FERAL — Framework for simulator coupling on requirements and architecture level

Simulation technologies are imperative for embedded systems development. They enable the evaluation of decisions already early in development processes. Simulators are focused on a subset of effects that affect the operation of embedded systems. Accurate prediction of embedded system behavior on system level, however, requires the consideration of multiple effects, e.g. communication behavior, system environments, and functional behavior of all relevant system components. This requires the coupling of specialized simulators to create holistic simulation scenarios. In this paper, we present FERAL, our framework for simulator coupling, which enables the integration of simulators with heterogeneous simulation models. We describe the overall coupling approach of FERAL, its simulation model, and its approach for the horizontal and vertical integration of simulation models. We show the applicability of FERAL by a realistic example that demonstrates the potential of simulator coupling for early fault detection.