Modelling and Simulation of Embedded Systems with Formal Languages and Virtual Platforms

The purpose of this Thesis is to boost the industrial adoption of MBSE by providing a measurable and profitable Return On Investment (ROI), and by narrowing the existing gap between structural and simulation models. The goals of this research are: • to assess the language constructs required to describe complex HW/SW architectures; • to realize a joint co-design and co-verification workflow for real-time embedded systems; • to enhance system-level Design Space Exploration (DSE) by means of a purposedly developed design and simulation framework. The proposed workflow is implemented by a Model Driven Architecture (MDA) framework composed of metamodels, automatic model transformations and full-system simulation tools. The system simulation has been realized both with the WindRiver Simics and with the QEmu open-source Instruction-Set Simulator (ISS). The DSE is performed with a Platform Based Design (PBD) approach, which is a consolidated design methodology for Electronic System Level (ESL) design. The formal languages used to perform the MBSE workflow are SysML, enhanced by the MARTE profile, and Arcadia, which is an emerging implementation of the SysML standard enriched with Electronic-Systems Design (ESD) constructs.