Poster: Programming Support for Time-sensitive Software Adaptation in Cyberphysical Systems
Mikhail Afanasov, Luca Mottola, Carlo Ghezzi · International Conference on Embedded Wireless Systems and Networks · 2016
We present programming constructs that allow developers to gain control on the timing aspect when enforcing adaptation decisions in Cyberphysical System (CPS) software. The operation of CPS often depends on environmental conditions; as a result, the software must adapt to the changes in these conditions. Often, CPS software is also time-sensitive; for example, when implementing control loops. As a result, the timing of enforcing adaptation decisions becomes crucial. However, developers are left without dedicated programming support to cope with these aspects, which leads either to simply neglect them or to invest additional effort to realize hand-crafted solutions. The programming constructs we conceive allow developers to rely on well-specified semantics when triggering adaptations, and to define time boundaries that the adaptation process must adhere to. We argue that this greatly simplifies the implementation of time-sensitive adaptive CPS software, at the price of a very modest run-time overhead.