Methodology and Tools for Certifying Autonomous, Cyber-Physical Systems-of-Systems

ABSTRACT: Barron Associates, together with subcontractor Rockwell Collins, propose to develop a new class of design and analysis tool that will significantly reduce the time and costs associated with V & V of complex cyber-physical systems-of-systems, and that will pave the way to certification of systems that were previously too complex to rigorously certify. The focus of this tool is on explicitly modeling and verifying the behavioral and interaction characteristics of all system components, and propagating them through successively higher levels of integration to uncover undesirable emergent behaviors that can appear anywhere within the larger system. The approach is based on an extension of the"design for verification"paradigm but applied in a multidisciplinary engineering setting, with detailed analyses of both the cyber and physical natures of the system. We will demonstrate the capabilities of this new tool on a realistic problem involving the design of autonomous multi-UAV systems within the context of a larger systems-of-systems application. The proposed team will take advantage of Barron Associates"expertise in SysML, multidisciplinary engineering analysis, uncertainty propagation, and design of multi-UAV control software. It will also leverage extensive experience at Rockwell Collins in the use of formal methods for large, complex industrial applications. BENEFIT: The proposed effort will open up new opportunities for providing enhanced, advanced verification tools for cyber-physical systems-of-systems. By partnering with Rockwell Collins, the result of this SBIR effort and follow-on developments should be a powerful analysis tool that combines Barron Associates"developed technologies with Rockwell Collins own suite of proven formal methods software tools. With recent wide interest in cyber-physical systems, potential commercial applications should increase significantly in the coming years in areas such as (1) future combat systems, (2) complex missions for unmanned air systems (e.g. AAR or terrain mapping), (3) NextGen air traffic management and autonomous operations, (4) internet networks, (5) power grids, (6) automotive and other complex machinery development, and (7) a number of industrial applications, such as autonomous manufacturing plants and automated warehousing management.