In this contribution we present a formalism to combine the well-known process modeling technique based on Petri nets with the recent developments in visual programming for robot programming. The resulting modeling app...
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In this contribution we present a formalism to combine the well-known process modeling technique based on Petri nets with the recent developments in visual programming for robot programming. The resulting modeling approach enables process developers and robot programmers to follow a hierarchical approach to process development and to profit from the extensive analysis techniques developed for Petri nets, as well as the specialized robot programming features of the visual programming system. We applied our approach to an exemplary robot manufacturing process, demonstrating its modeling capabilities.
Design for Manufacturing (DfM) is becoming increasingly important in computer-aided design (CAD) due to the growing complexity of products. Automatically evaluating design rules for manufacturability from CAD dimensio...
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Design for Manufacturing (DfM) is becoming increasingly important in computer-aided design (CAD) due to the growing complexity of products. Automatically evaluating design rules for manufacturability from CAD dimensions and geometry is one effective approach for DfM. However, implementing automated design-rule-checks requires coding complex programs on CAD systems and the expertise to implement them, which make it difficult to adopt the approach, or implement product-specific design-rules. In this study, to mitigate this barrier, we developed a visual programming environment for the design-rule programs and a graph neural network (GNN) based recommender system that assists users to create the visual program. The proposed visual programming environment allows users to make design rules by placing and connecting shape recognition and measurement function nodes. This simplifies and improves the programming interface. Furthermore, the proposed recommender system predicts the subsequent function node that users will append, which reduces the user's cognitive load of choosing the right function nodes. By employing proposed GNN architecture in the visual program recommender system, the input-output relationships between the function nodes and their input arguments are naturally taken into account to produce accurate recommendations. We evaluated the performance of the proposed recommender in the off-line experiment and the experiment in real-world use. The results in both experiments demonstrate that the proposed GNN based visual program recommender system can suggest the function nodes in sufficient accuracy, which contributes to improved productivity of implementing automatic CAD design-rule-checks.
Objective Musculoskeletal modeling and simulation are powerful research and education tools in engineering, neuroscience, and rehabilitation. Interactive musculoskeletal models (IMMs) can be controlled by muscle activ...
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Objective Musculoskeletal modeling and simulation are powerful research and education tools in engineering, neuroscience, and rehabilitation. Interactive musculoskeletal models (IMMs) can be controlled by muscle activity recorded with electromyography (EMG). IMMs are typically coded using textual programming languages that present barriers to understanding for non-experts. The goal of this project was to use a visual programming language (Simulink) to create and test an IMM that is accessible to non-specialists for research and educational purposes. Results The developed IMM allows users to practice a goal-directed task with different control modes (keyboard, mouse, and EMG) and actuator types (muscle model, force generator, and torque generator). Example data were collected using both keyboard and EMG control. One male participant in his early 40's performed a goal-directed task for four sequential trials using each control mode. For EMG control, the participant used a low-cost EMG system with consumer-grade EMG sensors and an Arduino microprocessor. The participant successfully performed the task with both control modes, but the inability to grade muscle model excitation and co-activate antagonist muscles limited performance with keyboard control. The IMM developed for this project serves as a foundation that can be further tailored to specific research and education needs.
With the progressive digitalization in industrial manufacturing, the usage of complex robotic systems in both intralogistics and production is expected to increase. This proposes a challenge for planners and shop floo...
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With the progressive digitalization in industrial manufacturing, the usage of complex robotic systems in both intralogistics and production is expected to increase. This proposes a challenge for planners and shop floor workers, as programming and interacting with these various systems leads to a high cognitive load. Especially the broad range of different manufacturer specific software leads to a number of problems, e.g. the program -synchronization between different systems and the often necessary workshops for workers. These problems can lead to inefficient programming and planning operations, bad worker satisfaction and human errors. In this paper, we present a modular, system agnostic and human centered software framework that unifies the pro-gramming of different systems, to enable centralized and intuitive system programming for non-expert operators. Our software framework utilizes visual programming concepts together with an integrated digital twin of the factory and a novel graph-based programming interface. We explain our concept in detail and describe our validation through integration into a realistic industrial setup with three different systems. In addition, we provide an evaluation of our concept's usability with an experimental user study and discuss the results of the study and the software implementation. Our study results show that even non-technical users are able to use our software after a brief introduction to create complex processes that involve multiple machines working in par-allel. All users reported high usability and expert users reported that the visual process editor has enough features to create processes for industrial applications. Finally, we conclude this paper by providing an outlook on future work and use-cases of our software.
The optimal structural design is imperative in order to minimize material consumption and reduce the environmental impacts of construction. Given the complexity in the formulation of structural design problems, the pr...
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The optimal structural design is imperative in order to minimize material consumption and reduce the environmental impacts of construction. Given the complexity in the formulation of structural design problems, the process of optimization is commonly performed using artificial intelligence (AI) global optimization, such as the genetic algorithm (GA). However, the integration of AI-based optimization, together with visual programming (VP), in building information modeling (BIM) projects warrants further investigation. This study proposes a workflow by combining structure analysis, VP, BIM, and GA to optimize trusses. The methodology encompasses several steps, including the following: (i) generation of parametric trusses in Dynamo VP;(ii) performing finite element modeling (FEM) using Robot Structural Analysis (RSA);(iii) retrieving and evaluating the FEM results interchangeably between Dynamo and RSA;(iv) finding the best solution using GA;and (v) importing the optimized model into Revit, enabling the user to perform simulations and engineering analysis, such as life cycle assessment (LCA) and quantity surveying. This methodology provides a new interoperable framework with minimal interference with existing supply-chain processes, and it will be flexible to technology literacy and allow architectural, engineering and construction (AEC) professionals to employ VP, global optimization, and FEM in BIM-based projects by leveraging open-sourced software and tools, together with commonly used design software. The feasibility of the proposed workflow was tested on benchmark problems and compared with the open literature. The outcomes of this study offer insight into the opportunities and limitations of combining VP, GA, FEA, and BIM for structural optimization applications, particularly to enhance structural efficiency and sustainability in construction. Despite the success of this study in developing a workable, user-friendly, and interoperable framework for the utilizatio
visual programming has transformed the art of programming in recent years. Several organizations are in race to develop novel ideas to run visual programming in multiple domains with Internet of Things. IoT, being the...
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visual programming has transformed the art of programming in recent years. Several organizations are in race to develop novel ideas to run visual programming in multiple domains with Internet of Things. IoT, being the most emerging area of computing, needs substantial contribution from the visual programming paradigm for its technological propagation. This paper surveys visual programming languages being served for application development, especially in Internet of Things field. 13 such languages are visited from several popular research-electronic databases (e. g., IEEE Xplore, Science Direct, Springer Link, Google Scholar, Web of Science, and Postscapes) and compared under four key attributes such as programming environment, license, project repository, and platform supports. Grouped into two segments, open source and proprietary platform, these visual languages pertain few crucial challenges that have been elaborated in this literature. The main goal of this paper is to present existing VPLs per their parametric proforma to enable na " ive developers and researchers in the field of IoT to choose appropriate variant of VPL for particular type of application. It is also worth validating the usability and adaptability of VPLs that is essential for selection of beneficiary in terms of IoT.
Arch bridges are essential components of transportation infrastructure. Their attractive geometry is based on a multitude of geometric parameters, which makes them a challenging design task. Therefore, arch bridges...
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Arch bridges are essential components of transportation infrastructure. Their attractive geometry is based on a multitude of geometric parameters, which makes them a challenging design task. Therefore, arch bridges' optimization should be aided by modern computational techniques and algorithms. This study presents an automated optimization process of steel through arch bridges. We merged visual programming, an accessible text programming alternative, with a genetic algorithm to establish an automated framework. We used Dynamo, an open-source civil engineering visual programming language (VPL), to develop a model generation script. Our finite element method (FEM) package enriched the basic VPL functions;it allowed geometry modeling and static strength analysis inside one parametric environment. Linked genetic algorithm replaced the designer in iterative, time-consuming optimization tasks, automating the process. The algorithm adjusted construction's geometric parameters to provide solutions optimized for the typical objective: minimizing the material consumption while still fulfilling strength requirements. We evaluated the procedure with optimization of selected reference construction. The system dealt with cases of increasing complexity, adjusting cross-section dimensions, static scheme parameters, and material properties. The paper describes practical aspects of implementing and utilizing the visual programming-genetic algorithm solution, which can also be adapted for other structures, additional objectives, and constraints.
This paper presents a visual environment for process modeling and simulation, together with its specialization to thermoelectric power plants. Though attention is focused on a specific class of plants, the environment...
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This paper presents a visual environment for process modeling and simulation, together with its specialization to thermoelectric power plants. Though attention is focused on a specific class of plants, the environment has been designed under rigorous and more general specifications, concerning both architectural and user interface aspects. Features of power plant processes are specifically considered by implementing process libraries and solution schemes that allow the analyst to optimally structure its applications
One challenge with design automation is system transparency with adjustable granularity because of the many different forms of representation from multiple disciplines. Previous research has focused on visualization t...
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One challenge with design automation is system transparency with adjustable granularity because of the many different forms of representation from multiple disciplines. Previous research has focused on visualization through the generation of graphs, packaging into electronic books, and model highlighting. The research presented in this paper focuses instead on a visual programming approach, commonly applied in the building industry, where design assets and external references are wrapped into visual components and managed on a canvas with information input/output relations displayed. This entails additional documentation efforts, but the visualization is arguably more useful as groups and levels of granularity are adjusted by the engineers themselves as a part of the development work. To explore visual programming and its potential benefits as a way of enabling transparency with adjustable granularity of DA systems within mechanical manufacturing industry, an existing textual design automation system was transformed into a visual one using Grasshopper® (a visual programming environment) and discussed with respect to DA system transparency, feature-based CAD, and DA system development.
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