FOR 1800:  Controlling Concurrent Change (CCC)

• Subject Area: Computer Science, Systems and Electrical Engineering
• Term: from 2013 to 2019
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 206480214

Embedded systems have become a key innovation driver for industry enabling new product features and services that had not been possible before, thereby reaching an innovation speed even in traditional products that was unthinkable a decade ago. In addition, the flexibility of embedded software and the configurability of embedded systems networks enable continuous change after product deployment. Software updates of vehicles in the shop are becoming as common as software updates of smart phones. Effectively, the ability to change improves product quality and increases product lifetime, such that an increased innovation speed does no more require wasteful product replacement. However, while PC or smart phone updates are often automatic and incremental, software updates of cars or other complex and safety critical systems are thoroughly lab-tested using models and prototypes under controlled conditions before they are released to the field. Despite its high cost, lab based integration is so far necessary because the possible side effects of changes in such complex systems are hard to predict and can possibly have life threatening consequences. Unfortunately, lab integration and test become increasingly difficult. There is a convergence of many applications from different domains (vehicle control, infotainment, traffic control), which share an embedded system platform (ESP) consisting of (multicore) computing nodes and a network for node communication. New adaptive, autonomous or even evolutionary applications change their platform requirements concurrently, thereby raising issues of platform self-adaptation, robustness, security or fault handling. Finally, lab test can become impossible where embedded systems become parts of larger open networks with no single owner and no down times. Examples are air traffic control or smart power grids. There is still a serious lack of understanding how to efficiently anticipate, detect and control the often subtle side effects of function integration and updates in such complex embedded system platforms (ESP) and make these systems robust against errors and malicious attacks. The Research Unit will, therefore, research into appropriate methods and hardware/software architectures envisioning future ESP for critical applications where updates and new functions can be integrated in the field ensuring the same quality as lab based integration, with high robustness and security and with no significant increase in cost or energy consumption.

• DFG Programme: Research Units
• International Connection: France

Projects

• Aerospace Electronics (Applicant Michalik, Harald )
• Architecture and Mechanisms of the Multi-Change Control Layer (MCCL) (Applicant Ernst, Rolf )
• Automotive Electronic Systems (Applicant Maurer, Markus )
• Communication and Interaction Platform (Applicant Wolf, Lars Christian )
• Conflict Resolution and Optimization (Applicant Fekete, Sándor )
• Controlling Concurrent Change: Project C1: Aerospace Electronics (Applicant Michalik, Harald )
• Coordination Funds (Applicant Ernst, Rolf )
• Formal Methods for Contracting (Applicant Schaefer, Ina )
• Resource efficient dynamic agreement and replication (Applicant Kapitza, Rüdiger )
• Safety and Availability (Applicants Ernst, Rolf ;  Michalik, Harald )
• Security and Integrity (Applicant Prevelakis, Vassilis )

• Spokesperson: Professor Dr.-Ing. Rolf Ernst