Different domains foster different architectural styles -- and thus different documentation practices (e.g., state-based models for behavioral control vs. ER-style models for information structures). Agentic AI systems exhibit another characteristic style: specialized agents collaborate by exchanging artifacts, invoking external tools, and coordinating via recurring interaction patterns and quality gates. As these systems evolve into long-lived industrial solutions, documentation must capture these style-defining concerns rather than relying on ad-hoc code sketches or pipeline drawings. This paper reports industrial experience from joint projects and derives a documentation systematics tailored to this style. Concretely, we provide (i) a style-oriented modeling vocabulary and a small set of views for agents, artifacts, tools, and their coordination patterns, (ii) a hierarchical description technique aligned with C4 to structure these views across abstraction levels, and (iii) industrial examples with lessons learned that demonstrate how the approach yields transparent, maintainable architecture documentation supporting sustained evolution.
The degradation of sewer pipes poses significant economical, environmental and health concerns. The maintenance of such assets requires structured plans to perform inspections, which are more efficient when structural and environmental features are considered along with the results of previous inspection reports. The development of such plans requires degradation models that can be based on statistical and machine learning methods. This work proposes a methodology to assess their suitability to plan inspections considering three dimensions: accuracy metrics, ability to produce long-term degradation curves and explainability. Results suggest that although ensemble models yield the highest accuracy, they are unable to infer the long-term degradation of the pipes, whereas the Logistic Regression offers a slightly less accurate model that is able to produce consistent degradation curves with a high explainability. A use case is presented to demonstrate this methodology and the efficiency of model-based planning compared to the current inspection plan.
High-definition map transformations are essential in autonomous driving systems, enabling interoperability across tools. Ensuring their semantic correctness is challenging, since existing rule-based frameworks rely on manually written formulas and domain-specific functions, limiting scalability. In this paper, We present an LLM-assisted pipeline that jointly generates logical formulas and corresponding executable predicates within a computational FOL framework, extending the map verifier in CommonRoad scenario designer with elevation support. The pipeline leverages prompt-based LLM generation to produce grammar-compliant rules and predicates that integrate directly into the existing system. We implemented a prototype and evaluated it on synthetic bridge and slope scenarios. The results indicate reduced manual engineering effort while preserving correctness, demonstrating the feasibility of a scalable, semi-automated human-in-the-loop approach to map-transformation verification.
Hamidreza Eivazi, Jendrik-Alexander Tröger, Stefan Wittek et al.
Multiscale problems are ubiquitous in physics. Numerical simulations of such problems by solving partial differential equations (PDEs) at high resolution are computationally too expensive for many-query scenarios, e.g., uncertainty quantification, remeshing applications, topology optimization, and so forth. This limitation has motivated the application of data-driven surrogate models, where the microscale computations are $\textit{substituted}$ with a surrogate, usually acting as a black-box mapping between macroscale quantities. These models offer significant speedups but struggle with incorporating microscale physical constraints, such as the balance of linear momentum and constitutive models. In this contribution, we propose Equilibrium Neural Operator (EquiNO) as a $\textit{complementary}$ physics-informed PDE surrogate for predicting microscale physics and compare it with variational physics-informed neural and operator networks. Our framework, applicable to the so-called multiscale FE$^{\,2}\,$ computations, introduces the FE-OL approach by integrating the finite element (FE) method with operator learning (OL). We apply the proposed FE-OL approach to quasi-static problems of solid mechanics. The results demonstrate that FE-OL can yield accurate solutions even when confronted with a restricted dataset during model development. Our results show that EquiNO achieves speedup factors exceeding 8000-fold compared to traditional methods and offers an optimal balance between data-driven and physics-based strategies.
Iqra Aslam, Abhishek Buragohain, Daniel Bamal et al.
Environment perception is a fundamental part of the dynamic driving task executed by Autonomous Driving Systems (ADS). Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based approaches have prevailed over classical techniques for realizing the environment perception. Current safety-relevant standards for automotive systems, International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 26262 and ISO 21448, assume the existence of comprehensive requirements specifications. These specifications serve as the basis on which the functionality of an automotive system can be rigorously tested and checked for compliance with safety regulations. However, AI-based perception systems do not have complete requirements specification. Instead, large datasets are used to train AI-based perception systems. This paper presents a function monitor for the functional runtime monitoring of a two-folded AI-based environment perception for ADS, based respectively on camera and LiDAR sensors. To evaluate the applicability of the function monitor, we conduct a qualitative scenario-based evaluation in a controlled laboratory environment using a model car. The evaluation results then are discussed to provide insights into the monitor's performance and its suitability for real-world applications.
Sakshi Dhankhar, Stefan Wittek, Hamidreza Eivazi et al.
Study Region: Goslar and Göttingen, Lower Saxony, Germany. Study Focus: In July 2017, the cities of Goslar and Göttingen experienced severe flood events characterized by short warning time of only 20 minutes, resulting in extensive regional flooding and significant damage. This highlights the critical need for a more reliable and timely flood forecasting system. This paper presents a comprehensive study on the impact of radar-based precipitation data on forecasting river water levels in Goslar. Additionally, the study examines how precipitation influences water level forecasts in Göttingen. The analysis integrates radar-derived spatiotemporal precipitation patterns with hydrological sensor data obtained from ground stations to evaluate the effectiveness of this approach in improving flood prediction capabilities. New Hydrological Insights for the Region: A key innovation in this paper is the use of residual-based modeling to address the non-linearity between precipitation images and water levels, leading to a Spatiotemporal Radar-based Precipitation Model with residuals (STRPMr). Unlike traditional hydrological models, our approach does not rely on upstream data, making it independent of additional hydrological inputs. This independence enhances its adaptability and allows for broader applicability in other regions with RADOLAN precipitation. The deep learning architecture integrates (2+1)D convolutional neural networks for spatial and temporal feature extraction with LSTM for timeseries forecasting. The results demonstrate the potential of the STRPMr for capturing extreme events and more accurate flood forecasting.
Detecting design pattern instances in unfamiliar codebases remains a challenging yet essential task for improving software quality and maintainability. Traditional static analysis tools often struggle with the complexity, variability, and lack of explicit annotations that characterize real-world pattern implementations. In this paper, we present a novel approach leveraging Large Language Models to automatically identify design pattern instances across diverse codebases. Our method focuses on recognizing the roles classes play within the pattern instances. By providing clearer insights into software structure and intent, this research aims to support developers, improve comprehension, and streamline tasks such as refactoring, maintenance, and adherence to best practices.
Hamidreza Eivazi, André Hebenbrock, Raphael Ginster et al.
Battery degradation remains a critical challenge in the pursuit of green technologies and sustainable energy solutions. Despite significant research efforts, predicting battery capacity loss accurately remains a formidable task due to its complex nature, influenced by both aging and cycling behaviors. To address this challenge, we introduce a novel general-purpose model for battery degradation prediction and synthesis, DiffBatt. Leveraging an innovative combination of conditional and unconditional diffusion models with classifier-free guidance and transformer architecture, DiffBatt achieves high expressivity and scalability. DiffBatt operates as a probabilistic model to capture uncertainty in aging behaviors and a generative model to simulate battery degradation. The performance of the model excels in prediction tasks while also enabling the generation of synthetic degradation curves, facilitating enhanced model training by data augmentation. In the remaining useful life prediction task, DiffBatt provides accurate results with a mean RMSE of 196 cycles across all datasets, outperforming all other models and demonstrating superior generalizability. This work represents an important step towards developing foundational models for battery degradation.
Hamidreza Eivazi, Mahyar Alikhani, Jendrik-Alexander Tröger et al.
Multiscale problems are widely observed across diverse domains in physics and engineering. Translating these problems into numerical simulations and solving them using numerical schemes, e.g. the finite element method, is costly due to the demand of solving initial boundary-value problems at multiple scales. On the other hand, multiscale finite element computations are commended for their ability to integrate micro-structural properties into macroscopic computational analyses using homogenization techniques. Recently, neural operator-based surrogate models have shown trustworthy performance for solving a wide range of partial differential equations. In this work, we propose a hybrid method in which we utilize deep operator networks for surrogate modeling of the microscale physics. This allows us to embed the constitutive relations of the microscale into the model architecture and to predict microscale strains and stresses based on the prescribed macroscale strain inputs. Furthermore, numerical homogenization is carried out to obtain the macroscale quantities of interest. We apply the proposed approach to quasi-static problems of solid mechanics. The results demonstrate that our constitutive relations-aware DeepONet can yield accurate solutions even when being confronted with a restricted dataset during model development.
Andreas Rausch, Azarmidokht Motamedi Sedeh, Meng Zhang
Many autonomous systems, such as driverless taxis, perform safety critical functions. Autonomous systems employ artificial intelligence (AI) techniques, specifically for the environment perception. Engineers cannot completely test or formally verify AI-based autonomous systems. The accuracy of AI-based systems depends on the quality of training data. Thus, novelty detection - identifying data that differ in some respect from the data used for training - becomes a safety measure for system development and operation. In this paper, we propose a new architecture for autoencoder-based semantic novelty detection with two innovations: architectural guidelines for a semantic autoencoder topology and a semantic error calculation as novelty criteria. We demonstrate that such a semantic novelty detection outperforms autoencoder-based novelty detection approaches known from literature by minimizing false negatives.
Architecture erosion is a big challenge in modern architectures leading to a deterioration of the quality properties of these systems. Today, no comprehensive approach for regaining architecture consistency in eroded software systems exists and architecture consistency is essentially achieved by repairing the implementation level only. In this paper, we propose a novel approach enabling a joint architecture and implementation repairing for tackling software architecture erosion. By using a holistic view on violation causes and suitable repair actions in combination with learning mechanisms we build up a project specific knowledge-base improving accuracy and efficiency in consolidation of architecture and implementation over time.
The recent revolution of intelligent systems made it possible for robots and autonomous systems to work alongside humans, collaborating with them and supporting them in many domains. It is undeniable that this interaction can have huge benefits for humans if it is designed properly. However, collaboration with humans requires a high level of cognition and social capabilities in order to gain humans acceptance. In all-human teams, mutual trust is the engine for successful collaboration. This applies to human-robot collaboration as well. Trust in this interaction controls over- and under-reliance. It can also mitigate some risk. Therefore, an appropriate trust level is essential for this new form of teamwork. Most research in this area has looked at trust of humans in machines, neglecting the mutuality of trust among collaboration partners. In this paper, we propose a trust model that incorporates this mutuality captures trust levels of both the human and the robot in real-time, so that robot can base actions on this, allowing for smoother, more natural interactions. This increases the human autonomy since the human does not need to monitor the robot behavior all the time.
Adina Aniculaesei, Daniel Arnsberger, Falk Howar et al.
There is an increasing necessity to deploy autonomous systems in highly heterogeneous, dynamic environments, e.g. service robots in hospitals or autonomous cars on highways. Due to the uncertainty in these environments, the verification results obtained with respect to the system and environment models at design-time might not be transferable to the system behavior at run time. For autonomous systems operating in dynamic environments, safety of motion and collision avoidance are critical requirements. With regard to these requirements, Macek et al. [6] define the passive safety property, which requires that no collision can occur while the autonomous system is moving. To verify this property, we adopt a two phase process which combines static verification methods, used at design time, with dynamic ones, used at run time. In the design phase, we exploit UPPAAL to formalize the autonomous system and its environment as timed automata and the safety property as TCTL formula and to verify the correctness of these models with respect to this property. For the runtime phase, we build a monitor to check whether the assumptions made at design time are also correct at run time. If the current system observations of the environment do not correspond to the initial system assumptions, the monitor sends feedback to the system and the system enters a passive safe state.
We adopt a component model based on object-oriented systems, introducing the concepts of components and their structure. A component consists of a dynamically changing set of connected objects. Only some of these objects are interface objects, and are thus accessible from the environment. During the component lifetime not only the number of objects, but also that of interface objects, and their connections change. To describe this situation, we introduce component interface diagrams (CIDs)-an adaption of UML diagrams-as a notation to characterize interfaces of components, their structure, and their navigability. We show how CIDs can be used to describe the in-house developed Open Editor Framework (OEF). Finally, we give guidelines that allow to map components described with CIDs directly to several component technologies, like ActiveX, CORBA, or Java Beans
Christian Bartelt, Manfred Broy, Christoph Herrmann et al.
Global software engineering has become a fact in many companies due to real necessity in practice. In contrast to co-located projects global projects face a number of additional software engineering challenges. Among them quality management has become much more difficult and schedule and budget overruns can be observed more often. Compared to co-located projects global software engineering is even more challenging due to the need for integration of different cultures, different languages, and different time zones - across companies, and across countries. The diversity of development locations on several levels seriously endangers an effective and goal-oriented progress of projects. In this position paper we discuss reasons for global development, sketch settings for distribution and views of orchestration of dislocated companies in a global project that can be seen as a "virtual project environment". We also present a collection of questions, which we consider relevant for global software engineering. The questions motivate further discussion to derive a research agenda in global software engineering.