The toolkit automatically generates a controller that meets your requirements. You can discuss this directly with stakeholders. It is visual and immediate. No more discussions about interpretations, but one shared view. It changes how you think about control. The question is not if this will become relevant, but when you step in.
From manual programming to smart models
Bas de Roos applied Synthesis-Based Engineering (SBE) at KienIA. "Right now, we design and program everything manually", he says. "But there are already tools that take over a large part of that work. They change how you think about control."
Bas applied the Eclipse Supervisory Control Engineering Toolkit (Eclipse ESCET™): "The ESCET project focuses on designing control systems using SBE. Instead of working out PLC logic yourself, you input a model of your system and your requirements. The toolkit then automatically generates a controller that meets those requirements."
From theory to practice: direct insight into behavior
Bas applied this to a district heating network. Using the CIF modeling language and tools from the ESCET toolkit, he built a simulation environment in which he could test scenarios: What happens during peak demand? How does the system respond to changes? This provided immediate insight. This is especially crucial for systems where multiple installations run simultaneously.
"It is visual and immediate", says Bas. "You have to define your requirements precisely, and then you instantly see what happens in the simulation. You can also discuss this directly with stakeholders."
Sharper requirements, better control
Another example is the control of a bridge. Where you would normally state that "a bridge must open within 90 seconds", this approach forces you to define exactly what that means for the control system. When do you start measuring the opening time? What are the conditions? What must never happen?
This precision exposes gaps. Ambiguities surface immediately. This leads to better discussions with clients and prevents surprises later in the process. "You think through details earlier. That makes your design stronger."
One single source of truth
A major advantage is that everyone looks at the same thing. In a bridge project, Bas saw how a model with states and transitions made it immediately clear what was happening. No more discussions about interpretations, but one shared view. This helps designers, operators, and maintenance teams collaborate better, which is exactly where complexity often arises in operation, monitoring and control. The simulation from the model can easily be shared as an HTML file. Anyone can use it in their own browser, making coordination faster and more concrete.
One single source of truth
By linking different models to data, more insight is gained: you can test scenarios and optimize processes, for example in terms of energy consumption or performance. This allows you not only to design systems, but also to control and continuously improve them, exactly the direction in which KienIA is developing.
Moving forward together: will you join?
For complex operation, monitoring and control challenges, Synthesis-Based Engineering already offers clear advantages: more overview, better communication, and fewer surprises. The question is not if this will become relevant, but when you step in.