In the first project period, all necessary actions were taken for developing the underpinning theoretical concepts and scientific pillars on which the envisaged SDK4ED platform is built. In particular, the project has delivered and revised in detail functional, quality, and hardware requirements, as well as the overall structure of the envisaged platform (WP2).
As part of the required theoretical technical work, the project defined, evaluated, and selected the main indicators for Technical Debt, Energy Consumption, and Dependability by both revising existing and inventing new ones (WP3). Concerning security indicators, we developed a set of innovative Security Assessment and Vulnerability Prediction Models for assessing the dependability of embedded software. On top of these, accurate forecasting models were created based on historical versioning data with the mission to predict how the three parameters, TD/Energy/Dependability, will most likely evolve, thus assisting project management decision-making.
As a part of quality optimization efforts (WP4), we proposed and evaluated the methodologies for TD, energy, and dependability optimizations. Finally, we investigated the most appropriate design space exploration techniques for handling multiple conflicting criteria between various qualities, leading to the formulation of the sound theoretical framework for the decision-support tool.
Regarding the implementation phase of the SDK4ED platform (WP5), a common micro-service-based strategy using Docker technology has been adopted. Regarding system integration (WP6), a commonly agreed integration and verification strategy were defined, and a set of collaborative tools, such as GitLab repository and continuous integration tools, such as Jenkins, were selected. An automated CI/CD pipeline was set up to support overall integration and testing workflow.
During the evaluation phase (WP7), the three pilot cases were successfully validated by all use case partners and several external users. The execution of the SDK4ED toolboxes on the pilot projects from three different domains for a considerable time proved its applicability and a potential for a broader impact.
Rich dissemination and communication activities (WP8) were carefully planned, and the Consortium has exceeded the target dissemination KPIs. The project has greatly impacted the software engineering scientific community and the relevant low-energy computing and ES industry, as evidenced by 38 conference publications, 21 journals, 19 presentations and invited talks, 8 exhibitions, 2 workshops, 2 tutorials and one press release. The Consortium has identified 9 functional bundles of exploitable assets, their potential path towards commercialization and ownership concerning IPR.
