To engineer the modern large, complex, interdisciplinary systems-of-systems (SoS), the collaborative world teams must “speak” the same language and must work on the same “matter.” The “matter” is the system model and the communication mechanisms must be supported by standard, flexible, and friendly modeling languages. The evolving model-based systems engineering (MBSE) approach is leading the way and is expected to become a standard practice in the field of systems engineering (SE) in the next decade. As an emerging paradigm for the systems of the 21st century, it seems useful to overview its current state of the art concerning the developing standards, the embryonic formalisms, the available modeling languages, the methodologies, and the major applications.

Model-Based Systems Engineering: An Emerging Approach for Modern Systems

The Group on Earth Observation (GEO) Model Web initiative utilizes a Model as a Service approach to increase model access and sharing. It relies on gradual, organic growth leading towards dynamic webs of interacting models, analogous to the World Wide Web. The long term vision is for a consultative infrastructure that can help address "what if" and other questions that decision makers and other users have. Four basic principles underlie the Model Web: open access, minimal barriers to entry, service-driven, and scalability; any implementation approach meeting these principles will be a step towards the long term vision. Implementing a Model Web encounters a number of technical challenges, including information modelling, minimizing interoperability agreements, performance, and long term access, each of which has its own implications. For example, a clear information model is essential for accommodating the different resources published in the Model Web (model engines, model services, etc.), and a flexible architecture, capable of integrating different existing distributed computing infrastructures, is required to address the performance requirements. Architectural solutions, in keeping with the Model Web principles, exist for each of these technical challenges. There are also a variety of other key challenges, including difficulties in making models interoperable; calibration and validation; and social, cultural, and institutional constraints. Although the long term vision of a consultative infrastructure is clearly an ambitious goal, even small steps towards that vision provide immediate benefits. A variety of activities are now in progress that are beginning to take those steps.

Environmental model access and interoperability

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Position paper: Open web-distributed integrated geographic modelling and simulation to enable broader participation and applications

This paper discusses novel tensor product (TP) models for the control of two complex components of the vehicle automatic transmission systems, namely the drive line without clutch and, the valve-clutch. The TP models are obtained by a transformation of the linear parameter-varying models derived from the first principle nonlinear mathematical models of the controlled processes. Experimental results validate the performance of the proposed TP models.

Novel Tensor Product Models for Automatic Transmission System Control

Integration of models requires linking models which can be developed using different tools, methodologies, and assumptions. We performed a literature review with the aim of improving our understanding of model integration process, and also presenting better strategies for building integrated modeling systems. We identified five different phases to characterize integration process: pre-integration assessment, preparation of models for integration, orchestration of models during simulation, data interoperability, and testing. Commonly, there is little reuse of existing frameworks beyond the development teams and not much sharing of science components across frameworks. We believe this must change to enable researchers and assessors to form complex workflows that leverage the current environmental science available. In this paper, we characterize the model integration process and compare integration practices of different groups. We highlight key strategies, features, standards, and practices that can be employed by developers to increase reuse and interoperability of science software components and systems.

An overview of the model integration process: From pre-integration assessment to testing

There is an increasing need to perform systems-of-systems engineering (SoSE) in a global environment. A new SoSE process has been developed which is a significant breakthrough in the development of large complex systems and net-centric systems-of-systems (SoS). The SoSE process provides a complete, detailed, and systematic development approach for military and civil SoS. This architecture-centric, model-based systems engineering process emphasizes concurrent development of the system architecture model and system specifications. It is applicable to all phases of a system's lifecycle. The significant benefits of developing a system architecture model for GEOSS using the SoSE process are described. An example of how the process would capture the architecture model of GEOSS is presented.

S.C. Vickroy

Papers

A System-of-Systems Engineering GEOSS: Architectural Approach