AADL+: a simulation-based methodology for cyber-physical systems

AADL (architecture analysis and design language) concentrates on the modeling and analysis of application system architectures. It is quite popular for its simple syntax, powerful functionality and extensibility and has been widely applied in embedded systems for its advantage. However, it is not enough for AADL to model cyber-physical systems (CPS) mainly because it cannot be used to model the continuous dynamic behaviors. This paper proposes an approach to construct a new sublanguage of AADL called AADL+, to facilitate the modeling of not only the discrete and continuous behavior of CPS, but also interaction between cyber components and physical components. The syntax and semantics of the sublanguage are provided to describe the behaviors of the systems. What’s more, we develop a plug-in to OSATE (open-source AADL tool environment) for the modeling of CPS. And the plug-in supports syntax checking and simulation of the system model through linking with modelica. Finally, the AADL+ annex is successfully applied to model a lunar rover control system.