Component-based Software Development Tools for Embedded Applications

Ever increasing costs and complexities in real-time, embedded software has resulted in the need for product line architectures and supporting infrastructure technology, tools and design methodologies. Software reusability improves the productivity and quality of software development. By using existing software components and architectures to develop new applications, overall development costs and the time needed to bring a new product to market are reduced. Moreover, software quality is improved because components and architectures that already have been verified and proven effective are incorporated into new systems. We propose that a software architecture consisting of an integrated set of component-based software development tools will provide enabling technology for the cost effective deployment and maintenance of real-time, embedded software for next generation smart and brilliant weapon/fire control systems. Significant reductions in time-to-development, cost of system testing and requirements validation will drive the initial market demand for reusable, verifiable software components. Early adopter markets are domains such as pharmaceutical R&D, DOD analysis and command support, NASA mission operations, capital market (trading floor) management, government and commercial logistics management and medical information systems.