A Method to Manage the Transition from the
Principle Solution towards the Controller
Design of Advanced Mechatronic Systems
zur Erlangung des akademischen Grades eines
DOKTORS DER INGENIEURWISSENSCHAFTEN (Dr.-Ing.)
der Fakultät für Maschinenbau
der Universität Paderborn
genehmigte
DISSERTATION
von
M.Sc. Cheng Yee Low
aus Pahang, Malaysia
Tag des Kolloquiums: 23. März 2009
Referent: Prof. Dr. –Ing. Jürgen Gausemeier
Korreferent: Prof. Dr. –Ing. habil. Ansgar Trächtler
Foreword
The Heinz Nixdorf Institute is an interdisciplinary research institute in the field
of information technology. We develop new technologies, innovative
applications as well as methods for the design of technical systems of
tomorrow. Special emphasis lies on mechatronics and especially the
corresponding design methodology.
The design of mechatronic systems is still a challenge. Established design
methodologies, e.g. of conventional mechanical engineering, are no longer
adequate – especially in the early design phase “conceptual design”, which
results in the so-called “principle solution”. The principle solution determines
the basic structure and the operation mode of the system in a domain-spanning
way. Such a principle solution forms the basis for the subsequent
concretization in the various domains of mechatronics, i.e. mechanics,
electric/electronics, control engineering and software engineering. To ensure a
consistent development process, domain-specific concretization tasks need to
be extracted systematically from the principle solution.
Against this background, Mr. Low has developed a novel method to manage
the transition from the principle solution towards the concretization in the
domain of control engineering. The basis is a specification technique for the
description of the principle solution, developed at my research group. Mr. Low
defined, how to specify the key control concepts within the principle solution
and how to extract all information, relevant for the subsequent domain-specific
controller design. He evolved his method in the context of the Collaborative
Research Center 614 and successfully validated it by means of a self-
optimizing motor drive and an autonomous railway vehicle.
The work of Mr. Low is a significant contribution to the advancement of
design methodology for mechatronic systems. Indeed he has made an
important step towards realizing our vision of a new school for the design of
technical systems of tomorrow.
Paderborn, March 2010 Prof. Dr.-Ing. J. Gausemeier
Acknowledgements
This work “A Method to Manage the Transition from the Principle Solution
towards the Controller Design of Advanced Mechatronic Systems” is the out-
come of three years research at the Heinz Nixdorf Institute, University of Pad-
erborn.
First and foremost, I am eternally grateful to Prof. Dr.-Ing. Jürgen Gausemeier
for giving me the chance to conduct my doctoral research in his working group.
I really appreciate his strategic advices and patient supervision in the previous
years.
I am very grateful for the co-advisorship of Prof. Dr.-Ing. Ansgar Trächtler. I
am also grateful to Prof. Dr.-Ing. Detmar Zimmer as the chairman of the board
of examiners and to Prof. Dr.-Ing. Rainer Koch as the assessor of the board of
examiners.
I thank the International Graduate School of Dynamic Intelligent Systems at
the University of Paderborn for its generous fellowship and many other sup-
ports.
Regarding my work, I am particularly indebted to my current and former team
leaders Dipl.-Wirt.-Ing. Sascha Kahl and Dr.-Ing Ursula Frank for their dedi-
cated guidance and constructive criticism. Besides that, I am truly grateful to
Dipl.-Ing. Bernd Schulz and Dipl.-Ing. Christian Henke for their valuable in-
puts with respect to the application examples in this work.
I would like to thank all current and former colleagues, especially the team
Design Methodolgy for Mechatronic Systems, for their acceptance and toler-
ance in all my endeavors in the team. I thank Dipl.-Wirt.-Ing. Ingo Kaiser,
Dipl.-Ing. Roman Dumitrescu, Dipl.-Wirt.-Ing. Sebastian Deyter, Dipl.-Wirt.-
Ing. Jörg Donoth, Dipl.-Math. Herbert Podlogar, M.Sc. Lydia Lackmann,
Dipl.-Info. Sebastian Pook, and Dipl.-Wirt.-Ing. Andreas Warkentin.
I also have to thank Sabine Illigen and Alexandra Dutschke as well as the team
of Dipl.-Ing. Karsten Mette for their kind assistance all the time.
I must acknowledge Dr.-Ing. Hua Chang who assisted me during the early pe-
riod of my time in the working group. I also thank M.Sc. Madhura Purnaprajna
for her proof reading of this work. I am indeed grateful to all friends for their
encouragement and motivation.
Last but not least, I thank my family and relatives, especially my parents, for
their unconditional care from the other side of the globe.
Paderborn, October 2008 Cheng Yee Low
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