Designing Self-healing in Automotive Systems

Self-healing promises to improve the dependability of systems. In particular safety-critical systems like automotive systems are well suited application, since safe operation is required in these systems even in case of failures. Prerequisite for the improved dependability is the correct realization of the self-healing techniques. Consequently, self-healing activities should be rigorously specified and appropriately integrated with the rest of the system. In this paper, we present an approach for designing self-healing mechanisms in automotive systems. The approach contains a construction model which consist of a structural description as well as an extensive set of constraints. The constraints specify a correct system structure and are also used in the self-healing activities. We exemplify the self-healing approach using the adaptive cruise control system of modern cars.