Domain-Specific, Reusable, Component-Based System Architectures

Modern, complex control systems for specific application domains often display common system architectural features, making them suitable for representation by a reusable, component-based architecture. The similarities and commonalities can be exploited to create model-driven system development environments. For example, we have shown how to create such a generic spacecraft architecture in which reusable specifications and models can be tailored for the specific spacecraft design, executed and validated in a simulation environment, and then either manually or automatically transformed into software or hardware. Such reuse, however, is dependent on the ability to record design rationale and underlying assumptions so that the changes necessary for particular applications of the architecture can be determined. We do that by using what we call intent specifications.