Application of New Automation Software Design and Integration Technologies in Teaching
Alho, Pekka (2009)
Alho, Pekka
2009
Automaatio-, kone- ja materiaalitekniikan tiedekunta
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Hyväksymispäivämäärä
2009-10-07
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tty-200910136896
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tty-200910136896
Tiivistelmä
Automation software is produced by Finnish companies from various sectors of industry, including processing, electronics and forest machinery industries. This thesis is part of the Research and development environment for distributed automation systems (HAJA, or Hajautettujen automaatiojärjestelmien tutkimus- ja kehitysympäristö in Finnish) research project, the goal of which is to produce a research and development environment for distributed automation systems in order to test new software technologies. The new technologies are important for ensuring the competitiveness of the companies in the future.
The work done in this thesis is part of a university prototype for this environment which aims to raise the learning capabilities of students up to the best international standards in the area of automation software engineering, in addition to studying new technologies. In order to meet these goals this thesis presents three cutting edge automation software design and integration technologies: UML Automation Profile, OSGi Framework and .NET Micro Framework. Connecting themes for these technologies are that they raise the level of abstraction in software development and support reusability.
The Automation Profile is an UML extension that includes modelling concepts and three new diagram types that can be used to model software for automation systems. OSGi adds a dynamic modularity layer to Java platform and supports component based software engineering. Communication between components in OSGi is possible to implement with service-oriented architecture. .NET Micro Framework enables software development for resource constrained and embedded devices with a modern object-oriented language.
The university prototype, i.e. material produced for courses ACI-32020 and ACI-32040, includes weekly exercises, assignments and written educational material. In order to improve the pedagogic quality of the material, this work also includes research on basic learning theories and their applications. Important learning aspects for the assignment development included induced realisation or insight, learner-centric approach, repetition, deep processing and hands-on experience. The successfulness of the material is hard to analyze before it has been put to use on the courses but the quality of learning process should generally be better if a pedagogic approach and educational psychological principles are applied already in the design phase. Nevertheless, the material should not be seen as a finished product but rather as a target for development, based on the feedback from students and the experiences of course staff. /Kir09
The work done in this thesis is part of a university prototype for this environment which aims to raise the learning capabilities of students up to the best international standards in the area of automation software engineering, in addition to studying new technologies. In order to meet these goals this thesis presents three cutting edge automation software design and integration technologies: UML Automation Profile, OSGi Framework and .NET Micro Framework. Connecting themes for these technologies are that they raise the level of abstraction in software development and support reusability.
The Automation Profile is an UML extension that includes modelling concepts and three new diagram types that can be used to model software for automation systems. OSGi adds a dynamic modularity layer to Java platform and supports component based software engineering. Communication between components in OSGi is possible to implement with service-oriented architecture. .NET Micro Framework enables software development for resource constrained and embedded devices with a modern object-oriented language.
The university prototype, i.e. material produced for courses ACI-32020 and ACI-32040, includes weekly exercises, assignments and written educational material. In order to improve the pedagogic quality of the material, this work also includes research on basic learning theories and their applications. Important learning aspects for the assignment development included induced realisation or insight, learner-centric approach, repetition, deep processing and hands-on experience. The successfulness of the material is hard to analyze before it has been put to use on the courses but the quality of learning process should generally be better if a pedagogic approach and educational psychological principles are applied already in the design phase. Nevertheless, the material should not be seen as a finished product but rather as a target for development, based on the feedback from students and the experiences of course staff. /Kir09