Generating embedded software from hierarchical hybrid models

Abstract

Benefits of high-level modeling and analysis are significantly enhanced if code can be generated automatically from a model such that the correspondence between the model and the code is precisely understood. For embedded control software, hybrid systems is an appropriate modeling paradigm because it can be used to specify continuous dynamics as well as discrete switching between modes. Establishing a formal relationship between the mathematical semantics of a hybrid model and the actual executions of the corresponding code is particularly challenging due to sampling and switching errors. In this paper, we describe an approach to compile the modeling language Charon that allows hierarchical specifications of interacting hybrid systems. We show how to exploit the semantics of Charon to generate code from a model in a modular fashion, and identify sufficient conditions on the model that guarantee the absence of switching errors in the compiled code. The approach is illustrated by compiling a model for coordinated motion of legs for walking onto Sony's AIBO robot.