Design of Systems of Systems (SoS) - a Multidisciplinary Approach

This study surveys the current state of the art and emerging perspectives, confronting the theoretical achievements and practical developments at the novel multifunctional area of Systems of Systems (SoS) in co-operation with the adjacent SoS Engineering (SoSE) methodology. The predecessors of SoS in system engineering - the Large Scale Systems (LSS), are briefly discussed and juxtaposed to SoS. The existing conceptions about SoS simulation modeling, subsystem integration and following practical implementation issues in the face of main three general tendencies for development - academic, military and industrial, are also considered. The leading requirements for guaranteeing functional interoperability and inventing suitable theoretical design frameworks are discussed and available solutions performed. The examined generalized methodology for design, testing and effectiveness evaluation of SoSs, namely DEVS Unified Process (DEVSUP), is demonstrated by its main features. Finally, the V-Lab simulation environment for SoSs is briefly performed and its peculiarities analyzed.