On the Integration of Multiple Modeling Methodologies into a Single User Interface

Abstract

The development, analysis, and refinement of modern Embedded Systems (ES) and Internet of Things (IoT) applications require the use of complex models. These, in turn, require a variety of modeling techniques that can be used for different aspects of a given ES or IoT project. ES and IoT projects nowadays are well beyond pencil-and-paper development and analysis, so sophisticated tools with well-designed human-computer interfaces are required. Such tools do exist for various modeling techniques individually – for example, tools for Petri Net modeling, tools for UML modeling, etc. Some tools are able to translate a model in one methodology to a second model or to a programming language. However, no tool exists that integrates the major modeling methods used in ES and IoT into a single package that allows designers and engineers to explore through a single interface all the aspects of the project. This makes it difficult for the designers and engineers to see how operations, or even changes, modeled in one methodology impact models in the other methodologies. Designers and engineers can’t see the whole picture within a single tool. We argue that such a tool is needed for ES and IoT and propose a set of requirements that such an integrated tool must satisfy in order to be truly useful in the design and analysis of ES and IoT projects.