ACtivity-Oriented Petri Net for scheduling of resources

This work presents a new methodology for modeling discrete systems in which activities compete for resources. The new methodology known as Activity-Oriented Petri Net (AOPN) allows modelers to concentrate on modeling activities, and the resources are assumed to be managed by the underlying system; this approach allows compact and much simpler models even for large and complex systems. General Purpose Petri Net Simulator (GPenSIM) is a realization of AOPN methodology on MATLAB platform. In addition to comparison of AOPN methodology with the other existing methodologies, a case study is also provided in this paper to better explain how an AOPN model of a resource scheduling problem can be modeled and simulated with GPenSIM.