EXPERT SYSTEM ASSISTED LOGIC FLOWGRAPH METHOD FOR H/S INTERACTION ANALYSIS

ESTABLISHING THE OVERALL SAFETY OF COMPLEX SYSTEMS COMPOSED OF HARDWARE AND IMBEDDED SOFTWARE AND VALIDATING THE CORRECTNESS OF THEIR ACTIVE COMPUTER CONTROL IS A PARTICULARLY DIFFICULT AND CUMBERSOME TASK THAT ACUTELY STRAINS CURRENT METHODOLOGIES. THE CURRENT METHODS ARE SEVERELY LIMITED WHEN APPLIED TO SYSTEMS CONTAINING LOOPS AND INTERCONNECTIONS, SUCH AS CONTROL SYSTEMS RESIDING IN DIGITAL COMPUTER PROGRAMS. SAFETY, RELIABILITY, AND MAINTAINABILITY ARE IMPORTANT ISSUES THAT SHOULD BE ANALYZED FOR HIGHLY CRITICAL SYSTEMS, SUCH AS SPACE STATION,HYPERSONIC TRANSPORT, ROBOTICS, AND HIGHLY AUTONOMOUS MANUFACTURING FACILITIES. THE LOGIC FLOWGRAPH METHOD PRESENTS SUBSTANTIAL PROMISE IN ADVANCING CURRENT ANALYSIS CAPABILITIES FOR IMBEDDED HARDWARE/SOFTWARE SYSTEMS. THE PURPOSE OF THE PROPOSED RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT IS TO INVESTIGATE, EVALUATE, AND DEMONSTRATE THE LOGIC FLOWGRAPH METHOD WITH REGARD TO ITS APPLICABILITY TO IMBEDDED H/S SYSTEMS. IN ADDITION, THE FEASIBILITY OF USING AN OBJECT-ORIENTED WORKSTATION AS A DEVELOPMENT ENVIRONMENT IN WHICH THE LOGIC FLOWGRAPH METHOD MODELING AND ANALYSIS MAY BE PERFORMED EFFECTIVELY, EFFICIENTLY AND ECONOMICALLY WILL BE DEMONSTRATED VIA PROTOTYPING.