SysML Flow Model

Avionics embedded systems are subjected to stringent timing requirements to be verified. Evaluating if messages meet their timing requirements, such as the latency constraint, is of the highest importance from the design stage of avionics systems. End-to-end latency of messages is an important design parameter that needs to be within specified bounds for the correct functioning of avionics systems. In this paper, we define the “SysML Flow Model” for the first time. Subsequently, we propose an approach to transfer the SysML Flow Model to a timed automaton, to perform schedulability and end-to-end latency verification. This fills an important gap in the method toolbox of the safety-critical domain engineer. The definition has a profound potential to broaden the use of Model-Driven Architecture and its well-known advantages in safety-critical avionics applications. Finally, we apply this technique to an industrial case of a flight management system.