Obviously, there is a wide variety of fields that appeal to the interest of hybrid dynamic systems researchers. I feel that we are related to modeling and simulation communities, as well as formal methods and verfication research. If you would like to add or modify, or if you have further information on the items I listed, please send me e-mail.

Modeling

Engineered systems involve expertise from many disciplines and entail a variety of implementation technologies (e.g., embedded software, microelectromechanical systems, analog and digital circuits). Approaches to system design through realization of such heterogeneous systems apply dedicated modeling formalisms to different aspects of the system. This Computer Aided Multi-Paradigm Modeling special session addresses the complete system specification process that combines several modeling, design, implementation, and realization paradigms (e.g., differential equation modeling, continuous time signal processing, and discrete event controllers), each potentially having a different modeling language (textual and/or graphical) and relying on different computational models.

Simulation

CACE (Department of Automatic Control, Lund Institute of Technology): The goal was to explore new possibilities for better CACE (Computer Aided Control Engineering) tools. The focus of the CACE project turned to model development and simulation of dynamical systems. The main idea was to support reuse of models and model components. The means were better modeling languages and object-oriented techniques. As a result, the the object-oriented  modelling language Omola was specified around 1989. The development of OmSim, a prototype implementation of a modelling and simulation environment, was started.

Modelica is intended for modeling within many application domains (for example: electrical circuits, multi-body systems, drive trains, hydraulics, thermodynamical systems and chemical systems) and possibly using several formalisms (for example: ODE, DAE, bond graphs, finite state automata and Petri nets).

The OLMECO project (ESPRIT-III program) aims at providing an integration between the modeling and simulation tools by providing an open (paradigm- and tool-independent) environment for storage and exchange of model data. Even more important than its role in streamlining the modeling process, OLMECO provides a library of pre-established models which are available for re-use.

Specification

Cabernet is a software engineering environment for the specification and analysis of real time systems. It provides an integrated set of tools for specifying and analyzing specifications of real time systems based on Petri nets augmented with data, predicates, actions and temporal information. It facilitates, a.o., automatic proof of liveness and safety properties and generation of new tools starting from basic functionalities.

The Generic Upgradable Architecture for Real-time Dependable Systems (GUARDS) project addresses the development of architectures, methods, techniques, and tools to support the design, implementation and validation of critical real-time systems.

Hierarchical Object Oriented Design (HOOD) is a software design method, which is used after the requirement analysis activities and covers architectural design, detailed design and coding. The method resulted from merging methods known as abstract machines and object oriented design and was further adapted to unify and integrate object orientation and advanced software engineering concepts and notations.

Reactive and Embedded Systems

The Embedded Systems Institute is committed to extending knowledge about embedded systems.

The Institute for Software Integrated Systems (ISIS) develops software technology for system design and implementation. The Model-Integrated Computing approach adresses issues such as close conceptual relationship between the computer applications and their environments, high complexity, adapting applications to changing operating conditions and end-user requirements, cost sensitivity, and reliability, safety and security requirements by providing rich, domain specific modeling environments, model analysis and model-based program synthesis tools.

The Ptolemy project focuses on system-level modeling, simulation, and design of reactive and embedded systems, providing high-level support for signal processing, communications, and real-time control. The key underlying principle is the use of multiple concurrent models of computation in a hierarchical heterogeneous design environment.

Homepages

• Sorted Artificial Intelligence Links (How many AI people does it take to change a lightbulb?)
• The Bond Graph compendium
• The Communicating Sequential Processes (CSP) archive
• The Formal Methods archive
• German Scientific Computing
• IEEE Robotics and Automation Society, Technical Committee on Discrete Event Dynamic Systems
• Object-Oriented modeling
• Sites Relevant to Ontologies and Knowledge Sharing
• The World of Petri Nets
• Systems and Control Archive at Dallas (SCAD)
• The Qualitative Reasoning Community