Complex systems, such as automated material flow systems, are usually developed on the basis of models. This means that before the systems are set up and the control is implemented, the participating departments create sub-models of the system. Depending on the task and discipline, e.g., mechanical engineering, electronics, or computer science, they have their own view of the development project and use their own modeling tools. This reduces the complexity of the development task because developers can focus on their sub-task with customized tools. 

A major challenge is to bring together the work of the various actors into a coherent overall system. As a rule, there is no direct and automatic link between the individual sub-models, although they influence each other. This leads to high costs later, e.g., in troubleshooting during commissioning. If a component is changed, all other parties concerned must consider whether further adjustments are necessary. Inconsistencies in the entire system can also cost a lot of time and money if they are discovered late due to lack of correlations. 

The paluno working group of Professor Goedicke wants to change this together with the partners of the TU Munich. In the KonMaFS project, they develop methods and models that facilitate cross-disciplinary collaboration. For this purpose, a so-called “Virtual Single Underlying Metamodel” (V-SUMM) is to be defined, which represents the relationships and limitations between the different models. Inconsistencies in material flow systems are to be detected automatically. In addition, the project partners want to identify measures that can be used to correct the detected inconsistencies. 

About KonMaFS

The project “Consistent Development of Material Flow Systems by a Model-Based Approach” (KonMAFS) is funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) for two years. In addition to paluno – The Ruhr Institute for Software Technology at the University of Duisburg-Essen, the project partners are the chairs “Conveying Technology, Material Flow, Logistics” and “Automation and Information Systems” at the Technical University of Munich. 
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