Improving Real-Time software design with component and aspect approaches

This paper presents a component-based and aspect-oriented methodology for the design and the development of Real-Time Embedded Control Software (RTECS). This methodology defines a component model for describing modular and reusable software to cope with the increasing complexity of embedded systems. It proposes an aspect-oriented approach to address explicitly the extra-functional concerns of RTECS and describe separately transversal real time and security constraints. A computer-aided design tool, called MoDEST, implements this methodology. It enables the RTECS design and automatic real-time code generation. The benefits of this methodology are shown via an example of Legway control software, a version of the Segway vehicle built with Lego Mindstorms NXT.