An open platform for reconfigurable control

TLDR

Advances in software technology, component‑based architectures, distributed object computing, dynamic reconfiguration, and networked embedded devices are enabling flexible, plug‑and‑play, self‑organizing control systems. The article introduces the Open Control Platform (OCP), a software infrastructure designed to enable real‑time dynamic reconfiguration, customization, and interoperability of complex control systems in rapidly changing and heterogeneous environments. The authors outline the limitations of traditional control system implementation, specify desired features for a modern infrastructure, and present the OCP architecture along with a first‑generation prototype developed for autonomous aerial vehicle control. A first‑generation prototype of the OCP, applied to autonomous aerial vehicle control, demonstrates the feasibility of the proposed infrastructure.

Abstract

Advances in software technology have the potential to revolutionize control system design. Component-based architectures encourage flexible "plug-and-play" extensibility and evolution of systems. Distributed object computing allows interoperation. Advances are being made to enable dynamic reconfiguration and evolution of systems while they are still running. Technologies are being developed to allow networked, embedded devices to connect to each other and self-organize. This article describes a software infrastructure that gives an open control platform (OCP) for complex systems that coordinates distributed interaction among diverse components and supports dynamic reconfiguration and customization of the components in real time. Its primary goals are to accommodate rapidly changing application requirements, incorporate new technology (such as hardware platforms or sensors), interoperate in heterogeneous environments, and maintain viability in unpredictable and changing environments. The next section describes the current practice in control system implementation and discusses features of a complex control system architecture. It is followed by a description of the desired features a software infrastructure must have to promote new advances in control system design. We then describe an open-control software infrastructure to support these desired features, followed by a brief overview of a first-generation prototype of this infrastructure that has been developed for an autonomous aerial vehicle control.