Paul Valckenaers

Antwerp Area, Belgium Belgium

Senior Researcher at UCLL

Technology / Software / Internet

A SCIENTIFIC FOUNDATION FOR SYSTEM INTEGRATION: DESIGN FOR THE UNEXPECTED In the early years of my research, so-called islands of automation resisted their integration into a fully automated factory. This prompted me to look for the mechanisms that cause system integration efforts to fail. Based on a formal and generic model for problem solving and design - applicable well beyond manufacturing - an in-depth understanding of these failure-causing mechanisms was attained. Integration does not fail because of lacking or deficient interoperability. Integration fails because the systems that are to be integrated have made mutually incompatible design choices. This in-depth understanding has...