Requirements specification of an automotive system with hybrid sequence charts

Abstract

Outlines the key ideas behind hybrid sequence charts (HySCs), along with an example system taken from the automotive industry. HySCs are a visual description technique for communication in hybrid systems, inspired by the well-known message sequence charts syntax. However, they have a completely different semantic model that is well-suited to the application domain of hybrid systems. As a modelling example, we consider a scenario taken from the specification of an electronic height control system, which is used to adjust the chassis level of a car. HySCs can be advantageously used in the early phases of the system development process. In particular, in the requirements capture phase, they can help to improve the dialogue between customers and application experts. HySCs complement existing formalisms, like hybrid automata, by focusing on the interaction between the system's components.