MEDS: Mockup Electronic Data Sheets for automated testing of cyber-physical systems using digital mockups

Abstract

Abstract-Cyber-physical systems have become more difficult to test as hardware and software complexity grows. The increased integration between computing devices and physical phenomena demands new techniques for ensuring correct operation of devices across a broad range of operating conditions. Manual test methods, which involve test personnel, require much effort and expense and lengthen a device's time to market. We describe a method for test automation of devices wherein a device is connected to a digital mockup of the physical environment, where both the device and the digital mockup are managed by PC-based software. A digital mockup consists of a behavioral model of the interacting environment, such as a medical ventilator device connected to a digital mockup of human lungs. We introduce Mockup Electronic Data Sheets (MEDS) as a method for embedding model information into the digital mockup, allowing PC software to automatically detect configurable model parameters and facilitate test automation. We summarize a case study showing the effectiveness of digital mockups and MEDS as a framework for test automation on a medical ventilator, resulting in 5x less time spent testing compared to methods requiring test personnel.

Internet of Medical Things: A Review of Recent Contributions Dealing With Cyber-Physical Systems in Medicine

“…Potential attack analysis models have also been described [58], along with model-based false alarm detection [59]. Verification and validation schemes through modeling were developed, with various targets: the validation of implantable medical devices [36], the verification of CPS using digital equivalents [60] and the generation of a modelbased code and verification architecture [61]. Finally, models accounting for the CPS environment were investigated through the modeling of packet loss in a networked architecture dedicated to post-stroke gait rehabilitation [62]; through the modeling of the physical context in IoMT-based systems [63].…”