Abstract-Model-based design is a powerful design technique for cyber-physical systems, but too often literature assumes knowledge of a methodology without reference to an explicit design process, instead focusing on isolated steps such as simulation, software synthesis, or verification. We combine these steps into an explicit and holistic methodology for model-based design of cyber-physical systems from abstraction to architecture, and from concept to realization. We decompose model-based design into ten fundamental steps, describe and evaluate an iterative design methodology, and evaluate this methodology in the development of a cyber-physical system.

This paper describes an approach to teaching embedded systems from the perspective of cyber-physical systems. We place less emphasis on the mechanics of embedded system design and more on critical thinking about design technologies and on how the design of embedded software a↵ects the behavior, safety, and reliability of cyber-physical systems. The course gives students experience with three distinct levels of design of embedded software, namely bare-iron programming (software that executes in the absence of an operating system), programming within a real-time operating system, and model-based design. In each case, students are taught to think critically about the technology, to probe deeply the mechanisms and abstractions that are provided, and to understand the consequences of chosen abstractions on overall system design. This paper describes a laboratory experience that first exposes students to the three levels of abstraction through a structured sequence of exercises, followed by an open-ended capstone project. Several example projects are described.

Abstract-We review an introductory course in embedded systems that characterizes embedded systems not by resource constraints, but rather by interactions with the physical world. This course teaches students the basics of models, analysis tools, and design for embedded systems. Traditional undergraduate courses in embedded systems focus on ad-hoc engineering practices and the use of existing modeling techniques, often omitting critical analysis and meta-modeling; we emphasize model-based design of embedded and cyber-physical systems. Students learn how to model the physical world with continuous time differential equations, and how to model computation using logic and discrete models such as state machines. Students evaluate these modeling techniques through the use of meta-modeling, illuminating the interplay of practical design with formal models of systems that incorporate both physical dynamics and computation. Students learn formal techniques to specify and verify desired behavior. A combination of structured labs and design projects solidifies these concepts when applied to the design of embedded and cyber-physical systems with real-time and concurrent behaviors.

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We consider the problem of designing an automatic grader for a laboratory in the area of cyber-physical systems. The goal of this laboratory is to program a robot for specified navigation tasks. Given a candidate student solution (control program for the robot), our grader first checks whether the robot performs the task correctly under a representative set of environment conditions. If it does not, the grader automatically generates feedback hinting at possible errors in the program. The auto-grader is based on a novel notion of constrained parameterized tests based on signal temporal logic (STL) that capture symptoms pointing to success or causes of failure in traces obtained from a realistic simulator. We define and solve the problem of synthesizing constraints on a parameterized test such that it is consistent with a set of reference solutions with and without the desired symptom. The usefulness of our grader is demonstrated using a large data set obtained from an on-campus laboratory-based course at UC Berkeley.