Current techniques for the verification of software as e.g. model checking are limited when it comes to the verification of complex distributed embedded real-time systems. Our approach addresses this problem and in particular the state explosion problem for the software controlling mechatronic systems, as we provide a domain specific formal semantic definition for a subset of the UML 2.0 component model and an integrated sequence of design steps. These steps prescribe how to compose complex software systems from domain-specific patterns which model a particular part of the system behavior in a well-defined context. The correctness of these patterns can be verified individually because they have only simple communication behavior and have only a fixed number of participating roles. The composition of these patterns to describe the complete component behavior and the overall system behavior is prescribed by a rigorous syntactic definition which guarantees that the verification of component and system behavior can exploit the results of the verification of individual patterns.

The development of complex mechatronic systems requires a careful and ideally verifiable design. In addition, engineers from different disciplines, namely mechanical, electrical and software engineering, have to cooperate. The current technology is to use block diagrams including discrete blocks with statecharts for the design and verification of such systems. This does not adequately support the verification of large systems which improve the system behavior at run-time by means of online reconfiguration of its controllers because the system as whole has to be verified. It also does not support cooperative interdisciplinary work because a white-box view on all blocks involved in the online reconfiguration is required. This paper proposes a rigorous component concept based on the notion of UML component diagrams which enables modular composition and decomposition of complex systems with online reconfiguration given by hierarchical hybrid component specifications. The approach enables compatibility checks between components that are often independently developed (across the different disciplines) and supports compositional model checking based on a rigorously defined semantics.

Multi-agent technology promises to provide the ability to adapt to changing external contexts. To tap this potential, context needs to play a central role in the analysis and design of multi-agent systems. In this paper, a pragmatic approach to the classification and modeling of the relevant contexts is presented, focusing on a useful operational description rather than epistemological correctness. We then show how our approach supports the analysis and design of physical and social contexts for embedded multi-agent systems using the UML, providing a number of different examples.