In: Lecture Notes in Computer Science : Petri Nets and Other Models of Concurrency - ICATPN 2006, Volume 4024, 2006, pages 421-430. 2006. URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/1176758925.
Abstract: Petri Nets have proven useful as a language for expressing distributed control logic. This paper presents a tool that integrates the formalism with virtual reality technology in order to model functioning mechatronic systems in 3D. A virtual environment generates sensor telemetry and reflects the state of actuators by computing the geometric and physical properties of a system and the surrounding environment. Petri Nets, combined with the Python programming language, model control systems in terms of virtual sensors and actuators. This methodology simulates the interactions between the structure and logic of mechatronic systems, allowing for an early verification of designs.