Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

UniTi: Unified Composition and Time for Multi-domain Model-based Design

  • Published:
International Journal of Parallel Programming Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

To apply model-based design to embedded systems that interface with the physical world, including simulation and verification, current tools fall short. They must provide mathematical (model) definitions that stay close to the specification of the system. They must allow multiple domains, such as the continuous-time, discrete-time and dataflow domain, in a single model including well-defined interaction. They must support model transformations for refining a model during development. And most importantly, they must accurately include and simulate different notions of time in the model. UniTi is a model-based design flow and modelling and simulation environment that delivers on all these aspects. It is based on components that are signal transformations, and therefore mathematical functions. However, in each domain the representation of a signal differs. As components have the same structure in each domain, we can use unified composition operators to represent multiple domains in a single model. Furthermore, this composition provides a unified perspective on time in the domains, even though we differentiate between different notions of time. Time becomes a local property of the model, allowing us to represent and simulate time transformations such as time delays exactly without losing efficiency. Finally, model transformations are defined for such components, which are used for refining and developing the model and which are guided by the design steps in the design flow. We will formally define the domains, composition operators and transformations of UniTi and verify the approach with a case study on a phased array beamforming system.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Carloni L.P., Passerone R., Pinto A., Sangiovanni-Vincentelli A.L.: Languages and tools for hybrid systems design. Found. Trends Electron. Des. Autom. 1(1/2), 1–193 (2006). doi:10.1561/1000000001

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Courtney, A., Elliott, C.: Genuinely functional user interfaces. In: ACM SIGPLAN Haskell Workshop (HW’2001), pp. 41–69 (2001)

  3. Eker J. et al.: Taming heterogeneity—the Ptolemy approach. Proc. IEEE 91(1), 127–144 (2003). doi:10.1109/JPROC.2002.805829

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Elliott, C., Hudak, P.: Functional reactive animation. In: 2nd ACM SIGPLAN International Conference on Functional Programming (ICFP ’97), pp. 263–273. ACM (1997). doi:10.1145/258948.258973

  5. Erbas, C., Pimentel, A.D., Thompson, M., Polstra, S.: A framework for system-level modeling and simulation of embedded systems architectures. EURASIP J. Embed. Syst. 2007(1) (2007). doi:10.1155/2007/82123

  6. Feng,T.H., Lee, E.A.: Scalable models using model transformation. In: 1st International Workshop on Model Based Architecting and Construction of Embedded Systems (ACESMB). EECS Department, University of California, Berkeley (2008)

  7. Fritzson, P., Engelson, V.: Modelica—a unified object-oriented language for system modeling and simulation. In: Jul, E. (ed.) ECOOP’98—Object-Oriented Programming. Springer, Berlin (1998). doi:10.1007/BFb0054087

  8. Henzinger, T.A., Sifakis, J.: The embedded systems design challenge. In: 14th International Symposium on Formal Methods (FM 2006), pp. 1–15. Springer (2006)

  9. Hudak, P., Courtney, A., Nilsson, H., Peterson, J.: Arrows, robots, and functional reactive programming. In: Advanced Functional Programming, pp. 159–187. Springer, Berlin (2003). doi:10.1007/978-3-540-44833-4_6

  10. Lee, E.A.: Cyber physical systems: design challenges. In: 11th IEEE International Symposium on Object Oriented Real-Time Distributed Computing (ISORC 2008), pp. 363–369. IEEE (2008). doi:10.1109/ISORC.2008.25

  11. Lee E.A.: Computing needs time. Commun. ACM 52(5), 70–79 (2009). doi:10.1145/1506409.1506426

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Lee E.A., Messerchmitt D.G.: Synchronous data flow. Proc. IEEE 75(9), 1235–1245 (1987). doi:10.1109/PROC.1987.13876

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Lee E.A., Parks T.M.: Dataflow process networks. Proc. IEEE 83(5), 773–801 (1995). doi:10.1109/5.381846

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Lee E.A., Sangiovanni-Vincentelli A.L.: A framework for comparing models of computation. IEEE Trans. Computer-Aided Des. Integr. Circuits Syst. 17(12), 1217–1229 (1998). doi:10.1109/43.736561

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Najjar W.A., Lee E.A., Gao G.R.: Advances in the dataflow computational model. Parallel Comput. 25(13–14), 1907–1929 (1999). doi:10.1016/S0167-8191(99)00070-8

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Nikolov, H., et al.: Daedalus: toward composable multimedia MP-SoC design. In: 45th Annual Design Automation Conference (DAC’08), pp. 574–579. ACM (2008). doi:10.1145/1391469.1391615

  17. Object Management Group, Inc. (OMG): OMG systems modeling language (OMG SysML). Technical report version 1.1 (2008)

  18. OMG Architecture Board ORMSC: Model driven architecture (MDA). Technical report ormsc/2001-07-01 (2001)

  19. Peterson, J., Hager, G.D., Hudak, P.: A language for declarative robotic programming. In: IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation, pp. 1144–1151. IEEE (1999). doi:10.1109/ROBOT.1999.772516

  20. Reekie, H.J.: Realtime signal processing: dataflow, visual, and functional programming. Ph.D. thesis, University of Technology Sydney (1995)

  21. Rovers, K.C.: Functional model-based design of embedded systems with UniTi. Ph.D. thesis, University of Twente (2011). doi:10.3990/1.9789036532945

  22. Rovers, K.C., van de Burgwal, M.D., Kuper, J., Kokkeler, A.B.J., Smit, G.J.M.: Multi-domain transformational design flow for embedded systems. In: International Conference on Embedded Computer Systems (SAMOS 2011), pp. 93–101. IEEE Computer Society (2011). doi:10.1109/SAMOS.2011.6045449

  23. Rovers, K.C., Kuper, J., van de Burgwal, M.D., Kokkeler, A.B.J., Smit, G.J.M.: Mixed continuous/discrete time modelling with exact time adjustments. In: 7th International Wireless Communications and Mobile Computing Conference (CyPhy’11), pp. 1111–1116. IEEE (2011). doi:10.1109/IWCMC.2011.5982696

  24. Rovers K.C., Kuper J., Smit G.J.M.: The problem with time in mixed continuous/discrete time modelling. ACM SIGBED Rev. 8(2), 27–30 (2011). doi:10.1145/2000367.2000373

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. Sander, I.: System modeling and design refinement in ForSyDe. Ph.D. thesis, KTH Royal Institute of Technology (2003)

  26. Sander I., Jantsch A.: System modeling and transformational design refinement in ForSyDe. IEEE Trans. Computer-Aided Des. Integr. Circuits Syst. 23(1), 17–32 (2004). doi:10.1109/TCAD.2003.819898

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. Soliman S.S., Srinath M.D.: Continuous and Discrete Signals and Systems, 2nd edn. Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ (1998)

    Google Scholar 

  28. Trinder P.W., Hammond K., Loidl H.W., Peyton Jones S.L.: Algorithm + strategy = parallelism. J. Funct. Program. 8(1), 23–60 (1998). doi:10.1017/S0956796897002967

    Article  MathSciNet  MATH  Google Scholar 

  29. van de Burgwal, M.D., Rovers, K.C., Blom, K.C.H., Kokkeler, A.B.J., Smit, G.J.M.: Mobile satellite reception with a virtual satellite dish based on a reconfigurable multi-processor architecture. Microprocess. Microsyst. 1–29 (2011). doi:10.1016/j.micpro.2011.08.005

  30. Vachoux, A., Grimm, C., Einwich, K.: SystemC-AMS requirements, design objectives and rationale. In: Design, Automation and Test in Europe Conference and Exhibition (DATE 2003), pp. 388–393. IEEE (2003). doi:10.1109/DATE.2003.1253639

  31. Wan, Z., Taha, W., Hudak, P.: Real-time FRP. In: 6th ACM SIGPLAN International Conference on Functional Programming (ICFP’01), pp. 146–156. ACM (2001). doi:10.1145/507635.507654

  32. Wiggers, M.H.: Aperiodic multiprocessor scheduling for real-time stream processing applications. Ph.D. thesis, University of Twente (2009). doi:10.3990/1.9789036528504

  33. Zheng, H.: Operational semantics of hybrid systems. Ph.D. thesis, University of California Berkeley (2007)

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Computer Architectures for Embedded Systems Group, Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Math and Computer Science, University of Twente, Enschede, The Netherlands

    Kenneth C. Rovers & Jan Kuper

Authors
  1. Kenneth C. Rovers
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Jan Kuper
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kenneth C. Rovers.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Rovers, K.C., Kuper, J. UniTi: Unified Composition and Time for Multi-domain Model-based Design. Int J Parallel Prog 41, 261–304 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10766-012-0226-5

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10766-012-0226-5

Keywords

Search

Navigation