arXiv subjects

Thilo Braun

Publications and source records attributed to Thilo Braun.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2025

Spec2Control: Automating PLC/DCS Control-Logic Engineering from Natural Language Requirements with LLMs - A Multi-Plant Evaluation

Distributed control systems (DCS) manage the automation for many industrial production processes (e.g., power plants, chemical refineries, steel mills). Programming the software for such systems remains a largely manual and tedious process, incurring costs of millions of dollars for extensive facilities. Large language models (LLMs) have been found helpful in generating DCS control logic, resulting in commercial copilot tools. Today, these tools are focused on textual notations, they provide limited automation, and have not been tested on large datasets with realistic test cases. We introduce Spec2Control, a highly automated LLM workflow to generate graphical control logic directly from natural language user requirements. Experiments using an open dataset with 10 control narratives and 65 complex test cases demonstrate that Spec2Control can successfully identify control strategies, can generate 98.6% of correct control strategy connections autonomously, and can save between 94-96% of human labor. Spec2Control is being integrated into commercial ABB engineering tools, but is also available as an open-source variant for independent validation.

cs.SE↗

arXiv2024

The Machine Vision Iceberg Explained: Advancing Dynamic Testing by Considering Holistic Environmental Relations

Machine Vision (MV) is essential for solving driving automation. This paper examines potential shortcomings in current MV testing strategies for highly automated driving (HAD) systems. We argue for a more comprehensive understanding of the performance factors that must be considered during the MV evaluation process, noting that neglecting these factors can lead to significant risks. This is not only relevant to MV component testing, but also to integration testing. To illustrate this point, we draw an analogy to a ship navigating towards an iceberg to show potential hidden challenges in current MV testing strategies. The main contribution is a novel framework for black-box testing which observes environmental relations. This means it is designed to enhance MV assessments by considering the attributes and surroundings of relevant individual objects. The framework provides the identification of seven general concerns about the object recognition of MV, which are not addressed adequately in established test processes. To detect these deficits based on their performance factors, we propose the use of a taxonomy called "granularity orders" along with a graphical representation. This allows an identification of MV uncertainties across a range of driving scenarios. This approach aims to advance the precision, efficiency, and completeness of testing procedures for MV.

cs.RO↗

arXiv2023

1001 Ways of Scenario Generation for Testing of Self-driving Cars: A Survey

Scenario generation is one of the essential steps in scenario-based testing and, therefore, a significant part of the verification and validation of driver assistance functions and autonomous driving systems. However, the term scenario generation is used for many different methods, e.g., extraction of scenarios from naturalistic driving data or variation of scenario parameters. This survey aims to give a systematic overview of different approaches, establish different categories of scenario acquisition and generation, and show that each group of methods has typical input and output types. It shows that although the term is often used throughout literature, the evaluated methods use different inputs and the resulting scenarios differ in abstraction level and from a systematical point of view. Additionally, recent research and literature examples are given to underline this categorization.

cs.RO↗

arXiv2021

SceML - A Graphical Modeling Framework for Scenario-based Testing of Autonomous Vehicles

Ensuring the functional correctness and safety of autonomous vehicles is a major challenge for the automotive industry. However, exhaustive physical test drives are not feasible, as billions of driven kilometers would be required to obtain reliable results. Scenariobased testing is an approach to tackle this problem and reduce necessary test drives by replacing driven kilometers with simulations of relevant or interesting scenarios. These scenarios can be generated or extracted from recorded data with machine learning algorithms or created by experts. In this paper, we propose a novel graphical scenario modeling language. The graphical framework allows experts to create new scenarios or review ones designed by other experts or generated by machine learning algorithms. The scenario description is modeled as a graph and based on behavior trees. It supports different abstraction levels of scenario description during software and test development. Additionally, the graphbased structure provides modularity and reusable sub-scenarios, an important use case in scenario modeling. A graphical visualization of the scenario enhances comprehensibility for different users. The presented approach eases the scenario creation process and increases the usage of scenarios within development and testing processes.

cs.SE↗