A user-centric computer-aided verification process in a virtuality-reality continuum

Although companies systematically strive for a full digitalisation of their products and their processes, the design phase shows that the quality of models is very unequal. Indeed, detailed design benefits from much more sophisticated methods and tools than the specification and architecture activities. Although, we should note the recent paradigm shift from document-based to model-based systems engineering, these models, which are mainly static 2D diagrams, remain poor to facilitate design verification early on. Thus, to detect most errors during the design phase, companies have no other alternative than to wait up to the testing phase which occurs after several years of development for complex systems. Thus, we propose a user-centric computer-aided verification process to ensure that the design meets the requirements under realistic operational conditions. The verification process provides a progressive immersion into the virtual system before seamlessly transitioning to the real system. Our work is built upon state-of-the-art MBSE methods such as the Property Model Methodology, which enables systems engineers to co-simulate specification models and design models. We improve such MBSE methods by increasing the level of realism that experiences the end-user during the verification of a design by the original combination of Model-In the-Loop, Immersive Model-In-the-Loop, Human-In-the-Loop, and Hardware-In-the-Loop simulation strategies. A robot arm is used as a use case to illustrate the verification process.(c) 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.