I-Logix Introduces Formal Verification Technology to Systems Engineering with the Release of the Statemate MAGNUM Model Checking Products.

Business/Technology Editors

LONDON and ANDOVER, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 16, 2001

EMBEDDED SYSTEMS SHOW--

Model Checking Significantly Streamlines Development and Testing

Process for Complex, Mission Critical Systems

I-Logix Inc., a leading provider of enterprise solutions for embedded applications development, today announced the integration of model checking capability with the Statemate MAGNUM(TM) 3.0 systems engineering tool. The integration of computer-aided model checking into the design process will verify that systems and component designs meet the functional requirements of the device and are fail-safe, while significantly reducing the amount of time required to thoroughly analyze, debug, and deploy the system. Model checking is available as a standalone application for new and current Statemate MAGNUM users.

"Previously, software developers have had to manually check that embedded designs comply with stringent performance, safety and quality assurance standards. With the growing complexity of systems, depth of design hierarchy and shortened time-to-market windows, such manual validation is simply not possible," said George LeBlanc, general manager for I-Logix' Systems and MicroController Division. "In addition, complex systems environments often require that devices are certified for fail-safe operation. With the Statemate MAGNUM Model Checker, systems engineers can now automate the manual validation process. Model checking not only validates that the intended behaviors occur, it also checks the `negative space,' or the complete set of negative actions, ensuring that any unintended behavior will not occur."

Model checking will be particularly useful in sectors where high availability is essential, such as the automotive industry. For example, the doors in many new cars can be activated by a remote control that is driven by an Electronic Control Unit (ECU). When carried in a bag or pocket it is easy to repeatedly activate such a device in a short period of time. To protect the stepper motor from overheating, the controller is designed to temporarily disable itself under these circumstances. However, the embedded system must also be programmed to automatically unlock if a crash situation arises, leading to potential conflicts. If, for example, a crash occurred during the time period that the controller was disabled, passengers could be trapped in the car.

Formal model checking ensures every possible sequence of device usage and combination of sensor readings is assessed. With several hundred different configurations of the average ECU it is impossible to test each one manually. Additionally, by automatically stress testing the device, developers can catch errors much earlier in the design cycle where they can be fixed at a lower cost.

I-Logix' new model checking solution brings the formal verification strategies used in the development of integrated circuits (IC) and systems-on-a-chip (SoC) to the software industry. Model checking has been brought to market through a partnership with OSC (Offis Systems and Consulting GmbH) - a spin-off from the internationally renowned research institute OFFIS. Together, I-Logix and OSC, are developing additional Automatic Test Generation and Model Checking capabilities aimed at traditional development processes and object-oriented UML(TM) -based designs.

"Based on our evaluation of the model checking solution from I-Logix and OSC we are determined to make it a part of our software development process in the area of by-wire-systems," said Dr. Jurgen Bortolazzi, senior manager software technologies, from the Software Technology department at DaimlerChrysler in Stuttgart, Germany. "This is an important step not only to increase the quality of the software but also to shorten the software testing cycles."

Model checking for Statemate MAGNUM will be available early this summer in two packages. The first, Statemate MAGNUM Model Checker, is designed for the everyday user to check their models more thoroughly during the course of designing the product. Today this is done by running simulations on the model based on defined scenarios and checks only for these scenarios. Because of the time it would take to check all possible scenarios, the testing done at this stage is incomplete. With Statemate MAGNUM Model Checker users can benefit from formal verification technology in a very easy to use tool that checks designs for hard to detect errors throughout the development process.

The second package called Statemate MAGNUM Model Certifier will be used by lead engineers, quality engineers and safety engineers who are responsible for certifying that the complete design meets the functional and safety requirements associated with its operation. This version can check to see if a series of events will or will not happen under a set of predefined conditions.

Both Statemate MAGNUM Model Checker and Model Certifier will run on Windows NT, Windows 2000 and Sun Solaris systems.

About I-Logix Inc.

Founded in 1987, I-Logix is a venture-backed software company that provides enterprise solutions for real-time embedded applications development in the growing pervasive computing market. I-Logix' solutions significantly compress software development cycles while improving product quality. These products allow engineers to graphically model the behavior and functionality of their embedded systems, analyze and validate the system and automatically generate production quality code in a variety of languages. I-Logix uniquely integrates and associates the entire design flow from concept to code across an enterprise using both conventional and collaborative Web-enabled technology.

I-Logix is a member of the Object Management Group (OMG), the Bluetooth SIG, the International Council of Systems Engineers (INCOSE), a founding member of the Embedded Linux Consortium and a co-author of the Unified Modeling Language (UML). I-Logix is backed by Phillips Ventures BV, Needham Capital Partners, ABS Ventures, Commonwealth Capital Ventures, Gilde Investments, One Liberty Ventures and North Bridge Venture Partners. The company is headquartered in Andover, Mass., and has sales offices and distributors throughout the USA, Europe and the Far East. I-Logix can be found on the Internet at http://www.ilogix.com.

Editors Note: Rhapsody and Statemate are registered trademarks of I-Logix, Inc. Statemate MAGNUM, I-Logix, and the I-Logix logo are trademarks of I-Logix, Inc. OMG marks and logos are trademarks or registered trademarks, service marks and/or certification marks of Object Management Group, Inc. registered in the United States. Other products mentioned may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.