User-Defined Critics for Software Adaptation

Systems often fail because of unknown or unanticipated errors. Software/hardware components that can detect and correct errors would provide substantial cost savings and greatly enhance system reliability. The first step in achieving this goal is to create a paradigm in which the system becomes more “aware” of its operating performance characteristics and conditions that prompt intervention to prevent failure. The goal of SystemCritics is to provide this initial capability, with the additional long term goal of creating a system design tool and methodology that provides the means for developing a robust, adaptable, and error correcting system. During the Phase I contract, we formulated a demonstrable system concept that allows the user to enter system information, model error conditions, specify repair strategies; generate tests to detect error conditions; and act to correct those error conditions. Our approach leveraged Rosetta, a Systems Level Design Language (SLDL), and VectorGen™, ECI’s test vector generator. Further, we analyzed scalability, the practicality of the Design for Critique style, and using VectorGen™ with a system under operation. We concluded that the enhancements necessary to our toolset are feasible and within the scope of a Phase II SBIR project.