Towards Process-Oriented Programming Distributed Control Systems

This paper examines the potential of programming distributed control systems through the process-oriented paradigm. Two key characteristics exhibited by the proposed approach are topologically independent control algorithm specification and the ability to utilize the existing methods of formal verification while retaining the semantics of a centralized program. The advantages of a topologically independent specification over established approaches are discussed, delineating the salient features of tasks addressed in industrial automation. The paper illustrates the suitability of the process-oriented approach for solving challenges in the automation of cyber-physical systems. Moreover, this paper presents a thorough plan for implementing a distributed control system by relying on process-oriented specifications. A formal algorithm is introduced to partition a process-oriented program graph, wherein processes and variables serve as nodes, into distinct clusters. The effectiveness of this algorithm is demonstrated through its application to a model bottle-filling task.