Multilayer Architecture for Fault Diagnosis of Embedded Systems

Abstract

This work presents a multilayer architecture for fault diagnosis in embedded systems based on formal modeling of Discrete Event Systems (DES). Most works on diagnosis of DES focus in faults of actuators, which are the devices subject to intensive wear in industry. However, embedded systems are commonly subject to cost reduction, which may increase the probability of faults in the electronic hardware. Further, software faults are hard to track and fix, and the common solution is to replace the whole electronic board. We propose a modeling approach which includes the isolation of the source of the fault in the model, regarding three layers of embedded systems: software, hardware, and sensors & actuators. The proposed method is applied to a home appliance refrigerator and after exhaustive practical tests with forced fault occurrences, all faults were diagnosed, precisely identifying the layer and the faulty component. The solution was then incorporated into the product manufactured in industrial scale.