The TASTE Toolset: turning human designed heterogeneous systems into computer built homogeneous software.

The TASTE tool-set results from spin-off studies of the ASSERT project, which started in 2004 with the objective to propose innovative and pragmatic solutions to develop real-time software. One of the primary targets was satellite flight software, but it appeared quickly that their characteristics were shared among various embedded systems. The solutions that we developed now comprise a process and several tools ; the development process is based on the idea that real-time, embedded systems are heterogeneous by nature and that a unique UML-like language was not helping neither their construction, nor their validation. Rather than inventing yet another "ultimate" language, TASTE makes the link between existing and mature technologies such as Simulink, SDL, ASN.1, C, Ada, and generates complete, homogeneous software-based systems that one can straightforwardly download and execute on a physical target. Our current prototype is moving toward a marketed product, and sequel studies are already in place to support, among others, FPGA systems

A Configurable Validation Environment for Refactored Embedded Software : an Application to the Vertical Transport Domain

As systems evolve, their embedded software needs constantly to be refactored. Moreover, given the different needs of different customers, embedded systems require to be customizable. The variability of these systems is large, and requires automated testing solutions. In this paper we propose a methodology that automatically generates validation environments for highly configurable embedded software that is being refactored. The method has allowed for systematically testing a real-world industrial case study involving the software in charge of controlling the doors of an elevator. Finally, we extract the lessons learned from its application

Certified Roundoff Error Bounds using Bernstein Expansions and Sparse Krivine-Stengle Representations

Floating point error is an inevitable drawback of embedded systems implementation. Computing rigorous upper bounds of roundoff errors is absolutely necessary to the validation of critical software. This problem is even more challenging when addressing non-linear programs. In this paper, we propose and compare two new methods based on Bernstein expansions and sparse Krivine-Stengle representations, adapted from the field of the global optimization to compute upper bounds of roundoff errors for programs implementing polynomial functions. We release two related software package FPBern and FPKiSten, and compare them with state of the art tools. We show that these two methods achieve competitive performance, while computing accurate upper bounds by comparison with other tools.Comment: 20 pages, 2 table

Testing times: on model-driven test generation for non-deterministic real-time systems

Summary form only given. Although testing has always been the most important technique for the validation of software systems it has only become a topic of serious academic research in the past decade or so. In this period research on the use of formal methods for model-driven test generation and execution of functional test cases has led to a number of promising methods and tools for systematic black-box testing of systems, examples are based on A. Belinfante et al. (1999), J. Tretmans and E. Brinksma (2003), J.-C. Fernandez et al. (1996) and J.-C. Fernandez et al. (1997). Most of these approaches are limited to the qualitative behaviour of systems, and exclude quantitative aspects such as real-time properties. The explosive growth of embedded software, however, has also caused a growing need to extend existing testing theories to the testing of real-time reactive systems. In our presentation we present an extension of Tretmans' ioco theory for test generation as stated in J. Tretmans (1996) for input/output transition systems that includes real-time behaviour

Embedded System Design

A unique feature of this open access textbook is to provide a comprehensive introduction to the fundamental knowledge in embedded systems, with applications in cyber-physical systems and the Internet of things. It starts with an introduction to the field and a survey of specification models and languages for embedded and cyber-physical systems. It provides a brief overview of hardware devices used for such systems and presents the essentials of system software for embedded systems, including real-time operating systems. The author also discusses evaluation and validation techniques for embedded systems and provides an overview of techniques for mapping applications to execution platforms, including multi-core platforms. Embedded systems have to operate under tight constraints and, hence, the book also contains a selected set of optimization techniques, including software optimization techniques. The book closes with a brief survey on testing. This fourth edition has been updated and revised to reflect new trends and technologies, such as the importance of cyber-physical systems (CPS) and the Internet of things (IoT), the evolution of single-core processors to multi-core processors, and the increased importance of energy efficiency and thermal issues

Real-Time Sensor Validation System Developed

Real-time sensor validation improves process monitoring and control system dependability by ensuring data integrity through automated detection of sensor data failures. The NASA Lewis Research Center, Expert Microsystems, and Intelligent Software Associates have developed an innovative sensor validation system that can automatically detect automated sensor failures in real-time for all types of mission-critical systems. This system consists of a sensor validation network development system and a real-time kernel. The network development system provides tools that enable systems engineers to automatically generate software that can be embedded within an application. The sensor validation methodology captured by these tools can be scaled to validate any number of sensors, and permits users to specify system sensitivity. The resulting software reliably detects all types of sensor data failures

Proceedings of the Twenty-Third Annual Software Engineering Workshop

The Twenty-third Annual Software Engineering Workshop (SEW) provided 20 presentations designed to further the goals of the Software Engineering Laboratory (SEL) of the NASA-GSFC. The presentations were selected on their creativity. The sessions which were held on 2-3 of December 1998, centered on the SEL, Experimentation, Inspections, Fault Prediction, Verification and Validation, and Embedded Systems and Safety-Critical Systems

Embedded device farm proof-of-concept:enabler for test execution on target hardware as a part of continuous delivery pipeline

Abstract. Agile software development has produced a completely new way of working into the field of software development. The new focus is to continuously integrate, deliver, and deploy each software change. The term continuous practices is used to refer to these practices. Comprehensive testing plays a major role in so called continuous delivery pipeline. The goal of this thesis is to implement an embedded device farm, a system which is used to effortlessly connect embedded hardware targets as part of continuous delivery pipeline. Hardware is playing a big role in embedded software development and testing. On the other hand, it is seen as a major challenge in implementing continuous practices for embedded software project. Embedded device farm is used to interact with target hardware targets by both automation systems and individual developers in unified manner. Six platforms are evaluated for the purpose and a system called Linaro Automation and Validation Architecture (LAVA) is integrated as part of existing CI/CD service. In addition, this thesis describes the continuous practices in general introducing the benefits as well as the challenges related to implementing them. A closer look is taken into adopting the practices into embedded systems domain. Embedded systems software development differs from traditional or web software development. Embedded systems’ domain specific characteristics and challenges related to continuous practices are presented.Sulautetun laitefarmin konseptitoteutus : mahdollistaja testien suorittamiselle kohdelaitteistossa osana jatkuvan toimituksen ketjua. Tiivistelmä. Ketterä kehitys on tuonut ohjelmistokehityksen alalle täysin uudet toimintatavat, joiden keskipisteessä on ohjelmiston muutosten jatkuva integrointi, jatkuva toimitus ja jatkuva muutosten käyttöönotto. Näistä uusista menetelmistä käytetään kollektiivisesti nimitystä jatkuvat menetelmät. Kattavalla testaamisella on tärkeä rooli niin sanotussa jatkuvan toimituksen ketjussa. Tämän työn tavoitteena on toteuttaa sulautettu laitefarmi, jolla sulautettua tietokonelaitteistoa voidaan vaivattomasti yhdistää osaksi jatkuvan toimituksen ketjua. Tietokonelaitteistolla on tärkeä rooli sulautettujen järjestelmien ohjelmistokehityksessä ja -testauksessa, mutta toisaalta laitteisto nähdään suurena haasteena toteutettaessa jatkuvia menetelmiä sulautetussa ohjelmistoprojektissa. Sulautetun laitefarmin kautta sekä automaatiojärjestelmät että yksittäiset ohjelmistokehittäjät voivat käyttää sulautettuja laitteistoja yhtenäistetyllä tavalla. Työssä arvioidaan kuuden eri järjestelmän soveltuvuutta käyttötarkoitukseen, ja järjestelmä nimeltään Linaro Automation and Validation Architecture (LAVA) integroidaan osaksi olemassa olevaa CI/CD palvelua. Lisäksi tässä työssä esitellään jatkuvat menetelmät yleisesti, niiden toteuttamiseen liittyvät haasteet ja niillä saavutettavat hyödyt. Työssä paneudutaan tarkemmin menetelmien toteuttamiseen sulautettujen järjestelmien alalla. Sulautettujen järjestelmien ohjelmistot eroavat perinteisistä ja web-ohjelmistoista, joten jatkuvia menetelmiä ja niihin liittyviä haasteita tarkastellaan myös sulautettujen järjestelmien näkökulmasta

The TASTE Toolset: turning human designed heterogeneous systems into computer built homogeneous software

International audienceThe TASTE tool-set results from spin-off studies of the ASSERT project, which started in 2004 with the objective to propose innovative and pragmatic solutions to develop real-time software. One of the primary targets was satellite flight software, but it appeared quickly that their characteristics were shared among various embedded systems. The solutions that we developed now comprise a process and several tools ; the development process is based on the idea that real-time, embedded systems are heterogeneous by nature and that a unique UML-like language was not helping neither their construction, nor their validation. Rather than inventing yet another "ultimate" language, TASTE makes the link between existing and mature technologies such as Simulink, SDL, ASN.1, C, Ada, and generates complete, homogeneous software-based systems that one can straightforwardly download and execute on a physical target. Our current prototype is moving toward a marketed product, and sequel studies are already in place to support, among others, FPGA systems