Model Based Engineering for Advanced Integrated Modular Avionics - Focus and Challenges

Abstract

Advanced Integrated Modular Avionics (A-IMA) will drive new focus and challenges for Model Based Engineering (MBE). First, there is the need to bridge MBE to legacy system elements that were developed without MBE along with the need to handle hybrid Open System Architecture / Integrated Modular Avionics (OSA/IMA) based architectures. Second, there is the need for MBE to be reusable and interoperable across product development cycles as technology insertions occur. Third, there is the need for integration of MBE into synthesizable descriptions that can also be effectively validated for mixed general purpose, safety, and secure computing and networking environments. Fourth is the need for effective application of MBE in hybrid waterfall and agile development environments where target infrastructure is scalable in capability and cost. Fifth is the need for MBE to support partitioned roles across companies, government, and universities where one entity does requirements, one does architecture, one develops components, one provides formal test, and another provides system sustainment. There are a number of industry and university efforts underway to address these focus items and challenges spread across these adjacent MBE complex system domains. This paper is focused on the current state of each of these areas relative to use in A-IMA systems based on industry initiatives and academic research. It uses the driverless car for comparison as an emerging "Advanced Integrated Modular Architecture" and identifies its parallel approaches to address these focused items and challenges. This work is being built on the authors' work exploring dual use technologies being developed for the driverless car domain that will lead to a market of 10 Million autonomous cars operating in 2020. Previous papers have addressed identification of potential advanced automotive dual use transformational hardware and software technologies including many core processing, advanced software autonomy and data fusion components, unified mixed criticality networking, and integrated cyber security for A-IMA. A testbed has also been recently proposed as a mechanism to evaluate these dual use technologies in an A-IMA context. This paper extends the dual use view to include understanding of the best-of-breed avionics MBE environment and how it can be complementary to leveraging a testbed environment in addressing affordable, scalable, and open solutions.