Self-aware architecture to support partial control of emergent behavior

Abstract

System of systems comprises interacting, heterogeneous, autonomous components with incomplete information about their inner states, and about the surrounding environment. Many interactions are often not rigorously defined, and change dynamically. System of systems usually exhibits emergent behavior that cannot be predicted by analyzing static properties of the components, and is not always permissible. This paper suggests that the designer can improve system's behavior by substituting (part of) regular interactions with smart mediated interactions that bolster up shared situation awareness of the system's components and thus strengthens system's capability to monitor and partially control its emergent behavior. This paper discusses smart mediated interactions that focus on awareness of temporal features and on estimates of spatial location of the components. Interactions are assembled into proactive middleware that forms a backbone of system of systems.