Model-based development of embedded systems
AutoFOCUS3 is a model-based tool and research platform for safety-critical embedded systems. It builds on a generic Eclipse-based tooling framework, is open source (Apache 2.0 license), and is released biannually for the Windows, Linux, and macOS 64-bit platforms.
AutoFOCUS3 supports the design, development and validation of safety-critical embedded systems in many development phases, including architecture design, implementation, hardware/software integration, and safety argumentation based on formal models from the following viewpoints:
Advanced features enable to explore design and implementation alternatives (e.g., safety patterns, task allocation, partition/compartment architectures) based on state-of-the art formal methods and solvers (e.g., Z3 solver), and to validate early designs by means of functional simulation and co-simulation (via FMI). The automatic artefact synthesis capabilities of the tool enable rapid development (e.g., code and configuration generation, scheduling synthesis). Modular assurance cases encoded in the goal-structuring notation (GSN) enable users to document the dependability of a system by bringing in information about its environment and the development context. They provide a structured argument that establishes a systematic relationship between a dependability goal and its evidence (e.g., validation artefact).
The tool is a research platform to investigate novel model-based systems and software engineering techniques in the following fields:
In the fortissimo-demonstrator, we show how to develop software and system architectures for autonomous vehicles using a model-based approach.