Linking symbiotic simulation to enterprise systems: Framework and applications

Symbiotic simulation is a paradigm that emphasizes a close association between a simulation system and a physical system, which is usually beneficial to at least one of them and not necessarily detrimental to the others. Aimed at extending previous work in symbiotic simulation, this paper proposes a framework of symbiotic simulation that can be used to improve the performance of a production system controlled by an enterprise system. A tube manufacturing shop floor has been selected as an example to demonstrate how the framework of symbiotic simulation can be implemented in a commercial off-the-shelf simulation tool. Experimentation has been carried out to evaluate the extent to which the symbiotic simulation can deal with uncertainties and disturbances in manufacturing systems. Early trials of the framework have indicated that it is capable of extending the existing applications of symbiotic simulation beyond engineering domains, especially manufacturing and shop floor control systems.