Model-Based Systems Engineering Framework for SysML-Driven Design of Autonomous UAVs
2026-08-10 • Robotics
Robotics
AI summaryⓘ
The authors present a new way to design autonomous drones using a method called Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) with SysML diagrams. This approach helps organize all the drone's parts and functions—like flying, navigating, and avoiding obstacles—into clear, connected models before building the actual software. They also link these models directly to software components in ROS 2, a popular robotics system, allowing better planning and testing early on. Their method aims to reduce confusion and errors during drone development and make sure all parts work well together.
Autonomous UAVModel-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE)SysMLRobot Operating System 2 (ROS 2)Requirement diagramsFunctional decompositionLogical architectureActivity diagramsBlock definition diagramsMission scenarios
Authors
Deekshitha Angadi, Naveena Budda, Vikas Agarwal, Mohamed Samshad, Bharath Kumar Suryadevara, Narsimlu Kemsaram
Abstract
Autonomous Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are complex cyber-physical systems that require the coordinated integration of flight control, navigation, perception, communication, power management, and mission-level decision-making under safety, timing, and reliability constraints. However, many autonomous UAV development workflows still rely on document-centric requirements, separated architectural descriptions, and software implementation artifacts, which can lead to ambiguity, interface inconsistencies, and weak traceability during early design. This paper presents a Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) design framework for the SysML-driven development of autonomous UAVs. The proposed framework uses the Systems Modeling Language (SysML) as a formal design backbone to structure UAV development across four connected layers: stakeholder requirements, functional decomposition, logical architecture, and physical/software allocation. SysML requirement diagrams, activity diagrams, block definition diagrams, internal block diagrams, state machine diagrams, and parametric diagrams are used to capture the functional, structural, behavioral, interface, and performance aspects of the UAV system. The logical architecture is then systematically mapped to a Robot Operating System 2 (ROS 2) software architecture by relating SysML blocks to ROS 2 nodes, flow ports and connectors to topics, request-response interactions to services, and goal-oriented behaviors to actions. The framework is illustrated at the design level using representative autonomous UAV mission scenarios, including autonomous take-off, waypoint navigation, hover stabilization, obstacle avoidance, return-to-home, and emergency handling. The resulting model supports requirement allocation, interface definition, subsystem responsibility assignment, and verification planning before simulation or physical deployment.