Time-complemented event-driven reconfigurable systems

The complexity of modern industrial automation systems means that designing with change in mind is a necessity. Event-driven and time-driven programming paradigms each have their own benefits for the development of distributed systems control. However, flexibility and reconfiguration will always be required as new technologies are introduced and increased distribution results in greater chances for point failures. Dynamic runtime based reconfiguration is desired to reduce any experienced downtime. Implementation of reconfiguration is problematic, particularly as the system grows in size. System behavior arises from complex interactions between distributed modules, making their reconfiguration inherently difficult. This paper proposes the unification of time-driven and event-driven control paradigms for the purpose of unification. A formal model discussing the suitability of this architecture for reconfiguration purposes is introduced. Each reconfiguration mechanism for the architecture and design patterns is then implemented in the IEC 61499 function block standard.