Synchronizing MBSE Models and Software Development in Robotic Autonomous Systems

MBSE and Agile software development are both vital approaches used by the DoD to facilitate development at reduced cost and a rapid pace for high priority efforts, such as Robotic and Autonomous Systems. Despite the common goals however, the expertise needed to apply both approaches are often separated between different groups of personnel with different skillsets, such as systems engineers and software developers. To bridge the gap between MBSE and Agile software development, we developed toolchains that help synchronize software development with SysML models. These toolchains leverage an XML-based, developer-maintained Model Import File (MIF) schema that we created. The MIFs are based upon Robot Operating System concepts and can be used to create additional toolchains in the future based on program needs.