ITR: A Center for Safety-Critical Embedded Software

Massachusetts Institute Of Technology, Cambridge MA

Investigators

Abstract

The problems associated with building complex heterogeneous systems composed of computer, human, and electromechanical components are starting to overwhelm system and software engineers, resulting in failed projects and accidents related to software behavior. As the complexity of the systems grows, so does the difficulty of ensuring safety. Model-based system and software engineering is an approach to building complex systems that is based on common models and specification languages that are understandable and reviewable by all the engineers on the project and by those who must interact with and use the automation as well. The research topics to be investigated are: (1) enhancing requirements specification reviewability, (2) assisting engineers in creating large, complex specifications, (3) minimizing the disruptions caused by changes in requirements, and (5) specifying and analyzing safety-related properties using the models. To ground the research, the new approaches will be applied experimentally to the advanced air traffic control systems being developed and validated by Eurocontrol (the European Organization for the Safety of Air Navigation). ATC provides a challenging testbed but the results of the research should be equally applicable to medical, defense, transportation, manufacturing, and other complex, real-time systems.