A key element of any digital twin is the digital replica, or model, of its physical counterpart. When applied to industrial automation systems, it is important to consider the trade-off between model fidelity and computational complexity when developing this model. In this paper, we investigate the use of grey-box system identification as a means for producing digital twin models, as the approach reduces computational complexity while maintaining model fidelity. Using a three-link robotic manipulator, we evaluate the ability the digital twin's system identification module to produce a high-fidelity model while under the influence of input disturbances. We then expand these results by evaluating the ability of the determined model to accurately emulate the robotic manipulator for tasks given to digital twins through the system simulation and monitoring modules. The results of this testing demonstrate that the grey-box system identification module is prone to error and sensitive to input disturbances; however, it produces models that are still able to accurately predict the dynamic response of the robotic manipulator. Furthermore, the tests demonstrate the determined models can be used by the digital twin for simulation and monitoring applications with certain limitations.

In this paper, the authors review extant natural language processing models in the context of undergraduate mechanical engineering education. These models have advanced to a stage where it has become increasingly more difficult to discern computer vs. human-produced material, and as a result, have understandably raised questions about their impact on academic integrity. As part of our review, we perform two sets of tests with OpenAI's natural language processing model (1) using GPT-3 to generate text for a mechanical engineering laboratory report and (2) using Codex to generate code for an automation and control systems laboratory. Our results show that natural language processing is a potentially powerful assistive technology for engineering students. However, it is a technology that must be used with care, given its potential to enable cheating and plagiarism behaviours given how the technology challenges traditional assessment practices and traditional notions of authorship.

A major challenge for traditional systems is the lack of capabilities to automatically discover alternative solutions and actively deploy corresponding functions to intelligently adapt to changes in dynamic environments. In this paper, we continue our previous research of developing a two-layer architecture for modelling industrial cyber-physical systems and focus on the IEC 61499 function block based low-level physical module design. We propose an architecture model to integrate function blocks with intelligent agents to support self-management capabilities for low-level physical modules to quickly respond to changes. In the proposed architecture, a self-manageable service model is introduced for IEC 61499 function block modelled systems and designed as a multi-agent model with Self-Manageable Service Execution Agent, Self-Configuration Agent, Self-Healing Agent, Self-Optimization Agent, and Self-Protection Agent. The proposed modelling framework is tested with preliminary experiments on Raspberry Pi using the agent modelling tool SPADE and function block modelling tool Eclipse 4diac.

Traditional industrial automation systems developed under centralized architectures are statically programmed with determined procedures to perform predefined tasks in structured environments. The major challenges for these legacy systems are that they are unable to automatically discover alternative solutions, flexibly coordinate reconfigurable modules and actively deploy corresponding functions, to quickly respond to frequent changes and intelligently adapt to evolving requirements in dynamic environments. This paper presents a two-layer architecture modelling framework, including the high-level cyber module designed as multi-agent computing model and the low-level physical module designed as agent-embedded IEC 61499 function block model, to enable real-time adaptation at the device level and run-time intelligence throughout the whole system. The design results in a new computing module for high-level multi-agent-based automation architectures and a new design pattern for low-level function block modelled control solutions. The design is demonstrated and evaluated through various tests on the multi-agent simulation model developed in NetLogo and the experimental testbed designed on the Jetson Nano and Raspberry Pi platforms. The result shows that the design is feasible with improved performances and expected capabilities to respond to major challenges in Industry 4.0.

Digital twins present revolutionary potential in smart manufacturing and production. However, their application to distributed control systems is limited in literature. This leaves automation engineers wishing to apply the concept at a loss, as they must construct a digital twin from a conceptual level with little to no guidelines. To help the adoption of the digital twin concept, a general architecture that may be tuned to the needs of the physical application is required.Within this paper, we propose an architecture for digital twins in IEC61499 based distributed control systems. Using this architecture, we construct the model based on known physics and sensor data to be used in the digital twin for simulation purposes. This demonstrates itself as an effective method for constructing the model of a digital twin for the purposes of dynamic simulation and control. With this base architecture in place, we may now work towards expanding the capability of the set-up to that of a full digital twin.

In this paper, we propose an approach to facilitate the identification of threshold concepts in undergraduate engineering curricula. The approach is based on the framework of transactional curriculum inquiry where educators work with a group of stakeholders (students, curriculum designers, industry practitioners) to identify threshold concepts. Our proposed approach involves developing a participatory simulation using agent-based modeling that will serve as a digital forum for the exploration of threshold concepts in engineering courses.

Digital twins present revolutionary potential in smart manufacturing and production. However, their current application in distributed control systems is minimal and largely unexplored. By applying digital twins to distributed control systems, distributed intelligent sensing and control systems may be achieved. These systems are fully automated and self-managing, making them a valuable asset. In this paper, we provide a short literature review which establishes the definition, application, and implementation of digital twins in smart manufacturing and production. Based on this review, we propose their application in transforming distributed control systems into distributed intelligent and sensing control systems. We identify features of a digital twin which will be of greatest use in a distributed control system, and discuss our current research direction aimed at interfacing these control systems with digital twins.

The IEC 61499 standard was proposed for distributed architecture design of industrial automation systems to support portability, interoperability, and configurability. Compared with the traditional IEC 61131-3 standard, it provides an open reference architecture with some key features-object-oriented modeling by using function blocks as basic elements and event-driven execution by using data/events as inputs/outputs. In order to make IEC 61499 more applicable in industrial practices, researchers have been focusing on its transformation methods, modeling techniques, and implementation tools over the past years. In this article, three major issues are discussed through analysis of recent research: 1) how existing systems programmed in IEC 61131-3 can be transitioned to IEC 61499-based systems; 2) how IEC 61499 has integrated with enabling technologies for distributed intelligent automation; and 3) how engineering environments for IEC 61499 have been implemented. In detail, the article starts with challenges in the transition to and methods of transformation to IEC 61499-based systems, goes further into design and computing paradigms for IEC 61499 function block modeling, and ends with developments and applications of IEC 61499 engineering environments. Discussions and future research trends are outlined as a conclusion.

Serial transfer lines with parallel machines in each stage are now a fairly common manufacturing system. However, its analysis and predictive-reactive control during transients remains mostly unexplored. This manufacturing system consists of a series of stages where in each stage a finite number of machines work concurrently. A two multi-state stage transfer line is studied in this paper. To describe the probability of one part being completed from the several machines in a stage, an equivalent multi-state, perfectly reliable machine is proposed. This multi-state model enables variance in the processing time between job completions to be captured stochastically. Based on historic data or engineering experience, an equivalent multi-state machine is simulated from the cumulative distribution function of the aggregated behavior of the parallel machines. In this paper, a serial production line with two equivalent, multi-state machines is used to analyze transient performance. Analytical closed-form expressions are derived to evaluate system transient behaviors. This system is also used with a controller to implement practical production control. Using model predictive control, system control parameter values provide decision support for managers to control short-term production. The proposed methodology can be applied to improve resource efficiency in other operation management problems.

To assess the quality of teamwork, the peer evaluation tool developed by the Individual and Team Performance (ITP) Lab has been applied in a capstone design course. While this tool can evaluate the team skills of individual students, this paper tries to further examine the overall team dynamics through peer evaluation scores. As a result, three analyses are proposed: threshold analysis for low-score detection, comparative analysis for interpersonal comparison and conflict analysis for team conflict. Different team profiles (e.g., a disengaged member, a dominating member and a split team) are set for numerical study, which demonstrates and examines the effectiveness of the proposed analyses. While peer evaluation scores can be used to identify different team dynamics, further empirical study is important to relate numerical analyses for real cases.

In this paper, we provide an overview of an integrated mathematics curriculum that is a key element of an engineering articulation program (polytechnic to university). This integrated approach to teaching mathematics is a logical extension of the integrated curriculum models that have been gaining popularity for undergraduate engineering education since the 1960’s, and is well suited to the fast-paced nature of an engineering articulation program. We provide background on the engineering articulation program and the integrated mathematics curriculum, and provide reflections on the implementation of this approach.

The Engineers Canada Accreditation Board outlines 12 Canadian Engineering Graduate Attributes required for program accreditation. One of these attributes is Individual and Team Work. Since 2016, at the University of Calgary, there has been a voluntary, undergraduate-wide survey administered to the Schulich School of Engineering students every spring via an online platform. The purpose of the survey is to assess students’ perceived development of teamwork skills during their program, and identify avenues to improve program offerings. After four consecutive years of this survey, with sample sizes ranging from 683-973 students, there are three main trends that can be identified: students perceive teamwork skills as highly important for their future careers, there are noticeable differences between male and female students regarding teamwork experiences, and students value teamwork skills training and opportunities for peer feedback. Implications of these findings are that there are gendered teamwork experiences among undergraduate engineering students and more research is needed to understand interventions that can mitigate this.

This paper explores graduate attribute assessment across Canadian engineering programs. Research papers from the 2010-2017 CEEA conferences were reviewed to gather a snapshot of how graduate attributes are assessed in the classroom. The purpose of the review is to begin the process of identifying gaps in GA assessment. The analysis is based on a framework by Wiggins and McTighe in Understanding by Design. A discrepancy in diagnostic, formative and summative assessment was found.

Although all accredited engineering programs in Canada are assessed by the same governing body, each institution has its own set of expectations regarding its distribution of effort, the types of research conducted by its faculty, and the way it delivers its curriculum. Individual departments and programs each have their own strengths and challenges, but collectively they share the responsibility of educating tomorrow’s engineers.This paper presents a summary of the results of a descriptive study examining three aspects of engineering education in Canada: the balance and types of research, teaching, and service that engineering educators are doing, the level to which engineering educators are engaging with engineering education research, and the look and feel of the learning environment that undergraduate engineering students experience in accredited engineering programs in Canada.

The systematic, non-experiential prescriptions of classical design methodology continue to have a strong presence in large segments of design research and education while another segment sees domain experience and consequent intuition and creativity as being key to successful design. In this paper the two approaches are outlined and the empirical research literature in human behaviour is employed to discern discrepancies and potential weaknesses. Results show that gaining experience in a domain intrinsically changes how one designs, which the classical methodology does not account for. For example, only designers with tactile and visual domain experience can abstract functions per the dictates of the classical (non-experiential) methodology, which means that they cannot have used the methodology to learn basic design in the first place – or did so only with great difficulty. This and other conflicts pose problems for the education of engineering design students, and to fathom their extent this paper surveys engineering design textbooks offered in Canada and the U. S.; all of the books are found to embrace the classical methodology. If they are to remain involved in preparing students for entry into industry then some aspects of their contained classical methodology must be supplanted by experiential approaches to design educatio

This paper provides a systematic review ofengineering education research papers from theC2E2/CDEN/CEEA-ACEG-ACEG series of conferencesfrom 2004 to the present. The purpose of the review is totrack the evolution of engineering education across the“engineering practice” and “engineeringresearch/theory” spectrum. The analysis is based on theNational Science Foundation-funded RREE committee’sproposed four levels of rigor in inquiry about teachingand learning. The results of the review show that although there is a trend towards an increasing proportion of theory-oriented papers, practice-oriented papers still dominate

In the accreditation of an engineering program, the criterion of graduate attributes is particularly challenging due to its outcome-based nature, which involves diverse instructors to collect and analyze data on students’ skills and competencies in course activities. Also, the amount of data can be vast, causing the issues of relevance and consistency of the collected data. In this context, the purpose of this paper is to facilitate the relevant process by modeling the information dependency concerning the measurements of graduate attributes and the responsibilities of stakeholders. The modeling approach is based on the graph representation that focuses on the nodes and their relations. In the graph-based model, information contents are treated as nodes, which are classified into five types: graduate attribute (GA), attribute indicator (AI), program course (PC), learning outcome (LO), and grading component (GC). Then, the contextual interpretation of the GA assessments is specified by the relations that connect these content types. In this work, three types of content relations are defined: refine, measure and associate. Further, three types of stakeholders are identified (i.e., accreditor, administrator, and instructor), along with their relations to specify their responsibilities to the content types. To demonstrate the application of the proposed graph-based model, this paper overviews the use of the Integrated Course Design Tool (ICDT) and the course outline template in the accreditation process. Based on the graph-based model, suggestions are provided toward the development of quality function deployment and software tools.

This paper explores graduate attribute assessment across Canadian engineering programs. Research papers from the 2010-2017 CEEA conferences were reviewed to gather a snapshot of how graduate attributes are assessed in the classroom. The purpose of the review is to begin the process of identifying gaps in GA assessment. The analysis is based on a framework by Wiggins and McTighe in Understanding by Design. A discrepancy in diagnostic, formative and summative assessment was found.

This chapter describes a distributed intelligent sensing and control systems (DISCS) approach that meets the primary needs of modern manufacturing systems. It focuses on design strategies for reconfiguration that are supported by appropriate system analysis and safety management techniques. In DISCS, sensing and control devices are distributed spatially over the infrastructure sites, and/or decision-making within the applications is distributed rather than centralized. The chapter provides an overview of the work on distributed sensing and control systems with an emphasis on system reconfiguration and middleware support. Middleware of distributed sensing and control systems refers to software and tools that can help hide the complexity and heterogeneity of the lower level hardware systems, and ease information processing and control at distributed application level. The deployment of wireless sensor networks in industry will occur incrementally, and middleware will be crucial to form general wireless sensor devices into real industrial solutions for distributed application systems.

Advances in cyber-physical systems and the introduction of Industry 4.0 have opened the door for interconnectivity in the industrial automation paradigm. One of the emerging technologies proven to be useful in factory automation is wireless sensor networks. In dynamic situations, wireless sensor networks need to be able to self-reconfigure while maintaining data integrity and efficiency. One solution popular with researchers is the use of multi-agent systems to manage wireless sensor networks. Typically, software agents are located on a server or cloud environment. Recent advances in microcomputers have made it feasible to embed these agents on the devices they control. This requires new reconfiguration and network management protocols. In this paper, an embedded agent architecture for wireless sensor network is proposed and an application specific example is given for an oil and gas refinery. An experiment is also conducted to investigate the effect of cluster sizes and signal frequency on the ratio of lost signals in a wireless sensor network cluster.