Towards heterogeneous multi-dimensional variability modeling in cyber-physical production systems

Cyber-Physical Production Systems (CPPSs) are complex systems interacting with their environment by sensors and actuators. Such systems typically have a long lifespan, over which a plethora of variants are developed and maintained. The heterogeneity of hardware and software components used in CPPSs and the multiple disciplines (mechanical, electrical, software engineering) involved in the development and maintenance of CPPSs, however, make it difficult to manage their variability. Specifically, variability needs to be expressed in and across multiple disciplines, which use heterogeneous methods and tools. This also affects configuration as well as co-evolution of models and artifacts. In this short paper, we discuss our first ideas towards a Heterogeneous Multi-Dimensional Variability Modeling approach for CPPSs. Our approach builds on and extends existing work to address the challenges of modeling the variability of CPPSs and supporting their configuration and evolution. We showcase our idea using a case study system and outline a research agenda.