Automatic generation of run-time monitoring capabilities to petri nets based controllers with graphical user interfaces

Abstract

The growing processing power available in FPGAs and other embedded platforms, associated with the ability to generate high resolution images and interface with pointing devices, opened the possibility to create devices with sophisticated user interfaces. This paper presents an innovative tool to automatically generate debug, diagnostic and monitoring graphical interfaces to be integrated in embedded systems designed using Petri net based controllers. Devices powered with the new debug and diagnostic interfaces benefit from lower maintenance costs and simplified failure diagnostic capabilities, leading to longer product life cycles with the corresponding environmental and sustainability gains. To demonstrate the validity of the tools proposed, the paper presents an application example for a Car Parking controller, including results on a working prototype. © 2011 IFIP International Federation for Information Processing.