Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) Methodology for Integrating Autonomy into a System of Systems Using the Unified Architecture Framework

Stakeholders of Systems of Systems (SoSs) are seeking new capabilities provided by autonomous systems empowered by Artificial Intelligence (AI). This requires the integration of these autonomous systems into SoSs, resulting in Systems of Autonomous Systems (SoASs). SoAS architecting is different from SoS. An autonomous system can have various Levels of Autonomy (LoA) depending on its AI algorithm. Each LoA has a different impact on the organizational and technical aspects of SoAS architecting. The organizational aspect covers concerns such as managerial and operational policies, whereas the technical aspect highlights issues such as integration compatibility between systems. Failure to address the LoA impact on these aspects in the architecting phase results in an ineffective integration. In this paper, we propose a methodology that follows the SoS hierarchical lexicon, builds upon the steps of the Object-Oriented Systems Engineering Method (OOSEM), and leverages the Unified Architecture Framework (UAF) for modeling autonomy integration. The proposed methodology adds detailed sub-steps to OOSEM in order to make it suitable for SoS evolution into SoAS. We also introduce the required UAF views for modeling each aspect of the SoAS architecture. This methodology lays the foundation for the trade study analysis that helps stakeholders decide on suitable LoAs for SoAS. We also present an illustrative example to demonstrate the implementation and effectiveness of the proposed methodology.