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A formal approach to collaborative modelling and co-simulation for embedded systems†

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 July 2013

J. S. FITZGERALD ,
P. G. LARSEN ,
K. G. PIERCE  and
M. H. G. VERHOEF
J. S. FITZGERALD
Affiliation:
Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom Email: john.fitzgerald@newcastle.ac.uk; ken.pierce@newcastle.ac.uk
P. G. LARSEN
Affiliation:
Aarhus School of Engineering, Aarhus, Denmark Email: pgl@iha.dk
K. G. PIERCE
Affiliation:
Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom Email: john.fitzgerald@newcastle.ac.uk; ken.pierce@newcastle.ac.uk
M. H. G. VERHOEF
Affiliation:
CHESS Embedded Technology International BV, The Netherlands Email: Marcel.Verhoef@chess.nl
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Abstract

The effective use of model-based formal methods in the development of complex embedded systems requires the integration of discrete-event models of controllers with continuous-time models of their environments. This paper proposes a new approach to the development of such combined models (co-models), in which an initial discrete-event model may include approximations of continuous-time behaviour that can subsequently be replaced by couplings to continuous-time models. An operational semantics of co-simulation allows the discrete and continuous models to run on their respective simulators and managed by a coordinating co-simulation engine. This permits the exploration of the composite co-model's behaviour in a range of operational scenarios. The approach has been realised using the Vienna Development Method (VDM) as the discrete-event formalism, and 20-sim as the continuous-time framework, and has been applied successfully to a case study based on the distributed controller for a personal transporter device.

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Footnotes

†

This work was supported by the EU FP7 DESTECS project.

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