ARTEMIS-prosjekt VARIES - VARiability In safety-critical Embedded Systems

VARIES is a project that focuses on the advantages of describing variability explicitly in a separate model. VARIES is an ARTEMIS project with participation from Denmark, Germany, Belgium, Finland and Spain as well as Norway. Approaching varying products as a product line is explored and supported by experiments and theoretical analysis. The Norwegian subproject has participants SINTEF and Autronica and our particular focus is to provide fruitful languages with associated tooling for variability and to apply this in advanced analysis. The realistic use case of Autronica is in the area of fire detection systems.

In order to succeed or even to survive, manufacturers and system integrators must be able to deliver new products with speed, diversity, high quality, and at an acceptable cost. The main goal of the VARIES project is to help Embedded Systems (ES) develop ers to maximize the full potential of variability in safety critical ES. The VARIES project will deliver the VARIES Platform: a complete, cross-domain, multi-concern, state-of-the-art reference platform for managing variability in safety critical ES. Spe cial attention will be given to aspects specific to safety critical ES, in particular the impact of reuse and composition on certification. In addition to this ambitious goal, the VARIES project will create a Center of Innovation Excellence (CoIE) for man aging variability in ES. The VARIES Center of Innovation Excellence will support the European ES industry also beyond the duration of VARIES. The Norwegian efforts will focus on vehicles for variability and how Autronica can benefit from the VARIES techno logy visualized through their use case. Concrete objectives for Autronica: - A more streamlined configuration and test process for the main product families o Earlier discovery of errors through extended use of automatic testing and verification o More predictable and shorter time to market for new products - A smooth transition to a more explicit product line approach by leveraging on legacy software as well as novel VARIES technology - Considerable economic gains through faster product configuration a nd commissioning Concrete objective for SINTEF: - Lead the standardization effort of the Common Variability Language (CVL) - Create an open-source tool that supports the CVL and the VARIES enhancements - Help establish the Center of Innovation Excellence such that it can be beneficial for Norwegian industry beyond VARIES. Both SINTEF and Autronica are also interested in learning how certification can be done more efficiently through applying product line techniques.