Advanced model-based software engineering technologies for software defined radio configuration

Model based technologies can be used to reduce the cost of development and maintenance software intensive systems and to enable additional capabilities such as load time configuration and run time adaptation. Such systems include complex communications systems based on software defined radios that have adaptive or cognitive capabilities. Advanced methodologies and tools for developing adaptive software are needed to build such systems at an acceptable cost while maintaining safety and correctness. We have developed such methodologies and tools and have used two experimental platforms to validate them in realistic domains: 1) Flight control and vehicle management software and 2) Software defined radios. The overall goal is to demonstrate a 90% (10 X) savings in software development time and cost compared to conventional, non-model based technologies. In this presentation we will describe our application of model-based techniques to the dynamic configuration of software defined radios in the field according to mission context, environmental conditions and resource constraints.