Using UML in control and automation: a model driven approach

The function block (FB) has been defined by the International Electro-technical Commission as the basic construct for the development of reusable, interoperable, distributed control applications. However, the FB does not exploits recent advances in software engineering. The Unified Modeling Language (UML) is the new industry standard for modeling software-intensive systems. UML brings in the development process the best software engineering practices. In this paper, we examine the use of UML in control and automation and describe the use of a hybrid approach in the development process of distributed control systems. The proposed approach integrates UML with the already well accepted by control engineers FB construct, to cover the analysis and design phases of the development process. A model driven approach is adopted to move from analysis through design, to implementation. The applicability of the UML profile for schedulability, performance and time, to the proposed development process, is also examined