Empowered by CyberTech Engineering and University of Fribourg.
A new holistic approach defining and dealing with coordination in smart environments is presented. Coordination has been studied for many years, but a holistic approach from a generic theoretical model to a pervasive application has never been proposed. Our approach defines a generic model in order to understand and develop coordination aspects at a high level of abstraction. The model should help to analyse and design context-, activity- and situation-aware applications for smart environments. But, it should also be generic enough to be applicable to other problem domains. In this paper we focus only on the modelling part. Our model is built of an abstraction continuum, starting with the notion of entity, interaction, evolution and rules. The notion of enactive entity is introduced on the most abstract level of the continuum. It encompasses consciousness and intentional behaviour, thus leading to cognitive coordination.
Finally, the book is ready to print :-))
http://www.igi-global.com/book/designing-human-machine-symbiosis-using/167460
Demand for integral and sustainable solutions is on the rise. As new ways of defining reality emerge, this generates the progression of more humanistic and sustainable construction of operating systems.
Designing for Human-Machine Symbiosis Using the URANOS Model: Emerging Research and Opportunities is a pivotal reference source for the latest research on human-centered system modeling and methods to provide a generic system model to describe complex non-linear systems. Featuring extensive coverage across a range of relevant topics, such as pervasive computing systems, smart environments, and smart industrial machines, this book is ideally designed for researchers, engineers, and professionals seeking current research on the integration of human beings and their natural, informational, and socio-cultural environments into system design.
Cyber physical systems (CPSs) are built of physical components that are integrated into the cyber (virtual) world of computing. Whereas there are many open questions and challenges, such as time modeling, interaction between cyber and physical components, our research focuses on how humans can be holistically integrated. Our vision is to link human intelligence with CPS in order to get a smart partner for daily human activities. This will bring new system characteristics enabling to cope with self-awareness, cognition and creativity as well as the co-evolution of human-machine-symbiosis. In this sense, we state that drawing borders between virtual and physical or between users and technical artifacts is misleading. In contrast to that, we aim to treat the system as a whole. To achieve this, the paper presents a generic coordination model based on third-order cybernetics. In particular, the holistic integration of humans and other living systems into CPSs is presented, which leads toward human-centered CPSs.
Cyber physical systems (CPS) are built of physical components that are integrated into the cyber (virtual) world of computing. Such systems offer many open questions and challenges, such as time modelling, big data mining, system awareness, coordinating activities and managing collaboration within and with external systems. Many of the published work focusses on how virtual and physical systems can be designed, coordinated and managed. We argue that drawing a borderline between virtual and physical is misleading the design of CPS especially for the integration of humans. In this paper, we present a holistic modelling approach to enhance classical CPS towards human-centered CPS. The approach is based on our generic coordination model. The goal is not to create human-like systems, but rather a holistic integration of enactive entities (e.g. humans, animals, plants, cells) into CPS. Closely connected to this integration is also the understanding and modelling of cognitive coordination. We argue that this approach could enable CPS to integrate human intelligence and to become a smart partner for daily human activities.
As the industrial evolution proceeds, new smart technologies for machine-machine and human-machine collaboration will become more important. For sure, the way humans interact with industrial machines will change, but we state that human beings, especially their creativity and empathy, becomes more relevant for human-machine collaboration than it is today. In this paper, we present an architecture for plug and produce (PnP) that is a prerequisite for smart industrial machines (SIMs) and future human-machine collaboration in smart factories. PnP has its origin in "plug and play", a well known and strongly desired feature already available in latest personal computer technology. For industrial purposes, this concept must be adapted, especially due to di erent requirements on real-time, human and machine
safety, and dirty and wet environments. In addition, PnP goes further than plug and play in a sense that the device is not just ready to use (play), but is pro-actively integrated in a production process (produce). PnP in our sense comprises dynamic semantic models about the "how" and "why" to use speci c devices in a production process. These models can be exchanged with humans or other smart industrial machines in order to reach a mutual agreement on production strategies and concepts.
In this paper we present a new CPS model that considers humans as holistic beings, where mind and body operate as a whole and characteristics like creativity and empathy emerge. These characteristics influence the way humans interact and collaborate with technical systems. Our vision is to integrate humans as holistic beings within CPS in order to move towards a human-machine symbiosis. This paper outlines a model for human-centered cyber-physical systems (HCPSs) that is based on our holistic system model URANOS. The model integrates human skills and values to make them accessible to the technical system, similarly to the way they are accessible to humans in human-to-human interaction. The goal is to reinforce the human being in his feeling of being in control of his life experience in a world of smart technologies. It could also help to reduce human bio-costs like stress, job fears, etc. The proposed model is illustrated by the case study of smart industrial machines, dedicated machines for smart factories, where we test the human integration through conversation.
[German]: Das Undenkbare ist heute Realität geworden. Mit der SmartMachine hat STUDER eine intelligente Maschine mit kognitiven Fähigkeiten entwickelt. Die Entwicklung gelang durch den Einsatz von holistischen und kybernetischen Ansätzen, welche durch eine ganzheitliche agile Entwicklung in den Bereichen Mechanik, Elektrik, Elektronik, Software, Technologie und Customer Care umgesetzt wurden. Die SmartMachine ist optimal für den Einsatz in intelligenten energieeffizienten Fabriken (SmartFactory, Industrie 4.0) ausgelegt, wo die Teile autonom ihren Fertigungsweg beschreiten. Aber auch Job Shopper profitieren von der selbstlernenden Maschine. Die Fertigung von Einzelteilen und Kleinserien wird durch Berücksichtigung von Prozessanalysen, Nebenzeiten und Kundenstrategien gewinnbringend optimiert.
