Simulation integration platforms for cyber-physical systems

Simulation-based analysis is essential in the model-based design process of Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS). Since heterogeneity is inherent to CPS, virtual prototyping of CPS designs and the simulation of their behavior in various environments typically involve a number of physical and computation/ communication domains interacting with each other. Affordability of the model-based design process makes the use of existing domain-specific modeling and simulation tools all but mandatory. However, this pressure establishes the requirement for integrating the domain-specific models and simulators into a semantically consistent and efficient system-of-system simulation. The focus of the paper is the interoperability of popular integration platforms supporting heterogeneous multi-model simulations. We examine the relationship among three existing platforms: the High-Level Architecture (HLA)-based CPS Wind Tunnel (CPSWT), MOSAIK, and the Functional Mockup Unit (FMU). We discuss approaches to establish interoperability and present results of ongoing work in the context of an example.