2008 Process measurement and Specifies general methods and procedures for conducting tests, and IEC/TC
control devices – General reporting on the functional and performance characteristics of process 65/SC 65B
methods and procedures for measurement and control devices
evaluating performance –
Part 1: General
considerations
IEC 61508-1:2010 Functional safety of electri- Covers the aspects to be considered when IEC/TC
cal/electronic/programmable electrical/electronic/programmable electronic systems are used to 65/SC 65A
electronic safety-related carry out safety functions 33
systems – Part 1: General
requirements
IEC 61784-1:2019 Industrial communication Defines a set of protocol-specific communication profiles based IEC/TC
networks – Profiles Part 1: primarily on the IEC 61158 series, to be used in the design of devices 65/SC 65C
Fieldbus profiles involved in communications in factory manufacturing and process
control
IEC 61850 Series Communication networks Set of standards for communication networks and systems for power IEC/TC 57
and systems for power utility utility automation – All parts. It is applicable to power utility
automation automation systems and defines the communication between
intelligent electronic devices in such systems
IEC 61987-1:2006 Industrial process Defines a generic structure in which product features of industrial IEC/TC
measurement and control – process measurement and control equipment with analog or digital 65/SC 65E
Data structures and elements output should be arranged, in order to facilitate the understanding of
in process equipment product descriptions when they are transferred from one party to
catalogues – Part 1: another
Measuring equipment with
analog and digital output
IEC 62381:2012 Automation systems in the Defines the procedures and specifications for the Factory Acceptance IEC/TC
process industry – Factory Test (FAT), the Site Acceptance Test (SAT), and the Site Integration 65/SC 65E
Acceptance Test (FAT), Site Test (SIT). These tests are carried out to prove that the automation
Acceptance Test (SAT), and system is in accordance with the specification. The description of
Site Integration Test (SIT) activities given in this standard can be taken as a guideline and
adapted to the specific requirements of the process, plant, or
equipment
IEC 62453-1:2016 Field device tool (FDT) Presents an overview and guidance for the IEC 62453 series on field IEC/TC
interface specification – Part device tool (FT) interfaces 65/SC 65E
1: Overview and guidance
ANSI/MTC1.6-2020 MTConnect Standard MTConnect is an open and free of charge data and information ANSI
Version 1.6 exchange standard supporting interoperability between devices,
sensors, and software applications by publishing data over a network.
It is based on a data dictionary of terms describing information
associated with manufacturing operations. The standard also defines a
series of semantic data models that provide a clear and unambiguous
representation of how that information relates to a manufacturing
operation

especially to build hubs of integrated e-services. This need is
rapidly growing both in business (to combine competencies
and capabilities of several partners into common services)
as well as in government organizations (for instance, pan-
European services offered to EU citizens where a service
offered to citizens through a common portal will in fact be
a combination of local services running in member states
in national languages, e.g., application for the blue card or
European identity card).
At the technical level, integration and interoperability
are still evolving and will continue to evolve with tech-
nological advances (e.g., faster communication networks,
authentication mechanisms, security issues, electronic signa-
ture, or multilingual issues).
At the semantic level, many researchers agree that one
of the major challenges for integration and interoperability
remains the semantic unification of concepts, thus hindering
development of smart systems. There are simply too
many (often trivial) ontologies around, developed in
isolation and ignoring each other, and no common way
of representing these ontologies, although OWL-S is a de
facto standard. Proposed underlying microtheories must be
748
Table 33.7 Standards for industrial and service robotics
Standard identification Title
ISO 8373:2012 Robots and robotic
devices – Vocabulary
ISO 9409-1:2004 Manipulating industrial
robots – Mechanical
interfaces – Part 1: Plates
ISO 9409-2:2002 Manipulating industrial
robots – Mechanical
interfaces – Part 2: Shafts
ISO 9283:1998 Manipulating industrial
robots – Performance
criteria and related test
methods
ISO 9787:2013 Robots and robotic
devices – Coordinate
systems and motion
nomenclatures
ISO 9946:1999 Manipulating industrial
robots – Presentation of
characteristics
EN ISO 10218-1:2011 Robots and robotic
devices – Safety
requirements for industrial
robots – Part 1: Robots
EN ISO 10218-2:2011 Robots and robotic
devices – Safety
requirements for industrial
robots – Part 2: Robot
systems and integration
ISO 11593:1996 Manipulating industrial
robots – Automatic
end-effector exchange
systems – Vocabulary and
presentation of
characteristics
ISO/TR 13309:1995 Manipulating industrial
robots – Informative guide
on test equipment and
metrology methods of
operation for robot
performance evaluation in
accordance with ISO 9283
EN ISO 13482:2014 Robots and robotic
devices – Safety
requirements for personal
care robots
ISO 14539:2000 Manipulating industrial
robots – Object handling
with grasp-type grippers –
Vocabulary and
presentation of
characteristics
F. B. Vernadat
Responsible
Short description entity
Defines terms used in relation with robots and robotic devices ISO/TC 299
operating in both industrial and nonindustrial environments
Defines the main dimensions, designation, and marking for a circular ISO/TC 299
plate as mechanical interface. It is intended to ensure the
exchangeability and to keep the orientation of hand-mounted
end-effectors
Defines the main dimensions, designation, and marking for a shaft ISO/TC 299
with cylindrical projection as mechanical interface. It is intended to
ensure the exchangeability and to keep the orientation of
hand-mounted end-effectors
Is intended to facilitate understanding between users and ISO/TC 299
manufacturers of robots and robot systems, defining the important
performance characteristics, describing how they shall be specified,
and recommending how they should be tested
Defines and specifies robot coordinate systems. It also provides ISO/TC 299
nomenclature, including notations, for the basic robot motions. It is
intended to aid in robot alignment, testing, and programming. It
applies to all robots and robotic devices as defined in ISO 8373
Because the number of manipulating industrial robots used in a ISO/TC 299
manufacturing environment is constantly increasing and this has
underlined the need for a standard format for the specification and
presentation of robot characteristics, the document is intended to
assist users and manufacturers in the understanding and comparison
of various types of robots and contains a vocabulary and a format for
the presentation of automatic end-effector exchange systems
characteristics
Specifies requirements and guidelines for the inherent safe design, ISO/TC 299
protective measures, and information for use of industrial robots. It
describes basic hazards associated with robots and provides
requirements to eliminate, or adequately reduce, the risks associated
with these hazards
Specifies safety requirements for the integration of industrial robots ISO/TC 299
and industrial robot systems as defined in ISO 10218-1, and industrial
robot cell(s)
Defines terms relevant to automatic end-effector exchange systems ISO/TC 299
used for manipulating industrial robots. The terms are presented by
their symbol, unit, definition, and description. The definition includes
references to existing standards
This technical report supplies information on the state of the art of test ISO/TC 299
equipment operating principles. Additional information is provided
that describes the applications of current test equipment technology to
ISO 9283
Specifies requirements and guidelines for the inherently safe design, ISO/TC 299
protective measures, and information for use of personal care robots,
in particular the following three types of personal care robots: mobile
servant robots, physical assistant robots, and person carrier robots.
These robots typically perform tasks to improve the quality of life of
intended users, irrespective of age or capability
Is one of a series of standards dealing with the requirements of ISO/TC 299
manipulating industrial robots. This standard provides the vocabulary
for understanding and planning of object handling and presentation of
characteristics of grasp-type grippers
33 Interoperability and Standards for Automation
Table 33.8 Standards on usability and human-computer interaction
Standard identification Title
ISO 9241 Family Ergonomic requirements
for office work with visual
display terminals (VDTs)
Renamed from 2006 as:
Ergonomics of
human-system interaction
ISO 13407:1999 Human-centered design
processes for interactive
systems
ISO 14915 Software ergonomics for
multimedia user interfaces
ISO/TS 16701:2003 Ergonomics of
human-system interaction –
Guidance on accessibility
for human-computer
interfaces
ISO/TR 16982:2002 Ergonomics of
human-system interaction –
Usability methods
supporting human-centered
design
ISO/TR 18529:2000 Ergonomics – Ergonomics
of human-system
interaction –
Human-centered life cycle
process descriptions
IEC/TR 61997:2001 Guidelines for the user
interfaces in multimedia
equipment for general
purpose use
749
Responsible
Short description entity
This voluminous standard made of several parts and series provides ISO/TC 159/SC
detailed guidance on the design of user interfaces of interactive 4
systems. Recommended readings are:
ISO 9241-1:1997 Part 1: General introduction
ISO 9241-2:1992 Part 2: Guidance on task requirements
ISO 9241-11:2018 Part 11: Usability: Definitions and concepts
ISO 9241-20:2008 Part 20: Accessibility guidelines for
information/communication technology (ICT) equipment and services
ISO/TR 9421-100:2010 Part 100: Introduction to standards related to 33
software ergonomics
ISO 9241-171:2008 Part 171: Guidance on software accessibility
(former ISO/TS 16701:2003)
ISO 9241-210:2019 Part 210: Human-centered design for interactive
systems (former ISO 13407:1999)
ISO 9241-220:2019 Part 220: Processes for enabling, executing, and
assessing human-centered design within organizations (former
ISO/TR 18529:2000)
Since 2006, standards documents have been organized in series as
follows:
100 series: Software ergonomics
200 series: Human-system interaction processes
300 series: Displays and display-related hardware
400 series: Physical input devices – ergonomics principles
500 series: Workplace ergonomics
600 series: Environment ergonomics
700 series: Application domains – Control rooms
900 series: Tactile and haptic interactions
Replaced by ISO 9241-210:2019 ISO/TC 159/SC
4
Provides principles, recommendations, requirements, and guidance ISO/IEC JTC
for the design of multimedia user interfaces with respect to the 1/SC 35
following aspects: design of the organization of the content,
navigation, and media-control issues. It comprises:
ISO 14915-1:2002 Part 1: Design principles and framework
ISO 14915-2:2003 Part 2: Multimedia navigation and control
ISO 14915-3:2002 Part 3: Media selection and combination
Replaced by ISO 9241-171:2008 ISO/TC 159/SC
4
Provides information for project managers on human-centered ISO/TC 159/SC
usability methods which can be used for design and evaluation. It 4
details the advantages, disadvantages, and other factors relevant to
using each usability method. It explains the implications of the stage
of the life cycle and the individual project characteristics for the
selection of usability methods and provides examples of usability
methods in context
Replaced by ISO 9241-220:2019 Part 220 ISO/TC 159/SC
4
Applies to the design of multimedia equipment such as information IEC/TC 100
and communications equipment or audio-video equipment and
systems. The purpose of the guidelines set in this technical report is to
take note of those inconveniences in the operation of multimedia
equipment observed today, and to specify checkpoints that should be
given primary consideration in the development of good multimedia
products and systems that the general, nonprofessional user can use
with confidence
750 F. B. Vernadat

Domains Theories, models, Research challenges

languages & tools

I4,0, e-Services, e-Work, • Hub of integrated e-Services • Theories of collaboration

collaborative networked Service • CNO reference models
organizations (CNOs) Service • Cyber-physical systems
Service
Service • Formal methods and tools
Service • Empirical studies
Enterprise modeling Service
and reference
models • Enterprise modeling languages (EMLs)
Process • EMLs for enterprise
integration & interoperability
• Ontologies for (networked)
Enterprise enterprise interoperability
integration
• Semantic interoperability

Enterprise and • Reference architectures, Interoperability • Interoperability architectures

barriers
system ontologies, and Interoperability
• Interoperability process
approaches Integrated
interoperability functional models Unified
Interoperability classification frameworks
Federated concerns
Business • Model repository
Process classification scheme
Validation and Service

Data
verification of
Conceptual Organizational
enterprise models Technological • Process definition, execution,
• Collaboration Functional model Information model
and tracking
and bio-inspired Refers to

• Process analysis, evaluation,

models and tools Produces and

Enterprise model Ontology1 Ontology n

annotates models
monitoring, and optimization
repositories • Process data mining and
Ontology Annotation
Annotation provider
management
services
management
services visualization

Fig. 33.4 The scope of current challenges in enterprise integration and interoperability (after [39])

aligned, validated, and internationally approved (and may be
standardized) to provide sound foundations to the field, while
(XML-based) standards for ontology representation should
be welcome.
At the organizational level, many techniques and lan-
guages exist to capture and represent business processes and
services in a satisfactory way from a practitioner’s viewpoint.
Recent research trends have concerned the development of
interoperability maturity models with associated metrics to
assess the level of interoperability of companies and the
development of methodologies for improving enterprise in-
tegration or interoperability. A major challenge for devel-
oping smart interoperable enterprise systems concerns orga-
nizational learning and knowledge processing at enterprise
level [41].
Anyway, for the years to come, the driving forces impos-
ing the new development trends will still come from new
business conditions: market globalization in some sectors
versus industrial relocalization in other areas, increased
communications and electronic activities of all kinds,
teleoperations, knowledge sharing and skill-/competency-
based hubs of integrated services, etc. The reader should also
see Ch.  18 for related content and other drivers.
To date, thanks to advances in Internet computing and
service orientation, enterprise integration and systems inter-
operability have become a reality that largely contributes to
make enterprises more agile, more collaborative, and more
interoperable. Enterprise integration and systems interop-
erability are fairly mature at the technical level, and will
continue to evolve with progress of new ICT technologies,
but are not yet fully mature at the organizational and more
specifically at the semantic level. There are however some
other issues (out of the scope of this chapter) that should
be considered. They concern legal issues, confidentiality
issues, or linguistic aspects, to name a few, especially in
the case of international contexts (multinational firms, in-
ternational organizations, or unions of member states). They
can have a political dimension and be even harder to solve
than pure technical or organizational issues mentioned in
this chapter.
33 Interoperability and Standards for Automation
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752 F. B. Vernadat

François B. Vernadat received his PhD in electrical engineering and

automatic control from University of Clermont, France, in 1981. He has
been a research officer at the National Research Council of Canada in
the 1980s and at the Institut National de Recherche en Informatique
et Automatique in France in the 1990s. He joined the University of
Lorraine at Metz, France, in 1995 as a full professor and founded the
LGIPM research laboratory. His research interests include enterprise
modeling, enterprise architectures, enterprise integration and interop-
erability, information systems design and analysis, and performance
management. He has contributed to seven books and published over
300 papers. He has been a member of IEEE and ACM, has hold several
vice-chairman positions at IFAC, and has been associate or area editor
for many years of Computers in Industry, IJCIM, IJPR, Enterprise
Information Systems, and Computers and Industrial Engineering. In
parallel from 2001 until 2016, he held IT management positions as head
of departments in IT directorates of European institutions in Luxemburg
(first European Commission and then European Court of Auditors).
 Automation and Ethics
Micha Hofri
Contents
34.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 753
34.2 What Is Ethics, and Why Is It Used for
Automation? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 754
34.3 Dimensions of Ethics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
34.3.1 Theories of Ethics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
34.3.2 Principles of Ethics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
34.3.3 Automation Ethical Concerns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
34.3.4 Automation Failures and Their Ethical Aspects . . . . . . .
34.3.5 Artificial Intelligence and Its Ethical Aspects . . . . . . . . .
34.4 Protocols for Ethical Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 764
34.5 Codes of Ethics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 764
34.6 Online Resources for Ethics of Automation . . . . . . . . 764
34.7 Sources for Automation and Ethics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 765
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 771
Abstract
This chapter surveys aspects of automation in technology,
its design, implementation, and usage, as they interact
with values that underpin our society and its civilization.
The framework chosen for this survey is that of moral or
ethical theories and attitudes. To this avail we describe
several of the ethical theories used currently to anchor
discussions about values in our society. Several significant
failures of automatic systems, including a fictional one,
are quarried for ethical insights and lessons. The currently
intractable nature of “neural networks” artificial intelli-
gence systems trained via machine learning is shown to be
a moral conundrum. The concepts of code of ethics and of
ethical analysis are presented in some detail.
M. Hofri ()
Department of Computer Science, Worcester Polytechnic Institute,
Worcester, MA, USA
e-mail: hofri@wpi.edu
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023
S. Y. Nof (ed.), Springer Handbook of Automation, Springer Handbooks,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-96729-1_34
34
Keywords
Ethical framework · Theory · Model · Conflict analysis ·
Role of ethics in automation design · Automation effect
on society · Automation failure analysis · Artificial
754 intelligence opacity · Internet and communications
755 technology · Code of ethics and professional conduct
757
758
758
761
34.1 Introduction
Mankind has evolved to be the dominant species in the world.
On the way humans have developed technologies that are
changing this world.
A convenient time point for the beginning of our “tech-
nological age” is 1804; that year the first steam locomotive
was built for a railroad in a coal mine in Wales, and the
US Census Bureau estimates that on that year the global
population reached one billion, for the first time. It is now
(at end of Summer, 2022) just under eight billion. This
growth has required the development of many technologies,
notably in food production, construction, transportation, and
communications. We now need these technologies; the cur-
rent way much of humanity lives depends on them and on
many others that provide for needs and wants beyond mere
subsistence; with time, this dependence is certain to increase
in depth and criticality. On the way to the present, people have
discovered that these technologies, and their applications,
have downsides as well. This chapter considers the ways
that the balancing is handled. The framework which has
been found useful for the needed consideration is that of
ethics, also referred to as morality. Note that “the ethics
of technology” is a topic in numerous publications, where
the actual discussions have little to do with ethics: mostly
they raise worries of technology influence on society, or
report about damage due to technology, and discuss ways to
control and repair these concerns; the discussion is technical
or legal (regulatory) rather than ethical; that usage is not
753
754 M. Hofri

considered in this chapter. It is a sign of the times that many before. Customer complaints would now be answered by
universities have obtained generous grants to build research blaming the machine, “the computer did it.”
centers focusing on this topic. Such centers tend to have brief 6. Automatic irrigation system which is not provided input
lives (probably due to the grant that started them petering on the state of the soil and predictions of precipitation and
out). wastes water/or spaces the watering sessions too sparsely,
The quotation heading the next section suggests an intu- and plants die off.
ition behind the choice of our topic.
In the next section, we give a more detailed description
of the concerns with automatic systems, which can be
ameliorated through a disciplined process of ethical analysis
34.2 What Is Ethics, and Why Is It Used for
of the decision space. The list of examples above where
Automation?
faulty design led to unanticipated behavior suggests
how much decision-makers could be helped by such
Two things fill the mind with ever new and increasing admiration analysis.
and awe …. the starry heavens above me and the moral law
within me. …. I see them before me and connect them imme-
Often failures of automation are assumed to be due to its
diately with the consciousness of my existence. novelty; this need not be the case. Automation came early:
—Immanuel Kant, Critique of Practical Reason, 1788. The above mentioned beginning of the technical age cited the
use of a steam engine in a locomotive. Such steam engines
As Kant claims, a sense for ethics, a “moral law” in
were even then provided with a centrifugal governor that
his words, is innate to humans. Similar realizations have
regulated the flow of steam to the cylinder and maintained
moved thinkers to analyze this sense in the earliest writings
the engine speed within a prescribed range, automatically.
of mankind [1], going back to Classical Greece. Our moral
Now consider the examples in the list above; how do they
sense is needed, so that we act properly, in ways that this
differ from the early locomotive? They are all computerized
sense approves of, and it lets us then feel we are “doing
systems. As will become evident, in much of the discussion
the right thing.” Humans have other senses, such as vision
of automation, we need hardly distinguish between the terms
and touch, and we have found that they can be enhanced by
“automatic system” and “computer-based system.” Similarly,
instruments, such as a microscope and a thermometer. You
the important distinction in computers between the hardware
may think of the various ethical theories and models that
and the software is rarely material for us.
people have spawned as tools to sharpen our moral sense
It is important to note: the creation and operation of an au-
The most direct answer to the question in the title of this
tomatic system involves several categories of personnel, not
section is to show how easy it is to draw a list of woes,
all necessarily acting or even existing concurrently. Among
scenarios of automatic systems or operations which give rise
those we distinguish designers, implementers, deployment
to undesirable, or even catastrophic results; these would not
teams, maintainers, operators, and possibly more. On another
be the outcomes of “doing the right thing.” This can happen
level there are the owner(s), decision-maker(s), and external
in many and diverse ways:
users (think of an atm), all of them, at different levels of
involvement, stakeholders.
1. Traffic lights that “favor” one road over another inter-
There is a basic question that underlies much of our
secting it, creating large, unneeded delays. A distributed
discussion: does technology carry in and of itself any values,
system of such lights can have even more elaborate failure
or is it value-neutral, and ethical concerns relate to it through
modes, such as the creation of a “red wave” along a main
its embedding in human society? This chapter hews closely
road.
to such an attitude; humans, their needs and wants—that is
2. Airline reservations system open to the Internet makes it
the measure of our ethics concerns. The question is treated in
possible for anyone to discover who flies on a given flight
some detail in [28, Chapter 3].
by using an ordinary Internet search engine.
3. A driverless car which does not allow adequately for
weather conditions.
4. The machines in a printer room of an academic depart-
ment manage the queue of documents to be printed, un- 34.3 Dimensions of Ethics
aware that some of them are confidential (such as tests
for current courses), and the room needs to be monitored The discussion begins with the main kinds of theories of
when these are printed. ethics that have been developed and then presents a list of
5. Automatic assembly machine which manufactures prod- issues or concerns that the personnel connected to automation
ucts inferior to those that humans employees produced needs to take into account.
34 Automation and Ethics
34.3.1 Theories of Ethics
The problem is that no ethical system has ever achieved con-
sensus. Ethical systems are completely unlike mathematics or
science. This is a source of concern.
—Daniel Dennett, Interview with Hari Kunzru, December 17,
2008.
The concern Dennett raises leads some ethicists to refer
to ethical frameworks, or systems, as he does, rather than
theories. We use these collective names as equivalent. How
can an ethical issue be addressed? We have an inherent moral
sense, and it is natural for us to appeal to its guidance. It
is, however, personal and as such cannot be the basis for
moral principles that are widely accepted, ideally—by all
society. What can be the source of authority or persuasion
that can back such wide acceptance of an ethical principle?
Traditionally we recognize three such sources: religion, the
Law, and theories of ethics. We argue that only the last is a
suitable choice [2, Chapter 2].
Using religion as the basis of ethical decisions has an
attractive side; it has been practiced in various forms for a
very long time, and for many among us it is invested with
the recognition and demands of a higher authority, even a
supreme being. However, in the diverse, pluralistic society
we exist, this cannot provide a common source recognized by
most of the people we consider. In addition, it may be pointed
out that automation systems exist at a societal level that is
not addressed well by most religious moral teachings. This
cannot be an adequate basis. No more than we can appeal to
the code of Hammurabi to order our lives.
Can the legal system provide us the support we need
to determine the ethical value of actions? Unlike religious
teachings it is recognized as impersonal, it is not subject
to disputations, and it is quite explicit. There are difficul-
ties in using it as source of consensus. It is not uniform
across national borders (and in several ways even across
state borders within the United States). The main reason
we hesitate to see it as our source of moral authority is the
incongruity: not all that is moral is legal; not all that is legal
is moral. For example, till the 1860s slavery was legal in
the United States; conversely, in many states, due to public
health concerns, restaurants may not give charity kitchens
their surplus prepared food. What is morally acceptable by
society changes with time, and so does legislation, but their
changes are rarely well-synchronized.
What theories of ethics are at our disposal? A readable
survey of the area is provided by Michael Sandel in [6]. Over
time, several types have been proposed:
1. Relativistic ethics frameworks
2. Consequence-based ethics theories
3. Duty-based ethics theories
4. Character-based ethics theories
755
This list immediately reinforces the statement of Daniel
Dennett above.
Note We keep to the main flavors; the complete record
would also mention social contract-based ethical theories,
[3, 5] and rights-based theories [7]. When automation is
considered, these are probably less significant than in other
contexts.
Relativistic Ethics Theories
Such theories deny the existence of universal ethics norms [8,
Chapter 2]. It came to be considered a valid approach in the
34
twentieth century only [4]. Ethicists have defined two such
approaches to ethics, with self-explanatory names.
The Subjective Relativism posits that each person makes
moral decisions according to his individual values. The work-
ing principle is acceptance that “what is moral for me may not
be right for you.” While this may be a workable arrangement
for a community of sensible people, it is not appropriate as
the ethical protocol for managing a technology likely to be
novel to many persons or organizations.
The second type of relativism, cultural relativism, en-
larges the domain of agreement about moral norms from
an individual to a community, which may encompass few
or many individuals; yet similarly, it denies the need for
agreement among such groups. The same difficulty holds:
since the technologies we consider are expected to transcend
any particular culture, its design and operation cannot be held
hostage to any such local set of norms.
There is even a third view, sometimes called “ethical
egoism,” which defines the good and the bad actions or issues
as those that advance or, conversely, harm the interests of
a person. In such a view, any issue which neither abets nor
harms the person has no moral dimension. Such thinking
is commonly associated with the author Ayn Rand; it is
not better than the relativistic formulations for our concern.
David Oderberg is quoted in [17], saying that relative ethics
ultimately dissolves into moral nihilism.
Albert Einstein observed “Relativity applies to physics,
not ethics….”
Consequence-Based Ethics Theories
We look now at theories that judge an action moral to the
extent that it leads to the increase of the happiness of the
most people. This is the way it was offered in the eighteenth
and nineteenth centuries by its founders, Jeremy Bentham
(1748–1832) and John Stuart Mill (1806–1873), [2, 9]. The
underlying idea is attractive, but its application requires at-
tention, to avoid unacceptable outcomes. A known example
suggests that if a society enslaves 1% of the population,
making them produce desirable products and services for the
756
rest and improving their quality of life, many more people
would experience greater happiness, swamping the suffering
of the few, making it qualify as a highly ethical act!
Nevertheless, this approach has found much favor and has
been modified in several ways, to improve its usability. While
happiness is desirable by all people, comparing happiness
levels provided by different acts is not easy, arguably im-
possible, and has been typically replaced by quantifying the
merit, often by equivalent sums of money. Economists that
have been using it found that a more flexible application is
possible introducing the concept of utility function, to rep-
resent the merit of decisions [10]. Consequently, a common
name for this approach is utilitarianism.
Unlike the relativistic approaches to ethics, utilitarianism
is factual and objective and allows decision-makers to explain
and justify their decisions. Yet another important develop-
ment of the theory emerged as it was realized that there is
merit in avoiding the need to conduct a complete analysis for
each situation which needs an ethical decision, if we adopt
rule-utilitarianism, which calls on us to formulate rules of
action by analyzing their utility, rules that would allow us a
simpler decision-making, by finding for a pending action the
rule that would provide us guidance for it.
It has been observed that much of the merit of utilitarian-
ism is that its application requires a systematic, exhaustive,
prudential, and objective analysis of the decision space that
is relevant to the act, or rule under consideration, as the
case may be, guaranteeing, to the extent possible, that the
decision-makers understand the context of the decision and
are in command of the facts available.
Duty-Based Ethics Theories
Immanuel Kant, the German philosopher, claimed, as seen
when Sect. 34.2 was introduced, that his consciousness is
tied up with a moral law. Throughout his work he struggled
to reconcile this fact with his conviction that morality of
action must ultimately be grounded in the duty that speaks
to the action, which mainly springs from the obligations
that humans have to each other, but never in the possible
consequence of the actions taken. He refused to tie ethics
to the promotion of happiness in any form, explaining in
his Prolegomena to Any Future Metaphysics that it is so,
“…because happiness is not an ideal of reason, but of the
imagination,” and noting further that performing a duty may
be unpleasant or even lead to a result which is undesirable
from certain points of view. (Could this observation have
led to George B. Shaw, acute social critic that he was, to
observe “An Englishman thinks he is moral when he is only
uncomfortable,” in Man and Superman, Act 3, 1903?). But
‘duty calls,’ and this call is supreme. The term deontics or
deontology is used to describe such theories. (A traditional
view states that justice flows from three sciences: economics;
deontics, study of duty; and juridics, study of law).
M. Hofri
Kant had a second string to his bow; his conviction that
while the moral law is an essential difference between hu-
mans and all other beings, there is another difference, our
ability to reason and be rational. Hence, he stated, moral
decisions need to be reached by rational analysis of the
situation at hand and judging which moral rules or principles
apply. Moral analysis, like the mathematical kind, needs a
basis. In mathematics the need is provided by axioms, and for
the moral variety, Kant formulated similar primary directives,
for which he coined the term categorical imperative. Kant has
provided a few versions of this basis, in several of his books,
as his theories developed. The two most often used for such
analysis are on their face quite different.
Kant’s categorical imperatives
First The only valid moral rules, at any time, are such that can
be universal moral laws
Second Act so that you always treat yourself and other people as
ends in themselves, and never as only means to an end [8]
A more direct reformulation of the first imperative states that
you should only act on moral rules that you can imagine ev-
eryone else following, at any suitable time, without deriving
a logical contradiction [6]. The second imperative is based on
Kant’s special view of humans.
While Kant’s duty-based moral theories have achieved
much acclaim, applying them can run into difficulties, es-
pecially when the decision-maker is faced with competing
duties. Resolving the difficulty calls for ranking different
duties, which is usually a fraught procedure. Kant already
considered duties that can be primary and secondary, and
subsequent treatments went much further than we wish to
follow in the current discussion. The names of Benjamin
Constant [11] and David Ross are relevant here [12].
To conclude this brief exposition, let us quote one more
statement of Kant that exhibits his standards: “In law, a man
is guilty when he violates the rights of another. In ethics he
is guilty if he only thinks of doing so.”
Character-Based Ethics Theories
The approach to ethics described as character-based is the
oldest among those we consider, following the writings by
Plato and Aristotle, more than two millenia ago. Similar
tracks were laid in oriental traditions by Confucius and later
Mencius; the latter was a contemporary of Aristotle. Another
term applied to it is virtue ethics, since in this approach it is
the acting person and his virtues, rather than the action (or
the decision about it), which is at the center of attention, and
accordingly neither the consequences of actions nor duties
that may compel them are considered. The virtuous man is
described as the person who, at the right time, does the right
act, for the right reason. The “right reason” is culture appro-
34 Automation and Ethics
priate. In pre-platonic times, for example, physical prowess
was prized; in our time tolerance may be claimed to have
a similar significance or in a different vein—high scholarly
achievement, from which the right actions follow.
Over the last several decades, numerous ethicists have
seen the consequentialist and duty-based approaches as ob-
scuring the importance of living the moral life, acquiring
moral education, with ethical and emotional family and com-
munity relationships; virtue ethics appears as a way to attend
to these missing components. What sets apart this view of
ethics is that it is not based on inculcating a theory, or
learning principles, but on practicing the ethical behavior. It
is a process of growth, with the aim for the person to get
to a stage where doing the correct action, adopting honest
behavior, becomes a part of his or her nature and that doing
so will feel good and become a character trait.
We argue for our preference of this approach when consid-
ering decisions about speculative situations, where deontic
rules may be hard to apply, and consequentialist analyses
encounter numerous unknowns. Automation practice may
often give rise to just such situations.
A shortcoming recognized for this approach is that the
tight view of the actor as an individual does not lend it for
easy use by institutions, including agencies of government.
Yet such an agency is a human institution, and distinguishable
people create its actions.
It must be clear that the distinction between these frame-
works, or theories, is not a moral one but a matter of what a
person values at a given situation. Looking at healthcare sys-
tem, and at regional transportation control, arguably should
lead to different types of argumentation.
34.3.2 Principles of Ethics
The theories above display how thinking about morality
over time has become codified in a variety of formal ways,
exhibiting deep differences, tied to cultural and personal
moral values. Cultures have found other ways to preserve
and display the reactions of thoughtful people to the ethical
conundrums life throws at us at every turn: they have created
ethical proverbs or maxims.
There is the classic Golden Rule, “do unto others as you
would have them do unto you.” It has been attributed to
many people, going back thousands of years, and is found
in the teachings of most religions. It encapsulates the ethic of
reciprocity, a basic sense of justice. (This exposition would be
remiss if it did not mention the demurral of George Bernard
Shaw, who objected to this rule, observing that your and the
others’ taste or preferences may well differ.) The negative
form of this adage is not as common. Hillel the Elder, a
Jewish scholar living in the first century bc, is quoted in the
Talmud: “That which is hateful to you, do not do to your
757
neighbor; this is the whole law. The rest is commentary on
it; go, study.” Cognate forms can be found in Muslim and
Confucian writings.
Societies can disagree in surprising ways. Ancient Greeks
believed that revenge is sanctioned by the gods (and dis-
charged by Nemesis). It provides a unifying basis to many
of the classical tragedies of Greek theater. Hence, it was said,
“to seek revenge is rational.” Kant, indeed, elevated the role
of reason to a main tool of ethical analysis, yet he would not
have approved.
Reason may encounter further hindrances: “It is useless
to attempt to reason a man out of a thing he was never
reasoned into” (Jonathan Swift, 1721), in A Letter to a Young 34
Gentleman…. Many have expressed this sentiment since. “As
they were not reasoned up, they cannot be reasoned down”
(Fisher Ames).
Here is a scattering of others; most can be seen as pertain-
ing to one of the frameworks discussed above. Several have
known first formulators:
“Any tool can be used for good or bad.”
“If it is not right, do not do it; if it is not true, do not say it”
(Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, second century ad).
“Honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom” (Thomas
Jefferson).
“There cannot any one moral rule be proposed whereof a man
may not justly demand a reason” (John Locke, 1690).
“Integrity has no need of rules” (Albert Camus).
“Practice what you preach” (After Dean Rusk).
“Even the most rational approach to ethics is defenseless
if there isn’t the will to do what is right” (Alexander
Solzhenitsyn).
“Ethical axioms are found and tested not very differently
from the axioms of science. Truth is what stands the test
of experience ” (Albert Einstein, 1950).
“No moral system can rest solely on authority” (A. J.
Ayer).
“Morality is the custom of one’s country, and the current
feeling of one’s peers” (Samuel Butler, 1900).
“The needs of a society determines its ethics” (Maya An-
gelou).
“There can be no final truth in ethics any more than in
physics, until the last man has had his experience and has
said his say” (William James, 1896).
“Science, by itself, cannot supply us with an ethic” (Bertrand
Russel, 1950).
Asimov’s Laws of Robotics—Consideration
In 1940 Isaac Asimov, a professor of chemistry and also a
very prolific science and science-fiction writer, invented three
laws designed to constrain (very advanced) robots so they
operate ethically [13].
758
First Law A robot may not injure a human being or, through
inaction, allow a human being to come to harm
Second Law A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings
except where such orders would conflict with the First
Law
Third Law A robot must protect its own existence as long as such
protection does not conflict with the First or Second
Law
The laws were included in a collection of science-fiction
short stories, and they appeared plausible. The stories, how-
ever, for the most part were designed to display a variety
of situations which were not captured adequately by the
laws, mostly due to their informal language. A subsequent
collection of stories [14] continued this demonstration.
Remarkably, even though these laws were merely a liter-
ary device—included in a book considered a low-brow genre,
with stories that mostly displayed modes of their failure—
the laws captured wide attention, of a variety of other writers
and also scholars in machine ethics [15, 16]. It soon became
obvious that the laws are inadequate in many ways for
the purpose intended; we referred to their informal, even
sloppy language, but a deeper difficulty is their adversarial
formulation. It would make a robot that adheres to them a
strictly deontological-ethics device, an approach which is not
satisfactory on its own, as mentioned. The two papers just ref-
erenced describe some of these inadequacies in depth. While
there have been many attempts to extend or convert these laws
to a working design (one of them by Asimov himself, in [14]),
the consensus appears to be that no adequate extensions exist;
this is probably due to the unhappy fact that we do not have
currently a sufficient understanding of the possible nature(s)
of advanced General Artificial Intelligence (GAI) devices.
An interesting initiative to clarify the situation is due to the
authors of the “2017 Montreal Declaration for a Responsible
Development of AI” [26]. They produced a genuine attempt
to corral the ethical issues in the development of automatic
systems. The web page shows the principles only; the pdf
document it points to has a thoughtful expansion of these
principles. How successful is this recent attempt? It remains
to be seen.
34.3.3 Automation Ethical Concerns
As explained above, ethical concerns arise when engineers
design systems whose operation may lead to improper out-
comes, regardless of their actual nature. Of particular interest
are failure modes which should have been avoided during the
system design phase, since there are now powerful design
verification tools.
M. Hofri
This could be due to any of the personnel bringing the sys-
tem to operation. The ethical concerns that automation raises
can be parsed as follows (some overlap of the categories is
inherent):
1. Viewing the system as a software-based operation raises
the issues known as those of any information processing
operation [8, 17, 39]; we remind the reader that some of
those are correctness of operation, privacy and safety of
users and operators, data security, intellectual property
integrity, maintainability, and fairness.
2. Concerns due to the physical actions associated with
the functions of the automation. These include safety
of personnel, integrity of the physical plant (including
products), acceptable wear and tear, and conservation of
input and process materials.
3. Intellectual property issues that are unrelated to the soft-
ware, in particular, ensuring the validity of agreements
needed to use patented or copyrighted material. Also the
applications to protect patented material created in the
design of the system, including devices and methods of
operation.
4. Issues that arise during system design. These include
beyond all those above the need to ensure that the sys-
tem achieves its purposes, at the desired level of quality,
subject to budgetary constraints, and satisfies subsidiary
requirements, such as accessibility and physical security
of the system, and satisfies relevant electrical and building
codes.
5. AI & ethics—artificial intelligence gives rise to issues
that are unique to it and differ from other software-based
systems. It is considered in Sect. 34.3.5.
Note on Verification and Validation This topic is of such
importance in the development of automated systems that
omitting it, or not using its full potential, amounts to acting
unethically. The same consideration prompted us to include
this note. Discussing it however is beyond the mandate of
this chapter. It has generated by now an enormous corpus
of sources: books, software tools, journals, conference pro-
ceedings, and blogs. For reference we suggest the relevant
current standard, “1012-2016—IEEE Standard for System,
Software, and Hardware Verification and Validation” [29],
and a collection of articles specific to an industry or tech-
nique [30].
34.3.4 Automation Failures and Their Ethical
Aspects
Several automation systems with unfortunate stories are pre-
sented. Why tell such sorry tales? Rumor has it that the way
34 Automation and Ethics
of people, engineers included, to mend their erring ways is
complex, and often the cues need to be multiple and pitched
right: to fit the context of a narrative, that will send a lesson
home. We now show a few; indeed, they are very different
from each other!
Royal Majesty Grounding, 1995
The cruise ship Royal Majesty (rm) left St. George’s in
Bermuda bound for Boston at 12:00 noon on June 9, 1995,
and ran aground just east of the island of Nantucket at 22:25
the next day [21]. None of the over 1000 passengers were
injured; repairs and lost income amounted to $7 million [18].
The rm was equipped with an automatic navigation sys-
tem consisting of two main components, a gps receiver and a
Navigation and Command System (nacos), an autopilot that
controls the ship steering to the desired destination. There
are a few subsidiary subsystems, such as a gyrocompass, for
azimuth, Doppler log for speed, radar, Loran-C, an alternative
location system, and more. However, the bridge personnel
referred almost exclusively to the nacos display. At the time
of this trip, the ship has been in service for 3 years, and the
crew came to trust the ship’s instrumentation.
The accident has several component-reasons, as is the
rule; the immediate technical problem was the rupture of
the cable from the gps antenna to its receiver that happened
within an hour of departure, for a reason unknown. As a
result the receiver changed to dead-reckoning mode, using
compass and log. Its display shows its status in much smaller
letters than the position reading, as dr, instead of the usual
sol (Satellite on Line)—none of the crew noticed it till the
grounding. When the ship was equipped, the gps and nacos
were provided by different manufacturers and used some-
what different communications standards. The following is
from [18]:
Due to these differing standards and versions, valid position data
and invalid dr data sent from the gps to the nacos were both
“labelled” with the same code (gp). The installers of the bridge
equipment were not told, nor did they expect, that position data
(gp-labelled) sent to the nacos would be anything but valid
position data. The designers of the nacos expected that if invalid
data were received it would have another format. Due to this
misunderstanding the gps used the same “data label” for valid
and invalid data, and thus the autopilot could not distinguish
between them. Since the nacos could not detect that the gps-
provided data was invalid the ship sailed on an autopilot that
was using estimated positions until a few minutes before the
grounding.
That is all that was needed: an immediate cause, a broken
cable, and building errors, incompatible communications
protocols and a device which exhibited unusual status un-
obtrusively. The contribution of human nature is here: a
crew, which included experienced professionals, that has
been lulled to complacency, by the automation that has
worked flawlessly for 3 years.
759
The authors of [18], who are, respectively, a researcher
in maritime human factors and an academician who is very
prolific about safety and automation, argue that the answer to
ineffective automation is not more automation, due to human
behavior, so long as humans are kept in the control loop—
and while they do not say so explicitly, they do not seem to
consider any alternatives viable.
Boeing 737 Max Grounding, 2019
Boeing announced the 737 Max, fourth generation of its very
popular 737 series, in August 2011 and had the first 737-
8 enter service in May 2017. (The 737 Max was offered
in several configurations 737-7, 737-8, 737-200, 737-9, and 34
737-10. By December 2019 Boeing had 4932 orders and
delivered 387 planes of the series [Boeing press releases].)
Nearly half a million flights later, on October 29, 2018, Lion
Air Flight 610 crashed, and on March 10, 2019, Ethiopian
Airlines Flight 302 crashed. Not one of the 346 passengers
and crew on the two flights survived. A rate of four crashes
per million flights is very high for the industry, and there were
consequences beyond the loss of life.
The US FAA grounded all 737 Max planes on March 13,
2019, as did similar agencies in other countries. At the time of
writing (November 2020), the plane has just been re-certified,
with first flight expected early next year. The monetary cost
to Boeing so far is close to $20 billion.
Is there an automation-design story behind this tale, which
is extreme in several ways? Indeed, there is. The 737 se-
ries was introduced in 1967: a narrow-body plane, with
the attraction (for airlines) of requiring only two pilots in
the cockpit. As time passed and customer needs changed,
Boeing introduced more planes in the series, larger, higher
capacity, with larger engines, yet maintained the “airframe
type,” which means that a pilot licensed to fly on one of
the series can fly all the others. For the airlines, no need
to train the pilots on simulator, or for re-certification test
flights, means significant savings—and since Boeing was in
hot competition with Airbus, the European manufacturer, an
important marketing feature. The 737 Max was the largest of
the series, and in particular, its engines were so large that
to maintain the shape of the plane, the engines needed to
be moved forward, beyond the wing, and positioned higher,
so that they protruded above the wing (Figure 2 in [19]).
This changed the aerodynamics of the plane compared with
its predecessors in the series; when power is applied, most
planes tend to raise their nose, and this was much more
pronounced in the 737Ṁax.
Autopilots in planes have been used for a long time:
Sperry corporation introduced it as early as 1912 (we note
that auto-piloting a plane is much simpler than achieving this
in a car, on land, since the “lanes” are assigned by air traffic
controllers and are non-intersecting). To have pilots feel the
760
plane is still a 737, Boeing introduced stealthily a software
function, mcas, into the autopilot computers, that would
prevent the plane from increasing its angle-of-attack (AoA)
too much: this can cause aerodynamic stall at low speeds. The
mcas in that case moves the tail elevators to direct the nose
down; this is done with considerable force. The mcas relied
on an AoA sensor mounted on the outside of the cockpit.
This is a fragile device, often damaged, and when activated
in error causes the plane to descend abruptly. After the Lion
Air crash, Boeing distributed to the airline instructions how
pilots can recover from this state; they needed to complete
the process—pulling the plug on the mcas and the elevator
motors and moving them manually to the correct position—
within 4 seconds. The Ethiopian Airlines crew knew of the
procedure, but apparently did not complete it in time.
Boeing could pull this off since the FAA had relinquished
most of its certification oversight to the company team of
Designated Engineer Representatives (DER). These expe-
rienced, veteran engineers were under pressure from the
management to get the plane certified early. Not only was
the mcas barely mentioned in the operation manual, it was
not mentioned at all in the documentation provided to the
FAA [19].
Multiple investigations by the US Congress, Transporta-
tion Department, FBI, FAA, and NTSB (and comparable
agencies in other countries) faulted Boeing on an array of
issues. This is entirely unlike the ship grounding: a mix of
greed, hubris, disdain of authorities, snubbing of law and pro-
fessional responsibility, and callousness toward customers
and passengers were combined to a revolting outcome. Au-
tomation was introduced to hide the deviation of the 737Max
from the 737 airframe type. As detailed in [19], it failed
because it was poorly and “optimistically” designed.
Therac-25 Linear Accelerator, 1980s
Radiation therapy is one of the common methods to treat
cancer patients (the same treatment is occasionally also used
to destroy non-cancerous tissue). A linear accelerator, like
Therac-25, is a device that can provide it, producing a high-
energy beam directed at the target tissue. The Therac-25
is a dual mode machine. Its basic operation is to create a
narrow beam of electrons, tunable in the energy range 5–
25MeV. The beam can be either sculpted by an array of
magnets and directed to the target or be used (when at top
energy) to generate a beam of X-rays, which penetrate more
deeply into the patient’s body. The Therac-25, manufactured
by AECL of Canada in the 1980s, followed a series of earlier
accelerators, Therac-6 and Therac-20 [8, §8.5]. This last
version introduced several advances in the accelerator itself;
yet for the purpose of our discussion, the main difference was
that it was entirely software-controlled. All the interaction
between operator and machine was via a keyboard-driven
M. Hofri
computer interface. The software inherited some modules
that were used in the earlier models but was much enhanced.
One of the principal changes in this last stage was that
several safety measures that were before implemented by
hardware interlocks were replaced by software controls. This
led to a simpler, smaller machine and cheaper to manufacture.
Between 1985 and 1987, 4 machines, of the 11 installed then
in Canada and the United States, suffered several incidents
where patients were treated with overdoses of radiation. Four
patients died, and several others carried radiation damage for
the rest of their lives.
The report by Nancy Leveson [22] gives a detailed sur-
vey of the machine structure, the software architecture, and
these incidents, as well as of the resulting interactions of
AECL with the FDA and similar Canadian agencies. Careful
analyses revealed that previous safety evaluations ignored
the software entirely! They assumed it would operate as
expected. When the software was put to thorough analysis,
a plethora of defects was revealed; some of them were found
to have been inherited from Therac-20, where they caused
no recorded damage, presumably due to the hardware pre-
ventive measures it carried. Some software errors were minor
mistakes, never noticed before. A notable one was a 1-byte
flag that was tested before the beam was turned on and had
to be zero for the operation to continue and the beam to be
activated. That flag was incremented by one whenever the
readiness tests failed. Since the tests were run continually,
while the machine reacted to commands that required phys-
ical arrangement of components—an activity that took up to
8 seconds—and while the computer in question, a dec pdp
11, was slow, it still performed the testing that the machine
is set up correctly hundreds of times during such a hardware
reconfiguration. The 1-byte flag cycled through 0 every 256
tests; if at that instant its status was queried, a go-ahead would
result, regardless of the actual situation.
While this flaw is trivial to repair (just set the flag to
one, when the status was not ready—as AECL did, later),
it is a symptom of a different and deeper problem: poor
comprehension of the software operations. The basic soft-
ware activity consisted of a cycle of tasks, re-initiated by a
clock-interrupt every 100 milliseconds. Several of those tasks
used shared variables to coordinate activities and modified
them as needed. In cases where the tasks did not complete
within the renewal interval (0.1sec), they were interrupted,
occasionally left in inconsistent state, and restarted. It is
impossible to predict the erroneous results that may then
occur….
In summer 1985 the FDA had AECL recall the machine
and introduced some modifications, but lethal incidents con-
tinued. In February 1987 the FDA had AECL recall the
machine and stop its usage. Several iterations between the
FDA and AECL during that year resulted in several changes
34 Automation and Ethics
to the software and installation of hardware enhancements.
No further accidents ensued.
Some of the software errors that were revealed are em-
barrassing, when viewed with modern understanding of real-
time, multi-threaded software. AECL did not use any of
the operating systems available at the time, but rolled its
own [22]. May we assume such mistakes would not occur in
current software? Probably not. Unfortunately, the half-life
of basic software errors is near infinity.
Yet times have changed. A significant effort has been ex-
pended on software development environments and method-
ologies and later on tools for software verification and val-
idation. While in systems as complex as the one we now
discussed, involving hardware of a variety of types, software
components prepared separately, and user operations, this
will always be a scene that involved art and mathematics,
much improvement has been achieved.
The publicly available information about the Therac-25
debacle shows AECL as a negligent, callous, unresponsive,
and quite irresponsible company [22]. No personal informa-
tion is known to identify the internal processes that led to
this turn of events. The company is now out of the business
of medical devices.
The Machine Stops [20]
Here we encounter a different kettle of fish. It is an imag-
ined automatic system; implied though it is quite vividly
portrayed, yet it is fictional, brought to us as a short story,
by the master story-teller Edward M. Forster, who published
it in 1910, likely influenced by interactions with his friend
H.G. Wells, and conversation about the tale the latter wrote
“The Time Machine,” published in 1895, and described in it
the insufferable morlocks, living underground.
In Forster’s tale the entire world population lives in war-
rens underground. All their needs are provided by a system
called “the Machine.” When the story begins, we are led
to understand this has been the state of affairs for a long
time; durations are vague, but the people take the machine
for granted, and many, including the story protagonist, begin
to regard it as deity. The surface of the earth is abandoned,
considered deadly. Communications technology is presented
as we know it in the twenty-first century, with Internet
capabilities, all mediated by the Machine. Although Forster
witnessed none of that, he was in company with people who
could so fantasize already. A very effective transportation
system covers the earth, but it is viewed as a relic and only
lightly used; whatever a person needs, it is brought to her
individual room. Forster adds a large number of hints at the
ways of the society, which suggest much societal engineering
prepared the population as the Machine was developed—
our focus all along is the Machine. A “Committee of the
Machine” exists, also called “Central Committee;” the two
761
may be the same—it is mentioned as a body that enforces
and rarely changes policies.
Forster mentions in passing some measures, presumably
put in place by the Central Committee, that we would find
intolerable. Space is assigned, rather than selected; some
form of eugenics maintained; freedom of movement limited.
Values could change too, he suggests, and describe how
originality is deprecated.
Maintenance of the Machine is mentioned as a set of rote
tasks that were performed, as time went on, with less and less
understanding. It is said no one really knew much about its
operation and stated that nobody understood it as a whole.
The machine was built with a “mending apparatus,” which 34
also protected it from attacks. The place of the Machine in
the world view of the population was such that the phrase
“the Machine stops” was meaningless to most, when used
by one of its denizens. Yet as the Machine started failing,
interruptions during the streaming of music, or bad food
delivered, the people learned to live with it and expected the
machine to heal itself. The deterioration is relatively quick,
and the entire system crumbles, as various operations fail.
The story was an impressive tour de force by the author at
the time, yet we can see it as an account of the demise of a
society who trusted its engineers, but did not understand the
nature of engineered systems, the need for maintenance—
not just of the machinery but also of the connection and
interaction, between the machine and the population—so
that a dynamic develops, in which the routine operation of
the Machine depends on human intervention. It is a riveting
exercise for the reader to imagine what circumstances forced
that society underground and made them choose such a
Machine as their solution, an improbable duress? Possibly
global warming getting out of hand… ? And why were the in-
terfaces needed to keep the system alive so poorly designed?
(Naturally, because Forster was not an expert in systems
engineering and none was available for him to consult.)
Would our current society have done better if such extreme
pressure were forced on us? With technology much evolved
beyond what was available, or even imaginable in 1910,
could our solution be similarly superior to that Machine
and our engineering skills up to it? Designing for long-term
survival is unlike any challenges humans have faced… !
34.3.5 Artificial Intelligence and Its Ethical
Aspects
As the internet and increased computing power have facilitated
the accumulation and analysis of vast data, unprecedented vistas
for human understanding have emerged … . [We may have]
generated a potentially dominating technology in search of a
guiding philosophy.
—Henry A. Kissinger: How the Enlightenment Ends, 2018,
[27].
762
Artificial intelligence (AI) was declared in 1956 as the
“next big field” in computer science and kept exactly this
designation for better than half a century. The field was not
idle: multiple techniques were developed, such as genetic
algorithms and Bayesian networks or simulated annealing;
various vogues had their day, such as enormous world on-
tologies or expert systems, but successes were narrow and far
between. The situation started changing in the first decade of
the twenty-first century, with the growth and then explosion
of machine learning. The growth was facilitated by the signif-
icant, continuing decline in costs of computer power and data
storage space, on one hand, and by the enormous growth of
data available on the Internet, from blogs to social networks
to databases of many government agencies and corporations
who conduct their business in cyberspace, on the other hand.
AI continued to employ a variety of techniques, but soon
machine learning (ML), based on (artificial) neural networks,
became the much-preferred paradigm. When Kissinger, an
experienced historian and statesman, was perchance exposed
to these facts, followed by dialogues with technically aware
colleagues, he was moved to write [27], where the above
instructive quotation is found. What the (neural) network
learns may be seen as the ability to classify items—which can
be, for example, strings of characters or images—and decide
whether a given item belongs to a specified class; with much
ingenuity this capability has been leveraged to any number
of applications, from driving a car to recognizing faces in a
crowd.
While most of the ethical attention raised by AI is similar
to that which any software modality entails, AI, especially its
recent developments—machine learning and deep learning—
merits a special note, as more and more areas in our life
and affairs and the automatic tools we build are impacted
by it. In this it is not different from other theory-rich ar-
eas of computer science, such as database management or
compilation—but unlike those, little in the theory of AI is
currently settled. The recent survey [25] provides detailed
summary and a wealth of references. In Sect. 34.3.2 we pre-
sented the three “laws” of robotics invented by Isaac Asimov
and referred briefly to their inadequacy to prevent a robot
from making wrong moves. The 2017 Montreal declaration
for a responsible development of artificial intelligence [26]
can be seen as a careful, disciplined “call to arms,” for this
difficult task. It replaces those three laws by ten principles,
which are further developed into several directives each.
Opacity of Machine Learning AI
There is a special property of AI systems developed by
training a neural network; even as such systems are shown
to be very proficient, in a remarkable range of fields and
applications, where they provide a wealth of good or useful
decisions—they cannot provide an explanation of how, and
M. Hofri
why, any of their decisions was reached, and the system
owners (its users), as well as its developers, cannot do so
either—such systems function as black boxes. The concept
of a subsystem which is a black box is commonplace, dating
to middle of the twentieth century; the traditional black box
refers to a mere transfer function, which can be used with no
need to know its operational details. It is however coupled
with the understanding that if the need for the details arises,
the box can be opened and inspected and any information
about its internals be available. That is not the case with the
neural network machine: it is an opaque classifier of clumps
of data—a classification which may be put to further use, in
a following part of an algorithm—but it is not responsive to
any attempt to probe it for enlightenment about its modus
operandi, which includes its successes, as well as the failures.
If it is wished, its internal structure and the weights associated
with each node and other elements can be listed, but this
sheds no light or provides a meaningful explanation. This was
not the case with previous generations of AI, which can be
described as rule-based; their operations can be explained, at
any required depth; but alas, they were not as capable!
This property is alarming for three reasons beyond the
chill it casts (nobody likes to be thwarted in this way):
(a) Brittleness: Even an excellent ML classifier, is reliable
on a part of its possible input space only, a part which
is effectively impossible to determine there is no guar-
antee the system responds correctly, in any particular
case, and in fact such systems are notorious for being
occasionally derailed, by trivial features in their input
[31]. Researchers have found many ways of tricking
such systems, by changing subtly the system input—in
a manner that is unobtrusive to humans—yet entirely
confused the system responses. It is considered open to
hackers to “game” and twiddle the systems at will. Since
there is no understanding, there is no defense.
(b) Bias: The selection of data used to train the system
affects, naturally, the way different characteristics of the
input get translated to outcomes. A voice recognition
system can be more likely to misunderstand speech in
a regional accent it was not trained with, and thereby not
provide the desired service or help. A loan-application
scanner program in a bank is likely to mishandle an
application of a person with unusual life trajectory. Just
as the AI cannot be asked to verify its response, the opac-
ity means the impossibility of critiquing or appealing
effectively the system determinations. This type of AI
systems especially the extremely large “deep learning”
kind, which is discussed further below. Different sys-
tem architectures, training regimes, and approximation
criteria are attempted. Some observers of the scene are
confident the opacity can be dissolved in some manner,
34 Automation and Ethics
maybe by added complexity; others see this AI approach
as doomed, due to its being “Brittle, Greedy, Opaque, and
Shallow,” and their progress likely to hit a wall any time
soon. Even our vocabulary for cognitive processes does
not fit well such AI systems. One result is the difficulty of
pursuing any ethical analysis of such systems—they are
opaque! Is there hope that rule-based AI can be combined
with the neural network-based recognizer, making its
responses explicable? The difficulty seems similar to
comprehending the deep learning AI directly. It is an
open question—which is pursued with great vigor.
(c) Errors in input: Only recently have researchers turned
to examine the quality of the labeling in several of the
most popular labeled datasets used to train and test such
networks [33]; the results were surprising. They found
that labeling errors averaged 3.4% of the data set items.
They also found that the impact on the performance over
test-sets was more nuanced and depended on the model
used and the size of the training set.
A word after a word after a word, is power
—Margaret Atwood.
Recently a particular type of large Deep Learning model
was introduced by several companies, generally called
Large Language Model. The most famous, probably since
it came first, in 2020, is GPT-3, the third in a sequence of
Generative Pre-trained Transformers, created by OpenAI in
San Francisco. Its native purpose is to generate text when
given a prompt, producing one token (a word, usually) at a
time, recursively. For its input the creators collected texts
amounting to 175 billion tokens (by skimming the web,
and adding digitized books); a measure of its complexity is
indicated by the size of its context, its “status descriptor,”
that determines the generated output: it is a 2048-token-long
string.
The generated text is usually of a high, human-created
quality. While clearly ‘there is no there there,’ in such a text
beyond the initial prompt (which can be as short as a word),
people have reported that they enjoyed reading the output,
finding it of substance, interest, etc. Note: Because this type
of automata is currently under feverish development, the
main reference recommended is the Wikipedia article “GPT-
3.” It is likely to be kept current, and lists many of the original
sources.
This model has already found numerous uses, leading
to serious questions, such as about the (im)possibility to
trust the authenticity of the claimed authorship of submitted
written work, such as essays, in any imaginable context. A
recent article describes getting GPT-3 to write a scientific
paper about itself, [41], with minimal tweaks by humans.
GPT-3 ends the paper (which as of this writing, September
2022, is still in review) with “Overall, we believe that the
763
benefits of letting GPT-3 write about itself outweigh the
risks. However, we recommend that any such writing be
closely monitored by researchers in order to mitigate any
potential negative consequences.”
One of the developments based on GPT-3 was DALL-
E, now followed by DALL-E 2. The tokens these programs
generate are pixels rather than words. They create images
instead of text when prompted by verbal cues. They can draw
and paint in any style which was digitally available when their
input was collected, and do it very effectively; they can also
produce photo-realistic images.
The ethical implications of unleashing such systems are
of a different order than anything we have witnessed or 34
described before, for two main reasons, and both pertain to
issues of automation:
(a) These tools automate activities hitherto considered the
domain of high-order human creativity as suggested by
the quotation of Margaret Atwood. Their release was
received with howls of protest by artists and others who
are affronted by the perceived loss of human excep-
tionality. These denunciations were quite similar to the
reactions two centuries earlier, when the invention of
photography alarmed painters and art lovers. Interest-
ingly, that invention drove painters to develop, and art-
lovers to appreciate, a large number of new styles, genres,
materials, and techniques, as ways to distinguish their
creations from the “mechanical” ones.
(b) The purpose of the designer of any automation tool has
been to create a system with certain properties. The so-
called “world models” described here were designed to
have specific capabilities — generate scads of tokens,
emulating the ways they are seen to be used by humans.
The properties of the tools, or rather, their output, were
not designed for: they are emergent, not yet known, and
the task of the engineer is then to discover them, rather
than verify the existence of any target behavior. The
properties then need to be evaluated; the questions to be
asked are about the potential of such output, possibly in
large quantity with such properties, to benefit or harm
society. Such analyses are analogous to the work of
biologists who investigate the nature of novel creatures
caught in the wild, or sometimes grown in the lab by a
process akin to genetic engineering.
From the point of view of public platforms (social media,
open blogs) such systems would be seen as content-creators,
on par with humans. Users of the media can even have au-
tomata of this type post their output without prior inspection.
A question of ethical, and possibly legal, nature that needs to
be settled is whether to require such postings to be marked as
of other-than-human source?
764
34.4 Protocols for Ethical Analysis
You’re not going to find an exceptionless rule …Sometimes there
isn’t an answer in the moral domain, and sometimes we have to
agree to disagree, and come together and arrive at a good solution
about what we will live with.
—Patricia Churchland, [32].
The knowledge of ethical principles, coupled with the
understanding of ethical theories and their relation to our
society, does not yet mean that whenever we need to make
a decision that has an ethical dimension, it is immediately
available. The application of this knowledge to a specific case
at hand requires what has been called ethical protocols or
more fully—as the section is named. There is a very large
literature about these protocols; see, for example [34, 35].
As Maner says in [34], numerous protocols have been
prepared, reflecting the different domains which were the
areas of concern of the protocol designers. We show now
a skeletal protocol and defer to Appendix B a much more
detailed one, adapted form [36]. Each is seen as a sequence
of questions or tasks:
1. What is the question? What needs to be decided?
2. Who are the stakeholders?
3. What are the conflicting issues?
4. Which values are involved?
5. How are stakeholders, issues, and values related?
6. What (effective) actions exist? Which of them are avail-
able to us?
7. Are the following ethical tests satisfied by the actions we
consider:
(a) Does it conflict with accepted principles? (Ten com-
mandments, criminal law …)
(b) Is it in agreement with the Golden Rule?
(c) Does it agree with the Rule of Universality (what if
everyone acted this way?)
(d) Does it agree with the Rule of Consistency (what if we
always acted this way?)
(e) Does it agree with the Rules of Disclosure (what if our
action is known to everybody?)
(f) Does it satisfy the Rule of Best Outcome?
Question 7 invokes nearly all decision aids we saw in this
chapter.
34.5 Codes of Ethics
Nearly all professional societies create and advertise a code
of ethics adapted to the profession in question (other terms
M. Hofri
often used are code of behavior and code of conduct). There
are several roles, or functions of such a code, internal and
external to the professional society:
• Inspire the members to professionalism
• Educate about the profession (both the members and
society)
• Guide professional actions
• Inform about accountability (both the members and
society)
• Provide enforcement information (for the licensed profes-
sions)
The code needs to be read by the professionals as they find
their place in the profession. Appendix A exhibits the code of
ethics for software engineers. It was prepared by a joint com-
mittee of the ACM and the Computer Society of the IEEE,
the two major organizations for computing professionals in
the United States. A survey and an interesting evaluation
of the impact of the code of ethics of the ACM, which is
similar to the Software Engineering code in Appendix A, are
at [37]. Most engineering societies adapted for their needs the
Code of Conduct of the National Academy of Engineering,
available at [38].
The code of conduct of ifac, International Federation of
Automatic Control, also provided in Appendix A, is starkly
different, since ifac has no individuals as members, but
national member organizations; also, other control-oriented
organizations can be affiliates, and those organizations are
the immediate audience of the code.
34.6 Online Resources for Ethics of
Automation
If it is not on the ’net, it does not exist.
—Street scuttlebutt.
The street needs not be taken too literally, yet the claim
expresses much that is true. In addition to the “specialized”
sites in the list below, each of the professional societies
that touches on automation has parts of its website which
deal with professional ethics: acm, ieee, asee, ifac, and the
arching societies aaas and aaes. Online is where we shall
find which is new, and in the field of automation, “new” is
a key word. The list below is a rich one, but while they all
are active at the time of writing, many (most?) web sites
are short-lived species; you may need to look for more. Use
links in those sources, to delve farther and deeper, using your
favorite web search engine. Finally, the Stanford Encyclo-
pedia of Philosophy, SEP, is impressive in its selection and
34 Automation and Ethics 765

quality of ethics-related entries. The Internet Encyclopedia Appendix A: Code of Ethics Examples
of Philosophy, IEP, has a more practical mien and is highly
recommended as well. Software Engineering Code of Ethics and
Professional Practice
http://www.bsa.org Global software industry
advocate This code is maintained on the site of the ACM at SE
http://catless.ncl.ac.uk/risks The Risks Digest; an ACM CODE (https://ethics.acm.org/code-of-ethics/software-
moderated forum engineering-code/).
http://www.cerias.purdue.edu Center for Information Security Short Version
at Purdue Univ
http://www.dhs.gov/dhspublic Bulletin board of the DHS PREAMBLE
http://ethics.iit.edu Center for research in The short version of the code summarizes aspirations at
professional ethics a high level of abstraction. The clauses that are included
http://privacyrights.org A privacy rights clearing house
34
in the full version give examples and details of how these
https://plato.stanford.edu/ Stanford Encyclopedia of aspirations change the way we act as software engineering
Philosophy
professionals. Without the aspirations, the details can become
https://iep.utm.edu/ Internet Encyclopedia of
Philosophy legalistic and tedious; without the details, the aspirations can
https://esc.umich.edu/ Center for ethics, society, and become high sounding but empty; together, the aspirations
computing at the Univ. of and the details form a cohesive code.
Michigan Software engineers shall commit themselves to making
https://cssh.northeastern.edu/ Multiple centers for computing the analysis, specification, design, development, testing, and
informationethics/ ethics reseach at Northeastern maintenance of software a beneficial and respected profes-
Univ
sion. In accordance with their commitment to the health,
https://www.nationalacademies. Responsible Computing research
org/our-work/responsible- at the national academies safety, and welfare of the public, software engineers shall
computing-research-ethics- adhere to the following Eight Principles:
and-governance-of-computing-
research-and-its-applications
1. Public
https://ocean.sagepub.com/blog/ A roster of organizations for
Software engineers shall act consistently with the public
10-organizations-leading-the- ethical AI research
way-in-ethical-ai interest.
2. Client and employer
Software engineers shall act in a manner that is in the best
interests of their client and employer, consistent with the
public interest.
34.7 Sources for Automation and Ethics 3. Product
Software engineers shall ensure that their products and
Comments About Sources for This Chapter related modifications meet the highest professional stan-
The bibliography lists as usual the specific publications dards possible.
which have been used in preparing this chapter, in order of 4. Judgment
citation. We wish to draw attention to three sources. One is Software engineers shall maintain integrity and indepen-
available online, The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy; dence in their professional judgment.
some of its articles recur in the bibliography. The articles 5. Management
are by recognized authorities and are revised for currency Software engineering managers and leaders shall sub-
every several (5 to 10) years. Its editors take a remarkably scribe to and promote an ethical approach to the manage-
expansive view of their domain, possibly of eighteenth- ment of software development and maintenance.
century vintage, and include many articles relevant to the 6. Profession
questions we consider, for example, [28]. Software engineers shall advance the integrity and reputa-
Two other sources are print books [39,40] and anthologies tion of the profession consistent with the public interest.
of wide-ranging articles, many of which deal with topics that 7. Colleagues
are important to the interactions of ethics with automation. Software engineers shall be fair to and supportive of their
They are not new, appearing in 1995 and 2011, respectively, colleagues.
yet remain very much of interest. 8. Self
766
Software engineers shall participate in lifelong learning
regarding the practice of their profession and shall pro-
mote an ethical approach to the practice of the profession.
———————————————————
Full Version
PREAMBLE
Computers have a central and growing role in commerce, in-
dustry, government, medicine, education, entertainment, and
society at large. Software engineers are those who contribute
by direct participation or by teaching, to the analysis, specifi-
cation, design, development, certification, maintenance, and
testing of software systems. Because of their roles in devel-
oping software systems, software engineers have significant
opportunities to do good or cause harm, to enable others to do
good or cause harm, or to influence others to do good or cause
harm. To ensure, as much as possible, that their efforts will be
used for good, software engineers must commit themselves
to making software engineering a beneficial and respected
profession. In accordance with that commitment, software
engineers shall adhere to the following Code of Ethics and
Professional Practice.
The Code contains eight Principles related to the behavior
of and decisions made by professional software engineers, in-
cluding practitioners, educators, managers, supervisors, and
policy-makers, as well as trainees and students of the pro-
fession. The Principles identify the ethically responsible re-
lationships in which individuals, groups, and organizations
participate and the primary obligations within these rela-
tionships. The Clauses of each Principle are illustrations
of some of the obligations included in these relationships.
These obligations are founded in the software engineer’s
humanity, in special care owed to people affected by the
work of software engineers and in the unique elements of the
practice of software engineering. The Code prescribes these
as obligations of anyone claiming to be or aspiring to be a
software engineer.
It is not intended that the individual parts of the Code be
used in isolation to justify errors of omission or commission.
The list of Principles and Clauses is not exhaustive. The
Clauses should not be read as separating the acceptable from
the unacceptable in professional conduct in all practical situ-
ations. The Code is not a simple ethical algorithm that gener-
ates ethical decisions. In some situations, standards may be in
tension with each other or with standards from other sources.
These situations require the software engineer to use ethical
judgment to act in a manner which is most consistent with the
spirit of the Code of Ethics and Professional Practice, given
the circumstances.
Ethical tensions can best be addressed by thoughtful con-
sideration of fundamental principles, rather than blind re-
liance on detailed regulations. These Principles should influ-
M. Hofri
ence software engineers to consider broadly who is affected
by their work; to examine if they and their colleagues are
treating other human beings with due respect; to consider
how the public, if reasonably well informed, would view
their decisions; to analyze how the least empowered will be
affected by their decisions; and to consider whether their acts
would be judged worthy of the ideal professional working as
a software engineer. In all these judgments, concern for the
health, safety, and welfare of the public is primary; that is,
the “Public Interest” is central to this Code.
The dynamic and demanding context of software engi-
neering requires a code that is adaptable and relevant to
new situations as they occur. However, even in this gener-
ality, the Code provides support for software engineers and
managers of software engineers who need to take positive
action in a specific case by documenting the ethical stance
of the profession. The Code provides an ethical foundation
to which individuals within teams and the team as a whole
can appeal. The Code helps to define those actions that are
ethically improper to request of a software engineer or teams
of software engineers.
The Code is not simply for adjudicating the nature of
questionable acts; it also has an important educational func-
tion. As this Code expresses the consensus of the profession
on ethical issues, it is a means to educate both the public
and aspiring professionals about the ethical obligations of all
software engineers.
Principles
Principle 1: Public
Software engineers shall act consistently with the public
interest. In particular, software engineers shall, as appropri-
ate:
1.01. Accept full responsibility for their own work.
1.02. Moderate the interests of the software engineer, the
employer, the client, and the users with the public
good.
1.03. Approve software only if they have a well-founded be-
lief that it is safe, meets specifications, passes appropri-
ate tests, and does not diminish quality of life, diminish
privacy, or harm the environment. The ultimate effect
of the work should be to the public good.
1.04. Disclose to appropriate persons or authorities any ac-
tual or potential danger to the user, the public, or
the environment, that they reasonably believe to be
associated with software or related documents.
1.05. Cooperate in efforts to address matters of grave public
concern caused by software, its installation, mainte-
nance, support, or documentation.
1.06. Be fair and avoid deception in all statements, par-
ticularly public ones, concerning software or related
documents, methods, and tools.
34 Automation and Ethics
1.07. Consider issues of physical disabilities, allocation of
resources, economic disadvantage, and other factors
that can diminish access to the benefits of software.
1.08. Be encouraged to volunteer professional skills to good
causes and to contribute to public education concern-
ing the discipline.
Principle 2: Client and employer
Software engineers shall act in a manner that is in the best
interests of their client and employer, consistent with the
public interest. In particular, software engineers shall, as
appropriate:
2.01. Provide service in their areas of competence, being
honest and forthright about any limitations of their
experience and education.
2.02. Not knowingly use software that is obtained or retained
either illegally or unethically.
2.03. Use the property of a client or employer only in ways
properly authorized and with the client’s or employer’s
knowledge and consent.
2.04. Ensure that any document upon which they rely has
been approved, when required, by someone authorized
to approve it.
2.05. Keep private any confidential information gained in
their professional work, where such confidentiality is
consistent with the public interest and consistent with
the law.
2.06. Identify, document, collect evidence, and report to the
client or the employer promptly if, in their opinion,
a project is likely to fail, to prove too expensive, to
violate intellectual property law, or otherwise to be
problematic.
2.07. Identify, document, and report significant issues of
social concern, of which they are aware, in software
or related documents, to the employer or the client.
2.08. Accept no outside work detrimental to the work they
perform for their primary employer.
2.09. Promote no interest adverse to their employer or client,
unless a higher ethical concern is being compromised;
in that case, inform the employer or another appropri-
ate authority of the ethical concern.
Principle 3: Product
Software engineers shall ensure that their products and re-
lated modifications meet the highest professional standards
possible. In particular, software engineers shall, as appropri-
ate:
3.01. Strive for high quality, acceptable cost, and a reason-
able schedule, ensuring significant tradeoffs are clear
to and accepted by the employer and the client and are
available for consideration by the user and the public.
767
3.02. Ensure proper and achievable goals and objectives for
any project on which they work or propose.
3.03. Identify, define, and address ethical, economic, cul-
tural, legal, and environmental issues related to work
projects.
3.04. Ensure that they are qualified for any project on which
they work or propose to work, by an appropriate com-
bination of education, training, and experience.
3.05. Ensure that an appropriate method is used for any
project on which they work or propose to work.
3.06. Work to follow professional standards, when available,
that are most appropriate for the task at hand, departing
from these only when ethically or technically justified. 34
3.07. Strive to fully understand the specifications for soft-
ware on which they work.
3.08. Ensure that specifications for software on which they
work have been well documented, satisfy the users’
requirements, and have the appropriate approvals.
3.09. Ensure realistic quantitative estimates of cost, schedul-
ing, personnel, quality, and outcomes on any project
on which they work or propose to work and provide an
uncertainty assessment of these estimates.
3.10. Ensure adequate testing, debugging, and review of
software and related documents on which they work.
3.11. Ensure adequate documentation, including significant
problems discovered and solutions adopted, for any
project on which they work.
3.12. Work to develop software and related documents that
respect the privacy of those who will be affected by that
software.
3.13. Be careful to use only accurate data derived by ethical
and lawful means and use it only in ways properly
authorized.
3.14. Maintain the integrity of data, being sensitive to out-
dated or flawed occurrences.
3.15. Treat all forms of software maintenance with the same
professionalism as new development.
Principle 4: Judgment
Software engineers shall maintain integrity and indepen-
dence in their professional judgment. In particular, software
engineers shall, as appropriate:
4.01. Temper all technical judgments by the need to support
and maintain human values.
4.02. Only endorse documents either prepared under their
supervision or within their areas of competence and
with which they are in agreement.
4.03. Maintain professional objectivity with respect to any
software or related documents they are asked to evalu-
ate.
768
4.04. Not engage in deceptive financial practices such as
bribery, double billing, or other improper financial
practices.
4.05. Disclose to all concerned parties those conflicts of
interest that cannot reasonably be avoided or escaped.
4.06. Refuse to participate, as members or advisors, in a
private, governmental, or professional body concerned
with software-related issues, in which they, their em-
ployers, or their clients have undisclosed potential
conflicts of interest.
Principle 5: Management
Software engineering managers and leaders shall subscribe
to and promote an ethical approach to the management of
software development and maintenance. In particular, those
managing or leading software engineers shall, as appropri-
ate:
5.01. Ensure good management for any project on which
they work, including effective procedures for promo-
tion of quality and reduction of risk.
5.02. Ensure that software engineers are informed of stan-
dards before being held to them.
5.03. Ensure that software engineers know the employer’s
policies and procedures for protecting passwords, files,
and information that is confidential to the employer or
confidential to others.
5.04. Assign work only after taking into account appropriate
contributions of education and experience tempered
with a desire to further that education and experience.
5.05. Ensure realistic quantitative estimates of cost, schedul-
ing, personnel, quality, and outcomes on any project on
which they work or propose to work, and provide an
uncertainty assessment of these estimates.
5.06. Attract potential software engineers only by full and
accurate description of the conditions of employment.
5.07. Offer fair and just remuneration.
5.08. Not unjustly prevent someone from taking a position
for which that person is suitably qualified.
5.09. Ensure that there is a fair agreement concerning own-
ership of any software, processes, research, writing, or
other intellectual property to which a software engineer
has contributed.
5.10. Provide for due process in hearing charges of violation
of an employer’s policy or of this Code.
5.11. Not ask a software engineer to do anything inconsistent
with this Code.
5.12. Not punish anyone for expressing ethical concerns
about a project.
Principle 6: Profession
M. Hofri
Software engineers shall advance the integrity and reputation
of the profession consistent with the public interest. In par-
ticular, software engineers shall, as appropriate:
6.01. Help develop an organizational environment favorable
to acting ethically.
6.02. Promote public knowledge of software engineering.
6.03. Extend software engineering knowledge by appropri-
ate participation in professional organizations, meet-
ings, and publications.
6.04. Support, as members of a profession, other software
engineers striving to follow this Code.
6.05. Not promote their own interest at the expense of the
profession, client, or employer.
6.06. Obey all laws governing their work, unless, in excep-
tional circumstances; such compliance is inconsistent
with the public interest.
6.07. Be accurate in stating the characteristics of software
on which they work, avoiding not only false claims
but also claims that might reasonably be supposed
to be speculative, vacuous, deceptive, misleading, or
doubtful.
6.08. Take responsibility for detecting, correcting, and re-
porting errors in software and associated documents on
which they work.
6.09. Ensure that clients, employers, and supervisors know
of the software engineer’s commitment to this Code
of ethics and the subsequent ramifications of such
commitment.
6.10. Avoid associations with businesses and organizations
which are in conflict with this Code.
6.11. Recognize that violations of this Code are inconsistent
with being a professional software engineer.
6.12. Express concerns to the people involved when signifi-
cant violations of this Code are detected unless this is
impossible, counter-productive, or dangerous.
6.13. Report significant violations of this Code to appro-
priate authorities when it is clear that consultation
with people involved in these significant violations is
impossible, counter-productive, or dangerous.
Principle 7: Colleagues
Software engineers shall be fair to and supportive of their
colleagues. In particular, software engineers shall, as appro-
priate:
7.01. Encourage colleagues to adhere to this Code.
7.02. Assist colleagues in professional development.
7.03. Credit fully the work of others and refrain from taking
undue credit.
7.04. Review the work of others in an objective, candid, and
properly documented way.
34 Automation and Ethics
7.05. Give a fair hearing to the opinions, concerns, or com-
plaints of a colleague.
7.06. Assist colleagues in being fully aware of current stan-
dard work practices including policies and procedures
for protecting passwords, files and other confidential
information, and security measures in general.
7.07. Not unfairly intervene in the career of any colleague;
however, concern for the employer, the client, or public
interest may compel software engineers, in good faith,
to question the competence of a colleague.
7.08. In situations outside of their own areas of competence,
call upon the opinions of other professionals who have
competence in that area.
Principle 8: Self
Software engineers shall participate in lifelong learning re-
garding the practice of their profession and shall promote an
ethical approach to the practice of the profession. In particu-
lar, software engineers shall continually endeavor to:
8.01. Further their knowledge of developments in the anal-
ysis, specification, design, development, maintenance,
and testing of software and related documents, together
with the management of the development process.
8.02. Improve their ability to create safe, reliable, and useful
quality software at reasonable cost and within a rea-
sonable time.
8.03. Improve their ability to produce accurate, informative,
and well-written documentation.
8.04. Improve their understanding of the software and re-
lated documents on which they work and of the envi-
ronment in which they will be used.
8.05. Improve their knowledge of relevant standards and the
law governing the software and related documents on
which they work.
8.06. Improve their knowledge of this Code, its interpreta-
tion, and its application to their work.
8.07. Not give unfair treatment to anyone because of any
irrelevant prejudices.
8.08. Not influence others to undertake any action that in-
volves a breach of this Code.
8.09. Recognize that personal violations of this Code are in-
consistent with being a professional software engineer.
This Code was developed by the IEEE-CS/ACM joint
task force on Software Engineering Ethics and Professional
Practices (SEEPP):
Executive Committee: Donald Gotterbarn (Chair), Keith
Miller, and Simon Rogerson
Members: Steve Barber, Peter Barnes, Ilene Burnstein,
Michael Davis, Amr El-Kadi, N. Ben Fairweather, Milton
Fulghum, N. Jayaram, Tom Jewett, Mark Kanko, Ernie
Kallman, Duncan Langford, Joyce Currie Little, Ed Mechler,
769
Manuel J. Norman, Douglas Phillips, Peter Ron Prinzivalli,
Patrick Sullivan, John Weckert, Vivian Weil, S. Weisband,
and Laurie Honour Werth
©1999 by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engi-
neers, Inc. and the Association for Computing Machinery,
Inc.
This Code may be published without permission as long as it
is not changed in any way and it carries the copyright notice.
International Federation of Automatic
Control—Code of Conduct
34
IFAC recognizes its role as a worldwide federation for
promoting automatic control for the benefit of humankind.
In agreement with and in implementation of the approved
IFAC—Mission and Vision—this document summarizes
the commitment and obligation of IFAC to maintain ethical
and professional standards in its academic and industrial
activities. All activities within IFAC as well as volunteers
acting on behalf of or for IFAC are to act in accordance with
this Code of Conduct.
1. Honesty and Integrity
Activities conducted by IFAC shall always be fair, honest,
transparent, and in accordance with the IFAC—Mission and
Vision. That is, their main goal is to contribute to the promo-
tion of the science and technology of control in the broadest
sense. IFAC disapproves any actions which are in conflict
with existing laws, are motivated by criminal intentions, or
include scientifically dishonest practices such as plagiarism,
infringement, or falsification of results. IFAC will not only
retaliate against any person who reports violations of this
principle but rather encourage such reporting.
2. Excellence and Relevance
IFAC recognizes its responsibility to promote the science and
technology of automatic control through technical meetings,
publications, and other means consistent with the goals and
values defined in the IFAC—Mission and Vision. Further,
IFAC has the responsibility to be a trusted source of publica-
tion material on automatic control renowned for its technical
excellence. IFAC acknowledges its professional obligation
toward employees, volunteers, cooperating or member orga-
nizations and companies, and further partners.
3. Sustainability
A major challenge in future automatic control is the devel-
opment of modern techniques which reduce the ecological
damage caused by technology to a minimum. IFAC acknowl-
edges this fact and contributes to a solution by promoting the
importance of automatic control and its impact on the society
and by advancing the knowledge in automatic control and
770
its applications. IFAC disapproves any actions which are in
conflict with the above philosophy, in particular those which
have a negative impact on the environment.
4. Diversity and Inclusivity
IFAC is a diverse, global organization with the goal to create
a fruitful environment for people from different cultures
dealing with automatic control in theory and practical appli-
cations. People shall be treated fairly, respectfully, and their
human rights shall be protected. IFAC is committed to the
highest principles of equality, diversity, and inclusion without
boundaries. IFAC disapproves of any harassment, bullying,
or discrimination.
5. Compliance of Laws
The purpose of any action conducted by IFAC is to further
the goals defined in IFAC’s constitution and consequences
thereof. Activities on behalf of IFAC cannot be in conflict
with ethical principles or laws existing in countries where
IFAC operates. This includes but is not limited to any form
of bribery, corruption, or fraud. IFAC disapproves unethi-
cal or illegal business practices which restrain competition
such as price fixing or other kinds of market manipulation.
Conflicts of interest are to be prevented if possible and
revealed immediately whenever they occur. IFAC assures
the protection of confidential information belonging to its
member organizations and further partners.
Appendix B: Steps of the Ethical
Decision-Making
The following has been closely adapted from [36].
While the process is presented here as a sequence of
actions, in practice the decision-maker may have to return to
an earlier stage and fill up details the need for was revealed
later:
1. Gather all relevant facts.
• Don’t jump to conclusions without the facts.
• Questions to ask: Who, what, where, when, how, and
why. However, facts may be difficult to find because of
the uncertainty often found around ethical issues.
• Some facts are not available.
• Assemble as many facts as possible before proceeding.
• Clarify what assumptions you are making!
2. Define the ethical issue(s)
• Don’t jump to solutions without first identifying the
ethical issue(s) in the situation.
• Define the ethical basis for the issue you want to focus
on.
• There may be multiple ethical issues—focus on one
major one at a time.
M. Hofri
3. Identify the affected parties.
• Identify all stakeholders, and then determine:
• Who are the primary or direct stakeholders?
• Who are the secondary or indirect stakeholders?
• Why are they stakeholders for the issue?
• Perspective-taking—try to see the situation through the
eyes of those affected; interview them if possible.
4. Identify the consequences of possible actions.
• Think about potential positive and negative conse-
quences for affected parties by the decision. Focus on
primary stakeholders initially.
• Estimate the magnitude of the consequences and the
probability that the consequences will happen.
• Short-term vs. long-term consequences—will decision
be valid over time.
• Broader systemic consequences—tied to symbolic and
secrecy as follows
• Symbolic consequences—each decision sends a mes-
sage.
• Secrecy consequences—what are the consequences if
the decision or action becomes public?
• Did you consider relevant cognitive barriers/biases?
• Consider what your decision would be based only on
consequences—then move on and see if it is similar
given other considerations.
1. Identify the relevant principles, rights, and justice is-
sues.
• Obligations should be thought of in terms of principles
and rights involved:
(A) What obligations are created because of particular
ethical principles you might use in the situation?
Examples: Do no harm; do unto others as you
would have them do unto you; do what you would
have anyone in your position do in the given
context.
(B) What obligations are created because of the
specific rights of the stakeholders? What rights
are more basic vs. secondary in nature? Which
help protect an individual’s basic autonomy? What
types of rights are involved—negative or positive?
(C) What concepts of justice (fairness) are relevant—
distributive or procedural justice?
• Did you consider any relevant cognitive barri-
ers/biases? Formulate the appropriate decision or
action based solely on the above analysis of these
obligations.
2. Consider your character and integrity
• Consider what your relevant community members
would consider to be the kind of decision that an
individual of integrity would make in this situation.
• What specific virtues are relevant in the situation?
34 Automation and Ethics
• Disclosure rule—what would you do if various media
channels reported your action and everyone was to read
it.
• Think about how your decision will be remembered
when you are gone.
• Did you consider any relevant cognitive biases/barriers?
• What decision would you come to based solely on
character considerations?
3. Think creatively about potential actions.
• Be sure you have not been unnecessarily forced into a
corner.
• You may have some choices or alternatives that have
not been considered.
• If you have come up with solutions “a” and “b,” try to
brainstorm, and come up with a “c” solution that might
satisfy the interests of the primary parties involved in
the situation.
4. Check your gut.
• Even though the prior steps have argued for a highly
rational process, it is always good to check your moral
sense, as observed by Kant.
• Intuition is gaining credibility as a source for good
decision-making; feeling something is not “right” is a
useful trigger.
—Particularly relevant if you have a lot of experience
in the area and are considered an expert decision-
maker.
5. Decide on your course of action, and prepare responses to
those who may oppose your position.
• Consider potential actions based on the consequences,
obligations, and character approaches.
• Do you come up with similar answers from the differ-
ent perspectives?
• Do your obligations and character help you evaluate the
consequentialist preferred action?
• How can you protect the rights of those involved (or
your own character) while still maximizing the overall
good for all of the stakeholders?
• What arguments are most compelling to you to justify
the action ethically? How will you respond to those
with opposing viewpoints?
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Education (June 12, 2011). Available at Rule Breaker
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cessed at research.ku.edu, November 24, 2020
37. Peslak, A.R.: A review of the impact of ACM code of conduct on Micha Hofri earned his first two degrees in the department of Physics,
information technology moral judgment and intent. J. Comput. Inf. at the Technion (IIT) in Haifa, Israel. For his PhD he climbed to a
Syst. 47(3), 1–10 (2007) higher hill in the same campus, for the department of management
38. https://www.nae.edu/225756/Code_of_Conduct NAE Code of and industrial engineering. His dissertation, for the D.Sc. degree in In-
Conduct dustrial engineering and Operations Research, concerned performance
39. Johnson, D.G., Nissenbaum, H. (eds.): Computers, Ethics & Social evaluation of computer systems. He has been on the faculty at the
Values. Prentice Hall Upper Saddle River, NJ (1995) Technion, Purdue, University of Houston and Rice, and came to WPI
40. Anderson, M., Anderson, S.L. (eds.): Machine Ethics. Cambridge as the CS department chairman. He has taught several different courses
University Press, New York, NY (2011) about operating systems, analysis of algorithms, probability and com-
41. Thunström, A.O., We Asked gpt-3 to Write an Academic Paper binatorics in computing; and more recently about the societal impact of
about Itself- Then We tried to Get It Published. Scientific American, computing and communications. Professor emeritus Hofri continues to
327(3), September (2022) offer this recent course. His latest book Algorithmics of Nonuniformity:
Tools and Paradigms, authored with Hosam Mahmoud, was published
in 2019 by CRC Press.
 Part VI
Industrial Automation
 Machine Tool Automation
35
Keiichi Shirase and Susumu Fujii

Contents
Abstract
35.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 775
Numerical control (NC) is one of the greatest innovations
35.2 The Advent of the NC Machine Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 777
35.2.1 From Hand Tool to Powered Machine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 777 in the achievement of machine tool automation in manu-
35.2.2 Copy Milling Machine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 778 facturing. In this chapter, first a history of the development
35.2.3 NC Machine Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 778 up to the advent of NC machine tools is briefly reviewed
35.3 Development of Machining Center and Turning (Sect. 35.2). Then the machining centers and the turning
Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 779 centers are described with their key modules and inte-
35.3.1 Machining Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 779 gration into flexible manufacturing systems (FMS) and
35.3.2 Turning Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 780
35.3.3 Fully Automated Machining: FMS and FMC . . . . . . . . . 781
flexible manufacturing cells (FMC) in Sect. 35.3. NC part
programming is described from manual programming to
35.4 NC Part Programming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 782
the computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) system in Sect.
35.4.1 Manual Part Programming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 782
35.4.2 Computer-Assisted Part Programming: APT 35.4. In Sects. 35.5, 35.6, and 35.7, following the tech-
and EXAPT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 783 nical innovations in the advanced hardware and software
35.4.3 CAM-Assisted Part Programming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 784 systems of NC machine tools, future control systems for
35.5 Technical Innovation in NC Machine Tools . . . . . . . . 784 intelligent CNC machine tools are presented.
35.5.1 Functional and Structural Innovation by Multitasking
and Multiaxis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 784 Keywords
35.5.2 Innovation in Control Systems Toward Intelligent CNC
Machine Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 785 Machine tool · Computer numerical control · Flexible
35.5.3 Current Technologies of Advanced manufacturing system · Computer numerical control
CNC Machine Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 786
35.5.4 Autonomous and Intelligent Machine Tool . . . . . . . . . . . 789 machine tool · Numerical control program
35.5.5 Advanced Intelligent Technology for Machine Tools . . . 794
35.6 Metal Additive Manufacturing Machines or Metal
3D Printers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 796
35.6.1 Rapid Growth of Additive Manufacturing . . . . . . . . . . . . 796
35.6.2 Laser Additive Manufacturing Machine Using Powder
35.1 Introduction
Bed Fusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 799
35.6.3 Five-Axis Milling Machining Center Combining Numerical control (NC) is one of the greatest innovations
Directed Energy Deposition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 800 in the achievement of machine tool automation in manufac-
35.7 Key Technologies for Future Intelligent Machine turing. Machine tools have expanded their performance and
Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 800 ability since the era of the Industrial Revolution; however
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 802 all machine tools were operated manually until the birth of
the NC machine tool in 1952. Numerical control enabled
control of the motion and sequence of machining operations
with high accuracy and repeatability. In the 1960s, computers
K. Shirase () added even greater flexibility and reliability of machining op-
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Kobe University, Kobe, Japan erations. These machine tools which had computer numerical
e-mail: shirase@mech.kobe-u.ac.jp
control were called CNC machine tools. A machining center,
S. Fujii () which is a highly automated NC milling machine performing
Kobe University, Kobe, Japan

© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 775

S. Y. Nof (ed.), Springer Handbook of Automation, Springer Handbooks,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-96729-1_35
776
multiple milling operations, was developed to realize process
integration as well as machining automation in 1958. A turn-
ing center, which is a highly automated NC lathe performing
multiple turning operations, was also developed. These ma-
chine tools contributed to realize the flexible manufacturing
system (FMS), which had been proposed during the mid-
1960s. FMS aims to perform automatic machining operations
unaided by human operators to machine various parts.
The automatically programmed tool (APT) is the most
important computer-assisted part programming language and
was first used to generate part programs in production around
1960. The extended subset of APT (EXAPT) was devel-
oped to add functions such as setting of cutting conditions,
selection of cutting tool, and operation planning besides
the functions of APT. Another pioneering NC programming
language, COMPACT II, was developed by Manufacturing
Data Systems Inc. (MDSI) in 1967. Technologies developed
beyond APT and EXAPT were succeeded by computer-
aided manufacturing (CAM). CAM provides interactive part
programming with a visual and graphical environment and
saves significant programming time and effort for part pro-
gramming. For example, COMPACT II has evolved into
open CNC software, which enables integration of off-the-
shelf hardware and software technologies. NC languages
have also been integrated with computer-aided design (CAD)
and CAM systems.
The first innovation
Tools
Hardware
Machine tools
Analog control/mechanical control
(mechanics)
The second innovation
Software
NC machine tools
Digital control
(servo, actuator, sensor)
NC machine tools
with adaptive control
Digital control with AC
(performance function/constraint conditions)
The third innovation
Information
Intelligent
NC machine tools
Digital control with AC
(machining strategy/decision making)
Fig. 35.1 Evolution of machine tools toward the intelligent machine for the future
K. Shirase and S. Fujii
In the past five decades, NC machine tools have become
more sophisticated to achieve higher accuracy and faster
machining operation with greater flexibility. Certainly, the
conventional NC control system can perform sophisticated
motion control but not cutting process control. This means
that further intelligence of NC control system is still required
to achieve more sophisticated process control. In the near
future, all machine tools will have advanced functions for
process planning, tool-path generation, cutting process mon-
itoring, cutting process prediction, self-monitoring, failure
prediction, etc. Information technology (IT) will be the key
issue to realize these advanced functions. The paradigm
is evolving from the concept of autonomy to yield next-
generation NC machine tools for sophisticated manufactur-
ing systems.
Machine tools have expanded their performance and abil-
ities as shown in Fig. 35.1. The first innovation took place
during the era of the Industrial Revolution. Most conventional
machine tools, such as lathes and milling machines, have
been developed since the Industrial Revolution. High-speed
machining, high-precision machining, and high productivity
have been achieved by these modern machine tools to realize
mass production.
The second innovation was numerical control (NC). A
prototype machine was demonstrated at MIT in 1952. The
accuracy and repeatability of NC machine tools became far
• High speed
• High precision
• High productivity
pre-instructed by NC programs
• Motion control
• Multi tasks/multi functions
instructed by in-process planning and decision
• System
Automatic operation
• Cutting process control
• Feedback of cutting process
Autonomous operation
• Artificial intelligence
• Knowledge/knowhow
• Learning/evolution
35 Machine Tool Automation 777

better than those of manually operated machine tools. NC

is a key concept to realize programmable automation. The 35
principle of NC is to control the motion and sequence of ma-
chining operations. Computer numerical control (CNC) was
introduced, and computer technology replaced the hardware
control circuit boards on NC, greatly increasing the reliability
and functionality of NC. The most important functionality to
be realized was adaptive control (AC). In order to improve
the productivity of the machining process and the qual-
ity of machined surfaces, several AC systems for real-time
adjustment of cutting parameters have been proposed and
developed [1].
As mentioned above, machine tools have evolved through
advances in hardware and control technologies. However,
the machining operations are fully dominated by the pre-
determined NC commands, and conventional machine tools Fig. 35.2 Wilkinson’s boring machine (1775)
are not generally allowed to change the machining sequence
or the cutting conditions during machining operations. This
means that conventional NC machine tools are allowed to
perform only automatic machining operations that are pre-
instructed by NC programs.
In order to realize an intelligent machine tool for the
future, some innovative technical breakthroughs are required.
An intelligent machine tool should be good at learning,
understanding, and thinking in a logical way about the cutting
process and machining operation, and no NC commands will
be required to instruct machining operations as an intelligent Fig. 35.3 Maudsley’s screw-cutting lathe with mechanized tool car-
riage (1800)
machine tool thinks about machining operations and adapts
the cutting processes itself. This means that an intelligent
machine tool can perform autonomous operations that are the mechanical tool carriage equipped with a screw allowed
instructed by in-process planning made by the tool itself. precise repetition of machined shapes. Precise repetition
Information technology (IT) will be the key issue to realize of machined shape is an important requirement to produce
this third innovation. many of the component parts for mass production. Therefore,
Maudsley’s screw-cutting lathe became a prototype of lathes.
Whitney’s milling machine (Fig. 35.4) is believed to be
35.2 The Advent of the NC Machine Tool the first successful milling machine used for cutting plane
of metal parts. However, it appears that Whitney’s milling
35.2.1 From Hand Tool to Powered Machine machine was made after Whitney’s death. Whitney’s milling
machine was designed to manufacture interchangeable mus-
It is well known that John Wilkinson’s boring machine ket parts. Interchangeable parts require high-precision ma-
(Fig. 35.2) was able to machine a high-accuracy cylinder to chine tools to make exact shapes.
build Watt’s steam engine. The performance of steam engines Fitch’s turret lathe (Fig. 35.5) was the first automatic turret
was improved drastically by the high-accuracy cylinder. With lathe. Turret lathes were used to produce complex-shaped
the spread of steam engines, machine tools changed from cylindrical parts that required several operating sequences
hand tools to powered machines, and metal cutting became and tools. Also, turret lathes can perform automatic machin-
widespread to achieve modern industrialization. During ing with a single setup and can achieve high productivity.
the era of the Industrial Revolution, most conventional High productivity is an important requirement to produce
machine tools, such as lathes and milling machines, were many of the component parts for mass production.
developed. As mentioned above, the most important modern machine
Maudsley’s screw-cutting lathe with mechanized tool car- tools required to realize mass production were developed
riage (Fig. 35.3) was a great invention which was able to ma- during the era of the Industrial Revolution. Also high-speed
chine high-accuracy screw threads. The screw-cutting lathe machining, high-precision machining, and high productivity
was developed to machine screw threads accurately; however had been achieved by these modern machine tools.
778
Fig. 35.4 Whitney’s milling machine (1818)
Fig. 35.5 Fitch’s turret lathe (1845)
35.2.2 Copy Milling Machine
A copy milling machine, also called a tracer milling machine
or a profiling milling machine, can duplicate freeform ge-
ometry represented by a master model for making molds,
dies, and other shaped cavities and forms. A probe tracing
the model contour is controlled to follow a three-dimensional
master model, and the cutting tool follows the path taken by
the tracer to machine the desired shape. Usually, a tracing
probe is fed by a human operator, and the motion of the
tracer is converted to the motion of the tool by hydraulic or
electronic mechanisms. The motion in Fig. 35.6 shows an
example of copy milling. In this case, three spindle heads
or three cutting tools follow the path taken by the tracer
K. Shirase and S. Fujii
Fig. 35.6 A copy milling machine
simultaneously. In some copy milling machines the ratio
between the motion of the tracer and the cutting tool can
be changed to machine shapes that are similar to the master
model.
Copy milling machines were widely used to machine
molds and dies which were difficult to generate with simple
tool paths, until CAD/CAM systems became widespread
to generate NC programs freely for machining three-
dimensional freeform shapes.
35.2.3 NC Machine Tools
The first prototype NC machine tool, shown in Fig. 35.7,
was demonstrated at the MIT in 1952. The name numerical
control was given to the machine tool, as it was controlled
numerically. It is well known that numerical control was
required to develop more efficient manufacturing methods
for modern aircraft, as aircraft components became more
complex and required more machining. The accuracy, re-
peatability, and productivity of NC machine tools became far
better than those of machine tools operated manually.
The concept of numerical control is very important and
innovative for programmable automation, in which the mo-
tions of machine tools are controlled or instructed by a
program containing coded alphanumeric data. According
to the concept of numerical control, machining operation
becomes programmable, and machining shape is changeable.
The concept of the flexible manufacturing system (FMS)
mentioned later required the prior development of numerical
control.
A program to control NC machine tools is called a part
program, and the importance of a part program was recog-
nized from the beginning of NC machine tools. In particular,
the definition for machining shapes of more complex parts is
35 Machine Tool Automation 779

35

Fig. 35.7 The first NC machine tool, which was demonstrated at MIT
in 1952
Fig. 35.8 Machining center, equipped with an ATC. (Courtesy of
Makino Milling Machine Co. Ltd.)
difficult by manual operation. Therefore, a part programming
language, APT, was developed at MIT to realize computer-
assisted part programming.
Recently, CNC has become widespread, and in most cases
the term NC is used synonymously with CNC. Originally,
CNC corresponded to an NC system operated by an internal
computer, which realized storage of part programs, editing of
part programs, manual data input (MDI), and so on. The latest
CNC tools allow generation of a part program interactively
by a machine operator and avoid machine crash caused by a
missing part program. High-speed and high-accuracy control
of machine tools to realize highly automated machining
operation requires the latest central processing unit (CPU) to
perform high-speed data processing for several functions.

35.3 Development of Machining Center Fig. 35.9 Horizontal machining center. (Courtesy of Yamazaki Mazak
and Turning Center Corp.)

35.3.1 Machining Center

A machining center is a highly automated NC milling ma-
chine that performs multiple machining operations such as
end milling, drilling, and tapping. It was developed to realize
process integration as well as machining automation, in 1958.
Figure 35.8 shows an early machining center equipped with
an automatic tool changer (ATC). Most machining centers
are equipped with an ATC and an automatic pallet changer
(APC) to perform multiple cutting operations in a single
machine setup and to reduce nonproductive time in the whole
machining cycle.
Machining centers are classified into horizontal and ver-
tical types according to the orientation of the spindle axis.
Figures 35.9 and 35.10 show typical horizontal and vertical
machining centers, respectively. Most horizontal machining
centers have a rotary table to index the machined part at
some specific angle relative to the cutting tool. A horizontal
machining center which has a rotary table can machine the
four vertical faces of boxed workpieces in single setup with
minimal human assistance. Therefore, a horizontal machin-
ing center is widely used in an automated shop floor with a
loading and unloading system for workpieces to realize ma-
chining automation. On the other hand, a vertical machining
center is widely used in a die and mold machine shop. In a
vertical machining center, the cutting tool can machine only
the top surface of boxed workpieces, but it is easy for human
operators to understand tool motion relative to the machined
part.
780 K. Shirase and S. Fujii

Fig. 35.10 Vertical machining center. (Courtesy of Yamazaki Mazak

Corp.)

Automatic Tool Changer (ATC)

ATC stands for automatic tool changer, which permits load- Fig. 35.11 ATC: automatic tool changer. (Courtesy of Yamazaki
ing and unloading of cutting tools from one machining oper- Mazak Corp.)
ation to the next. The ATC is designed to exchange cutting
tools between the spindle and a tool magazine, which can
store more than 20 tools. The large capacity of the tool
magazine allows a variety of workpieces to be machined.
Additionally, higher tool-change speed and reliability are
required to achieve a fast machining cycle. Figure 35.11
shows an example of a twin-arm-type ATC driven by a cam
mechanism to ensure reliable high-speed tool change.

Automatic Pallet Changer (APC)

APC stands for automatic pallet changer, which permits load-
ing and unloading of workpieces for machining automation.
Most horizontal machining centers have two pallet tables to
exchange the parts before and after machining automatically.
Figure 35.12 shows an example of an APC. The operator
can be unloading the finished part and loading the next part
on one pallet, while the machining center is processing the
current part on another pallet.
Fig. 35.12 APC: automatic pallet changer. (Courtesy of Yamazaki
Mazak Corp.)
35.3.2 Turning Center

A turning center is a highly automated NC lathe to perform
multiple turning operations. Figure 35.13 shows a typical
turning center. Changing of cutting tools is performed by
a turret tool changer which can hold about ten turning and
milling tools. Therefore, a turning center enables not only
turning operations but also milling operations such as end
milling, drilling, and tapping in a single machine setup. Some
turning centers have two spindles and two or more turret tool
changers to complete all machining operations of cylindrical
parts in a single machine setup. In this case, the first half of
the machining operations of the workpiece is carried out on
one spindle, and then the second half of the machining op-
erations is carried out on another spindle, without unloading
and loading of the workpiece. This reduces production time.
Turret Tool Changer
Fig. 35.14 shows a tool turret with 12 cutting tools. A suitable
cutting tool for the target machining operation is indexed
automatically under numerical control for continuous ma-
chining operations. The most sophisticated turning centers
35 Machine Tool Automation
Fig. 35.13 Turning center or CNC lathe. (Courtesy of Yamazaki
Mazak Corp.)
Fig. 35.14 Tool turret in turning center. (Courtesy of Yamazaki Mazak
Corp.)
have tool monitoring systems which check tool length and
diameter for automatic tool alignment and sense tool wear
for automatic tool changing.
35.3.3 Fully Automated Machining: FMS
and FMC
Flexible Manufacturing System (FMS)
The concept of the flexible manufacturing system (FMS) was
proposed during the mid-1960s. It aims to perform automatic
machining operations unaided by human operators to ma-
chine various parts. Machining centers are key components
of the FMS for flexible machining operations. Figure 35.15
shows a typical FMS, which consists of five machining
781
35
Fig. 35.15 Flexible manufacturing system. (Courtesy of Yamazaki
Mazak Corp.)
centers, one conveyor, one load/unload station, and a central
computer that controls and manages the components of the
FMS.
No manufacturing system can be completely flexible.
FMSs are typically used for mid-volume and mid-variety
production. An FMS is designed to machine parts within
a range of style, sizes, and processes, and its degree of
flexibility is limited. Additionally, the machining shape is
changeable through the part programs that control the NC
machine tools, and the part programs required for every shape
to be machined have to be prepared before the machining
operation. Therefore a new shape that needs a part program
is not acceptable in conventional FMSs, which is why a
third innovation of machine tools is required to achieve
autonomous machining operations instead of automatic ma-
chining operations to achieve true FMS.
An FMS consists of several NC machine tools such as
machining centers and turning centers, material-handling
or loading/unloading systems such as industrial robots and
pallet changer, conveyer systems such as conveyors and
automated guided vehicles (AGV), and storage systems. Ad-
ditionally, an FMS has a central computer to coordinate all
of the activities of the FMS, and all hardware components
of the FMS generally have their own microcomputer for
control. The central computer downloads NC part programs
and controls the material-handling system, conveyer system,
storage system, management of materials and cutting tools,
etc.
Human operators play important roles in FMSs, perform-
ing the following tasks:
1. Loading/unloading parts at loading/unloading stations
2. Changing and setting of cutting tools
782
3. NC part programming
4. Maintenance of hardware components
5. Operation of the computer system
These tasks are indispensable to manage the FMS success-
fully.
Flexible Manufacturing Cell (FMC)
Basically, FMSs are large systems to realize manufacturing
automation for mid-volume and mid-variety production. In
some cases, small systems are applicable to realize manu-
facturing automation. The term flexible manufacturing cell
(FMC) is used to represent small systems or compact cells
of FMSs. Usually, the number of machine tools included in
a FMC is three or fewer. One can consider that an FMS is a
large manufacturing system composed of several FMCs.
35.4 NC Part Programming
The task of programming to operate machine tools automat-
ically is called NC part programming because the program
is prepared for a part to be machined. NC part programming
requires the programmer to be familiar with both the cutting
processes and programming procedures. The NC part pro-
gram includes the detailed commands to control the positions
and motion of the machine tool. In numerical control, the
three linear axes (x, y, z) of the Cartesian coordinate system
are used to specify cutting tool positions, and three rotational
axes (a, b, c) are used to specify the cutting tool postures. In
turning operations, the position of the cutting tool is defined
in the x–z plane for cylindrical parts, as shown in Fig. 35.16a.
In milling operations, the position of the cutting tool is
defined by the x-, y-, and z-axes for cuboid parts, as shown in
Fig. 35.16b.
Numerical control realizes programmable automation of
machining. The mechanical actions or motions of the cutting
tool relative to the workpiece and the control sequence of the
machine tool equipments are coded by alphanumerical data
in a program. NC part programming requires a programmer
+z
a) b)
+c +y
+x
+b
+z –x +x
–z
+a
–x
–y
–z
Fig. 35.16 Coordinate systems in numerical control. (a) Cylindrical
part for turning; (b) cuboid part for milling
K. Shirase and S. Fujii
who is familiar with the metal cutting process to define the
points, lines, and surfaces of the workpiece and to generate
the alphanumerical data. The most important NC part pro-
gramming techniques are summarized as follows:
1. Manual part programming
2. Computer-assisted part programming – APT and EXAPT
3. CAM-assisted part programming
35.4.1 Manual Part Programming
This is the simplest way to generate a part program. Basic
numeric data and alphanumeric codes are entered manually
into the NC controller. The simplest command example is
shown as follows:
N0010 M03 S1000 F100 EOB
N0020 G00 X20.000 Y50.000 EOB
N0030 Z20.000 EOB
N0040 G01 Z – 20.000 EOB
Each code in the statement has a meaning to define a ma-
chining operation. The “N” code shows the sequence number
of the statement. The “M” code and the following two-digit
number define miscellaneous functions; “M03” means to
spindle on with clockwise rotation. The “S” code defines
the spindle speed; “S1000” means that the spindle speed
is 1000 rpm. The “F” code defines the feed speed; “F100”
means that the feed is 100 mm/min. “EOB” stands for “end of
block” and shows the end of the statement. The “G” code and
the following two-digit number define preparatory functions;
“G00” means rapid positioning by point-to-point control. The
“X” and “Y” codes indicate the x- and y-coordinates. The
cutting tool moves rapidly to the position x = 20 mm and
y = 50 mm with the second statement. Then, the cutting
tool moves rapidly again to the position z = 20 mm with the
third statement. “G01” means linear positioning at controlled
feed speed. Then the cutting tool moves with the feed speed,
defined by “F100” in this example, to position z = −20 mm.
The positioning control can be classified into two types,
(1) point-to-point control and (2) continuous path control.
“G00” is a positioning command for point-to-point control.
This command only identifies the next position required at
which a subsequent machining operation such as drilling is
performed. The path to get to the position is not considered in
point-to-point control. On the other hand, the path to get to
the position is controlled simultaneously in more than one
axis to follow a line or circle in continuous path control.
“G01” is a positioning command for linear interpolation.
“G02” and “G03” are positioning commands for circular
35 Machine Tool Automation 783

interpolation. These commands permit the generation of two-
dimensional curves or three-dimensional surfaces by turning
or milling.
35.4.2 Computer-Assisted Part Programming:
APT and EXAPT
Automatically programmed tools is the most important
computer-assisted part programming language and was first
used to generate part programs in production around 1960.
EXAPT contains additional functions such as setting of
cutting conditions, selection of cutting tool, and operation
planning besides the functions of APT. APT provides two
steps to generate part programs: (1) definition of part
geometry and (2) specification of tool motion and operation
sequence. An example program list is shown in Fig. 35.17.
The following APT statements define the contour of the part
geometry based on basic geometric elements such as points,
lines, and circles:
LN1 = LINE/20, 20, 20, 70
LN2 = LINE/(POINT/20, 70), ATANGL, 75, LN1
LN3 = LINE/(POINT/40, 20), ATANGL, 45
LN4 = LINE/20, 20, 40, 20
CIR = CIRCLE/YSMALL, LN2, YLARGE, LN3, RADIUS, 10
where LN1 is the line that goes through points (20, 20) and
(20, 70); LN2 is the line that goes from point (20, 70) at 75◦ to 35
LN1; LN3 is the line that goes from point (40, 20) at 45◦ to the
horizontal line; LN4 is the line that goes through points (20,
20) and (40, 20); and CIR is the circle tangent to lines LN2
and LN3 with radius 10. Most part shapes can be described
using these APT statements.
On the other hand, tool motions are specified by the
following APT statements:
TLLFT, GOLFT/LN1, PAST, LN2
GORGT/LN2, TANTO, CIR
GOFWD/CIR, TANTO, LN3
where “TLLFT, GOLFT/LN1” indicates that the tool posi-
tions left (TLLFT) of the line LN1, goes left (GOLFT), and
moves along the line LN1. “PAST, LN2” indicates that the
tool moves until past (PAST) the line LN2. “GORGT/LN2”
indicates that the tool goes right (GORGT) and moves along
the line LN2. “TANTO, CIR” indicates that the tool moves
until tangent to (TANTO) the circle CIR. GOFWD/CIR
indicates that the tool goes forward (GOFWD) and moves
along the circle CIR. “TANTO, LN3” indicates that the tool
moves until tangent to the line LN3.
Additional APT statements are prepared to define feed
speed, spindle speed, tool size, and tolerances of tool paths.
The APT program completed by the part programmer is

PARTNO TEMPLET Start statement FEDRAT/FO3 $$ CUTTING SPEED Feed rate

REMARK PART TYPE KS-02 Comment TLLFT, GOLFT/LN1, PAST, LN2 Tool motion
$$ Comment GORGT/LN2, TANTO, CIR Tool motion
MACHINE/F 240, 2 Selection of post processor GOFWD/CIR, TANTO, LN3 Tool motion
CLPRT GOFWD/LN3, PAST, LN4 Tool motion
OUTTOL/0.002 Outer tolerance GORGT/LN4, PAST, LN1 Tool motion
INTOL/0.002 Inner tolerance
CUTTER/10 $$ FLAT END MILL DIA=10mm Cutting tool FEDRAT/FO2 Feed rate
$$ DEFINITION Definition of geometry GODLTA/0, 0, 10 Tool motion
LN1=LINE/20, 20, 20, 70 SPINDL/OFF Spindle off
LN2=LINE/(POINT/20, 70), ATANGL, 75, LN1 COOLNT/OFF Coolant off
LN3=LINE/(POINT/40, 20), ATANGL, 45 FEDRAT/FO1 Feed rate
LN4=LINE/20, 20, 40, 20 GOTO/SETPT Tool motion
CIR=CIRCLE/YSMALL, LN2, YLARGE, LN3, RADIUS, 10 END Stop
XYPL=PLANE/0, 0, 1, 0 $$ XYPLANE $$
SETPT=POINT/-10, -10, 10 PRINT/3, ALL Y
Print out
$$ MOTION Motion of machine tool FINI End statement
FROM/SETPT Start point
80
FEDRAT/FO1 $$ RAPID SPEED Feed rate
GODLTA/20, 20, -5 Tool motion 60 LN2
SPINDL/ON Spindle on CIR
LN1
COOLNT/ON Coolant on 40
LN3
FEDRATE/FO2 Feed rate 20
LN4
GO/TO, LN1, TO, XYPL, TO, LN4 Tool motion
0 X
0 20 40 60 80

Fig. 35.17 Example program list in APT

784
translated by the computer to the cutter location (CL) data,
which consists of all the geometry and cutter location infor-
mation required to machine the part. This process is called
main processing or preprocessing to generate NC commands.
The CL data is converted to the part program, which is
understood by the NC machine tool controller. This process
is called postprocessing to add NC commands to specify
feed speed, spindle speed, and auxiliary functions for the
machining operation.
35.4.3 CAM-Assisted Part Programming
CAM systems grew based on technologies relating to APT
and EXAPT. Originally, CAM stood for computer-aided
manufacturing and was used as a general term for computer
software to assist all operations while realizing manufac-
turing. However, CAM is now used to indicate computer
software to assist part programming in a narrow sense.
The biggest difference between part programming as-
sisted by APT and CAM is usability. Part programming
assisted by APT is based on batch processing. Therefore,
many programming errors are not detected until the end of
computer processing. On the other hand, part programming
assisted by CAM is interactive-mode processing with a visual
and graphical environment. It therefore becomes easy to
complete a part program after repeated trial and error using
visual verification. Additionally, close cooperation between
CAD and CAM offers a significant benefit in terms of part
programming. The geometrical data for each part designed by
CAD are available for automatic tool-path generation, such
as surface profiling, contouring, and pocket milling, in CAM
through software routines. This saves significant program-
ming time and effort for part programming. Recently, some
simulation technologies have become available to verify part
programs free from machining trouble. Optimization of feed
speed and detection of machine crash are two major func-
tions for part program verification. These functions also save
significant production lead time.
35.5 Technical Innovation in NC Machine
Tools
35.5.1 Functional and Structural Innovation
by Multitasking and Multiaxis
Turning and Milling Integrated Machine Tool
Recently, a turning and milling integrated machine tool has
been developed as a sophisticated turning center. It also has
a rotating cutting tool which can perform milling operation
besides turning operation, as shown in Fig. 35.18. The bene-
fits of the use of turning and milling integrated machine tools
are as follows:
K. Shirase and S. Fujii
Fig. 35.18 Milling and turning integrated machine tool. (Courtesy of
Yamazaki Mazak Corp.)
1. Reduction of production time
2. Improved machining accuracy
3. Reduction of floor space and initial cost
As the high performance of these machine tools was
accepted, the configuration became more and more compli-
cated. Multispindles and multiturrets are integrated to per-
form multitasks simultaneously. The machine tool shown in
Fig. 35.18 has two spindles: one milling spindle with four
axes and one turret with two axes. Increasing the complexity
of these machine tools causes the risk of machine crashes
during machining operation and requires careful part pro-
gramming to avoid machine crashes.
Five-Axis Machining Center
Multiaxis machining centers are expanding in practical ap-
plications rapidly. The multiaxis machining center is ap-
plied to generate a workpiece with complex geometry with
a single machine setup. In particular, five-axis machining
centers have become popular for machining aircraft parts and
complicated surfaces such as dies and molds. A typical five-
axis machining center is shown in Fig. 35.19. Benefits to the
use of multiaxis machining centers are as follows:
1. Reduction of preparation time
2. Reduction of production time
3. Improved machining accuracy
Parallel Kinematic Machine Tool
A parallel kinematic machine tool is classified as a multiaxis
machine tool. In the past years, parallel kinematic machine
tools (PKM) have been studied with interest for their
advantages of high stiffness, low inertia, high accuracy,
35 Machine Tool Automation 785

35

Fig. 35.19 Five-axis machining center. (Courtesy of Mori Seiki Co.

Ltd.)

and high-speed capability. Okuma Corporation in Japan

developed the parallel mechanism machine tool COSMO
CENTER PM-600 shown in Fig. 35.20. This machine
tool achieves high-speed and high-degrees-of-freedom
machining operation for practical products. Also, high-speed
milling of a free surface is shown in Fig. 35.20.

Ultraprecision Machine Tool

Recently, ultraprecision machining technology has expe-
rienced major advances in machine design, performance,
and productivity. Ultraprecision machining was successfully
adopted for the manufacture of computer memory disks
used in hard disk drives (HDD) and also photoreflector
components used in photocopiers and printers. These
applications require extremely high geometrical accuracies
and form deviations in combination with supersmooth
surfaces.
The FANUC ROBONANO α-0iB is shown in Fig. 35.21
as an example of a five-axis ultraprecision machine tool.
Fig. 35.20 Parallel kinematic machining center. (Courtesy of
Nanometer servo-control technologies and air-bearing tech-
OKUMA Corp.)
nologies are combined to realize an ultraprecision machine
tool. This machine provides various machining methods for
mass production with nanometer precision in the fields of op-
tical electronics, semiconductor, medical, and biotechnology.

0.3µm
0.3µm
35.5.2 Innovation in Control Systems Toward
Intelligent CNC Machine Tools Cross groove
V-angle : 90°
Pitch : 0.3 µm
The framework of future intelligent CNC machine tools Height : 0.15 µm
is summarized in Fig. 35.22. A conventional CNC control Material : Ni-P plate
system has two major levels: the servo control (level 1
in Fig. 35.22) and the interpolator (level 2) for the axial
Fig. 35.21 Ultraprecision machine tool. (Courtesy of Fanuc Ltd.)
motion control of machine tools. Certainly, the conventional
CNC control system can achieve highly sophisticated motion
control, but it cannot achieve sophisticated cutting process and 4 in Fig. 35.22, are required for a future intelligent CNC
control. Two additional levels of control hierarchy, levels 3 control system to achieve more sophisticated process control.
786 K. Shirase and S. Fujii

Future intelligent CNC machine tools with adaptive and process control

Current CNC machine tools with/without adaptive control

Deformation/vibration/
Temperature/vibration
noise

Computer CNC controller Actuator Machine tool

• Process planning • Tool path • Relative motion

• Cutting conditions • Servo-amplifier Cutting process
• Tool path between tool and
• Servo-motor
generation • Tool position workpiece
• Ball screw
(CAPP, CAM) • Tool velocity • Cutting operation

• Cutting force
Servo-control (Level 1) • Temperature
Database • Vibration
Interpolation (Level 2)
• Noise
Cutting process information (Level 3)
• Machining accuracy
Cutting results (Level 4) • Surface roughness
• Knowledge
• Knowhow • Tool condition
• Skill : Key issues for future intelligent CNC machine tools

Fig. 35.22 Framework of intelligent machine tools (CAPP – computer-aided process planning)

Machining operations by conventional CNC machine 35.5.3 Current Technologies of Advanced

tools are generally dominated by NC programs, and only
feed speed can be adapted. For sophisticated cutting
process control, dynamic adaptation of cutting parameters is
indispensable. The adaptive control (AC) scheme is assigned
at a higher level (level 3) of the control hierarchy, enabling
intelligent process monitoring, which can detect machining
state independently of cutting conditions and machining
operation.
Level 4 in Fig. 35.22 is usually regarded as a super-
visory level that receives feedback from measurements of
the finished part. A reasonable index to evaluate the cutting
results and a reasonable strategy to improve cutting results
are required at this level. For this purpose, the utilization of
knowledge, know-how, and skill related to machining oper-
ations has to be considered. Effective utilization of feedback
information regarding the cutting results is very important.
Additionally, an autonomous process planning strategy,
which can generate a flexible and adaptive working plan, is
required as a function of intelligent CNC machine tools. It
must be responsive and adaptive to unpredictable changes,
such as job delay, job insertion, and machine breakdown on
machining shop floors. In order to generate the operation plan
autonomously, several planning and information processing
functions are needed. Operation planning, cutting tool selec-
tion, cutting parameters assignment, and tool-path generation
for each machining operation are required at the machine
level. Product data analysis and machining feature recogni-
tion are important issues as part of information processing.
CNC Machine Tools
Open Architecture Control
The concept of open architecture control (OAC) was pro-
posed in the early 1990s. The main aim of OAC was easy
implementation and integration of customer-specific controls
by means of open interfaces and configuration methods in
a vender-neutral standardized environment [2]. It provides
the methods and utilities for integrating user-specific require-
ments, and it is required to implement several intelligent
control applications for process monitoring and control.
Altintas has developed a user-friendly, reconfigurable, and
modular toolkit called the open real-time operating system
(ORTS). ORTS has several intelligent machining modules,
as shown in Fig. 35.23. It can be used for the development
of real-time signal processing, motion, and process control
applications. A sample tool-path generation using quintic
spline interpolation for high-speed machining is described as
an application, and a sample cutting force control has also
been demonstrated [3].
Mori and Yamazaki developed an open servo-control sys-
tem for an intelligent CNC machine tool to minimize the en-
gineering task required for implementing custom intelligent
control functions. The conceptual design of this system is
shown in Fig. 35.24. The software model reference adaptive
control was implemented as a custom intelligent function,
and a feasibility study was conducted to show the effective-
ness of the open servo control [4]. Open architecture control
35 Machine Tool Automation 787

PC/Windows NT-ORTS 35
- Man machine, communication, CAD/CAM functions, ...

DSP-board 1 DSP-board n
Motion control module Intelligent machining
Tacho generator NC-code decoding module
and encoder
Interpolation - Sensor data collection
Motor DSP - Linear, circular, spline, ... - Filtering
- FFT, FRF
Axis control functions - Adaptive control
- PID, PPC, CCC, - Tool wear monitoring
I/O board ZPETC, ... - Tool breakage detection
Sensor functions - Chatter avoidance
- Velocity, torque, - Thermal deformation
Servo- position, force, ... compensation
Motor power I/O
amplifier - Probing
Velocity feedback box MT operating functions - Manipulate machine tool
Position feedback - Fedd, speed, offsets, ... operating functions

Fig. 35.23 Application of ORTS on the design of CNC and ma- PID, proportional-integral-derivative controller; PPC, pole placement
chining process monitoring. (After [3]) (DSP, digital signal proces- controller; CCC, cross-coupling controller; ZPETC, zero-phase error
sor; FFT, fast Fourier transform; FRF, frequency response function; tracking controller; I/O, input/output; MT, machine tool)

Conventional CNC control logic unit

CNC non-real-time processing section
CNC real-time motion control section

NC Program
Preprocess
program decode Multiaxis Postprocess
accel/decel
and interpolator accel/decel
control Position Velocity Current
Display analysis control
control control control control

Display NC Analised Interpolated Servo- Position Axis servo-control

data program results results control command parameters and data
data timing
Accl./dcl. flag Accl./dcl.
Dual port memory (RAM) parameters data

Intelligent control engine Custom non-real-time execution section

Custom real-time execution section

Intelligent control application

Fig. 35.24 Conceptual design of open servo system. (After [4])

will reach the level of maturity required to replace current be easy to implement with the CNC controller. Machining
CNC controllers in the near future. The custom intelligent performance in terms of higher accuracy and productivity
control functions required for an intelligent machine tool will will thereby be enhanced.
788 K. Shirase and S. Fujii

Feedback of Cutting Information operators and gathers machining information. Machining

Yamazaki proposed TRUE-CNC as a future-oriented CNC
controller. (TRUE-CNC was named after the following key-
words: T, transparent, transportable, transplantable; R, reviv-
able; U, user-reconfigurable; and E, evolving.) The system
consists of an information service, quality control and diag-
nosis, monitoring, control, analysis, and planning sections,
as shown in Fig. 35.25 [5]. TRUE-CNC allows the operator
to achieve maximum productivity and highest quality for
machined parts in a given environment with autonomous
capture of machining operation proficiency and machining
know-how. The autonomous coordinate measurement plan-
ning (ACMP) system is a component of TRUE-CNC and
enhances the operability of coordinate measuring machines
(CMMs). The ACMP generates probe paths autonomously
for in-line measurement of machined parts [6]. Inspection
results or measurement data are utilized to evaluate the
machining process to be finished and to assist in the decision-
making process for new operation planning. The autonomous
machining process analyzer (AMPA) system is also a compo-
nent of TRUE-CNC. In order to retrieve knowledge, know-
how, and skill related to machining operations, the AMPA
analyzes NC programs coded by experienced machining
process sequence, cutting conditions, machining time, and
machining features are detected automatically and stored in
the machining know-how database [7], which is then used to
generate new operation plans.
Mitsuishi developed a CAD/CAM mutual information
feedback machining system which has capabilities for cutting
state monitoring, adaptive control, and learning. The sys-
tem consists of a CAD system, a database, and a real-time
controller, as shown in Fig. 35.26 [8]. The CNC machine
tool equipped with a six-axis force sensor was controlled to
obtain the stability lobe diagram. Cutting parameters, such
as depth of cut, spindle speed, and feed speed, are modified
dynamically according to the sequence for finding stable
cutting states, and the stability lobe diagram is obtained
autonomously. The stability lobe diagram is then used to
determine chatter-free cutting conditions. Furthermore, Mit-
suishi proposed a networked remote manufacturing system
which provides remote operating and monitoring [9]. The
system demonstrated the capability to transmit the machining
state in real time to the operator who is located far from the
machine tool. The operator can modify the cutting conditions
in real time depending on the machining state monitored.

Planning section Analysis section Control section Monitoring section

Blank shape Operation
Selected Selected Workpiece Real-time machining In-process Machining
tools jigs orientation procedure list simul. & machining & quick environment
1. Fix workpiece condition optimization dynamic recognition
2. Setup tools calibration
Process & operation 3. Measure tools
planning General-
Real-time machine purpose robot
CNC Tool motion dynamics control
Machine
Product mode Resource Machining program data simul. & process
tool
database know-how optimization
system
Machine tool database
Tool wear
spec. data Operation recognition
sequence Main CNC
Available
record control
tool data
Available jigs Tool Monitoring
& fixture file utilization Process analyzer system
record Autonomous
CAD based Result & measurement
Cutting database generator Machining General-
design database planning purpose robot
condition process
Machining record system
history Progressive
Machining Autonomous
Product quality element product model
measurement
control record
Machining
process
diagnosis
Vision
Machined capture
Inspection workpiece system
Product mode
result
Quality control & #1 Hole X Y Z r
Evolving information
machining process
provision &
diagnoser
consultation service

Report Recommendation QC & diagnosis section

Information service section

Fig. 35.25 Architecture of TRUE-CNC. (After [5])

35 Machine Tool Automation 789

CAD system Database 35

Reference
Design 3-Dimensional information Experimentally obtained
specification modeler stability lobe diagram
Modification
Geometrical Geometrical of database
information for information (depth of cut,
a mechanical part to be machined spindle speed)
Tool path generation Machining Machining
with machining condition efficiency
condition information determination evaluation
Depth of cut,
spindle speed
and feed speed
NC data
Real-time controller
Depth of cut,
NC data interpreter actual spindle speed
and actual feed speed
Tool path, initial spindle
speed and initial feed speed
Real-time machining
condition controller

Override value
Modified spindle speed Machining
and modified feed speed state judgement

Multiaxis force
Machining center information

Fig. 35.26 Software system configuration of open architecture CNC. (After [8])

Five-Axis Control
Most commercial CAM systems are not sufficient to gen-
erate suitable cutter location (CL) data for five-axis control
machining. The CL data must be adequately generated and
verified to avoid tool collision with the workpiece, fixture,
and machine tool. In general, five-axis control machining has
the advantage of enabling arbitrary tool posture, but it makes
it difficult to find a suitable tool posture for a machining strat-
egy without tool collision. Morishige and Takeuchi applied
the concept of C-space to generate tool-collision-free CL data
for five-axis control [10, 11]. The two-dimensional C-space
is used to represent the relation between the tool posture
and the collision area, as shown in Fig. 35.27. Also, three-
dimensional C-space is used to generate the most suitable
CL data which satisfy the machining strategy, smooth tool
movement, good surface roughness, and so on. Experimen-
tal five-axis-control collision-free machining was performed
successfully, as shown in Fig. 35.28.
35.5.4 Autonomous and Intelligent Machine
Tool
The whole machining operation of conventional CNC ma-
chine tools is predetermined by NC programs. Once the
cutting conditions, such as depth of cut and stepover, are
given by the machining commands in the NC programs;
they are not generally allowed to be changed during machin-
ing operations. Therefore NC programs must be adequately
prepared and verified in advance, which requires extensive
amounts of time and effort. Moreover, NC programs with
fixed commands are not responsive to unpredictable changes,
such as job delay, job insertion, and machine breakdown
found on machining shop floors.
Shirase proposed a new architecture to control the cutting
process autonomously without NC programs. Figure 35.29
shows the conceptual structure of autonomous and intelligent
machine tools (AIMac). AIMac consists of four functional
modules called management, strategy, prediction, and obser-
vation. All functional modules are connected with each other
to share cutting information.
Digital Copy Milling for Real-Time Tool-Path
Generation
A technique called digital copy milling has been developed to
control a CNC machine tool directly. The digital copy milling
system can generate tool paths in real time based on the
principle of traditional copy milling. In digital copy milling,
a tracing probe and a master model in traditional copy milling
are represented by three-dimensional (3D) virtual models in
790 K. Shirase and S. Fujii

Z
q Collision
surface
Collision Tool
surface radius
O

C Y
X
f
Collision-free tool posture

Local
Surface to coordinate
be machined system

S Boundary of definition area

f (limit of inclination angle)
2

Collision
area
q P

f
f= S f= 0
q= 0 f= 2S
Free area

Collision
area

f 3 S Fig. 35.28 Five-axis control machining. (After [11])

2

Flexible Process and Operation Planning System

Fig. 35.27 Configuration space to define tool posture. (After [11])
a computer. A virtual tracing probe is simulated to follow
a virtual master model, and cutter locations are generated
dynamically according to the motion of the virtual tracing
probe in real time. In the digital copy milling, cutter loca-
tions are generated autonomously, and an NC machine tool
can be instructed to perform milling operation without NC
programs. Additionally, not only stepover but also radial and
axial depths of cut can be modified, as shown in Fig. 35.30.
Also, digital copy milling can generate new tool paths to
avoid cutting problems and change the machining sequence
during operation [12].
Furthermore, the capability for in-process cutting param-
eters modification was demonstrated, as shown in Fig. 35.31
[13]. Real-time tool-path generation and the monitored actual
milling are shown in the lower-left corner and the upper-right
corner of this figure. The monitored cutting torque, adapted
feed rate, and radial and axial depths of cut are shown in the
lower-right corner of this figure. The cutting parameters can
be modified dynamically to maintain the cutting load.
A flexible process and operation planning system has been
developed to generate cutting parameters dynamically for
machining operation. The system can generate the production
plan from the total removal volume (TRV). The TRV is
extracted from the initial and finished shapes of the prod-
uct and is divided into machining primitives or machining
features. The flexible process and operation planning sys-
tem can generate cutting parameters according to the ma-
chining features detected. Figure 35.32 shows the operation
sequence and cutting tools to be used. Cutting parameters
are determined for the experimental machining shape. The
digital copy milling system can generate the tool paths or
CL data dynamically according to these results and perform
the autonomous milling operation without requiring any NC
program.
Adaptive Control Using Virtual Milling
Simulation
In this adaptive control, the predicted cutting force is
used to control the milling process. For this purpose,
two functions are required as shown in Fig. 35.33 [15].
Real-time instruction to change cutting conditions is one
35 Machine Tool Automation 791

Workpiece model/CAD data Design 35

Reso
Resource
an
and
machini
machining data

Raw material
Management

Planning Machining sequence Database

Database
Process Tool list Face T1 generation
Pocket T2, T3 Resource Machining
--- --- --- knowhow
OP 1 Hole T5, T6, T7 Database
Machine tool data Machining feature maintenance
OP 2 ---, T2, ---, T5, --- Step T2, T4 Tool data Cutting condition

Prediction

Real time process stimulation

Machining process
Strategy Cutting force Observation
Machining error
Cutting condition Chatter vibration Process diagnosis
maintenance Cutting temperature Machining status
Depth of cut Tool wear, etc. Machining trouble
Stepover (chatter vibration,
Feed rate tool breakage), etc.
Spindle speed

Monitoring
Tool path generation Real machining
Feed rate
Spindle speed
Spindle load
CL data Cutting force
Vibration
Temperature
Tool wear, etc.

Fig. 35.29 Conceptual structure of AIMac

function. The digital copy milling system mentioned above
can achieve real-time instruction. Real-time cutting force
prediction is another function. The virtual milling simulator
can achieve real-time cutting force prediction and eliminate
cutting force measurement. The virtual milling simulator
consists of machining shape simulator and cutting force
simulator.
Figure 35.34 [15] shows the experimental verification of
this adaptive control. The left column of this figure shows
tool paths generated by the digital copy milling system and
a photo of the experimental milling operation. The right
column of this figure shows collaboration between the virtual
milling simulator and the digital copy milling system. The
virtual milling simulator calculates the changing shape of the
material and predicts cutting force and torque, and the digital
copy milling system generates tool paths that reflect the in-
structed feed speed, simultaneously. Adaptive control based
on the predicted cutting force or torque can be performed
successfully.
Figure 35.35 shows the details of the changes in the cutting
torque and tool feed rate on the first and third loops within
five loops of tool paths when adaptive control is performed.
From the experimental results, the predicted cutting torque
has good agreement with the measurement one to show the
effectivity of using the predicted cutting torque for adaptive
control. In addition, between I and J in the first loop, the
predicted cutting torque is within the upper and lower limits
of desired torque except for the transient state at the begin-
ning and end of milling operation, and the tool feed speed
is kept constant. On the other hand, between K and L in the
third loop, the predicted cutting torque changes from zero to
exceeding the upper limit of desired torque, and it can be seen
that the tool feed speed is controlled appropriately according
to the increase or decrease of the predicted cutting torque.
The time required to complete whole milling operation
was 6 min and 31 s with adaptive control, about 25% re-
duction from 8 min and 42 s required for without adaptive
control.
792 K. Shirase and S. Fujii

Machining Error Correction Based on Predicted

a) b) Machining Error in Milling Operation
Change of stepover
Recent improvements in computer performance have been
remarkable, and the extremely complicated and sophisti-
cated simulation of cutting force and machining error in end
milling operation has been performed.

Change of
cutting depth

c) d)
Change of stepover

Change of cutting depth

Cutting torque (N mm)

1104
Fig. 35.30 Example of real-time tool-path generation. (a) Bilateral Feed rate (mm/min)
zigzag paths; (b) contouring paths; (c) change of stepover; (d) change 650
of cutting depth Cutting depth (mm)
RD 4 AD 2.7

Fig. 35.31 Adaptive milling on AIMac

Face mill Ø 80 mm End mill Ø 10 mm End mill Ø 16 mm End mill Ø 10 mm

Scanning-line mode Contour-line mode Scanning-line mode Scanning-line mode
S = 1000 rpm, F = 230 mm/min S = 2450 rpm, F = 346 mm/min S = 1680 rpm, F = 241 mm/min S = 2450 rpm, F = 346 mm/min
RD = 8 mm, AD = 5 mm RD = 1.6 mm, AD = 3.8 mm RD = 4.5 mm, AD = 2.1 mm RD = 1.6 mm, AD = 3.8 mm
Face Closed pocket Open pocket Closed slot

1 2 3 4
End mill Ø 10 mm End mill Ø 6 mm End mill Ø 6 mm Ball end mill Ø 10 mm
Scanning-line mode Scanning-line mode Scanning-line mode Scanning-line mode
S = 2450 rpm, F = 346 mm/min S = 3539 rpm, F = 413 mm/min S = 3539 rpm, F = 413 mm/min S = 2580 rpm, F = 335 mm/min
RD = 1.6 mm, AD = 3.8 mm RD = 1.2 mm, AD = 2.1 mm RD = 1.2 mm, AD = 2.1 mm RD = 1.3 mm, AD = 3.2 mm
Closed slot Closed slot Open slot Free form

5 6 7 8
Center drill Ø 3 mm Drill Ø 10 mm Raw material shape Finished shape
Drilling mode Drilling mode

S = 1154 rpm, F = 232 mm/min S = 848 rpm, F = 180 mm/min

Blind hole Blind hole 38 33

100 100
60 60
9 10

Fig. 35.32 Results of machining process planning on AIMac

35 Machine Tool Automation 793

For example, in an instantaneous force with static deflec- relationships of the actual uncut chip thickness that changes
tion feedback model, the elastic deformation of the tool or by elastic deformation, the cutting force that changes by 35
tool holder caused by the cutting force can be calculated, the actual uncut chip thickness, and the elastic deformation
and the changing of actual uncut chip thickness is calculated that changes by the cutting force are calculated without any
exactly. Unlike an instantaneous rigid force model, the three contradiction. The predicted milling surface calculated in
this way and the measured milling surface are shown in
Fig. 35.36. The graph shows the machining error correspond-
ing to the cross section of the central part of the milling
surface. In this example, it can be seen that the tool is
deformed toward the workpiece and the workpiece was cut
over.
Real time Cutting force Since the machining error can be predicted exactly in
instruction (Measured)
consideration of the tool deformation, the machining error
Machine tool Difficult to refer
can be eliminated by correcting the tool position and posture
in practical during machining operation using a five-axis control machine
tool. Since the tool position and posture during machining
Virtual milling simulator operation can be known from the machining error simulation
Cutting force described above, the offset and inclination of the tool from
(Predicted)
TCP can be corrected as shown in Fig. 35.37. However, if
Digital copy milling the offset and inclination are corrected, the actual uncut chip
thickness will change, the cutting force will change, and the
machining error will also change. Therefore, it is necessary
to perform iterated calculations to determine the offset and
Fig. 35.33 Adaptive control based on predicted cutting force
inclination where the machining error closes to zero.

Virtual milling simulator Digital copy milling

Tool paths
Predicted cutting force Predicted cutting torque
3,000
400
2,500
Cutting force (N)

Torque (Nmm)

300
200 2,000
100 1,500
0
–100 1,000
–200 500
–300 0.5 rotation 0
130
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 Time (s)
Tool rotation angle (deg.)
Instructed feed speed
Predicted cutting force 1,600
400 1,400
Feed rate (mm/min)

300 1,200
Cutting force (N)

200 1,000
100 800
0
600
–100
–200 400
200
–300 5 rotations
0
Experimental milling 129.7 129.8 129.9 130 130.1 130.2 130.3 130.4 130
Time (s) Time (s)

Fig. 35.34 Verification of adaptive control milling

794 K. Shirase and S. Fujii

I Measured torque Upper desired torque J K Measured torque Upper desired torque L
Predicted torque Lower desired torque Predicted torque Lower desired torque
3.0 st
3.0
3 rd loop in 5 loops

Torque (Nm)
Torque (Nm)

1 loop in 5 loops
2.0 2.0
1.0 1.0
0.0 0.0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5 5 5.5
Time (s) Time (s)

Feed speed (mm/min)

Feed speed (mm/min)

1200 1200
Max. Max.
900 900
600 600
Increase Decrease Increase
300 Constant 300
0 0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 0 .5 1 1 .5 2 2 .5 3 3 .5 4 4 .5 5 5.5
Time (s) Time (s)

I 1st loop J K 3rd loop L

Without control With control

Machining time 8 min 42 s 6 min 31 s
Ave. cutting torque 0.988 Nm 1.02 Nm

About 25 % machining time reduction

Fig. 35.35 Measured and predicted cutting torque, feed speed in adaptive control milling

Also the graph shows a comparison of the measured machin-

Work material: C3604 ing errors without and with correction. From this result, it
z Tool: )6 Square endmill
Cutting direction: Up cut can be seen that the over-cut machining error is corrected
Spindle speed: 2000 rpm very well.
Tool feed speed: 480 mm/min
Radial depth of cut: 2 mm
7 mm

Axial depth of cut: 5 mm

x 0.0
y
10 mm 1.0
Total axial position (mm)

3 mm Predicted 35.5.5 Advanced Intelligent Technology for

Predicted milling surface error
Machine Tools
2.0

Advanced Thermal Deformation Compensation

3.0
Machining accuracy of the workpiece changes significantly
Measured
error
due to ambient temperatures around the machine tool, heat
4.0
generated by the machine tool itself, and heat generated in
Over cut machining operation. The latest machine tools are equipped
5.0
Measured milling surface –0.8 –0.6 –0.4 –0.2 0.0 0.2 with the advanced thermal deformation compensation to
Machining error (mm) achieve higher machining accuracy under temperature
changes in normal factory environments.
For the effective thermal deformation compensation, the
Fig. 35.36 Predicted and measured milling surface and machining
error [16] machine tools are designed with simple construction which
generates predictable deformation without torsion or tilting
deformation. Thermal deformation caused by changes in
A machining experiment was conducted to verify the room temperature and frequent changes in spindle speed
effectiveness of this machining error correction method. The is controlled by highly accurate compensation technology
experimental results are shown in Fig. 35.38. In this figure, regardless of wet or dry cutting. The advanced thermal de-
the two simulation results of the milling surface when the formation compensation can provide excellent dimensional
tool offset and inclination are not corrected and corrected. stability against the thermal deformation.
35 Machine Tool Automation 795

35

Inclination
Zm
Zm Ym
Ym
Zc TCPm Zc TCPm Xm
Yc Xm Yc
Offset Actual tool position Offset Actual tool inclination
TCPc Xc caused by TCPc Xc caused by
Tool command tool deflection Tool command tool deflection
position position

Zm Ym
Zc TCPm Xm
Yc
Inclination Actual tool position and inclination
Zm Offset caused by tool deflection
Xc
Ym

Xm
New TCPc
Corrected tool position and inclination

Fig. 35.37 Correction of tool position and inclination to eliminate machining error [17]

formation compensation, while the bottom plot illustrates the

Work material: C3604 same characteristic with thermal deformation compensation.
z Tool: )6 Square endmill
Cutting direction: Up cut The advanced thermal deformation compensation provides
Spindle speed: 2000 rpm
Tool feed speed: 480 mm/min
excellent dimensional stability within 4 μm both when
Radial depth of cut: 2 mm spindle speed is constant and when it changes frequently.
7 mm

Axial depth of cut: 5 mm

x This capability helps improve productivity by allowing
0.0
y high-accuracy machining without warm-up operation of
machines.
10 mm
Total axial position (mm)

1.0
3 mm
Without
Without correction
correction Optimum Spindle Speed Control for Free Chatter
z 2.0
After Vibration
correction Cost reduction – shorter cycle times and higher productivity –
3.0
is required continuously in machining operation. However,
7 mm

x 4.0 decision of cutting conditions which brings the best perfor-

y mance of the machine and cutting tool capabilities is quite
10 mm 5.0
Over cut difficult for the machine operators. Especially, decision of
3 mm −0.8 −0.6 −0.4 −0.2 0.0 0.2 optimum spindle speed for free chatter vibration requires
After correction
Machining error (mm) skillful technique.
The optimum spindle speed control system measures chat-
ter vibration by built-in sensors and automatically changes
Fig. 35.38 Experimental verification to eliminate machining error [17]
spindle speed to the optimum spindle speed. In addition, this
system provides advanced graphics of the optimal cutting
conditions as shown in Fig. 35.40. A stability lobe to show
Figure 35.39 illustrates the relationship between the chatter characteristics is analyzed, and advanced graphics
spindle speed and spindle thermal displacement. The top plot represent effective alternatives to suppress chatter vibra-
illustrates spindle thermal deformation without thermal de- tion throughout the low to high spindle speed zones. This
796
Typical thermal deformation compensation
Spindle thermal displacement
(µm)
Advanced thermal deformation compensation
Spindle speed
(min–1)
15000
0
0 1
Fig. 35.39 Effect of advanced thermal deformation compensation. (Courtesy of OKUMA Corp.)
Unstable
Stable
Spindle speed
Fig. 35.40 Recommendation of optimal spindle speed to suppress
chatter vibration. (Courtesy of OKUMA Corp.)
navigation can be used to achieve shorter cycle times and
higher productivity effectively.
Figure 35.41 shows the effect of chatter suppression
to improve productivity and surface quality in milling
operation. When chatter vibration is detected at a spindle
speed of 11,000 min−1 , the spindle speed is increased to
16,225 min−1 , which is represented by the optimum spindle
speed control system. The chatter vibration was suppressed
and the surface quality of the workpiece was improved.
Moreover, increased spindle speed is translated into a higher
feed rate, and 1.5 times higher productivity was achieved.
Automatic Geometric Error Compensation
in Five-Axis Machines
In five-axis machining, 13 types of geometric errors such as
misalignment of a rotary axis greatly affect machining ac-
K. Shirase and S. Fujii
15 µm
2 µm 4 µm
10 µm
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Time (hours)
curacy. Therefore, geometric error compensation in five-axis
machines is indispensable to achieve higher accuracy in five-
axis machining. The automatic geometric error compensation
system measures geometric error automatically using a touch
probe and datum sphere, and 11 types of geometric errors as
shown in Fig. 35.42 can be compensated automatically based
on measurement results.
Figure 35.43 shows the effect of automatic geometric error
compensation in five-axis machines. In this experimental
milling operation, indexed machining from multiple direc-
tions, in which cutting tool or machine table is tilted to
various angle, was performed. Before the geometric error
compensation, the maximum step height in the machined
surfaces is 12 μm. After the geometric error compensation,
the maximum step height becomes 3 μm, and on most
adjacent machined surfaces, there will be no step height.
This result shows that geometric error compensation in five-
axis machines is quite important to achieve high-accuracy
machining.
35.6 Metal Additive Manufacturing
Machines or Metal 3D Printers
35.6.1 Rapid Growth of Additive
Manufacturing
Additive manufacturing (AM) technology became a hot topic
in 2013. AM is known as 3D printing which uses computer-
aided design to build objects layer by layer. AM contrasts
with traditional manufacturing, which removes unwanted
excess from a solid piece of material, often metal. Originally,
AM was called rapid prototyping which achieves short-end
35 Machine Tool Automation 797

Spindle speed: 11,000 min−1 Spindle speed: 16,225 min−1 35

Feedrate: 2,200 mm/min Feedrate: 3,200 mm/min
Chatter No chatter

Spindle speed Spindle speed

Chatter sound
Optimum speed pressure Optimum speed
Chatter sound
pressure

Fig. 35.41 Effect of chatter suppression in milling operation. (Courtesy of OKUMA Corp.)

Perpendicularity
Rotary axis misalignment between linear axes
Z
Y Y Y Z

C C
A A A X
X
X
A-axis center A-axis center C-axis center C-axis center
Y error Z error X error Y error
X-Y Z-X
perpendicularity perpendicularity
Rotary axis tilt errors
Z Z
Y Y
Y
A C
C
A

A-Y A-Z C-X C-Y Y-Z

perpendicularity perpendicularity perpendicularity perpendicularity perpendicularity

Fig. 35.42 11 types geometric errors for automatic compensation. (Courtesy of OKUMA Corp.)
798 K. Shirase and S. Fujii

Before geometric After geometric

error compensation error compensation

−6 +5 −1 +1
Indexed machining 0 −5 0 0
from multiple directions −7 −1
−3 −6 0 0 −1 0 0 0
0 0
−3 −2 +5 −2 −1 0 0 −1
5 −2
−3 +5 −2 0
0 −4 0 −1

Min. to Max. 12 Pm Min. to Max. 3 Pm

Fig. 35.43 Effect of automatic geometric error compensation. (Courtesy of OKUMA Corp.)

to functional models that can be used for functional tests

a) and to actual parts that are used only once, such as parts for
1.60
competition vehicles. In addition, practical products such as
Money spent billions of $

1.40
1.20
medical implants that can withstand long-term use have come
1.00 to be manufactured by additional manufacturing technology.
0.80 New equipment, technologies, and materials in AM are driv-
0.60 ing down the costs of building parts, devices, and products
0.40 in industries such as aerospace, medicine, automotive, and
0.20 more.
0.00 AM is classified into seven categories by the ASTM
07
08
09
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19

standard and stipulates more detailed construction methods.

20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20

Year Seven categories in AM are as follows:

b)
2500 A. Vat photopolymerization (VP)
B. Powder bed fusion (PBF)
AM systems numbers

2000
C. Binder jetting (BJ)
1500 D. Sheet lamination (SL)
1000
E. Material extrusion (ME)
F. Material jetting (MJ)
500 G. Directed energy deposition (DED)
0
Vat photopolymerization (VP) method is the first AM
07
08
09
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20

method called rapid prototyping proposed in 1980. Metal

Year
Fig. 35.44 Growth of additive manufacturing. (a) Money spent on
final part production by AM worldwide. (b) Sales of AM system for
metal parts. (Source: Wohlers Report 2020)
period to develop a prototype in the 1990s. However, the
applications were limited due to processing performance,
material properties, and production cost that allow for only
prototyping.
On the other hand, in Europe and the United States,
applications have gradually expanded from simple models
forming methods using metal powder include the powder
bed fusion (PBF) method and the directed energy deposition
(DED) method. Metal AM or metal 3D printing has grate
benefit for complex and high-value parts to reduce material
and weight of product. In case of turboprop engines, there
are examples of reducing more than 800 traditional parts to
12 metal AM parts and more than 300 conventional parts to
7 metal AM parts.
Rapid growth of AM can be realized by money spent on
final part production by AM shown in Fig. 35.44. Also, sales
of metal AM systems have increased in recent year shown in
Fig. 35.44.
35 Machine Tool Automation
35.6.2 Laser Additive Manufacturing Machine
Using Powder Bed Fusion
Powder bed fusion (PBF) includes direct metal laser melt-
ing (DMLM), direct metal laser sintering (DMLS), electron
beam melting (EBM), selective laser sintering (SLS), selec-
tive thermal sintering (SHS), and so on. Various powder bed
fusions (PBFs) use electron beam, laser, or thermal printing
head to melt or partially melt a fine layer of material to build
parts.
The LASERTEC 30 SLM made by DMG Mori Co., Ltd.
is a powder bed additive manufacturing machine. In this
machine, metal powders are built up layer by layer and selec-
tively melted by laser shown in Fig. 35.45. It is most suited for
creating complex-shaped parts which are difficult to cut. For
example several impellers are built up simultaneously shown
in Fig. 35.45.
However, dimensional accuracy and surface roughness
of products built up by powder bed fusion (PBF) are not
LASERTEC 30 SLM
Final products on platform
Fig. 35.45 AM with selective laser melting. (Courtesy of DMG Mori Co., Ltd.)
799
sufficient for mechanical parts. Therefore, a hybrid metal 3D
printer, which includes metal laser sintering using a laser 35
beam to melt powder and high-speed, high-precision milling
operation, had been proposed in 2002.
The LUMEX series made by Matsuura Machinery Corp.
is the world’s first hybrid metal 3D printer. In this ma-
chine, metal laser processing and high-speed, high-precision
milling operation are repeated to build up complex-shaped
parts with satisfactory machining accuracy and surface finish
comparable to machining centers, surpassing the capability
of conventional metal 3D printers. As shown in Fig. 35.46,
both dimensional accuracy and surface roughness are quite
improved caused by high-speed, high-precision milling op-
eration.
A hybrid metal 3D printer can make deep ribs in a single
process without EDMs and inner free form channels which
are difficult to form in conventional postprocess machining.
This feature is suitable for mold manufacturing for injection
molding.
Recoating of metal powder layer
Laser melting of metal powder
800 K. Shirase and S. Fujii

LUMEX Avance-25

Only laser processing Both laser processing and machining

Dimensional accuracy: approx. ± 0.1 mm Dimensional accuracy: approx. ± 0.025 mm
Surface roughness: approx. Rz 50 µm Surface roughness: approx. Rz 10 µm

Fig. 35.46 The world’s first hybrid metal 3D printer. (Courtesy of Matsuura Machinery Corp.)

35.6.3 Five-Axis Milling Machining Center

Combining Directed Energy Deposition
35.7 Key Technologies for Future
Intelligent Machine Tool
Direct energy deposition can use various materials including
Several architectures and technologies have been proposed
ceramics, metals, and polymers. A laser, electric arc, or
and investigated as mentioned in the previous sections. How-
electron beam gun mounted on the arm melts wire, filament
ever, they are not yet mature enough to be widely applied
material, or powder horizontally and stacks the material
in practice, and the achievements of these technologies are
by moving the bed vertically. However, built-up shapes are
limited to specific cases.
limited by the three-axis control of the arm and table; a hybrid
Achievements of key technologies for future intelligent
with a five-axis machine tool was devised to increase the
machine tools are summarized in Fig. 35.48. Process and
degree of freedom of built-up shapes.
machining quality control will become more important
The LASERTEC 65 DED hybrid is a hybrid solution that
than adaptive control. Dynamic tool-path generation and
incorporates the additive manufacturing function into a five-
in-process cutting parameters modification are required
axis machining center. Combining directed energy deposition
to realize flexible machining operation for process and
and milling operation on one machine is shown in Fig. 35.47.
machining quality control. Additionally, intelligent process
The LASERTEC 65 DED hybrid demonstrates outstanding
monitoring is needed to evaluate the cutting process and
performance in various applications, such as machining of
machining quality for process and machining quality control.
complex-shaped parts and repair or coating on parts for
A reasonable strategy to control the cutting process and a
corrosive wear protection.
35 Machine Tool Automation 801

35

LASERTEC 65 DED hybrid AM by direct energy deposition

AM by directed energy deposition 5-axis machining to finish shape

Fig. 35.47 Five-axis machining center with direct energy deposition. (Courtesy of DMG Mori Co., Ltd.)

Key technologies Conceptual >>>>> Confirmed >>>>> Practical

Motion control
Adaptive control
Process and quality control
Monitoring (sensing)
Intelligent process monitoring
Open architecture concept
Process planning
Operation planning
Utilization of knowhow
Learning of knowhow
Network communication
Distributed computing

Fig. 35.48 Achievements of key technologies for future intelligent machine tools
802 K. Shirase and S. Fujii

reasonable index to evaluate machining quality are required.
It is therefore necessary to consider utilization and learning
of knowledge, know-how, and skill regarding machining
operations.
A process planning strategy with which one can generate
flexible and adaptive working plans is required. An operation
planning strategy is also required to determine the cutting
tool and parameters. Product data analysis and machining
feature recognition are important issues in order to generate
operation plans autonomously.
Sections 35.5.2, 35.5.3, “Open Architecture Control,”
“Feedback of Cutting Information,” “Five-Axis Control,”
35.5.4, “Digital Copy Milling for Real-Time Tool-Path
Generation,” “Flexible Process and Operation Planning
System,” and 35.7 are quoted from [14].
13. Shirase, K., Nakamoto, K., Arai, E., Moriwaki, T.: Digital copy
milling – autonomous milling process control without an NC
program. Robot. Comput. Integr. Manuf. 21(4–5), 312–317 (2005)
14. Moriwaki, T., Shirase, K.: Intelligent machine tools: current status
and evolutional architecture. Int. J. Manuf. Technol. Manag. 9(3/4),
204–218 (2006)
15. Shirase, K.: CAM-CNC integration for innovative intelligent ma-
chine tool. In: Proceedings of the 8th International Conference on
Leading Edge Manufacturing in 21 Century (LEM21), A01 (2015)
16. Nishida, I., Okumura, R., Sato, R., Shirase, K.: Cutting force and
finish surface simulation of end milling operation in consideration
of static tool deflection by using voxel model. In: Proceedings of the
8th CIRP Conference of High Performance Cutting (HPC 2018),
ID139 (2018)
17. Nishida, I., Shirase, K.: Machining error correction based on pre-
dicted machining error caused by elastic deflection of tool system.
J. Jpn. Soc. Precis. Eng. 85(1), 91–97 (2019) (in Japanese)

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Case of Automation. Didaktischer Dienst, Berlin (1982)
12. Shirase, K., Kondo, T., Okamoto, M., Wakamatsu, H., Arai, E.:
Wohlers Report: Wohlers Associates (2020)
Trial of NC programless milling for a basic autonomous CNC ma-
chine tool. In: Proceedings of the 2000 JAPAN-USA Symposium
on Flexible Automation (JUSFA2000), pp. 507–513 (2000)
35 Machine Tool Automation 803

35

Professor Shirase received a Master of Engineering from Kobe Uni-

Professor Fujii received a Master of Engineering from Kyoto Univer-
versity and joined Kanazawa University as a research associate in 1984.
sity and a PhD from University of Wisconsin, Madison, in 1967 and
He received a Dr. Eng. from Kobe University in 1989. He became an
1971, respectively. He is a professor emeritus of Kobe University. His
associate professor in 1995 at Kanazawa University and in 1996 at
research interests include automation of manufacturing systems and
Osaka University. Since 2003, he is a professor of Kobe University. His
system simulation and production management and control. He has
research interests are mainly in autonomous machine tool and intelligent
been an honorary member of the Institute of Systems, Control and
CAD/CAM systems. He has been fellows of the Japan Society for
Information Engineers and the Society of Precision Engineering and
Mechanical Engineers and the Japan Society of Precision Engineering.
fellows of Operations Research Society of Japan.
 Digital Manufacturing Systems
Chi Fai Cheung, Ka Man Lee, Pai Zheng, and Wing Bun Lee
Contents
36.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 805
36.2 Digital Manufacturing Based
on Virtual Manufacturing and Smart
Manufacturing Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
36.2.1 Virtual Manufacturing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
36.2.2 Smart Manufacturing Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
36.2.3 Digital Manufacturing by Industrial Internet of Things
(IIoT)-Based Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
36.2.4 Case Studies of Digital Manufacturing . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
36.2.5 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 824
Abstract
Advances in the Internet, communication technologies,
and computation power have accelerated the cycle of new
product development as well as supply chain efficiency
in an unprecedented manner. Digital technology provides
not only an important means for the optimization of pro-
duction efficiency through simulations prior to the start of
actual operations but also facilitates manufacturing pro-
cess automation through efficient and effective automatic
tracking of production data from the flow of materials,
finished goods, and people to the movement of equip-
ment and assets in the value chain. There are two major
applications of digital technology in manufacturing. The
first deals with the modeling, simulation, and visualization
of manufacturing systems, and the second deals with
the automatic “acquisition, retrieval, and processing of
manufacturing data used in the supply chain.” This chapter
summarizes the state of the art of digital manufacturing
which is based on virtual manufacturing (VM) systems,
C. F. Cheung () · K. M. Lee · P. Zheng · W. B. Lee
Behaviour and Knowledge Engineering Research Centre, Department
of Industrial and Systems Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic
University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong
e-mail: benny.cheung@polyu.edu.hk
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023
S. Y. Nof (ed.), Springer Handbook of Automation, Springer Handbooks,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-96729-1_36
36
smart manufacturing (SM) systems, and industrial Inter-
net of Things (IIoT). The associated technologies, their
key techniques, and current research work are highlighted.
In addition, the social and technological obstacles in the
806 development of a VM system and SM system and an
806 IIoT-based manufacturing process automation system and
807 some practical application case studies of digital manu-
810
facturing are also discussed.
813
823
Keywords
Digital manufacturing · Smart manufacturing · Virtual
manufacturing · Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT)
automation · Radio frequency identification (RFID) ·
Industry 4.0
36.1 Introduction
The industrial world is undergoing profound changes as
the information age unfolds [1]. The competitive advan-
tage in manufacturing has shifted from the mass produc-
tion paradigm to one that is based on fast responsiveness
and on flexibility [2]. The scope of digital manufacturing
includes manifesting physical parts directly from 3D CAD
files or data, using additive manufacturing technologies such
as 3D printing, rapid prototyping from smart manufacturing
(SM) models, and the use of industrial Internet of Things
(IIoT) for supporting manufacturing process optimization
and resources planning. To achieve the integration, digital
manufacturing, which covers all the engineering functions,
the information flow, and the precise characteristics of a
manufacturing system, is needed. Manufacturing enterprises
digitize manufacturing information and accelerate their man-
ufacturing innovation to improve their competitive edge in
the global market.
There are two major applications of digital technology
in manufacturing which include SM dealing with the arti-
ficial intelligence, modeling, simulation, and visualization
805
806 C. F. Cheung et al.

of manufacturing systems, while the other is related to the
automation of the manufacturing process dealing with the
acquisition, retrieval, and processing of manufacturing data
in the supply chain. In this chapter, the state of the art of
digital manufacturing based on SM and IIoT is reviewed.
The concept and benefits of SM and IIoT are presented
together with the associated technologies, the key techniques,
and current research. Moreover, the social and technological
obstacles in the development of an SM system and an IIoT-
based manufacturing process automation system are dis-
cussed with some practical application case studies of digital
manufacturing at the end of the chapter.
36.2 Digital Manufacturing Based
on Virtual Manufacturing and Smart
Manufacturing Systems
36.2.1 Virtual Manufacturing
Digital manufacturing based on virtual manufacturing (VM)
integrates manufacturing activities dealing with models and
simulations, instead of objects and their operations in the real
world. This provides a digital tool for the optimization of
the efficiency and effectiveness of the manufacturing process
through simulations prior to actual operation and produc-
tion. A VM system produces digital information to facilitate
physical manufacturing processes. The concept, significance,
and key techniques of VM were addressed by Lawrence
Associate Inc. [3], while the contribution and achievements
of VM were reviewed by Shukla [4].
As mentioned by Kimura [5], a typical VM system con-
sists of a manufacturing resource model, a manufacturing
environment model, a product model, and a virtual proto-
typing model. Onosato and Iwata [6] developed the concept
of a VM system, and Kimura [5] described the product
and process model of a VM system. Based on the concept and
the model, Iwata et al. [7] proposed a general modeling and
simulation architecture for a VM system. Gausemeier et al.
[8] has developed a cyberbike VM system for the real-time
simulation of an enterprise that produces bicycles. With the
use of a VM system, people can observe the information that
is equivalent to a real manufacturing environment in a virtual
environment [9, 10].
A conceptual view of a VM system according to Kimura
[5] is shown in Fig. 36.1. The manufacturing activities and
processes are modeled before, and sometimes in parallel
with, the operations in the real world. Interaction between
the virtual and real worlds is accomplished by continuous
monitoring of the performance of the VM system. Since
a VM model is based on real manufacturing facilities and
processes, it provides realistic information about the product

Virtual world

Manufacturing environment model

Product Virtual Manufacturing

model prototyping resource model
Comparison
and model
Engineering activity
maintenance
Task organization

Product Manufacturing Production

design preparation management
Monitoring

Prototype and product Manufacturing resources

Manufacturing environment

Real world

Fig. 36.1 Conceptual view of a virtual manufacturing system. (After Kimura et al. [5])
36 Digital Manufacturing Systems
and its manufacturing processes and also allows for their
evaluation and validation. Since no physical conversion of
materials into products is involved in VM, this helps to
enhance production flexibility and reduce the cost of produc-
tion as the cost for making the physical prototypes can be
reduced. The development of VM demands multidisciplinary
knowledge and technologies as follows:
(i) Visualization technologies: VM makes use of computer
graphic interfaces to display highly accurate, easily un-
derstandable, and acceptable input and output informa-
tion for the user. This involves advanced visualization
technologies including image processing, augmented
reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), multimedia, design
of graphic interfaces, animation, etc.
(ii) Technologies for building a VM environment: A com-
puterized environment for VM includes hardware and
software for the computer, modeling and simulation of
the information flow, the interface between the real and
the virtual environment, etc. This needs the research
and development of devices for VM operational envi-
ronment, interface and control between the VM system
and the real manufacturing (RM) system, information
and knowledge integration and acquisition, etc.
(iii) Information-integrated infrastructure: This refers
to the hardware and software for supporting the
models and the sharing of resources, information, and
communication technologies (ICT) among dispersed
enterprises.
(iv) Methods of information presentation: The information
about product design and manufacturing processes and
related solid objects are represented using different data
formats, languages, and data structure so as to achieve
the data sharing in the information system. There is a
need for advanced technologies for 3D geometrical rep-
resentation, knowledge-based system description, rule-
based system description, customer-orientated expert
systems, feature-based modeling and physical process
description, etc.
(v) Model formulation and reengineering: Various tech-
nologies, including model exchange, model manage-
ment, model structure, data exchange, etc., are em-
ployed to define, develop, and establish methods and
techniques for realizing the functions and interrelation-
ships among various models in the VM system.
(vi) Modeling and simulation: This involves the processes
and methods used to mimic the real world on the com-
puter. Research on the technologies related to dispersed
network modeling, continuous system modeling, model
databases and its management optimization analysis,
validation of simulation results, development of sim-
ulation tools, and software packaging technique are
indispensable.
807
(vii) Verification and evaluation: Technologies including
standards of evaluation, decision tools, and evaluation
methods are needed to ensure the output from the VM
system is equivalent to that from the RM system.
36
36.2.2 Smart Manufacturing Systems
Information and communication technology (ICT) is evolv-
ing, and many disruptive technologies, including cloud com-
puting, Internet of Things (IoT), big data analytics, and ar-
tificial intelligence, have emerged. These technologies make
the ICT to be smart and capable of addressing current chal-
lenges, such as increasingly customized requirements, im-
proved quality, and reduced time to market [11]. An increas-
ing number of sensors are used in equipment (e.g., machine
tools) to enable it to self-sense, self-act, and communicate
with one another [12]. With the use of these technologies,
real-time production data can be obtained and shared to fa-
cilitate rapid and accurate decision-making. The connection
of physical manufacturing equipment and devices over the
Internet together with big data analytics in the digital world
(e.g., the cloud) has resulted in the emergence of a revolution-
ary means of production named cyber-physical production
systems (CPPSs). CPPSs are a materialization of the general
concept cyber-physical systems (CPS) in the manufactur-
ing environment. The interconnection and interoperability
of CPS entities in manufacturing shop floors together with
analytics and knowledge learning methodology provide an
intelligent decision support system [13]. The widespread
application of CPS (or CPPS) has ushered in the Industry
4.0 [14].
Although extensive effort has been done to make man-
ufacturing systems digitalized and smart, smart manufac-
turing systems do not have a widely accepted definition.
According to Industry 4.0, CPPSs can be regarded as smart
manufacturing systems. CPPSs comprise smart machines,
warehousing systems, and production facilities that have
been developed digitally and feature end-to-end ICT-based
integration from inbound logistics to production, marketing,
outbound logistics, and service [13]. Smart manufacturing
systems can generally be defined as fully integrated and
collaborative manufacturing systems that respond in real time
to meet the changing demands and conditions in factories
and supply networks and satisfy varying customer needs [15].
Key enabling technologies for smart manufacturing systems
include CPS, IoT, Internet of services (IoS), cloud-based
solutions, artificial intelligence (AI), and big data analytics.
Meanwhile, in line with the prevailing implementation of
CPS, the next-generation human-in-the-loop manufacturing
system was brought up, which is known as the human-
cyber-physical system (HCPS) [16]. It is defined as “a kind
of composite intelligent system comprising humans, cyber
808 C. F. Cheung et al.

systems, and physical systems with the aim of achieving The Industry 4.0 concept in the manufacturing sector
specific goals at an optimized level” [17]. In this type of covers a wide range of applications from product design to
digital manufacturing context, human-machine is integrated logistics. The role of mechatronics, a basic concept in manu-
in a collaborative and cyber-physical integrated manner, such facturing system design, has been modified to suit CPS [34].
as AR-assisted machining process monitoring [18], industrial Smart product design based on customized requirements
robot inspection [19], human-robot collaborative assembly that target individualized products has been proposed [35].
[20], etc. It not only helps to enhance the efficiency and pro- Predictive maintenance [36] and its application in machine
ductivity of the modern manufacturing process with optimal health prognosis are popular topics in Industry 4.0-based CPS
human and machine engagement (e.g., the high flexibility [37]. Machine Tools 4.0 as the next generation of machine
of human body and high efficiency of robot arms) [21] but tools has been introduced in machining sites [38]. Energy
also mitigates the workload (e.g., lifting heavy things) and Management 4.0 has also been proposed for decision-based
improves the physical well-being of human operators (e.g., energy data and has transformed energy monitoring systems
dangerous/extreme working conditions) [22]. into autonomous systems with self-optimized energy use
With the rapid advancement of cyber-physical systems, [39]. Moreover, the implication of Industry 4.0 technologies
digital twin (DT) is gaining increasing attention owing to its on logistic systems has been investigated [40].
great capabilities to realize Industry 4.0. Enterprises from Figure 36.2 presents a framework of Industry 4.0 smart
different fields are taking advantages of its ability to sim- manufacturing systems. The horizontal axis shows typical
ulate real-time working conditions and perform intelligent issues in Industry 4.0, including smart design, smart machin-
decision-making, where a cost-effective solution can be de- ing, smart monitoring, smart control, smart scheduling, and
livered to meet individual stakeholder demands. As DT tech- industrial applications, which are the focus of this work. The
nology becomes more sophisticated [23], described it as vertical axis shows issues in another dimension of Industry
one of the strategic important directions for manufacturing 4.0 ranging from sensor and actuator deployment to data
enterprises to progress. Designed to improve manufacturing collection, data analysis, and decision-making. In Industry
efficiency, DT is a digital duplication of entities with real- 4.0, data acquisition and analysis are the main sources of the
time two-way communication enabled between the cyber smartness of activities shown on the horizontal axis.
and physical spaces [24]. By providing a means to monitor,
optimize, and forecast processes, DT is envisioned by [25] (i) Smart design: Traditional design has been transformed to
as an approach for continuous improvement toward human become smart due to the rapid development of new tech-
well-being and quality of life. The maturity of this technology nologies including virtual reality (VR) and augmented
has also attracted attention from a wide range of industries, reality (AR). Hybrid prototyping using VR techniques
including healthcare and urban planning. City planners, as- has been incorporated to additive manufacturing. Design
sisted by DT technology, are able to interact with a data- software (e.g., CAD/CAM) can now interact with smart
rich city simulation, laying the foundation for a smart city physical prototype systems in real time via 3D printing
as seen in the case of Singapore [26]. Gartner, a prominent integrated with CPS and AR [41]. As a result, engineer-
global research and advisory firm, describes DT as one of the ing changes and physical realizations could be integrated
top ten strategic technology trends in 2019 [27]. Meanwhile, to achieve a smart design paradigm.
Grand View Research forecasts the DT market to grow to (ii) Smart machining: In Industry 4.0, smart machining can
USD $27.06 billion by 2025, an approximate tenfold increase be achieved with the aid of smart robots and other types
from USD $2.26 billion back in 2017 [28]. of smart objects that can sense and interact with one an-
With the capability of DT technology, Industry 4.0 is no other in real time [42]. For example, CPS-enabled smart
longer a “future trend,” and many leading organizations have machine tools can capture real-time data and transfer
made it the center of their strategic agenda. For instance, them to a cloud-based central system so that machine
with DT simulations and optimized decision-making, new tools and their twined services can be synchronized to
insights can be obtained to produce smart products with self- provide smart manufacturing solutions. Moreover, self-
awareness [29]. Enterprises that are able to capitalize on optimization control systems provide in-process quality
this will benefit from the competitive advantages that are control and eliminate the need for post-process quality
available to early adopters [30]. [31] described an enormous inspection [43].
range of benefits ranging from product design and verifi- (iii) Smart monitoring: Monitoring is an important aspect
cation, product life cycle monitoring, to shop floor design, in the operation, maintenance, and optimal scheduling
optimizing manufacturing processes and maintenance. [32, of Industry 4.0 manufacturing systems [44]. The
33] pointed out the role of DT technology in making smart widespread deployment of various sensors has made
machine tools via optimal decision support and machine smart monitoring possible. For example, data on various
health awareness analysis. manufacturing objects, such as temperature, electricity
36 Digital Manufacturing Systems 809

decision-making
Big data-driven

Data-driven (real-
time) scheduling 36
Data-driven Data-driven Data-driven (real- Data-driven (real- (e.g., data-driven
design machining time) monitoring time) control modeling and
predication)
Big data
analysis

Design data Monitoring data Machining data Control data Scheduling data
analysis analysis analysis analysis analysis
collection
Data

Design data Monitoring data Machining data Control data Scheduling data
collection collection collection collection collection

Machining-
Sensor and actuator

oriented sensor
Control-oriented
deployment

Design-oriented Monitoring- (e.g., temperature,

force, pressure sensor and
sensor oriented sensor
sensors) and actuator
deployment deployment
actuator deployment
deployment

Smart Smart Smart Smart Smart

design monitoring machining control scheduling

Fig. 36.2 A framework of smart manufacturing systems

consumption, vibrations, and speed, can be obtained
in real time. Smart monitoring provides not only a
graphical visualization of these data but also alerts
when abnormality occurs in machines or tools [45,
46]. CPS and IoT are key technologies that enable
smart monitoring in Industry 4.0 smart manufacturing
systems.
(iv) Smart control: In Industry 4.0, high-resolution, adaptive
production control (i.e., smart control) can be achieved
by developing cyber-physical production control sys-
tems [47]. Smart control is mainly executed to manage
various smart machines or tools physically through a
cloud-enabled platform [48]. End users can switch off a
machine or robot via their smartphones [49]. Decisions
can then be timely reflected in frontline manufactur-
ing sites, such as robot-based assembly lines or smart
machines [50].
(v) Smart scheduling: Smart scheduling mainly utilizes ad-
vanced models and algorithms to draw information from
data acquired by sensors. Data-driven techniques and
advanced decision architecture can be used to perform
smart scheduling. For example, distributed smart models
that utilize a hierarchical interactive architecture can
be used for reliable real-time scheduling and execution
[51]. Production behavior and procedures can be carried
out automatically and effectively because of the well-
established structures and services. With the aid of data
input mechanisms, the output resolutions are fed back to
the parties involved in different ways [52].
Vertically, several key challenges are summarized as fol-
lows:
(i) Smart design and manufacturing: Research at this level
encompasses smart design, smart prototyping, smart
controllers, and smart sensors [53, 54]. Real-time con-
trol and monitoring support the realization of smart man-
ufacturing [55]. Supporting technologies include IoT,
STEPNC, 3D printing, industrial robotics, and wireless
communication [56].
810
(ii) Smart decision-making: Smart decision-making is at the
center of Industry 4.0. The ultimate goal of deploying
widespread sensors is to achieve smart decision-making
through comprehensive data collection. The realization
of smart decision-making requires real-time information
sharing and collaboration [57]. Big data and its analytics
play an important role in smart decision-making tasks,
such as data-driven modeling and data-enabled predic-
tive maintenance [58]. Many technologies, including
CPS, big data analytics, cloud computing, modeling,
and simulation, contribute to the realization of smart
decision-making [59–61].
(iii) Big data analytics: CPS and IIoT-based manufacturing
systems involve the generation of vast amounts of data in
Industry 4.0 [62], and big data analytics is crucial for the
design and operations of manufacturing systems [63].
For example, by using the big data analytics approach,
a holistic framework for data-driven risk assessment
for industrial manufacturing systems has been presented
based on real-time data [64]. Such a topic has been
widely reported to support production optimization and
manufacturing CPS visualization [65–67].
(iv) Industrial implementations: Industrial applications are
the ultimate aim of Industry 4.0. Almost all industries,
including manufacturing, agriculture, information and
media, service, logistics, and transportation, can bene-
fit from the new industrial revolution. Many new op-
portunities will be available for industrial parties [68].
Companies may focus on their core business values or
challenges, which could be upgraded or addressed with
Industry 4.0-enabled solutions.
36.2.3 Digital Manufacturing by Industrial
Internet of Things (IIoT)-Based
Automation
Another major application of digital manufacturing deals
with the automatic acquisition and processing of manufac-
turing data in the supply chain. This is due to the fact that
the keen competition in global manufacturing has rekindled
the interest for lean manufacturing, in reducing inventory and
efficiency in production control. There has been worldwide
a growing interest in the use of Internet of Things (IoT) to
digitalize the manufacturing information so as to automate
the manufacturing process. As technical problems are slowly
being overcome and the cost of using IoT is decreasing, IoT is
becoming popular in the manufacturing industries. Accord-
ing to the published report of Fortune Business Insights, IoT
in manufacturing size is at USD27.76 billion in 2018 and
is projected to reach USD136.83 billion by 2026, thereby
exhibiting CARGR of 22.1% within 2019–2026 [69].
C. F. Cheung et al.
The rapid increase in the use of IoT technology in the
retail industry has been driven by major players such as Cisco
Systems Inc., IBM Corporation, General Electric Company,
and Siemens AG. Cisco, one of the world’s network hardware
and software provider, has provided IoT devices and network
and implementing new business solution in manufacturing,
wholesale, and retail industry. The aim of the IoT appli-
cations is to connect the devices, facilities, and people by
providing resilient wireless mesh. It can help to improve
agility to support production needs and maximize the uptime
through leveraging data collected in the shop floor.
GE implemented industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) for
predictive analysis. Sensors help to collect the data of ma-
chine or equipment status, and those data can be sent via
network for further analysis so as realize the machine life
cycle. Apart from predicting machine breakdown so as to
improve the overall equipment effectiveness, IIoT can realize
the dangerous working condition so as alert the worker to
evacuate earlier. Another main benefit of IIoT is location
tracking such that the equipment and tools can be located
quickly and it can greatly reduce the request and searching
time. Those applications mentioned above demonstrate how
IoT can revamp the industry and provide new customer
experiences. With better sensor and 5G network and the
release of IoT open platforms, it is likely that IIoT will be
widely adopted across various industries.
The use of radio frequency identification (RFID) as a
type of IoT enables real-time visibility and increases process-
ing efficiency of shop floor manufacturing data. RFID also
supports information flow in process-linked applications.
Moreover, it can help to minimize the need for reworking,
improve efficiency, reduce line stoppages, and replenish just-
in-time materials on the production line. RFID can assist in
automating assembly line processes and thus reduce labor
and cost and minimize errors on the plant floor. The integra-
tion of RFID with various manufacturing systems is still a
challenge to many corporations. As most large retailers will
gradually demand the use of RFID in the goods from their
suppliers, this creates both pressure and the opportunity for
SMEs to adopt this technology in their logistics operations
and extended it to the control of their manufacturing process.
Some previous work [70] discussed the point that RFID can
be more cost-effective in bridging the gap between automa-
tion and information flow by providing better traceability and
reliability on the shop floor.
Traditional shop floor control in a production environment
although computerized still requires manual input of shop
floor data to various systems such as the ERP for produc-
tion planning and scheduling. Such data includes product
characteristics, labor, machinery, equipment utilization, and
inspection records. Companies such as Lockheed Martin,
Raytheon, Boeing [71], and Bell helicopter have installed
lean data-capture software and technologies and are in the
36 Digital Manufacturing Systems
process of converting barcodes to RFID. Honeywell was
using barcodes to collect data related to part histories, in-
ventories, billing, and sharing data with its clients and is
accelerating its plan to switch from barcodes to RFID. The
use of RFID has several advantages over barcodes as tags
that contain microchips that can store as well as transmit
dynamic data have a fast response, do not require line of
sight, and possess high security. RFID offers greater scope
for the automation of data capture for manufacturing pro-
cess control. In recent years, the cost of the RFID tags is
continuously decreasing [72, 73], while the data capability
is increasing which makes the practical applications of the
RFID technology in manufacturing automation economically
feasible.
For manufacturers, it is increasingly important to design
and integrate RFID information into various enterprise ap-
plication software packages and to solve connectivity issues
related to plant floor and warehousing. Real-time manufac-
turing process automation is dependent on the principle of
closed-loop automation that sense, decide, and respond from
automation to plant and enterprise operations. For example,
pharmaceutical manufacturer [74] makes use of RFID to
trace the route or history taken by an individual product at
multiple locations along the production line. This allows the
pharmaceutical manufacturer easily to trace all final products
that might have been affected by any production miscarriage.
An aerospace company named Nordam Group uses RFID to
track its high-cost molds. Through the use of RFID tags, they
save the cost of real-time tool tracking. With growing empha-
sis on real-time responsiveness, manufacturers are seeking to
control more effectively the production processes in real time
in order to eliminate waste and boost throughput. The desire
to extend supply chain execution dispatching within plant
makes closed-loop automation an imperative. The inability to
achieve true closed-loop manufacturing process automation
presents one of the biggest barriers to successful real-time
operation strategies. Critical elements that support manufac-
turing process automation include the following:
• Dynamic IT systems to support high mix, variable envi-
ronments
• Dynamic modeling, monitoring, and management of man-
ufacturing resources
• Real-time synchronization between activities in the of-
fices, manufacturing plant, and supply chain
• Visibility into the real-time status of production resources
Although some previous studies [75–77] have shown that
RFID technology has the potential to address the above prob-
lems and has great potential for supporting manufacturing
automation, critical deficiencies in the current systems in
keeping track of processes under changing conditions include
the following:
811
• Lack of integration of manufacturing with the supply
chain
• Lack of real-time shop floor data for predictive analysis
and for decision support
• Lack of a common data model for all operational applica- 36
tions
• Inability to sense and analyze inputs ranging from the
factory floor to the supply chain
• Ineffective integration links between manufacturing pro-
cess automation and enterprise IT applications
• Inability to provide intelligent recommendations and di-
rectives to targeted decision points for quick action
In light of the above, this chapter presents a review of
the industrial Internet of Things (IIoT)-based manufacturing
process automation system (MPAS), which embraces hetero-
geneous technologies including RFID that can be applied in
the manufacturing process environment with the objective
to enhance digital manufacturing at the level of automation
across the enterprise and throughout the value chain. The pro-
posed IIoT-based manufacturing process automation system
aims to address those deficiencies.
Key RFID Technologies
RFID is an advanced automatic identification technology,
which makes use of radio frequency signals to capture data
remotely from tags within reading range [78, 79]. The basic
principle of RFID, i.e., the reflection of power as the method
of communication, was first described in 1948. One of the
first applications of RFID technology was “identify friend or
foe” (IFF) detection deployed by the British Royal Air Force
during World War II. The IFF system allowed radar operators
and pilots to automatically distinguish between friendly and
enemy aircraft using radio frequency (RF) signals. The main
objective was to prevent “friendly fire” and to aid the effec-
tive interception of enemy aircraft. The radio frequency is
the critical factor for the type of application an RFID system
is best suited for. Basically, the radio frequencies can be
classified as shown in Table 36.1.
A typical RFID system contains several components in-
cluding an RFID tag, which is the identification device at-
tached to the item to be tracked, and an RFID reader and
antenna, which are devices that can recognize the presence
of RFID tags and read the information stored on them. After
receiving the information, in order to process the transmis-
sion of information between the reader and other applica-
tions, RFID middleware is needed, which is software that
facilitates the communication between the system and the
RFID devices. Figure 36.3 shows a typical RFID system to
illustrate how the pieces fit together.
As shown in Fig. 36.3, RF tags are devices that contain
identification and other information that can be communi-
cated to a reader from a distance. The tag comprises a simple
812
Table 36.1 Comparison of RFID frequency band and their respective applications
Frequency Approximate read range
Low frequency, LF (125 kHz) <5 cm (Passive)
High frequency, HF (13.56 MHz) 10 cm – 1 m (Passive)
Ultra high frequency, UHF (433, 3 m – 7 m (Passive)
868–928 MHz)
Microwave (2.45 & 5.8 GHz) 10 m – 15 m (Passive)
20 m – 40 m (Active)
Enterprise application
Client computer RFID reader
and RFID middleware
Fig. 36.3 Infrastructure for an RFID system
silicon microchip attached to a small flat aerial which is
mounted on a substrate. RFID tags (see Fig. 36.4) can be
divided into three main types with respect to the source of
energy used to power them:
(i) Active tags use a battery to power the tag transmitter and
receiver to broadcast their own signals to readers within
the life of batteries. This allows them to communicate
over distances of several meters.
(ii) Semi-passive tags have built-in batteries to power the
chip’s circuitry, resist interference, and circumvent a
lack of power from the reader signal due to long dis-
tance. They are different from active tags in that they
only transmit data at the time a response is received.
(iii) Passive tags derive their power from the field generated
by the reader without having an active transmitter to
transfer the information stored.
The reader is called an interrogator which sends and
receives RF data to and from the tag via antennas. As shown
in Fig. 36.4a, the reader contains a transmitter, a receiver, and
a microprocessor. The reader unit also contains an antenna
as part of the entire system. The antennas broadcast the RF
signals generated by the reader and receive responses from
tags within range. The data acquired by the readers is then
passed to a host computer, which may run specialist RFID
software or middleware to filter the data and route the data to
the correct application, to be processed into useful informa-
tion. Middleware refers to the software that lies between two
C. F. Cheung et al.
Data speed Cost of tags Applications
Low High Animal identification
Access control
Low to moderate Medium to low Smart cards
Payment
Moderate to high Low Logistics and supply chain
Pallet and case tracking
Baggage tracking
High High Electronic Toll Collection (ETC)
Container tracking
RFID antenna RFID tag
interfaces. RFID middleware is software that lies between
the readers and data collection systems. It is used to collect
and filter data from readers. It can transfer those useful data,
which are filtered, to the data collection system. For the latest
application, the RFID handheld reader shown in Fig. 36.4b
provides a more convenient tool for operator to scan the tags.
Applications of RFID in Digital Manufacturing
Manufacturing process automation relies heavily on efficient
and effective automatic tracking assets during manufactur-
ing. The tracked assets include physical assets such as equip-
ment, raw materials, work in progress (WIP), finished goods,
etc. Efficient automatic tracking of assets is beneficial for
manufacturers. One of the major challenges for manufac-
turers today is the management of their moveable assets.
Managing assets includes activities such as locating assets,
tracking status, and keeping history of flow information. If
the location of an asset is not effectively located, workers are
required to spend much time searching for it, which results
in increased process costs. As a result, manufacturers are
turning to RFID to investigate whether they can use it to
bring the benefits of managing assets individually, real-time
location tracking of assets, better information accuracy, and
automation, into their business operations.
Examples can be found in the garment industry [75]. The
manufacturer ties the RFID tags to the bundles and sends
them to the sewing workstation. At each process station,
the data stored in the RFID tag is captured. The real-time
status of the WIP can be automatically captured during the
36 Digital Manufacturing Systems 813

a) b)
1 2 3 4

36

5 7 8
1. Badge
2. Button
3. Cloth tag
6
4. Card
5. Glass bead
6. Key fob
7. Label
8. Wristband

Fig. 36.4 (a) Samples of different types of tags and (b) RFID handheld reader

manufacturing process. It is also interesting to note that

Boeing and Airbus are moving forward and have created
an RFID strategy for airplane manufacturing [71, 79], as a
component to meet US Department of Defense mandates.
The RFID tags are attached to removable parts of the airplane
to aid the control of maintenance programs. In the present
study, four major areas of RFID in manufacturing process
automation are introduced.

36.2.4 Case Studies of Digital Manufacturing

Design of Assembly Line and Processes for Motor

Assembly (Kaz (Far East) Ltd., Formerly
Honeywell Consumer Product (HK) Ltd.)
Kaz (Far East) Limited (formerly Honeywell Consumer
Product (HK) Ltd.) is a multinational manufacturing
company. Its corporate headquarters, design, sales offices,
and production plants are widely dispersed in Europe, North
America, and Asia, as are its key suppliers and customers.
The company was involved in the seasonal products business
which includes home comfort products (Fig. 36.5).
The company possesses a number of assembly lines and
clusters for assembling the motors for the products. Con-
ventionally, the production team was essentially empowered
to use their own judgment in deciding “what, when, and
how much” to set up the assembly lines, based on their
own experience. The optimal efficiency, throughput rate, and
quality for new assembly lines can only be obtained through
iterative trial operations and process refinement. This is not
only time-consuming but also costly. With the use of the
VM approach, Kaz can investigate the assembly processes
Fig. 36.5 Virtual assembly station for assembling a motor
and optimum utilization of resources through modeling and
simulation. The feasibility of the assembly process plan (see
Fig. 36.6) can be evaluated prior to the actual production.
As a result, the time and cost of setting up new assembly
operations can be significantly reduced.
Virtual Manufacturing of Precision Optical
Products
The conventional approach to the design and the manufacture
of precision optical products is based on a trial and error
method. The optical product is designed using computer-
aided optics design software as shown in Fig. 36.7. A lens
prototype is then made by either direct machining or injection
molding from a test mold insert machined by ultraprecision
machining. Quality tests are conducted on the prototype
lenses or mold inserts. It should be noted that the design,
814
prototyping, and evaluation processes are iterative until a
satisfactory mock-up is found. This is expensive and time-
consuming; it also creates a bottleneck for the overall process
flow.
As shown in Fig. 36.8, a virtual manufacturing (VM)
system [80–84] is developed by electronically representing
the activities of optic design and ultraprecision diamond
turning of precision optical products. An interaction between
the cyber and physical worlds is accomplished by the VM
system which allows the feasibility of an optical product
design and a manufacturing process plan to be evaluated prior
to the actual production. It avoids the need for conducting
expensive production trials and physical prototyping.
Digital Twin-Enabled Smart 3D Printing
A case study of digital twin-enabled 3D printer is imple-
mented with two-way communication established to allow
Fig. 36.6 Feasibility evaluation for assembly process for motor
a)
Fig. 36.7 (a) Precision optical products and (b) their computer-aided optics design
C. F. Cheung et al.
real-time monitoring and control of the 3D printing process
[33] as shown in Fig. 36.9. The chosen 3D printer, ANET A8,
is a Prusa i3 clone that operates on the RepRap platform. The
ANET A8 is also an entry-level 3D printer with basic func-
tionalities such as printing from a micro SD card or through
USB serial communication. The open nature of ANET A8
allows easy customization and upgradations. Initially, the
stock firmware present in the 3D printer’s motherboard was
replaced by Marlin, a widely used open-source firmware that
supports additional functionalities such as multiple screen
output, sensor, nozzle additions, etc. The 3D printer makes
use of an RS232 serial interface for data transmission. A
Raspberry Pi, connected in serial communication with the 3D
printer, acts as the data extraction and consolidation module,
acting as an infrastructure that bridges the physical world
with the cyberspace.
A back-end python software has been developed to com-
municate with the 3D printer via serial communication. The
software requests and receives encapsulated data from the
3D printer five times per second, translates them into useful
information, and writes the data to a temporary file. Another
program simultaneously uploads the data to the cloud server.
In control mode, the program downloads the data from the
server, and the data is read and translated into G-code (3D
printers work on G-code), and the commands are passed
over to the physical printer. On the other side, a digital
twin application program interface (API) in the form of a
standalone application has been developed in Visual C# using
WPF App and. Net framework 4.5 in Visual Studio to act
as the bridge between the three digital twin models. By
referencing the libraries and SDK of the respective programs,
the API can interact with and add additional functionalities
to the programs. The API references the libraries and SDK
of the program it interacts with and can be used to add any
sort of additional functionalities to the programs. The API
b)
36 Digital Manufacturing Systems 815

36

Virtual
machining
system
simulates the
functions of a
a) Design of the virtual raw stock b) Compiling the NC program
real control
panel and
generates the
machine
Virtual program for
machining real
system machining
simulates the system
response of the (physical
real machining system)
system (physical
system) d) Simulation of the machining process c) Setting the parameters of the virtual
SPDT

Fig. 36.8 Graphical illustration of the virtual manufacturing system for the manufacture of precision optical products

Cloud

Raspberry Pi 3B as data
extraction and Laptop - Interaction device
consolidation module

Digital twin Digital twin API Latest data

storage for
immediate
retrieval

Physical 3D Digital twin established in the Interactive digital twin

printer cyberspace interface

Fig. 36.9 A digital twin-enabled smart 3D printer with real-time monitoring and control capabilities

acts as a command center for the three digital twin models i.e., control mode or monitor mode, and assigns the priority
that reside within three different environments and ensures either to the digital system or the physical system, respec-
smooth information flow across them as and when required. tively. The API also downloads raw data from the storage
The API overwatches the operating mode of the digital twin, server and uploads processed information to the server.
816
IIoT-Based Cyber-Physical System for Physical
Asset Management
A physical asset management (PAM) program involves the
tracking of physical assets such as expensive machinery and
equipment, as well as returnable items such as containers
and pallets. Across industries and regions, PAM is a ma-
jor concern in the manufacturing industry. PAM includes
engineering activities, as well as the adoption of a variety
of approaches to maintenances such as reliability-centered
maintenance, multi-skills, total productive maintenance, and
hazard and operability studies [85]. Manufacturing enter-
prises that have better PAM systems usually excel when
compared to their counterparts in terms of utilization of assets
in manufacturing. However, many organizations today still
face significant challenges in relation to tracking the location,
quantity, condition, and maintenance and depreciation status
of their fixed assets.
Traditionally, a popular approach is to track fixed assets by
utilizing the serially numbered asset tags, such as barcodes,
for easy and accurate reading. This process is often per-
formed by scanning a barcode on a physical asset ID tag that
has been affixed to the asset. However, PAM may also involve
a physical asset ID tag with a human-readable number only
that is documented manually. The barcode approach has its
limitations though, e.g., lack of automation and inability to
provide real-time tracking.
To increase the utilization rate of movable equipment,
manufacturing enterprises usually adopt a fluid approach to
the composition of production lines. Movable equipment is
shared across lines for some non-bottleneck procedures. Pre-
viously, applications for transfer of physical assets required
Legend
iBeacon iBeacon
receiver transponder
iBeacon
iBeacon
transponder
receiver
M-01 M-02 2/F M-03
1/F
M-04 M-05 M-06 M-07 M-08
Fig. 36.10 Adoption of iBeacon for asset control
C. F. Cheung et al.
tedious manual operations. Since most manufacturing pro-
cesses were related to the requested equipment, late arrival
of equipment lowered the overall efficiency of the company,
which in turn impacted on the company’s profit margin. Also,
as the transfer records were entered into a database after a
long verification process, the timeliness of the information
was questionable. Worse, due to inevitable human errors, the
database records were incomplete and inaccurate. Common
discrepancies included asset locations, utilization, and his-
tory of maintenance and repair. As a result, equipment could
not be repaired in a timely fashion and some was even lost.
To improve the overall efficiency and increase the visibil-
ity of physical assets an industrial Internet of Things (IIoT)-
based cyber-physical system is proposed to enable indoor
position. Indoor positioning system (IPS) was developed to
locate machine and equipment inside the factory using radio
waves, magnetic fields, acoustic signals, or other sensory
information collected by mobile device. In the project, iBea-
con, which is a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) device, was
used. The iBeacon receivers were installed on the ceiling
of the building, and iBeacon transponder is installed on the
machines. The proposed IPS provides proximity location for
the machine so the management in asset control center can
realize which machine is located in which story and which
zone as shown in Fig. 36.10.
Location is determined mathematically by approximating
signal propagation by figuring out the angles and/or dis-
tance. With inverse trigonometry such as trilateration (dis-
tance from anchors) or triangulation (angle to anchor), loca-
tion of machines can be determined. Figure 36.11 shows the
grid distribution of iBeacon receivers. The iBeacon transpon-
Asset
M-01 M-03
M-02
2/F
1/F
Touchscreen
display Asset
control M-01
M-03
center M-02
2/F
1/F
36 Digital Manufacturing Systems 817

15m

20
13.5m m 36

Fig. 36.11 Grid layout of shop floor

Leo Paper Group is involved to validate the concept of

Production
line 1
Asset: M-01
M-02
M-03 Pro d u c tion
M-04 li n e 1
M-01 M-02 M-03 M-04
Fig. 36.12 Production line reconfiguration with different machines
ders are matched to a relative coordinate, and received sig-
nal strength indicator (RSSI) values are transferred to a
value for distance using power law model. With the col-
lected data, the position can be estimated by using coordinate
calculation.
This study aims to conduct a research regarding industrial
data analytics and design a CPS with the integration of
various existing and proprietary data analytics systems based
on the utilization of machine in multi-production line so
that the modules can be reconfigurable and interchangeable
based on different machine combination (see Fig. 36.12). Re-
searchers and practitioners designed a new IIoT-based CPS to
handle industrial informatics regarding location, sensor, and
unstructured data for big data mining.
the proposed CPS. Further study on system integration and
migration from existing factories to smart factories should be
conducted so as to realize the next industrial paradigm shift.
As Leo Paper Group production plants are over 5.7 million
square feet, asset tracking and tracing are a great challenge.
To track and trace the huge amount of asset, the beacon
technology was used to enable indoor positioning. In the
past, Leo Paper has difficulty to track the asset real-time
location, and there is lack of data to conduct utilization
analysis.
This new method has enabled equipment or required parts
and subassemblies to arrive promptly and has increased the
utilization of important and valuable physical assets for the
company. This system automatically tracks the transfer of
physical assets and greatly reduces the processing time of
equipment transfer. With the data transfer between the system
and Bluetooth beacon devices being in real time, information
about physical assets can be captured. These data are then
presented in the IIoT-based CPS in a systematic way as
shown in Fig. 36.13. The system provides the ability to track
and trace the status of equipment, issue equipment transfer
orders, and provide reports for asset utilization analysis. As
a result, location and utilization of equipment can be easily
identified using visual diagrams that help in maintenance
planning and repair scheduling.
The IIoT-based CPS has significant impact on the “smart”
track and trace of the asset by virtue of its capabilities to
progressively introduce workflow analysis to support rele-
vant activities for smart factory. In particular, this system
818
Fig. 36.13 User interface for indicating the indoor position
is characterized by the inclusion of IIoT, CPS, and IPS
technologies which can streamline the production operations
and decision-making.
Smart Robotic Warehouse Management
This smart robotic warehouse management system redefines
the business model and enables a change from labor-intensive
operation to unmanned operation. The warehouse operator
is no longer bound by tedious searching for specific items
on the order. Instead, he simply waits at the workstation for
the items delivered by the warehouse mobile robot for quick
replenishing and picking.
When there is a new pickup order, the warehouse system
searches for saved location information about the storage
rack containing the required items and then sends the infor-
mation to the cloud robot control system. The robot control
system then sends signals over the wireless communication
network and directs the warehouse mobile robot to go to
the designated storage rack. When the warehouse mobile
robot arrives at the target storage rack, it lifts the storage
rack and transports the storage rack containing the required
item to the picking and replenishing workstation for further
processing. With the help of an infrastructure with warehouse
mobile robots and picking and replenishment workstations,
warehouse operators can easily pick and replenish goods
to complete orders. All order completions and warehouse
mobile robot monitoring and performance information will
C. F. Cheung et al.
be updated to the top management to provide real-time in-
formation on the robotic warehouse. An overview of the
smart robotic warehouse management system based on IIoT
technology is shown in Fig. 36.14.
The system provides different warehouse operation
modes, selection strategies, and restoring strategies for users
to choose from. They allow the users to conveniently adjust
the configuration according to their own needs and optimize
the overall efficiency of the warehouse. The development of
advanced algorithms and optimization technologies allows
the system to efficiently do batches of tasks in a short period
of time. While reducing the manpower gap in the order
fulfilment center, the system can effectively optimize the use
of space, energy, and other resources to improve the safety
of the warehouse. Compared to other automation products
on the market, this smart robotic warehouse management
system is more flexible in terms of installation and requires
less investment in infrastructure. The system can adapt to a
variety of facility layouts and is easy to scale up.
As the brain of the entire project system, the smart robotic
warehouse management system is mainly responsible for
data management, real-time operation, control of warehouse
mobile robots’ cooperation, monitoring the operation process
of the entire warehouse, and simulating the data collected
during the order completion process. The system makes
use of the robot-as-a-service (RaaS) model that integrates
warehouse mobile robot as a service and not only as products
36 Digital Manufacturing Systems
Transport to workstation
& pick the required item
Receive new order &
search for item location
Send signal to cloud
robot control system
Fig. 36.14 Overview of the smart robotic warehouse management system based on IIoT technologies
into the cloud computing environment. The cloud network
connects the robot control system and the warehouse mobile
robots. The cloud network allows communication and data
exchange over the wireless infrastructure. The RaaS model
provides a highly adaptable robotic solution to meet users’
needs. RaaS effectively delivers consistently quality services
and flexibly adjusts service levels to respond to changes
in service demand. The core of the whole system covers
five aspects: swarm intelligence, robot algorithm based on
resource utilization, storage rack redeployment arrangements
based on on-demand allocation, shortest path search based on
efficiency improvement, and intelligent collision avoidance
mechanism based on security and warehouse simulator for
robot based on simulation reference.
Refer to the user interface of the smart robotic warehouse
management system (Fig. 36.15); it provides the overall
picture of the warehouse. The real-time locations of robots,
workstations, and racks are clearly shown in the system.
There are various types of racks for different purposes based
on the size of items, storage period, usage frequency, etc. For
example, for type A rank, it may store the items that will be
retrieved months later, so most of the type A ranks are placed
away from the workstation.
The trial site was the RobEX Centre, Hong Kong’s first
fully automated unmanned smart warehouse, which is the
result of the joint efforts of RV, a cooperating partner for
this project, and the Hong Kong Science Park. The center
819
Main components
36
Autonomous mobile robot
Arrive the location & lift
the designated storage rack
Mobile storage rack
Picking and replenishment
Control the robot to the workstation
designated storage rack
Smart swarm robots control system
is located in the Science Park and consists of a warehouse, a
front desk, and a back-end operation space. It covers an area
of about 5000 square feet and is equipped with 95 storage
racks (25 of which are used for express delivery and others
for storage purposes) and 3 smart mobile robots. Each robot
can carry up to 500 KG. Given such facility configuration,
the center can test two functional applications, namely, the
provision of smart storage cabinets and the self-service parcel
pickup.
When there is a new waybill, the warehouse mobile robot
searches for location information about the storage rack
containing the required goods and then sends it to the cloud-
based robot control system. The system coordinates various
tasks to warehouse mobile robots. When a task is assigned,
the warehouse mobile robot will transfer the designated
storage rack from its original location to the workstation
within the specified delivery window along the route set by
the system. Once the put-away or pickup tasks are finished at
workstation, the mobile robot moves from workstation to the
specified storage area as shown in Fig. 36.16. The robotic
control system then uses artificial intelligence to issue the
shortest path and navigates the warehouse mobile robot to the
designated storage rack via a smart collision avoidance mech-
anism. The warehouse mobile robot then lifts the storage rack
and delivers it to the designated workstation. The warehouse
operator waiting at the workstation picks the goods according
to the picking indicator to complete the order. During idle
820
Fig. 36.15 User interface of smart robotic warehouse management system
Fig. 36.16 Warehouse mobile robot lifts a storage rack underneath and
transfers to workstation for order picking
time, the system rearranges the position of the storage racks
according to history and the outbound information about the
next few days, so that the orders can be completed more
quickly the next day. The center is equipped with cloud smart
communication technology and a monitoring system shown
in Fig. 36.17 for administrators to monitor the operations of
the warehouse.
C. F. Cheung et al.
Fig. 36.17 Administrator remotely controls and monitors the robot via
cloud-based system
During peak hours, robots can have division of labor to
improve work efficiency. If space is limited, a multi-deep
storage warehouse strategy can be adopted to increase space
usage. Combined adoption of multiple strategies caters to the
needs of individualized development in modern industry and
helps logistics providers seize market opportunities ahead of
others. This management system focuses on better use of
warehouse space and manpower. The dependence on manual
labor is reduced, and the efficiency of logistical operations is
enhanced. The completion of this project helps the logistics
36 Digital Manufacturing Systems 821

industry to shift its focus to production projects with high
added value, thus achieving the support for the establishment
of the reindustrialization notion. In addition, this project
also laid a solid foundation for the future research into the
applications of robots.
RFID-Based Intra-supply Chain Information
System for Global Production Networks
The trend toward the establishment of a global produc-
tion network in the manufacturing industry poses some new
challenges to information interchange. For example, some
components of a product may be produced in one country,
some part of the product may be outsourced and made in a
second country, and the final assembly of the finished product
may be done in a third country before being ultimately sold
somewhere else. However, apart from the obvious need for
collaboration, the problems of data integration and informa-
tion sharing within the supply chain are challenging. There-
fore, an RFID-based intra-supply chain information system
(ISCIS) is much needed in order to streamline the supply
chain activities and form an intra-supply chain network.
Figure 36.18 shows the architecture of an RFID-based
ISCIS which is basically divided into platform tiers. The
system consists of the application of RFID tags to generate
the data within the supply chain network. Data from the
RFID tags is scanned by readers and synchronized with the 36
internal information systems. The RFID-based ISCIS enables
the different partners in the supply chain to share real-time
information.
(i) Data acquisition tier – The data from the operational
level on the textile supply chain are captured by RFID
technology. RFID readers are installed in the ware-
houses of the textile and apparel manufacturers and at
the retailers. Tags are placed either at the pallet level
or the item level, depending on the stage in the supply
chain. At the level of the individual item of merchandise,
it is difficult to achieve 100% reading accuracy with
RFID tags. However, it is already technically feasible
to track RFID tags at the pallet or carton level. As the
raw materials progress through the stages of WIP to the
finished goods, the tagging level changes from the pallet
level to the carton level and finally to the item level.

Other inter-supply chain

partners information network
Optimization
enabling
technologies
EPCIS

IS

Intra-supply chain information flow

Intra-supply
chain data
integration
Local IS Local IS Local IS
tier

Information
systems tier
ERP WMS ERP WMS OMS WMS

Data
acquisitions
tier
Reader Tagged beam Reader Tagged beam Reader Tagged beam

Wool buying Dyeing Spinning

Physical materials flow

Fig. 36.18 Architecture of RFID-based ISCIS

822
(ii) Information systems tier – This integrates the RFID-
based information systems with the internal information
systems of the different supply chain partners such as
enterprise resources planning (ERP) systems. The most
successful new business models are probably those that
can integrate information technology into all activities
of the enterprise-wide value chain.
(iii) Intra-supply chain data integration platform –
Fig. 36.19 shows how the supply chain information
is shared and integrated with the different supply chain
parties. On this platform, an integrated information
system is built to enable the supply chain partners to
upload the information from the chain. As discussed
before, the RFID gateway can act as a check-in
and checkout system and synchronize the internal
information systems without delay. Supply chain
partners can select the information to be shared,
and the information will be stored in a centralized
database.
(iv) Web-based platform – On this platform, a web-based
information sharing portal is built so that supply chain
partners can retrieve related supply chain information.
Intra-supply chain partners can use the web browser
to search for information about the chain. The pro-
duction status, the supplier’s inventory level, the de-
livery status, and retail sales data can be displayed
on the web-based platform. The above platforms help
an intra-supply chain company to obtain data on their
operations and provide an interface permitting them to
share information. To facilitate the intra-supply chain
collaboration, different optimization technologies, such
as intelligent agent and data mining, can be used to
analyze these data.
Fiber production Fiber dyeing Yarn spinning
Pallet level Pallet level Carton level
Reader Reader Reader
Fig. 36.19 Information sharing along the supply chain
C. F. Cheung et al.
To realize the capability of the RFID-enabled RFID-based
ISCIS, a case study was conducted in a reference site in the
textile industry named Novetex. Novetex Spinners Limited
was established in 1976 and, employing over 2000 people, is
now recognized as the world’s largest single site woolen spin-
ner. As part of the Novel Group, Novetex has its headquarters
in Hong Kong and a factory located in Zhuhai, Southern
China. The factory houses 4 spinning mills, a dyeing mill, and
51 production lines resulting in an annual capacity of 7.5 mil-
lion kilograms of high-quality yarn. Novetex has recognized
the need to be a truly global supplier, and it has invested
in offices and agents worldwide to offer customers the most
efficient service possible. The trend toward the establishment
of a global production network in the textile industry poses
some new challenges to Novetex. For example, fibers might
be produced in one country, spun to yield yarns in a second
country, woven into fabrics in a third, and sewn into clothing
in yet another one, before being ultimately sold somewhere
else.
Novetex has traditionally used pen-and-paper-based ware-
house management processes. The recording of the inven-
tory, storage, order picking, packaging, and stocktaking pro-
cesses were heavily dependent on the efficiency of the ware-
house operators. The operators used their own judgment and
perceptions to decide how, when, and where to store the
goods. This heavy reliance on paper work and on a human
input to update the inventory data inevitably leads to data
inaccuracy. This in turn may affect the company decisions on
inventory replenishment, inventory control, and the first in,
first out (FIFO) order picking process. A heavy reliance on
pen-and-paper-based warehouse management processes has
limited the operational efficiency in inventory replenishment,
inventory control, and the FIFO order picking process of
Knitting and finishing Retail
Carton and item Item level
level
Reader Reader
36 Digital Manufacturing Systems 823

Novetex. These issues become more complex in the era of shops. WIP items and drawings transported to the work-
the global production network. shop are required to pass through the gateway, and the
As a result, the company has implemented an RFID- tag information of the arrival item is automatically tracked
enabled ISCIS. The outcomes of the implementation of the when it is pulled through the gateway. Figure 36.20b shows
system were positive in terms of increased stock visibility the setup for the RFID-based process. The process is de- 36
and data accuracy. The textile manufacturer can synchronize signed in such a way as to capture the machining status
the inventory status with the ERP software without any delay. of the WIP items accurately and automatically. The result
The attachment of an RFID tag on each bundle of goods of the trial implementation shows that the management of
facilitates the identification and visualization of items. The the company can accurately plan the job allocation during
storing location of the items can be easily identified and the production process through automatic and accurate cap-
retrieved from the ERP system. Order picking and stock turing and tracking of the information related to the flow,
relocation would become easier for the warehouse. the location, and processing status of the WIP items. The
visibility of the WIP information can be significantly en-
hanced, and this makes manufacturing process automation
RFID-Based Work-in-Progress Tracking possible.
RFID-based solutions have been used for a decade in manu-
facturing. Its applications in a manufacturing enterprise are
usually the tracking of parts during manufacture and the
tracking of assembled items, i.e., work in progress (WIP).
36.2.5 Conclusion
As a result, efficiency can be increased while entry errors
Digital manufacturing through smart manufacturing and real-
and manpower are saved. For WIP tracking, the tags can be
time tracking of production data in the supply chain has
attached to products as they are being assembled or created
led to improved accuracy of information, reduction of hu-
along the production line [86]. The status of the product
man errors, and automation of business operations. This
can be updated as it progresses along the production line
chapter presents a study of digital manufacturing which
via RFID readers placed above and below its path [87].
covers the computer simulation of manufacturing processes
According to Hedgepeth [88], the history or route taken by
through virtual manufacturing and smart manufacturing sys-
an individual product can be ascertained from data stored
tems for the manufacturing process automation based on real-
on tags attached to the item, by installing RFID readers at
time and online capture of Internet of Things (IoT) data
single or multiple locations along the production line. As a
from the movement of materials, people, equipment, and
result, the location as well as the flow history of any item
assets in the production value chain. Various case studies
can be recorded in the manufacturer’s database. To realize
are shown which involve virtual assembly, virtual manufac-
the advantages of RFID-enabled WIP tracking, a case study
turing system, digital twin-enabled smart 3D printing, IIoT-
was conducted in a precision mold manufacturing company
based cyber-physical system for physical asset management,
named Nypro Tool Hong Kong Ltd.
smart robotic warehouse management, RFID-based work-in-
Nypro Tool Hong Kong Ltd. is a precision injection mold
progress tracking, and the management of a global produc-
manufacturer which provides high-quality molding tools,
tion network.
globally. Since the company provides products with a wide
Digital manufacturing has gone beyond the graphical sim-
variety, WIP items need to be transported to different work-
ulation of product and process design and has accelerated the
shops for various processes such as machining, heat treat-
product development cycle and deepens the level of customer
ment, quality check, etc. Each of the items is accompanied by
interaction in the preproduction phase of products. Combined
its unique drawing so that operators can refer to its required
with the growing demand for the industrial Internet of Things
operations. Currently, Nypro is using barcode system to
(IIoT) technology in the automatic capture, tracking, and
monitor the flow of WIP items within the plants. For every
processing of the huge amount of data in the production
processing operation of the WIP items, the status of the
of goods and services, digital manufacturing is going to
process must be captured manually so that management can
revolutionize the way in which the supply chain is managed.
check the follow-up information of WIP through the database
It will also greatly change the behavior of global producers
system. However, the manual process induces a lot of human
and consumers.
errors and is time-consuming. The application of RFID in
WIP tracking is believed to be able to automate the tracking
Acknowledgments The authors would like to express their sincere
process and reduce the number of errors. thanks to the Research Committee of The Hong Kong Polytechnic
As shown in Fig. 36.20a, the location tracking process, University (project code: G-UABL, ZDAR, ZM31). See also 89 and
RFID gateways are set up at the entrance of the work- Chs.  17,  28,  40,  45 and  63.
824 C. F. Cheung et al.

a)

Start

A WIP item is pulled to “START” status is

End

Finished processing Pull the on-truck scanner “END” status is

trolley to the machine automatically captured!!

b) WIP location and process tracking

File folder
RFID reader/
antenna c) Configuration of the RFID system
77 cm

65 cm 50 cm

Parking area

77 cm

RFID tag

70 cm
55 cm

Fig. 36.20 RFID-based location tracking and process status tracking for WIP application

5. Shukla, C., Vazquez, M., Chen, F.F.: Virtual manufacturing: an

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36 Digital Manufacturing Systems 827

36

Prof. C. F. Cheung, Benny obtained his BEng in manufacturing en-
gineering from Hong Kong Polytechnic in 1993 and MPhil and PhD
degrees in industrial and systems engineering from The Hong Kong
Polytechnic University in 1996 and 2000, respectively. Currently, he is
a chair professor, director of State Key Laboratory of Ultra-precision
Machining Technology and the laboratory-in-charge of Knowledge So-
lutions Laboratory in Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering
of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. His research in knowledge
and technology management encompasses a broad-based research of
methods and tools built on a basis of information processing, knowledge
elicitation, product service systems, and artificial intelligence technolo-
gies for supporting the management of knowledge and technology for
enterprises from various industries such as manufacturing, public utility,
social service, etc. Up to present, he has authored and co-authored more
than 250 refereed journal papers including more than 180 Science Ci-
tation Indexed (SCI)-/Social Science Citation Indexed (SSCI)-refereed
journal papers. Prof. Cheung has received many research prizes and
awards such as Joseph Whitworth Prize 2010 by the Manufacturing In-
dustrial Division of The Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE),
UK, in 2011, a gold medal in the 44th International Exhibition of Inven-
tions, New Techniques and Products in Geneva, Switzerland, in 2016,
winner of the IET Innovation Award for Manufacturing Technology in
2017, etc.
Dr. Pai Zheng is currently an assistant professor in the Department of
Industrial and Systems Engineering, at The Hong Kong Polytechnic
University, China. Before this, he has been a research fellow in the
Delta-NTU Corporate Laboratory for Cyber-Physical Systems, in the
School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, at Nanyang Technolog-
ical University (NTU) from Jan. 2018 to Sep. 2019. His research interest
includes smart product-service systems, data-driven engineering design,
and manufacturing servitization and has published 40 SCI-indexed
journal papers in these fields (including 6 ESI ones). He received his
dual BS degrees in engineering from Huazhong University of Science
and Technology, Wuhan, China, in 2010; MS degree in mechanical
engineering from Beihang University, Beijing, China, in 2013; and
PhD degree in mechanical engineering at the University of Auckland,
Auckland, New Zealand, in 2017. He is a member of ASME (2017–),
IEEE (2017–), and CMES (2018–) and serves as the editorial board
member for the journal of Advanced Engineering Informatics and
referee for several high-impact international journals in the manufac-
turing/industrial engineering field.

Prof. W. B. Lee received his Master of Technology from Brunel Univer-

sity in 1976 and doctorate from the University of Hong Kong in 1986.
He is emeritus professor of Department of Industrial and Systems Engi-
neering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. His research interests
include advanced manufacturing technology, materials processing, and
Dr. Ka Man Lee is currently an associate professor in the Department knowledge management.
of Industrial and Systems Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic
University, Hong Kong. She is the program leader of BSc(Hons) Enter-
prise Engineering with Management. She obtained her PhD and BEng
degree from The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Her main re-
search areas include industrial engineering, enterprise resource planning
(ERP), logistics and supply chain management, industrial Internet of
Things (IIoT), wireless sensor and actuator network (WSAN), cloud
computing, and big data analytics. As of now, Dr. Lee has published
over 130 articles in various international journals and seminars. She was
awarded silver medal in the 47th International Exhibition of Inventions
of Geneva in 2019 and Outstanding Paper Award of Emerald Network
Awards in 2019. Dr. Lee also serves as the lab-in-charge of PolyU’s
Cyber-Physical Systems Laboratory.
 Flexible and Precision Assembly
Brian Carlisle
Contents
37.1 Flexible and Precision Assembly Automation . . . . . . . 829
37.2 Collaborative Assembly Robots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 830
37.3 Feeding Parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 831
37.4 Grasping Parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 833
37.5 Flexible Fixturing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 834
37.6 Aligning Small Parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 835
37.7 Fastening Small Parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 836
37.8 Assembly Automation Software Architecture . . . . . . 836
37.9 Conclusion, Challenges, and Emerging Trends . . . . . 839
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 839
Abstract
Recently a major trend in flexible and precision assembly
automation, and in automation in general, has been in
robots that can safely work next to people. Increasingly,
as part of collaborative automation, such robots are also
designed to collaborate as teams with other robots. These
intelligent machines are called cobots, or collaborative
robots, and are reducing the cost and time to install robots
in many applications. Flexible and precision assembly
refers to an assembly system that can build multiple simi-
lar products with little or no reconfiguration of the assem-
bly system. It can serve as a model for some of the emerg-
ing applications in flexible and precision automation. Pre-
cision assembly implies assembly with precise motions
and operations. Recently, machine learning interacting
B. Carlisle ()
Brooks Automation, Livermore, CA, USA
e-mail: brian.carlisle@brooks.com
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023
S. Y. Nof (ed.), Springer Handbook of Automation, Springer Handbooks,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-96729-1_37
37
with the robots’ sensors enables robots to assemble parts
and components with precision that exceeds their own
motion precision. A truly flexible assembly system would
enable precision assembly, include flexible part feeding,
grasping, and fixturing, as well as a variety of mating and
fastening processes that can be quickly added or deleted
without costly engineering. There is a limited science base
for how to design flexible assembly systems in a manner
that will yield predictable and reliable throughputs. The
emergence of geometric modeling systems (as part of
CAD) has enabled work in geometric reasoning in the past
few years. Geometric models have been applied in areas
such as machine vision for object recognition, design,
and throughput analysis of flexible part feeders, dynamic
simulation of assembly stations and assembly lines. Still
lacking are useful techniques for automatic model gen-
eration, planning, error representation, error prevention
(avoidance), and error recovery. Future software architec-
tures for flexible and precision automation should include
geometric modeling and reasoning capabilities to support
autonomous, sensor-driven systems.
Keywords
Assembly automation software · Assembly system ·
Cobot · Collaborative assembly · Collaborative robots ·
Fastening · Fixture design · Flexible fixture · Grasping ·
Machine vision · Part feeder
37.1 Flexible and Precision Assembly
Automation
Flexible and precision assembly automation is used in many
industries such as electronics, medical products, and automo-
tive, ranging in scale from disk drive assembly to automo-
tive body assembly. The ubiquitous yardstick for a flexible
assembly system is the human. While dedicated machines
can far exceed the speed of a human for certain applications,
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for example, circuit board assembly, there is no automation
system than can assemble a hard disk drive one day and
an automobile fuel injector the next day. In terms of preci-
sion, however, modern automation can accomplish precision
requirements, both in the assembly operations and in the
assembled product that far exceed the human abilities.
Flexibility implies variability in motions, material han-
dling, processes, and handling carriable components and as-
sembled products. A flexible assembly system must present,
grasp, mate, and attach parts to each other. It may also
perform quality tests during these processes. In order to be
useful, it must compare favorably in terms of development
cost and product assembly cost with manual alternatives. To
date, automatic assembly has only been justified for applica-
tions where volumes exceed tens of thousands of assemblies
per year, though this may be changing with the introduction
of collaborative robots, as they may be installed in point
applications, instead of entire lines.
Precision is defined [1] as the closeness of agreement
between a series of individual measurements, values, or re-
sults. For assembly, precision describes how well the process
is capable of producing assembled products with identical,
repeatable properties, such as product dimensions, its shape,
surface finish, color, weight, etc.
Key capabilities in sensing, modeling, reasoning, manip-
ulation, and planning are essential for flexibility and for
precision in assembly and in automation in general. But they
are still in their infancy for automated systems. The following
discussion of flexible automation for assembly illustrates
the current state of the art. Further advances in flexible and
precision automation will require machine control software
architectures that can integrate complex motion control, real-
time sensing, 3D modeling, 3D model generation from sensor
data, automatic motion planning from task-level goals, and
means to represent errors, prevent errors, and recover from
errors.
37.2 Collaborative Assembly Robots
“Collaborative robots,” sometimes also referred to as
“cobots,” fall into two broad categories, both of which are
increasingly used in assembly:
• One category is human-guided lifting aids, where the
“cobot” supports the weight of a heavy object while a
person guides the object into a desired position. These
devices emerged in the 1980s in a simple form, typically
pneumatically powered 1 or 2 degree of freedom lifting
devices. More recently, full 6 or 7 degree of freedom
robots have been employed for these applications. Assem-
bly is one of the most common application of collaborative
robots. In the 1990s, General Motors pioneered several
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cobots on assembly operations and on assembly line: in
1996 the first assist device was installed in Fort Wayne,
Indiana, truck assembly plant to install the HVAC system
and to assemble the front dash structural panel [2]; in
1998, the first cobot was installed for the front door
disassembly and assembly of doors on a Buick, during
off and on process pre- and post-painting; General Motors
introduced a Fanuc collaborative robot in 2015 to aid a
human in picking 35 kg tires from a pallet and installing
them in automobile trunks [3].
• The second category refers to robots that can work au-
tonomously next to humans, or with humans, in the same
workspace and never injure the humans, even if they bump
into them [4]. The collaboration of robots and humans
leverages their respective abilities in flexibility and in
precision (Fig. 37.1). This category of collaborative robots
typically handles payloads less than 10 kg. As payloads
increase, the robot must slow down when in proximity to
a human, in order to limit dynamic collision forces. For
very light payloads on the order of 1 kg or less, some of
these new collaborative robots can move at tool speeds up
to 2 meters per second and bump into a person without
injury. Robots moving 10 kg payloads may be limited
to tool speeds of a 200–300 millimeters per second near
people.
In 2016 ISO-TS 15066 “Robots and Robotic Devices –
Collaborative Robots” was published. This technical speci-
fication listed the collision forces that various parts of the
human body can withstand without injury. It has been a
major enabler for market acceptance and growth for collab-
orative robots. In 2018 RIA TR15.806 “Testing Methods for
Power and Force Limited Collaborative Applications” was
published with details on how to test collaborative robots.
A major economic factor in the justification of collabora-
tive robots is the ability for these robots to perform a task at
Fig. 37.1 A precise automation collaborative robot in a life sciences
laboratory. (Courtesy Ginko Labs)
37 Flexible and Precision Assembly
least as quickly as a human, while remaining safe in the event
of a collision. The collision force for a robot is determined by
its kinetic energy, or ½ mv2 . The effective mass at the robot
tool is composed of three elements: the payload, the robot
inertia transformed to a point mass at the tool, and the drive
train inertias transformed to a point mass at the tool. This last
factor, drive train inertia, is often overlooked when designing
collaborative robots, but the reflected drive train inertia seen
as a point mass at the tool can be many times larger than the
payload mass. This is because for many robots very high-
ratio speed reducers are used, for example, 100:1. The motor
rotor, brake, and high-speed input inertias are multiplied
by the square of this ratio, or in this example, 10,000:1.
For a SCARA robot (selective compliance assembly robot
arm) with a 2 kg payload mass, the reflected motor inertias
seen at the tool radius of 500 mm can be 14 kg. Thus, the
reflected drive train inertias can dominate the kinetic energy
for lower payload robots using high-ratio drive trains and
cause very high collision forces for relatively light payloads.
Some collaborative robot manufacturers are using low ratio
belt drives or even direct-drive motors to address this design
issue.
In 2019 collaborative robots were forecasted by Interact
Analysis to grow to 30% of the total robot market by 2027,
with a compound annual growth rate of 60%. Pick and place,
assembly, and material handling are forecast to grow to 75%
of collaborative robot applications, with 60% of applications
handling less than 5 kg.
This emerging trend of designing robots that are safe
around people is replacing the trend from 2000 to 2020 of
making robots go as fast as possible. There are very few
applications that really need cycle times of 300 milliseconds,
whereas there are many opportunities to install robots that
can work at human speeds in the same workspace as people.
Also, since robot power is proportional to the square of cycle
time, decreasing cycle time from 600 to 300 ms required 4
times as much power. There is an increasing appreciation of
using power wisely in our factories.
There are several benefits besides safety due to the emer-
gence of collaborative robots. Robots that could injure people
had to be protected by safety screening, which if opened
would stop the production line and often require a lengthy
restart process. And since with traditional robots the robots
could not work next to people, typically an entire production
line had to be automated. This meant that a great deal
of engineering was often required to automate applications
which a person could perform easily but are very difficult
for a robot, for example, installing wires, picking parts from
bins, squeezing flexible parts into place, etc. The advent of
collaborative robots allows robots to be used for simpler jobs
which they can perform easily and reliably and for people
to continue to work on the line for the more difficult jobs.
This also allows the robots to be added incrementally, one or
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two at a time, while a manufacturer learns how to best use
them. This approach lowers the initial investment required,
for example, installing a robot station for $50,000 instead of
an entire automated line for say, $1 million. This lowers risk
and eases acceptance of robots.
Collaborative robots that cannot injure people are much
less threatening to workers on the floor and as a result
are much better accepted by people who are working near
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them [5].
Finally, collaborative robots can be set up not to injure
other equipment in the facility. In some applications, for
example, laboratory automation, an instrument may cost
$500,000 and have a small tray that extends to receive a
test tube or plastic tray. Early efforts to automate these
applications with powerful industrial robots often resulted in
serious damage to very expensive equipment.
In summary, collaborative robots are making assembly
automation and automation in general safer and simpler to
justify, lowering the risk of trying out robots and making
automated factories much less threatening to people.
37.3 Feeding Parts
Assembly requires picking up parts, orienting them, and
fastening them together. In almost all automatic assembly
systems in production today, parts are oriented and located
by some means before the assembly system picks them up.
In fact, it should be recognized that orientation has value; if
part orientation is lost, it costs money to restore it. Due to this
requirement for pre-oriented parts, most automatic assembly
systems only deal with small parts, typically parts less than
10 cm3 in volume. Traditional small part feeders include
indexing tape feeders (Fig. 37.2), tray feeders, tube feeders,
Gel-Pak (a sticky film in a round frame for semiconductor
parts) feeders, and vibratory bowl feeders (Fig. 37.3). Each
of these feeders is typically limited to a fairly narrow class
of parts. For example, tape feeders are sized to the width of
a part; a 3-mm-wide tape cannot feed a 25-mm-wide part.
Tape and tray systems have several disadvantages in addition
to their cost: they are not space efficient for shipping, as parts
are stored at a low density, and the packing material can
add several cents each to part cost. Larger parts are almost
universally transported on pallets, or in boxes or bins, and
are at best only partially oriented.
The development of machine vision systems has begun
to change this situation (Fig. 37.4). Useful machine vision
systems began to emerge in the 1980s. Early systems that
could recognize the silhouette of a part in two dimensions
cost $50,000 to $100,000. Today, you can buy 2D vision
systems for a few thousand dollars, and the price continues
to drop rapidly. 3D vision systems are developed for part
recognition from random positions and for guiding robots for
832 B. Carlisle

Operator
console

Imaging electronics Modem

Imaging electronics Network

Camera Camera Computer I/O

interface
Lighting Lighting
Lens Lens Software

Material
handling
Fig. 37.2 Sticky tape part feeder. (Courtesy Pelican Packaging Inc.)

Fig. 37.4 Machine vision system. (Courtesy High-Tech Digital, Inc.)

a) b)

Fig. 37.3 Bowl part feeder. (Courtesy Pelican Packaging Inc.)

Fig. 37.5 Flexible part feeders: (a) Adept technology [7]; (b) Flexfac-
tory [8]
picking identified parts. They are being installed in factories
to guide robots in the acquisition of large heavy parts from
pallets and bins [6].
Predicting the throughput of this type of feeder requires
Vision systems are allowing the development of part feed-
predicting the probability that a part will come to rest in
ers that can separate parts from bulk, inspect the parts for cer-
a desired stable state (will not topple or roll) when it is
tain critical dimensions, and guide a robot or other automatic
separated from the other parts. To accomplish it, a method for
assembly machine to reliably acquire the part.
predicting the distribution of stable states from part geometry
Several such part feeders are shown below (Fig. 37.5).
was developed [9]. Part geometries can be complex, and the
These feeders utilize either conveyors or vibratory plates
distribution of stable states may not be obvious. The part
to separate parts from bulk and advance them under a ma-
illustrated below, from a plastic camera, has 12 stable states,
chine vision system, which then determines if the part is in an
of which 4 are shown. Goldberg et al. developed an algorithm
orientation that can be picked up by the assembly machine.
that could predict the distribution of these 12 stable states
If not, parts are usually recirculated, since it takes a lot of
from a CAD model of the part (Fig. 37.6).
time to pick them up and hand them off to a part reorienting
The ability to simulate feeder throughput from an analysis
mechanism and then regrasp them. These feeders can handle
of part geometry is an example of using modeling and geo-
a wide variety of part sizes and geometries without changing
metric reasoning to help design a flexible assembly system.
the feeder. In fact, this class of feeder is increasingly being
It is desirable to be able to generate both 2D and 3D vision
accepted in applications where parts are changed daily or
recognition algorithms directly from CAD models of parts.
several times a day.
37 Flexible and Precision Assembly
Fig. 37.6 Four of 12 stable states for a complex part. (Source: [9])
While this sounds simple for the case of 2D parts, to date,
the author is not aware of any commercially available vision
systems that offer this capability. Real-world challenges from
lighting, reflections, shadowing, lens and parallax distortion,
camera and lens geometry, etc. combine to make this a chal-
lenging task. The task becomes more challenging when 3D
vision is considered. Robust models that consider the above
factors need to be developed and extensive algorithm testing
done to ensure reliable real-world vision system performance
from CAD-generated algorithms.
In summary, recent advances in machine vision are al-
lowing large parts to be picked directly from bins and small
parts to be picked from mechanisms that separate them
under a camera. More recently, machine learning has been
applied to assist in locating parts for picking them from
heaps [10, 11]. These advances allow assembly systems to
be quickly changed over to new products without designing
and installing new part feeders.
37.4 Grasping Parts
In today’s commercial assembly systems, almost 100% of
part grasping is done by either a vacuum cup or a two-finger
gripper with custom fingers designed for the particular part to
be grasped. Even for systems with the vision-based flexible
part feeders described above, if we change parts, we must
change the part gripper. Part pickup strategies are gener-
ated by explicit manual training or programming. Obstacle
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for most very small parts, machine vision is used to refine the
position of the part in the gripper after it has been grasped.
In order to maintain a stable grasp of a part, the part should
be uniquely constrained, with gripper mechanical tolerances
considered. For example, a two-finger gripper with an oppos-
ing V groove in each finger would appear to locate a round
part. However, if the fingers are not perfectly aligned, the
part in fact will roll between parallel plates of the opposite
V grooves. For this example, one V groove opposite a flat
finger would be a better solution.
In a similar manner, attempting to grasp a prismatic part
with two flat fingers is a bad idea. Any slight variation in
parallelism of the part or fingers will result in a poor grasp
that may not resist acceleration or part mating forces. In this
case three pads to define a plane on one finger and a single
pad to press the part against this plane on the opposing finger
is a better solution and can handle draft angle on parts, finger
splay, and other tolerances.
These simple examples illustrate the more general con-
cept of planning and achieving stable grasp in multiple di-
mensions – and resisting slip and torque in the dimensions
important to the process.
In the popular image of a service robot, the robot performs
a wide range of menial tasks, perhaps cooking and serving
dinner, cleaning up after the kids, or dusting the shelves.
Within the next few years, it is likely machine vision technol-
ogy will develop to the point where, given explicit models of
objects, a robot could pick up a large variety of objects from
an unstructured environment. However, this will be possible
only if it can grasp