Communication Oriented Modeling of Evolving Systems of Systems

Abstract

Systems of Systems (SoSs) are composed of systems characterized by operational and managerial independence, but that can perform tasks together that they could not do by themselves. Given their potential complexity, modeling and testing such systems can be a daunting task, which is repeated when any system is evolved into a new one, especially when SoSs pertain to different owners. We propose a framework for modeling SoSs using only observable communication properties and dataflow. In this paper, we propose a framework that supports SoS design and discuss how it can support the creation of complex use cases pertaining to multiple owners. We implemented a proof-of-concept for the framework that focuses on REST-based communication and combines design using the model-based engineering tool Papyrus, and verification of communication properties using the Uppaal model checker. We showcase our approach by designing a Bluetooth-driven tracker system, which uses smart devices’ Bluetooth-IDs to analyze patterns in the stores that people visit.