Internship | Building an execution engine to bring a manufacturing system to live

Internship | Building an execution engine to bring a manufacturing system to life

About this position

The fischertechnik Training Factory is a prototype manufacturing system to demonstrate model-based systems engineering for Industry 4.0 applications. The system consists of a vacuum gripper robot, a high-bay warehouse, a multi-processing station with oven, and a sorting line with color detection. Next to the physical platform, there is a digital simulation model of the system to visualize scenarios like processing a batch of products. As a user, you can interact with both the physical platform and the digital simulation model via a shared hardware abstraction layer.

What will be your role?

In this assignment we want to build an activity execution engine that can execute system scenarios that are modeled in LSAT on the digital or physical fischertechnik Training Factory. LSAT (Logistics Specification and Analysis Tool), is a performance workbench developed by TNO-ESI for the rapid design-space exploration of supervisory controllers that orchestrate the behavior of flexible manufacturing systems.

LSAT provides an integrated development environment for the lightweight modeling of the system resources, the system behavior, and the timing characteristics. The tool provides various visualizations to explore the controlled system behavior and analysis and optimization techniques to improve the overall system performance.

What we expect from you

In this assignment you will model the fischertechnik Training Factory using LSAT and build an activity execution engine to execute the models both on the physical platform as well as on the digital simulation model.

The following steps are proposed:

1. Familiarize yourself with the context, the fischertechnik Training Factory, and LSAT.
2. Model the fischertechnik Training Factory and various product handling scenarios in LSAT, using available LSAT models as starting point.
3. Analyze earlier work on building an activity execution engine, analyze the available activity execution engine code for the fischertechnik Training Factory, and identify gaps and opportunities.
4. Implement the activity execution engine, document the code, and validate the implementation using both the digital and physical platform.
5. Demo the LSAT model and the execution of the model on the platform.
6. Report on your findings in the form of a report and presentation.

As the assignment includes both modeling and programming, affinity with both is highly recommended.

What you'll get in return

You want an internship opportunity on the precursor of your career; an internship gives you an opportunity to take a good look at your prospective future employer. TNO goes a step further. It’s not just looking that interests us; you and your knowledge are essential to our innovation. That’s why we attach a great deal of value to your personal and professional development. You will, of course, be properly supervised during your work placement and be given the scope for you to get the best out of yourself. Furthermore, we provide:

• A highly professional, innovative internship environment, within a team of top experts.
• A suitable internship allowance (615 euro for wo-, hbo- and mbo-students, for a full-time internship).
• Possibility of eight hours of free leave per internship month (for a full-time internship).
• A free membership of Jong TNO, where you can meet other TNO professionals and join several activities, such as sports activities, (work-related) courses or the yearly ski-trip.
• Use of a laptop.
• An allowance for travel expenses in case you don’t receive an OV-card.

TNO as an employer

At TNO, we innovate for a healthier, safer and more sustainable life. And for a strong economy. Since 1932, we have been making knowledge and technology available for the common good. We find each other in wonder and ingenuity. We are driven to push boundaries. There is all the space and support for your talent and ambition. You work with people who will challenge you: who inspire you and want to learn from you. Our state-of-the-art facilities are there to realize your vision. What you do at TNO matters: impact makes the difference. Because with every innovation you contribute to tomorrow’s world.

At TNO we encourage an inclusive work environment, where you can be yourself. Whatever your story and whatever unique qualities you bring to the table. It is by combining our unique strengths and perspectives that we are able to develop innovations that make a real difference in society.