A Domain Specific Language for Modeling Intelligent Print Systems
Master Project of Bram van Walraven

Project Description

Canon Production Printing is an international leader in digital document management and printing systems for professionals. These complex systems benefit from a modeling approach during development, integration and operational phases in many ways.

We developed a domain-specific language (DSL) with three main characteristics:

• It can be used to specify, and improve integration of, finishers with printers;
• It includes a novel approach for “configuration space exploration” to improve operability of finishers;
• It aims to foster collaboration between engineering disciplines (control software, embedded software, and mechanics).

While the new approach is promising, there is a gap to be bridged to achieve adoption in practice.

This project proposes to evaluate and extend the coverage of the new approach in Canon Production Printing’s industrial context, where several angles are of interest:

• Modeling real printers and finishers and, based on identified limitations of the DSL, extend and refine the DSL for complete coverage;
• Involving people from different disciplines in modeling using the DSL to assess fitness in a multi-disciplinary environment;
• Assess how engineers perceive the new technology to get insight in social/technical hurdles for adoption.

The PhD student that developed the language is available for supervision of the project.

Goals

The goals for this project are:

• Assess/evaluate the coverage of the language;
• Extend the coverage of the language;
• Contribute to practical adoption of the language in a multi-disciplinary environment.

Challenges

The challenge of this project are:

• Get familiar in the domain of printing and finishing;
• Model-driven engineering / language engineering skills required to develop/extend the language;
• Language users have to get used to new modeling methods;
• Interacting with multiple engineering disciplines.

Your profile

If you are currently studying computer science, electrical engineering or applied physics, are in the last phase to your master’s degree and are interested in language engineering, find it a challenge to work with real equipment, bridge gaps between various disciplines, then this assignment is what you are looking for.

Other information

• Internship/graduation fee up to €450,- per month
• Travel cost compensation or room rent compensation up to euro €225,- per month
• Good growth opportunities within Canon Production Printing, thanks to our diversity of disciplines which you will work with
• The possibility to network with professionals at Canon Production Printing, inside and outside your field of expertise