A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A SYSTEMS ENGINEER IN 2035

To illustrate how the future state of systems engineering might evolve, we have prepared a fictitious “Day-in-The-Life” storyboard. This storyboard captures how an early-career Systems Engineer called Priya Rumani navigates her way through a complex, systems of systems project called “The Autonomous Vehicle Fleet - Emergency Response Project”.

The storyboard is portrayed using two distinct views; a Process Execution View and a Model-based Systems Engineering / Simulation View.

Priya’s project brief is to develop an emergency response system (ER) that leverages existing city-based autonomous vehicle fleets (AVFs), along with the city edge-cloud compute infrastructure to compose a coordinated citizen extraction fleet.

We join Priya at the start of the project where she is forming her diverse team, developing a scalable agile systems engineering framework, and establishing the digital assets required to execute the project.

Introduction to a Day in The Life of a Systems Engineer in 2035

Process Execution View

 An Emergency Response Project

Connected Data

Priya leverages her data scientists and AI team members to establish dynamic connections into her SoS systems modeling and simulation environment. The pre-acquisition collaboration work provides the framework for her medium business enterprise collaborators.

Model-based Systems Engineering

The systems engineering team creates a baseline SoS descriptive model using minor adjustments to a scalable reference architecture. The trimmed SysML models are instantiated using model-based product line engineering (MbPLE) and all associated design and functional model elements are linked.

The offshore ModSim team uses the linked MBSE use cases and critical characteristics to define the appropriate levels of simulation model element fidelity and completeness.

The photo-realism team generates a virtual environment capable of generating emergent SoS behaviors. This is used with synthetic data sets to train AI/ML algorithms and identify critical operational modes.

Systems Of Systems

Priya knows that architectural reuse provides resilient system designs with built in safety and security concepts. This project will extend the traditional AVF-taxi and delivery service operational domain. This will require special focus on providing a validated trusted system. Virtual model-based systems analysis and exploration will be fundamental to the validation of these new operational scenarios. Synthetic scenario-scene simulations derived from scenario parameter fuzzification and virtual agents-based dynamic exploration will deliver safety coverage key process indicators (KPIs) and the safety case.

Priya tasks the SoS team to extend the existing Autonomous Vehicle Transportation Operation System (AVTOS) reference patterns for AVFs creating a comprehensively broad but not deep SoS network model. The network model is used to identify critical path component system first responders, city infrastructure, emergency satellite communication, traffic congestion systems) that support the ER project. Mission critical threads are identified to focus development of critical to success KPIs.

 (AVTOS)

Environmental Conditions, Topographies, Scene Generation, and Maps

Increasing Fidelity and Completeness Supporting Extended Reality 

Detailed Scene, Scenario, Participant and Last Mile Robot Models 

Quantum Computing and Massive Parallel Compute

The team leverages quantum computing and the phenomenon of superposition, entanglement, and interference to solve major systems engineering concerns in AI, classifier training, security encryption of the ER systems, code, and the movement of critical ER communications. The secure massive parallel compute infrastructure provides real-time AVF path trajectories supporting complex mission movement.

Interactive HMI Virtualization

Priya goes big on human systems integration (HSI), human centered design (HCD) and design thinking. Emergency response AVFs will only be successful if the “populace-under- stress” can trust, relate-to, and easily transact-with, the emergency vehicle systems. Detailed HSI/HCD user experience models are created and tested with VR-based simulations. These simulations are extended to the emergency responders, fleet coordinators and city management staff to ensure seamless SSF operational effectiveness.

Priya had studied the theoretical foundations during her masters program and infuses her project with aspects of the “Value Selection Phenomenon” that provides a framework for systematic-project elements, value selection across the multi-layered SoS project solution. This supports identification and setting of ER performance KPIs.

Priya interacts with the key stakeholders with a series of simulations providing visceral insights to the project scope, approach, and end goal vision. These models are successively “build-out” in content, complexity, and simulation reality. The modeling approach is minimum viable simulation-based, only enough modeling and simulation are incorporated to provide insights, decision making support, and policy making support. The virtual capabilities demonstrate clearly the systems impact of early policy decisions in delivering a fully capable AVF-based ER system.