Section: Overall Objectives

Introduction

The Espresso project-team proposes models, methods and tools for computer-aided design of embedded systems. The model considered by the project-team is polychrony [14] . It is based on the paradigm of the synchronous hypothesis and allow for the specification of multi-clocked systems. The methods considered by the project-team put this model to work for the refinement-based (top-down) and component-based (bottom-up) design of embedded systems using correctness-preserving model transformations. The project-team makes a continuous effort to develop the Polychrony toolbox, freely available at http://www.irisa.fr/espresso/Polychrony .

Polychrony is an integrated development environment and technology demonstrator consisting of a compiler, a visual editor and a model checker. It provides a unified model-driven environment to perform embedded system design exploration by using top-down and bottom-up design methodologies formally supported by design model transformations from specification to implementation and from synchrony to asynchrony. The company GeenSys supplies its commercial implementation, RT-Builder, used for industrial scale projects by Snecma/Hispano-Suiza and EADS – Airbus Industries (see http://www.geensys.com ).