Adaptive Techniques for Specification Matching in Embedded Systems: A Comparative Study

The specification matching problem in embedded systems is to determine whether an existing component may be adapted suitably to match the requirements of a new specification. Recently, a refinement called forced simulation has been introduced to formally address this problem. It has been established that when a forced similarity relation exists between a component and its specification, an adapter process can be constructed so that the composition of the adapter and the component fulfil the specification. This looks very similar to synthesis methods in supervisory control theory, where a controller is constructed to make a plant satisfy a desired specification. However, due to the need for state-based hiding in specification matching, supervisory control theory is not directly applicable. This paper develops a supervisory control based solution to the specification matching problem by modifying the problem representation. Subsequently, a comparison of the forced simulation and supervisory control based specification matching methods is made.