Architectural stress is the inability of a system design to respond to
new market demands. It is an important yet often concealed issue in high
tech systems. In From scientific instrument to industrial machine, we
look at the phenomenon of architectural stress in embedded systems in
the context of a transmission electron microscope system built by FEI
Company. Traditionally, transmission electron microscopes are manually
operated scientific instruments, but they also have enormous potential
for use in industrial applications. However, this new market has quite
different characteristics. There are strong demands for cost-effective
analysis, accurate and precise measurements, and ease-of-use. These
demands can be translated into new system qualities, e.g. reliability,
predictability and high throughput, as well as new functions, e.g.
automation of electron microscopic analyses, automated focusing and
positioning functions.
From scientific instrument to industrial machine takes a pragmatic
approach to the problem of architectural stress. In particular, it
describes the outcomes of the Condor project, a joint endeavour by a
consortium of industrial and academic partners. In this collaboration an
integrated approach was essential to successfully combine various
scientific results and show the first steps towards a new direction.
System modelling and prototyping were the key techniques to develop
better understanding and innovative solutions to the problems associated
with architectural stress.
From scientific instruments to industrial machine is targeted mainly
at industrial practitioners, in particular system architects and
engineers working on high tech systems. It can therefore be read without
particular knowledge of electron microscope systems or microscopic
applications. The book forms a bridge between academic and applied
science, and high tech industrial practice. By showing the approaches
and solutions developed for the electron microscope, it is hoped that
system designers will gain some insights in how to deal with
architectural stress in similar challenges in the high tech industry.
