The ISI team stands in the context of design of complex systems, which can be components of bigger systems in embedded applications in the fields of aeronautics, automotive and railway industry, and microsystems. The systems considered, heterogenous by their very nature, are characterized by digital and analog functions, sensors, and actuators from various technologies.

The ISI team contributions aim to make easier the design of complex systems by improving development life-cycle processes, particularly requirement management, modeling, model integration, verification and validation, simulation and virtual prototyping, in a process, method and tool vision. The uniqueness of the ISI group's work is linked to its members' will to adapt the processes and models to heterogenous systems. The study of heterogenous systems requires a better communication between the different communities, for instance as an information and model exchange gateway.