ARLINGTON, Va. -- Air Force Office of Scientific Research-funded researchers at Kansas State University have developed a new model that could potentially reduce software development time and costs while improving aircraft mission control systems.
The model is called Cadena and the work is being done at the university's Laboratory for Specification, Analysis, and Transformation of Software, also known as SAnToS.
According to Dr. Torben Amtoft, research team member, SAnToS aims to invent tools that help people construct and develop software that is reliable and conforms to its specification in a systematic and rapid way.
"Our research in this project involves the combination of two important themes: the use of software models to drive development of component-based systems, and light-weight domain-specific specification and verification technology," Amtoft explained.
"Highly reliable, distributed, real-time and embedded computer systems are needed to support the operational platforms required for achieving DoD objectives of network-centric collaboration and information supremacy," Amtoft said.
Additionally, Amtoft said he expects the Cadena model to be added to DoD's expansive 'systems of systems' that integrate hundreds of existent and to-be-developed systems.
"The model is based on software product lines, a development process in which the software is based on a collection of similar products that is rapidly built from common refurbished components," he said.
By emphasizing use of reusable components, the Cadena model reduces development, production time, and overall costs. It also helps ensure that design and integration errors are caught early in the development process.
AFOSR accomplishes its mission by investing in basic research efforts for the Air Force in relevant scientific areas such as with the SAnToS lab research team. Central to AFOSR's strategy is the transfer of the fruits of basic research to industry, the supplier of Air Force acquisitions; to the academic community which can lead the way to still more accomplishment; and to the other directorates of AFRL that carry the responsibility for applied and development research leading to acquisition.