Model based Design at THALES: the Current status and New Challenges
Laurent Rioux
Thales, FR
ABSTRACT
After more than a decade since the introduction of its model based design method (ARCADIA) and its dedicated tool (CAPELLA) in the industrial practices, THALES has acquired strong expertise and competences in model based engineering techniques and solutions to master complex systems. THALES has also developed approaches to cope with non-functional properties like safety, security and performance in the context of model-based design by integrating formal methods and other verification techniques. The integration of these techniques early in the process allows systematic verification through the lifecycle and avoiding costly errors. However, these non-functional system properties are not isolated and often strongly related - but with limited/no automation of traceability of interdependencies. Thus THALES is currently working to advance technology enable to combine safety, security and performance engineering activities. Supported by the model based approach, it is possible to define interaction points where architects and experts (safety, security and performance) can work together to identify common solutions to meet such non-functional requirements. Today, THALES systems integrate more intelligence to become more autonomous. But such systems still have to comply with the same level of criticality as before. This creates new engineering challenges where these systems are able to adapt themselves with new behaviors and where these new behaviors need to comply with critical non-functional system properties. So, the techniques already developed need to be extended to verify and validate the safety, security and performance of such autonomous systems.
