Bridging the Gap Between Requirements and Model Analysis : Evaluation on Ten Cyber-Physical Challenge Problems

Formal verfication and simulation are powerful tools to validate requirements against complex systems. [Problem] Requirements are developed in early stages of the software lifecycle and are typically written in ambiguous natural language. There is a gap between such requirements and formal notations that can be used by verification tools, and lack of support for proper association of requirements with software artifacts for verification. [Principal idea] We propose to write requirements in an intuitive, structured natural language with formal semantics, and to support formalization and model/code verification as a smooth, well-integrated process. [Contribution] We have developed an end-to-end, open source requirements analysis framework that checks Simulink models against requirements written in structured natural language. Our framework is built in the Formal Requirements Elicitation Tool (fret); we use fret's requirements language named fretish, and formalization of fretish requirements in temporal logics. Our proposed framework contributes the following features: 1) automatic extraction of Simulink model information and association of fretish requirements with target model signals and components; 2) translation of temporal logic formulas into synchronous dataflow cocospec specifications as well as Simulink monitors, to be used by verification tools; we establish correctness of our translation through extensive automated testing; 3) interpretation of counterexamples produced by verification tools back at requirements level. These features support a tight integration and feedback loop between high level requirements and their analysis. We demonstrate our approach on a major case study: the Ten Lockheed Martin Cyber-Physical, aerospace-inspired challenge problems

Bridging the Gap Between Requirements and Simulink Model Analysis

Formal verification and simulation are powerful tools for the verification of requirements against complex systems. Requirements are developed in early stages of the software lifecycle and are typically expressed in natural language. There is a gap between such requirements and their software implementations.We present a framework that bridges this gap by supporting a tight integration and feedback loop between high-level requirements and their analysis against software artifacts. Our framework implements an analysis portal within the fret requirements elicitation tool, thus forming an end-to-end, open-source environment where requirements are written in an intuitive, structured natural language, and are verified automatically against Simulink models

Scalable Anytime Algorithms for Learning Fragments

International audienceAbstract Linear temporal logic (LTL) is a specification language for finite sequences (called traces) widely used in program verification, motion planning in robotics, process mining, and many other areas. We consider the problem of learning formulas in fragments of LTL without the $$\mathbf {U}$$ U -operator for classifying traces; despite a growing interest of the research community, existing solutions suffer from two limitations: they do not scale beyond small formulas, and they may exhaust computational resources without returning any result. We introduce a new algorithm addressing both issues: our algorithm is able to construct formulas an order of magnitude larger than previous methods, and it is anytime, meaning that it in most cases successfully outputs a formula, albeit possibly not of minimal size. We evaluate the performances of our algorithm using an open source implementation against publicly available benchmarks

A Review of Verification and Validation for Space Autonomous Systems

From Springer Nature via Jisc Publications RouterHistory: registration 2021-05-13, accepted 2021-05-13, online 2021-06-18, pub-electronic 2021-06-18, pub-print 2021-09Publication status: PublishedFunder: Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council; doi: https://doi.org/10.13039/501100000266; Grant(s): EP/R026092/1Abstract: Purpose of Review: The deployment of hardware (e.g., robots, satellites, etc.) to space is a costly and complex endeavor. It is of extreme importance that on-board systems are verified and validated through a variety of verification and validation techniques, especially in the case of autonomous systems. In this paper, we discuss a number of approaches from the literature that are relevant or directly applied to the verification and validation of systems in space, with an emphasis on autonomy. Recent Findings: Despite advances in individual verification and validation techniques, there is still a lack of approaches that aim to combine different forms of verification in order to obtain system-wide verification of modular autonomous systems. Summary: This systematic review of the literature includes the current advances in the latest approaches using formal methods for static verification (model checking and theorem proving) and runtime verification, the progress achieved so far in the verification of machine learning, an overview of the landscape in software testing, and the importance of performing compositional verification in modular systems. In particular, we focus on reporting the use of these techniques for the verification and validation of systems in space with an emphasis on autonomy, as well as more general techniques (such as in the aeronautical domain) that have been shown to have potential value in the verification and validation of autonomous systems in space

A Review of Verification and Validation for Space Autonomous Systems

Purpose of Review: The deployment of hardware (e.g., robots, satellites, etc.) to space is a costly and complex endeavor. It is of extreme importance that on-board systems are verified and validated through a variety of verification and validation techniques, especially in the case of autonomous systems. In this paper, we discuss a number of approaches from the literature that are relevant or directly applied to the verification and validation of systems in space, with an emphasis on autonomy. Recent Findings: Despite advances in individual verification and validation techniques, there is still a lack of approaches that aim to combine different forms of verification in order to obtain system-wide verification of modular autonomous systems. Summary: This systematic review of the literature includes the current advances in the latest approaches using formal methods for static verification (model checking and theorem proving) and runtime verification, the progress achieved so far in the verification of machine learning, an overview of the landscape in software testing, and the importance of performing compositional verification in modular systems. In particular, we focus on reporting the use of these techniques for the verification and validation of systems in space with an emphasis on autonomy, as well as more general techniques (such as in the aeronautical domain) that have been shown to have potential value in the verification and validation of autonomous systems in space

Computer Aided Verification

This open access two-volume set LNCS 13371 and 13372 constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 34rd International Conference on Computer Aided Verification, CAV 2022, which was held in Haifa, Israel, in August 2022. The 40 full papers presented together with 9 tool papers and 2 case studies were carefully reviewed and selected from 209 submissions. The papers were organized in the following topical sections: Part I: Invited papers; formal methods for probabilistic programs; formal methods for neural networks; software Verification and model checking; hyperproperties and security; formal methods for hardware, cyber-physical, and hybrid systems. Part II: Probabilistic techniques; automata and logic; deductive verification and decision procedures; machine learning; synthesis and concurrency. This is an open access book

Komuniti Tok Piksa: Integrating Papua New Guinean Highland narratives into visual HIV prevention and education material: Final Report

This report presents the findings of the first phase of the Komuniti Tok Piksa (KTP) project, a research project commissioned by the National AIDS Council and AusAID under the large research grant funding round. The study, conducted by a team comprising researchers from the University of Technology Sydney and the University of Goroka, investigates the use of visual and creative tools in HIV and AIDS prevention and education in Papua New Guinea. The report presents an innovative methodology combining an indigenous research framework with visual participatory research approaches. The report accounts for the experiences and changes in experience of a diverse range of people across five PNG Highlands provinces involved in the KTP project