The integration challenge: from knowledge to technology.

Elements, systems and systems of systems, the correct approach to integration, as an enabling

factor.

Constant technological upgrading, dematerialization, process optimization and digitization,

competitiveness in domestic and international markets, and constantly changing regulations

are just some of the many challenges that any modern company faces.

With reference to the first mentioned challenge, namely the need for constant technological

updating, it comes as no surprise how much complexity this single aspect is able to hide.

Intuitively one would be inclined to think that this could be easily addressed with targeted

actions. For example, with an efficient resource training plan, with an approach and corporate

culture geared toward welcoming the new or with investments geared toward the study of new

technologies, or even with proper turnover that includes staff induction and training plans and

generational exchange. Last but not least, to participation by technical staff in working groups

with an international scope, enabling them to broaden the participants' visual horizons.

Certainly these aspects mentioned and these virtuous approaches, if consistently applied, are

capable of determining the success of a modern company that sets as its goal its sustainable

growth and optimization of its competitiveness in its target markets.

It goes without saying that then, in order to make these investments bear the hoped-for fruits,

it is necessary to assess what can be introduced, then used, in the real context of the company.

And it is precisely this, creating expectations and bringing with it additional complexity, that is

the most difficult to imagine and manage on a day-to-day basis.

The term “integration” (of systems), in engineering circles, is often used in the most obvious

sense, that of “making two or more parts work together.” Nowadays, almost no company

working in the field of mechatronics now deals with the end-to-end production of a product,

regardless of complexity. It is now common practice, in parallel with in-house development, to

purchase elements that will make up the product or system of interest (lit. SOI), either

developed ad hoc or derived in turn from off-the-shelf products from some supplier.

Thus, when we consider the importance of constant technological upgrading and the

consequent assessment of what can be used (and reused) for the efficient development of a

product or system, it is precisely integration that becomes the confrontational terrain where

the company with broader prospective view of its existing assets, its culture and the correct

vision, succeeds in outperforming potential competitors more easily.

From what was postulated earlier, it can certainly be said that companies that can demonstrate

more inclusive approaches toward innovation and new technologies, being in fact in the area

of adoption identified as Innovators or bordering on the area of Early Adopters in the

representation of the Rogers Curve, are in fact the ones that will be able to have higher growth

rates than their competitors1.

Certainly, innovation is at its strongest when creation focuses on entirely new products or

systems (greenfield approach), where freedom of action appears clearer; thus, it may be

somewhat easier to solve problems encountered during the development phase with methods,

processes, and products untethered from as-is (brownfield) concepts2.

As we know very well, reality is nuanced: in an entirely new project, it is essential to consider

the operational context, as well as the background, as well as the approaches and solutions

adopted in the past, so the issue of integration comes back into focus once again.

Complexity increases exponentially when we consider that suppliers and customers might use

different technologies, have different priorities, or be at different stages of their technology

upgrade cycle.

Success depends not only on the excellence of one's product, but on the ability to create a

flexible and robust architecture that facilitates interaction between sometimes distant

technological worlds, turning potential incompatibilities into opportunities for seamless

integration.

The world we are living in and moving toward is increasingly interconnected. Each product of

the human intellect (system) becomes a single point connected with others and sometimes

evolving toward the concept of Systems of Systems, generating further evolutionary behaviors,

expected or not expected, that should always be taken into account.

The importance of Systems of Systems (SoS) simulation with integration of virtual and physical objects (systems) 

In the contemporary era, which is precisely characterized by increasing technological and organizational interconnectedness, the concept of “Systems of Systems” (SoS) has gained fundamental importance. Indeed, a System of Systems represents a collection of independent systems that, while maintaining their own operational autonomy, collaborate to achieve goals that no system could achieve individually. These complex architectures go beyond the more traditional approach that distinguishes Systems Engineering, introducing new challenges and opportunities that require innovative approaches.

During the engineering phase of a new product or system, the intrinsic (toward the elements that constitute the system itself, thus within itself) and extrinsic (toward humans and thesurrounding environment) behavioral aspects should always be analyzed with special care, since they will in fact be the primary factors that will determine its integrability.

Systems Engineering, thanks to Model Based Systems Engineering (MBSE3) is able to methodologically address most of these aspects, although as is now known, in these highly complex areas, the methodology must be supported by appropriate tools.

In fact, as mentioned earlier, as the organizational complexities dictated by the need for

integrations increase, it is obviously essential to follow established practices, but also to

introduce innovative elements that allow the greatest possible flexibility.

Certainly, in a complex integration process, whether greenfield development, brownfield

development or even reverse engineering of an existing complex system, the ability to be able

to simulate the potential behavioral evolutions of elements and systems can become a plus

that should not be underestimated.

In fact, behavioral simulation in system development and even more so for Systems of

Systems, is a desirable and sometimes even fundamental component of understanding,

designing and managing these complex technological ecosystems.

Pushing even further toward an optimal development condition, the integration of virtual

elements (synthetic and simulated) with physical components within these simulations offers

significant advantages that make this methodology particularly valuable in today's landscape.

Benefits of hybrid physical-virtual behavioral simulation in SoS

Behavioral simulation of Systems of Systems (SoS) that integrates virtual objects with physical, real-world elements represents a revolutionary approach that is transforming the way we design, test, and implement complex systems. This hybrid approach, often called “digital twin” or “cyber-physical simulation,” offers significant advantages for systems integration. 

First, reducing the cost of experimentation; in fact, testing architectural or functional changes in real-world complex systems would involve prohibitive costs and operational risks. Hybrid simulation allows experiments to be performed on virtual components while maintaining interaction with essential physical elements.

It allows speeding up the development process: iteration on physical systems takes a long time, while hybrid simulations allow faster development cycles through manipulation of virtual elements, while still maintaining the validity of the results through interaction with real components.

Finally, it allows otherwise impossible scenarios to be explored. Simulation makes it possible to test extreme conditions or emergency situations that would be dangerous or impossible to replicate in the physical world, yet maintain some realistic constraints through the inclusion of physical components. In fact, the integration of virtual components with physical systems allows testing of complex configurations and scenarios without having to physically implement the entire system.

Not least, hybrid simulation allows testing interoperability between existing systems and new components prior to their physical implementation. This is especially important in SoSs where integration of independently developed systems is a critical challenge, thus in brownfield situations, or as mentioned, in cases of reverse engineering (or complete reengineering) of existing systems.

Finally, SoS are characterized by emergent behaviors that can be difficult to predict. Hybrid simulations allow these behaviors to be observed and analyzed in a controlled environment, facilitating the identification of potential problems or opportunities.

Physical-virtual integration methodologies in SoSs

Integration between virtual and physical objects in SoS simulations can occur through several

methodologies:

• Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL): This technique integrates real hardware components

  within a virtual simulation. The physical components receive inputs from the simulation

  and return outputs that influence the behavior of the virtual system. It is particularly

  important in areas such as automotive or aerospace, where the behavior of physical

  controllers is crucial

• Functional Digital Twins: Accurate virtual representations of physical systems operating

  in parallel with their real-world equivalents, exchanging data in real time. This approach

  is critical for SoS because it allows us to observe how changes in one virtual system can

  affect the entire ecosystem, while maintaining an anchor to physical reality.

• Agent-based simulation with real sensors: In this approach, simulated software agents

  interact with data from distributed physical sensors, creating a mixed representation

  that combines virtual behaviors with real environmental constraints.

Simulation of Systems of Systems that integrates virtual and physical elements represents not

only a design and testing tool, but an essential paradigm for understanding, managing, and

optimizing systems whose complexity exceeds traditional analysis capabilities.

This methodology balances the need for safe and cost-effective experimentation with the need

for realistic and applicable results, thus representing a fundamental pillar in the evolution of

future complex socio-technological systems.

Ingescape Circle by Ingenuity I/O 

Precisely as part of its constant search for technological solutions that bring tangible

innovation, ONE-SYS has formed an important partnership with Ingenuity I/O, a French

company with decades of experience in the field of integration, Systems of Systems and

producer of the Ingescape Circle tool.

Ingescape Circle is a tool created with the goal of supporting the development and integration

of system elements, systems, and systems of systems in complex domains by applying with

balance and wisdom, innovation, and best practices dictated by the literature in Systems

Engineering.  

Ingescape Circle enables integration between physical objects and simulated objects, so as to

simulate the behaviors of systems by understanding their behaviors, anticipate verification and

validation activities, and have complete physical and logical traceability of each constituent

element of a system or system of systems.

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To get more information about ONE-SYS, what we are about, our focus at Systems Engineering

and Ingescape Cicle

Contact us