Hans Vangheluwe – University of Antwerp, Belgium

Multi-Paradigm Modelling

As the complexity of Cyber-Physical Systems (of Systems) we build grows, the need for an elegant theory, and methods, techniques, and tools to tackle that complexity increases. This talk gives a very personal and anecdotal overview of some attempts to tackle the complexity of engineered systems by explicitly "modelling everything" (that is relevant, at some point in time) by means of "most appropriate" views, architectures, and workflows, and this for all phases of the system life-cycle such as system requirements, design and deployment/realization. To represent each of these views, architectures, and workflows, we use models, at "most appropriate" levels of detail/abstraction/fidelity, using "most appropriate" modelling languages (formalisms). This appropriateness is of course highly subjective and depends on the application domain, the background of the modeller, availability of tools, etc. A major challenge is a heterogeneity in domain silos, in modelling abstractions and formalisms, and in particular how to combine these. Even for this challenge, as well as for the construction of supporting editing, simulation, debugging, ... tooling, using "most appropriate" abstractions and formalisms turns out to be beneficial. This talk will both look back at past challenges and solutions and will try to extrapolate "most appropriate modelling" into a future where dealing with "change" plays a central role.

Bio: Hans Vangheluwe is a professor in the Computer Science department of the University of Antwerp. His Modelling, Simulation and Design Lab (MSDL), part of the Antwerp Systems and Software Modelling (AnSyMo) group is a core research laboratory in the Design and Optimization cluster of Flanders Make, the strategic research centre for the Flemish manufacturing industry. In his research on multi-paradigm modelling, he studies the foundations and applications of modelling language engineering. This covers the entire spectrum, from acausal modelling languages such as Modelica for lumped parameter modelling of physical systems, to discrete-event simulation languages such as DEVS and GPSS to model software and production systems. He investigates modular combinations of these formalisms, of views and of abstractions. He develops scalable (meta-)modelling and (co-)simulation tools to help engineers design, build, optimise and maintain Cyber-Physical Systems. He was the co-founder and coordinator of the EU ESPRIT Basic Research Working Group 8467 “Simulation in Europe”, a founding member of the Modelica language Design Team, and the chair of the EU COST Action IC1404 on Multi-Paradigm Modelling for Cyber-Physical Systems (MPM4CPS).

Sara Vinco – Polytechnic of Turin, Italy

Virtual Prototyping and Interoperability Standards in Multidisciplinary Design

In an era of increasingly complex systems, multidisciplinary design is both a necessity and a challenge. Virtual prototyping has emerged as a critical approach to explore, validate, and evaluate alternative configurations early in the design process. However, effective collaboration across disciplines—mechanical, electrical, software, and more—requires not only integrated workflows but also shared semantics and interoperable tools. This talk introduces the core principles and practical advantages of virtual prototyping in a multidisciplinary context, with a focus on the use of open standards for both the modeling and the co-simulation of heterogeneous descriptions. Through illustrative examples, attendees will gain insight into how standards facilitate collaboration across domains, reduce integration costs, and support scalable system-level design. 

Bio: Sara Vinco (Senior Member, IEEE) is an Associate Professor at Politecnico di Torino, Italy, where she has held a faculty position since 2021. She earned her Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of Verona in 2013. Her research focuses on digital twins, energy-efficient electronic design automation, simulation and optimization of energy systems, and the virtual prototyping of heterogeneous embedded systems. 

Christoph Grimm - University of Kaiserslautern-Landau, Germany

SysML v2, hands on

SysML has just appeared in its version 2 as “SysML v2”. It is ways more than just an update of version one – it is an entirely new framework that offers significantly more possibilities that its predecessor. I will explain the ecosystem, its foundations, the new metamodel (KerML), its various notions of typing, and the textual representation of SysML v2. Furthermore, I will demonstrate practical examples that can be followed hands-on by an OSS implementation.

Bio: Christoph Grimm works on the specification and modeling of discrete/continuous systems. Recently he contributed an Open-Source implementation of a SysML v2 tool that combines KerML/SysML v2 textual with a constraint solver. He is member of the OMG Formal Methods working group and vice-chair of the Accellera SystemC AMS working group. Christoph Grimm has studied computer engineering at TU Darmstadt and Ecole Centrale de Lyon and holds a Ph.D. and habilitation of the University of Frankfurt. 2006-2012 he was full professor at Vienna University of Technology. 2012 he followed a call to the University of Kaiserslautern-Landau.