Mixed models of computation in the design of automotive engine control

In this paper we discuss issues involved in system level design of complex embedded systems, we focus on automotive engine and power-train control applications. We briefly illustrate the problem of capturing a complicated plant and of designing control laws that satisfy multiple requirements in different regions of operation. We propose a unified framework, the Tagged Signal Model (TSM) based on an extended theory of hybrid systems. Our framework can put together engine models that are a combination of finite state machines, discrete event and sequential processes, powertrain models, sensors and actuators, and at last controller models. The synchronous reactive language formalism can be used for the design of the controller so that synthesis procedures can be followed to generate either the hardware or the software.