ISBN 9783843955492

978-3-8439-5549-2, Reihe Informationstechnik

Vanessa Tietz
Development of a Meta-modeling Language and its Certifiable Implementation for Use in Safety-critical Software

163 Seiten, Dissertation Universität Stuttgart (2024), Softcover, B5

Zusammenfassung / Abstract

The use of fly-by-wire technology to control aircraft has become well-established and is part of the ongoing digitalization of aircraft systems. Numerous digital systems have to interact safely with one another, resulting in the world's most complex cyber-physical systems. This raises the questions of how to efficiently develop and manage systems of such complexity and how to ensure that they perform safely and robustly. Computer science addresses the first part through the utilization of model-based system engineering methods. At this point, abstract user models that function as digital representations of cyber-physical systems are placed at the center of development. These models are based on domain-specific modeling languages (DSMLs), which represent the blueprint for the user models according to a specific domain. In the non-safety-critical area, a plethora of software exists that enables the creation and manipulation of DSMLs and user models based on a meta-modeling language. In safety-critical environments, MBSE is not yet fully established. This is mainly due to the fact that such environments have significantly higher requirements for the safety of systems and software. Therefore, it must be ensured that development artifacts generated with software cannot lead to malfunctions during flight operations and it must be ensured that software does not exhibit any unexpected behavior. Software therefore has to be certified according to the objectives defined in avionics standards. This thesis addresses the question of whether and how MBSE can be performed safely and robustly. Resulting in the development of a simplified meta-modeling language and its certifiable implementation. The development enables the safe use of domain-specific modeling languages and user models, thus making the advantages of MBSE usable in avionics in order to ultimately accelerate development processes and ensure increased safety in flight operations.