A Multi-Level Data-Centric Model of System of Systems Engineering

System of systems is a concept describing a large scale system consisting of component systems that are spread across multiple hierarchical levels where for each level, a component system can have multiple structures. Establishing an engineering model for system of systems is essential for representing operational and managerial independence of component systems and their interactions leading to emergent and evolutionary development of system of systems with enhanced composite capabilities. This article contributes to system of systems modeling of physical component systems and organizational component systems. We propose a data-centric model for supervision of system of systems. A concrete example is discussed composed of two cooperating component systems, an unmanned aerial vehicle and an intelligent autonomous road vehicle, in which the unmanned aerial vehicle acts as an external global positioning system sensor that supplies redundant navigation information to the intelligent autonomous road vehicle, to be able to safely maneuver in a confined space.