Automatic generation of schedules for time-triggered embedded transducer networks

Time-triggered systems are advantageous for embedded applications, when determinism, hard real-time behavior, and a straightforward way for certification are required. However, when it comes to flexibility, time-triggered systems often require that possible extensions have been planned in advance, which makes it difficult to apply unforeseen changes to such a system. This paper presents an approach that overcomes this problem by an automatic configuration of time-triggered distributed applications. Each application is decomposed into jobs and mapped on a set of distributed nodes, whereas each node hosts one or more jobs. Each job is defined by the following interfaces: a real-time input/output, a configuration and planning, and a diagnostic and management interface. Jobs, nodes, the application, and the global system configuration are represented with XML-based description formats, that provide a language-neutral semantic specification of the respective properties. A scheduling tool uses these descriptions to generate a time-triggered application that complies to the application specification