Platform-Based Embedded Software Design for Multi-vehicle Multi-modal Systems

In this paper, we present a methodology for the design of embedded controllers for multi-vehicle multi-modal systems. Our methodology is predicated upon the principles of platform-based design, which uses layers of abstraction to isolate applications from low-level system details and yet provides enough information about the important parameters of the lower layers of abstraction, to modularize the system design and to provide predictable system performance. An essential layer of abstraction in our methodology is the software platform provided by the programming language Giotto, which allows a clean implementation of a time-based controller application. Our methodology includes a hardware-in-the-loop simulation framework, in which system components can be replaced by actual implementation for high-fidelity simulation. To demonstrate the effectiveness of our design methodology, a helicopter-based unmanned aerial vehicle system is presented. We present simulation results which validate the quality of our embedded control system implementation.