When multiple companies in different industries collaborate to provide ICT services, the systems used by each company differ and the format in which information is expressed differs from system to system. Therefore, information cannot be distributed without manual information conversion. To promote provision of services through the cooperation of multiple companies, the distribution of information among them needs to be automated. In this case, information content needs to be automatically identified to determine the distribution destination. In this paper, we propose a method that can automatically identify information by using a combination of distributed representations and a synonym conversion. The evaluation results show that the method can identify information with an existing type with a 100% accuracy, but needs to be improved regarding identification of whether information is a new type.

In recent years, microservices architectures have become widespread, where services are divided into smaller pieces, communicate with each other, and operate in chains. Distributed tracing, which tracks the processing of user requests, is used to analyze and visualize microservices. In this paper, the trace data obtained from the distributed tracing is divided based on the parent-child relationship and converted into an event log. In addition, process discovery is performed on each of the split event logs to estimate the relationships between microservice processes. Then, generate a normal Petri net model that can reproduce each event log. Finally, the test trace data is used to verify the suitability of the Petri net model. We constructed a service model for two sample microservices with different scales and distributed tracing implementations and demonstrated the proposed method's feasibility through conformance checking using test trace data.

Microservice architectures, in which services are divided into small pieces, communicate with each other, and operate in a chain, have been spreading. Distributed tracing, which tracks the processing of user requests, has been used to analyze microservices. To extract the service structure, we previously proposed a method of estimating the dependency between services and expressing it as a Petri net model. In this paper, we propose an extension of this method for the Petri net model to handle the non-deterministic processes of services. We evaluated the applicability of modeling to services with nondeterministic behaviors and confirmed that various nondeterministic processes can be modeled with our method.

The increasing complexity of services of telecommunications carriers has increased the burden of operators monitoring these services and the load on the system monitoring the target devices. Operators need to choose appropriate monitoring settings for each component of the services, considering the properties of each component. In addition, whenever a component is added or changed, its monitoring settings need to be reconfigured. Furthermore, if operators configure incorrect monitoring settings, service anomalies may not be detected, or quality of service may be damaged. Therefore, the monitoring system needs to automatically input and change the monitoring settings in accordance with the service. In this paper, we propose a method to dynamically adjust the monitoring interval for a monitoring system. Finally, evaluation results show the proposed method can reduce the monitoring overhead more effectively than the previous method and can also ensure the accuracy of monitoring when a service abnormality occurs.

Scheduling of multicluster tools has received much attention due to its complexity of interaction among cluster tools. A cluster tool comprises several modules such as processing modules, a transfer module with a single or dual-armed handling robot, and loadlock modules. A multicluster tool comprises two, three, or more cluster tools that are interconnected with each other. In this paper, we propose a deadlock prevention policy for noncyclic scheduling of dual-armed multicluster tools. The proposed deadlock prevention policy is effective for generating an efficient schedule for two or three-connected multicluster tools with a single or a dual-path flow. This is proven by analyzing the strict minimal siphon of the Petri net model. The performance of the proposed method is compared with that of a maximal permissible deadlock prevention policy. The results demonstrate that the proposed method is computationally efficient for larger state spaces and more suitable than conventional deadlock prevention policies for generating effective schedules for noncyclic scheduling of multicluster tools. Note to Practitioners-Scheduling of multicluster tools has recently attracted attention in the growing semiconductor manufacturing industry. Most conventional studies on multicluster tools focus on cyclic scheduling to minimize cycle time with swap strategy. The challenge addressed by this paper is to derive a deadlock-free schedule for multicluster tools with noncyclic operations. We propose a simple deadlock prevention policy that can be applied to large-scale timed Petri net (PN) model of general multicluster tools without enumeration of siphon computations or solution of mixed integer programming. A timed PN model is developed for noncyclic operations of dual-armed multicluster tools with a dual ath. The computational results show that the approximately 10% of the total throughput of the proposed method is better than those of the conventional methods. It enables more efficient operations for noncyclic scheduling under transient periods including cleaning operations.

We propose a coordinated motion control algorithm of manipulators by which each manipulator is controlled by its own controller in a decentralized way. In this paper, we consider both the manipulation of a single object and assembly of two parts by two arms in coordination. When two arms are manipulating a single object, a follower estimates the desired motion of a leader based on the information from its own force sensor and executes the task in coordination with the leader. An assembly task is described by a motion of a part manipulated by the leader and the relative motion between two parts given to the follower. The relative motion is observed and controlled by a vision sensor attached to the follower and the assembly task is executed independently of the motion of the leader. Experimental results illustrate the proposed system.

Proposes a control algorithm of dual manipulators handling a flexible sheet metal. How to bend a sheet metal and how to manipulate the deformed sheet are discussed in this paper. First the authors derive the relation between the static deformation of the sheet metal and the bending moments exerted on the sheet using Lagrange's equation based on a finite element model of the sheet. The authors then design a control algorithm by which the motion of the manipulated sheet is controlled using the resultant force applied to the sheet and the deformation of the sheet is controlled using the internal force applied to the sheet. Since the rigidity of the deformed sheet is not uniform, that is, the stiffness of the deformed sheet may depend on the direction along which the external force is applied, the authors cannot use the compliance of the flexible sheet for tasks having interactions between the sheet and its environment. The proposed control algorithm is designed so that the apparent impedance of the manipulated sheet metal is specified. The experimental results using industrial robots illustrate the validity of the proposed control system.

We propose a coordinated motion control algorithm of manipulators, by which each manipulator is controlled by its own controller in a decentralized way. We select a manipulator as a leader and a task is described by the motion of the leader and the motions of the other manipulators relative to the motion of the leader. The latter manipulators are referred to the followers. First we consider the problem of manipulation of a single object by multiple manipulators. In this task, the motion of the object is given to the leader. To execute the task in a decentralized way, we propose an algorithm for each follower to estimate the notion of the leader based on the information from its own force sensor. Using the algorithm, the manipulation of a single object is executed in a decentralized way. We consider the parts-mating problem, next, by two manipulators in coordination. An assembly task is described by the motion of a part manipulated by the leader and the relative motion between two parts given to the follower. The relative motion is observed and controlled by a vision sensor attached to the follower and the assembly task is executed independently of the motion of the leader. Experimental results using two industrial robots will illustrate the validity of the proposed control system.

This paper proposes a unified coordinated motion control algorithm of manipulators, which is applicable to both manipulation of an object and a parts-mating task. First, the authors consider the manipulation of an object by impedance controlled manipulators; the impedance of each arm is designed so that the apparent impedance of the manipulated object is specified. Then the authors consider the parts-mating problem using the same control algorithm proposed for the manipulation of a single object. The authors propose a method to design the impedance of each arm so that the relative motion of two manipulators has the dynamics of the remote center compliance. The experimental results using two industrial robots illustrate the validity of the proposed control system.>

A single-master, multiple-slave manipulator system and its task-oriented control using VIM (virtual internal model) are proposed. By using this system, the operator no longer has to consider how to control the slave arms in coordination, so the operator can concentrate on his/her task during the operation. An experimental single-master, multislave manipulator system with two slave arms, each of which has six degrees of freedom, is described, and the concept of the system is illustrated. The experimental system does not have a bilateral function, and a master arm can specify the task-oriented variable up to six degrees of freedom. The use of bilateral feedback as well as task-oriented functions will enable the system to deal with more complex tasks.>