Structural integrity: safety in miniature technology

Micro-Electro-Mechanical (MEMS) sensing and actuation devices are poised to reinvent the cyber-physical world by providing environmental connectivity in unprecedented ways. MEMS accelerometers and transducers open the door to sensor networks embedded in physical structures, armed with the ability to monitor structural integrity. Such applications are the hallmark of deeply embedded systems, where autonomy, communication, and cyber-physical interaction play pivotal roles in system effectiveness. Realization of these next-generation embedded systems will require expertise spanning a variety of domains, further exacerbating the already significant integration effort of modern design. To this end, we propose a system-level design methodology that promotes functional correctness through specification of latency-insensitive (or event-based) behavior.