Formal models for embedded system design

The authors give an overview of models of computation for embedded system design and propose a new model that supports communication-based design. An essential component of a new system design paradigm is the orthogonalization of concerns (i.e., the separation of the various aspects of design to allow more effective exploration of alternative solutions). The pillars of the design methodology that we have proposed over the years are the separation between function (what the system is supposed to do) and architecture (how it does it) and the separation between computation and communication.