Information retrieval from redlined circuit diagrams and its model-based representation for automated engineering

The engineering of automated Production Systems (aPS) involves various disciplines (i.e. mechanical, electrical and software engineers). In order to address discipline-specific objectives in the engineering process, a multitude of models are developed. The information within these models is represented by different variants of engineering documents. For instance, the information contained in an ECAD model can be stored in XML-based documents or can be represented by printed, paper-based electric circuit diagrams. Models and corresponding documents change cyclically, as the engineering process of an aPS is generally not straightforward. Consequently, changes made to those documents need to be propagated back to their original model, so as to maintain consistency. Depending on the meaning and the importance of the change, further action may be required (e.g. re-design of components). This paper proposes and evaluates the retrieval and model-based reconstruction of information from paper-based electric circuit diagrams in aPS, containing handwritten annotations.