Abstract
Multimodal human–computer interaction refers to the interaction with the virtual and physical environment through natural modes of communication. Multimodal input user interfaces have significant role in different domains, for example industrial plants or hospitals, also they have implications for accessibility. To develop multimodal applications in formally rigorous settings, software developer teams may use tools or a software development kit to increase the efficiency and the quality of the resulted software artifacts. Such a technique is performing the design with software modeling and applying model transformations to generate well-defined components of the software. Furthermore, representation-bridging communication is a discipline of cognitive infocommunications, where the sensory information transferred to the receiver entity is filtered and/or converted. Whenever such approaches are used, the challenges associated with the modeling of information requirements, user capabilities and cross-model interactions are compounded and further increase the need for formal design and verification tools. Applying model transformations is a way to support this activity. Communication-intensive solutions often require complex methods, i.e. significant model transformation efforts between the different representations. Important semantic information should be preserved and not misinterpreted in a complex model transformations. Therefore, methods are required to verify that the semantics used during the application generation and analysis are indeed preserved across the transformation. As a case in point, such a model transformation could yield embedded code for a given type of electronic driver assistant system based on a high-level characterizations of the information to be transferred and the driver’s cognitive capabilities. Later, a multimodal interactions expert could easily modify those characterizations on demand, and regenerate a modified version of the software without having to know about the low-level details of the embedded platform. This paper provides a strong motivation regarding the necessity of methods to support verification and validation of model transformations supporting multimodal application development and cognitive infocommunications. As the main result of the paper, we compile a list of open issues in the field of verification/validation of model transformations, and link those issues to the development of multimodal interfaces. Through its discussions, the paper makes the point that the design practices behind multimodal interfaces could strongly benefit from the use of formal modeling techniques in general, and model transformation approaches in particular.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
AGG: The attributed graph grammar system website. http://tfs.cs.tu-berlin.de/agg
Akehurst D, Kent S (2002) A relational approach to defining transformations in a metamodel. In: UML 2002—the unified modeling language, 5th international conference, vol 2460. LNCS, Springer, Dresden, Germany, pp 243–258
Amrani M, Dingel J, Lambers L, Lcio L, Salay R, Selim G, Syriani E, Wimmer M (2012) Towards a model transformation intent catalog. In: Proceedings of the first workshop on the analysis of model transformations (AMT ’12). ACM, New York, pp 3-8. doi:10.1145/2432497.2432499
AToM3: A tool for multi-paradigm, multi-formalism and meta-modeling website. http://atom3.cs.mcgill.ca
Asztalos M, Lengyel L, Levendovszky T (2013) Formal specification and analysis of functional properties of graph rewriting-based model transformation. Softw Test Verif Reliab 23(5):405–435
Anastasakis K, Bordbar B, Küster JM (2007) Analysis of model transformations via alloy. In: Workshop MoDeVVA, vol 07, pp 47–56
Anastasakis K, Bordbar B, Georg G, Ray I (2007) UML2Alloy: a challenging model transformation. In: Proceedings of the MoDELS07, vol. 4735. LNCS, Springer, Berlin, pp 430–450
Assmann U, Ludwig A (2000) Aspect weaving by graph rewriting, generative componentbased software engineering. In: Lecture Notes in Computer Science 1799. Springer, Berlin
Assmann U (1996) How to uniformly specify program analysis and transformation with graph rewrite systems. In: Proceedings of the 6 international conference on compiler construction (CC) ’96, vol 1060. LNCS, Springer, Berlin
Baldan P, Knig B (2002) Approximating the behaviour of graph transformation systems. In: Proceedings of the ICGT 2002, first international conference on graph transformation. Springer, Berlin, pp 14–29
Baldan P, Knig B, Rensink A (2005) Graph grammar verification through abstraction. In: Graph transforamtion and process algebras for modeling distributed and mobile systems. Dagstuhl seminar, vol 04241
Baranyi P, Csapo A (2010) Cognitive infocommunications: CogInfoCom. In: 11th IEEE international symposium on computational intelligence and informatics, Budapest
Baranyi P, Csapo A (2012) Definition and synergies of cognitive infocommunications. Acta Polytechnica Hungarica 9(1):67–83
Barbosa P, Ramalho F, Figueiredo J, Junior A, Costa A, Gomes L (2009) Checking semantics equivalence of MDA transformations in concurrent systems. J. Univ. Comp. Sci. 15(11):2196–2224
Biermann E, Ermel C, Taentzer G (2011) Formal foundation of consistent EMF model transformations by algebraic graph transformation, software and systems modeling (SoSyM). Springer, Berlin
Bisztray D, Heckel R, Ehrig H (2004) Verification of architectural refactorings by rule extraction. In: Fundamental approaches to software engineering, vol 4961. LNCS, Springer, Berlin, pp 347–361
Blostein D, Fahmy H, Grbavec A (1996) Issues in the practical use of graph rewriting. In: Proceedings of the 5th international workshop on graph grammars and their application to computer science, vol 1073, Williamsburg, USA, LNCS, Springer, Berlin, pp 38–55
Braun P, Marschall F (2003) BOTL—the bidirectional object-oriented transformation language. Fakultat fur Informatik, Technische Universitat München, Technical report TUM-I0307
Brucker AD, Wolff B (2006) The HOL-OCL book. Technical report, vol 525. ETH Zurich, Zurich
Cabot J, Clariso R, Riera D (2008) Verification of UML/OCL class diagrams using constraint programming. In: MoDeVVa 2008, ICST workshop, pp 73–80
Cabot J, Clariso R, Guerra E, de Lara J (2010) V&V of declarative model-to-model transformations through invariants. J. Syst. Softw. 83(2):283–302
Czarnecki K, Helsen S (2006) Feature-based survey of model transformation approaches. IBM Syst. J. 45(3):621–646
de Lara J, Taentzer G (2004) Automated model transformation and its validation with AToM3 and AGG. In: Diagrammatic representation and inference, lecture notes in artificial intelligence, vol 2980. Springer, Berlin, pp 182–198
de Lara J, Vangheluwe H, Alfonseca M (2004) Metamodelling and graph grammars for multi-paradigm modelling in AToM3. J Softw Syst Model 3(3):194–209
Dotti FL, Foss L, Ribeiro L, dos Santos OM (2008) Verification of object-based distributed systems. In: Proceedings of the 6th international conference on formal methods for open object-based distributed systems, pp 261–275
Ehrig H, Engels G, Kreowski H-J, Rozenberg G (eds) (1999) Handbook on graph grammars and computing by graph transformation: application, languages and tools, vol 2. World Scientific, Singapore
Fujaba Tool Suite website. http://www.fujaba.de/
Giese H, Glesner S, Leitner J, Schafer W, Wagner R (2006) Towards verified model transformations. In: ModeVVa06
Gorp vP, Stenten H, Mens T, Demeyer S (2003) Towards automating source-consistent UML refactorings. In: UML 2003—the unified modeling language. modeling languages and applications, 6th international conference, San Francisco, USA, vol 2863. LNCS, Springer, Berlin, pp 144–158
GReAT: graph rewriting and transformation website. http://www.isis.vanderbilt.edu/tools/GReAT
Guerra E, de Lara J (2007) Event-driven grammars: relating abstract and concrete levels of visual languages. SoSym 6:317–347
Habel A, Heckel R, Taentzer G (1996) Graph grammars with negative application conditions. Fundamenta Informaticae 26:287–313
Heckel R, Küster JM, Taentzer G (2002) Towards automatic translation of UML models into semantic domains. In: Proceedings of the appligraph workshop on applied graph transformation, pp 11–22
Heckel R (1998) Compositional verification of reactive systems specified by graph transformation. In: FASE, pp 138–153
Holzmann GJ (1997) The model checker SPIN. Softw Eng 23(5):279–295
Hulsbusch M, Konig B, Rensink A, Semenyak M, Soltenborn C, Wehrheim H (2010) Showing full semantics preservation in model transformation—a comparison of techniques. In: Integrated Formal Methods, vol 6396. Springer, LNCS, Berlin, pp 183–198
Küster JM, Heckel R, Engels G (2003) Defining and validating transformations of UML models. In: IEEE symposium on human centric computing languages and environments, Auckland, New Zealand, pp 145–152
Küster JM (2006) Definition and validation of model transformations. Softw Syst Model 5(3):233–259
Lengyel L (2006) Online validation of visual model transformations. PhD thesis, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Department of Automation and Applied Informatics
Mens T, Demeyer S, Janssens D (2002) Formalising behaviour preserving program transformations. In: Proceedings of the first international conference on graph transformation. Springer, Berlin, London, pp 286–301
Mens T, Tourwe T (2004) A survey of software refactoring. IEEE Trans Softw Eng 30(2):126–139
Mens T, Gorp vP (2006) A taxonomy of model transformation, electronic notes in theoretical computer science, vol 152. In: Proceedings of the international workshop on graph and model transformation (GraMoT 2005), pp 125–142
Narayanan A, Karsai G (2008) Towards verifying model transformations. ENTCS 211:191–200
OMG Model-Driven Architecture (MDA) Specification, OMG document ormsc/01-07-01 (2001). http://www.omg.org/
Plump D (1998) Termination of graph rewriting is undecidable. In: Fundam. Inf., vol 33, issue 2. Amsterdam. IOS Press, The Netherlands, pp 201–209
Pratt TW (1971) Pair grammars, graph languages and string-to-graph translations. J Comput Syst Sci 5:560–595
Rensink A, Schmidt A, Varró D (2004) Model checking graph transformations: a comparison of two approaches. In: Proceedings of the ICGT 2004: second international conference on graph transformation, vol 3256. LNCS, Springer, Rome, pp 226–241
Rozenberg G (ed) (1997) Handbook on graph grammars and computing by graph transformation: foundations, vol 1. World Scientific, Singapore
Schatz B (2010) Verification of model transformations. vol 29. ECEASST, Paphos, Cyprus, pp 129–142
Schürr A (1994) Specification of graph translators with triple graph grammars. In: Proceedings of the WG94 international workshop on graph-theoretic concepts in computer science, vol 903. LNCS, Springer, Berlin, pp 151–163
Straeten RVD, Mens T, Simmonds J, Jonckers V (2003) Using description logic to maintain consistency between UML models. In: Proceedings of the UML03, vol 2863. LNCS, Springer, Berlin, pp 326–340
Taentzer G, Ehrig K, Guerra E, de Lara J, Lengyel L, Levendovszky T, Prange U, Varró D, Varró-Gyapay SZ (2005) Model transformation by graph transformation: a comparative study. In: ACM/IEEE 8th international conference on model driven engineering languages and systems, Montego Bay, Jamaica
Varró D, Pataricza A (2003) Automated formal verification of model transformations. In: Proceedings of theUML03 workshop, technical report, pp 63–78
VIATRA2 (VIsual Automated model TRAnsformations) framework website. http://eclipse.org/gmt/VIATRA2
VMTS: Visual Modeling and Transformation System website. http://www.aut.bme.hu/vmts
Acknowledgments
This work was partially supported by the TÁMOP-4.2.1.D-15/1/KONV-2015-0008 project. This paper was supported by the János Bolyai Research Scholarship of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Lengyel, L., Charaf, H. Open issues in model transformations for multimodal applications. J Multimodal User Interfaces 9, 377–385 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12193-015-0192-5
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12193-015-0192-5