22,881 research outputs found
A Learning-Based Guidance Selection Mechanism for a Formally Verified Sense and Avoid Algorithm
This paper describes a learning-based strategy for selecting conflict avoidance maneuvers for autonomous unmanned aircraft systems. The selected maneuvers are provided by a formally verified algorithm and they are guaranteed to solve any impending conflict under general assumptions about aircraft dynamics. The decision-making logic that selects the appropriate maneuvers is encoded in a stochastic policy encapsulated as a neural network. The networks parameters are optimized to maximize a reward function. The reward function penalizes loss of separation with other aircraft while rewarding resolutions that result in minimum excursions from the nominal flight plan. This paper provides a description of the technique and presents preliminary simulation results
Confluence Detection for Transformations of Labelled Transition Systems
The development of complex component software systems can be made more
manageable by first creating an abstract model and then incrementally adding
details. Model transformation is an approach to add such details in a
controlled way. In order for model transformation systems to be useful, it is
crucial that they are confluent, i.e. that when applied on a given model, they
will always produce a unique output model, independent of the order in which
rules of the system are applied on the input. In this work, we consider
Labelled Transition Systems (LTSs) to reason about the semantics of models, and
LTS transformation systems to reason about model transformations. In related
work, the problem of confluence detection has been investigated for general
graph structures. We observe, however, that confluence can be detected more
efficiently in special cases where the graphs have particular structural
properties. In this paper, we present a number of observations to detect
confluence of LTS transformation systems, and propose both a new confluence
detection algorithm and a conflict resolution algorithm based on them.Comment: In Proceedings GaM 2015, arXiv:1504.0244
Detecting Functional Requirements Inconsistencies within Multi-teams Projects Framed into a Model-based Web Methodology
One of the most essential processes within the software project life cycle is the REP (Requirements
Engineering Process) because it allows specifying the software product requirements. This specification
should be as consistent as possible because it allows estimating in a suitable manner the effort required to
obtain the final product. REP is complex in itself, but this complexity is greatly increased in big, distributed
and heterogeneous projects with multiple analyst teams and high integration between functional modules.
This paper presents an approach for the systematic conciliation of functional requirements in big projects
dealing with a web model-based approach and how this approach may be implemented in the context of the
NDT (Navigational Development Techniques): a web methodology. This paper also describes the empirical
evaluation in the CALIPSOneo project by analyzing the improvements obtained with our approach.Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad TIN2013-46928-C3-3-RMinisterio de Economía y Competitividad TIN2015-71938-RED
Sciduction: Combining Induction, Deduction, and Structure for Verification and Synthesis
Even with impressive advances in automated formal methods, certain problems
in system verification and synthesis remain challenging. Examples include the
verification of quantitative properties of software involving constraints on
timing and energy consumption, and the automatic synthesis of systems from
specifications. The major challenges include environment modeling,
incompleteness in specifications, and the complexity of underlying decision
problems.
This position paper proposes sciduction, an approach to tackle these
challenges by integrating inductive inference, deductive reasoning, and
structure hypotheses. Deductive reasoning, which leads from general rules or
concepts to conclusions about specific problem instances, includes techniques
such as logical inference and constraint solving. Inductive inference, which
generalizes from specific instances to yield a concept, includes algorithmic
learning from examples. Structure hypotheses are used to define the class of
artifacts, such as invariants or program fragments, generated during
verification or synthesis. Sciduction constrains inductive and deductive
reasoning using structure hypotheses, and actively combines inductive and
deductive reasoning: for instance, deductive techniques generate examples for
learning, and inductive reasoning is used to guide the deductive engines.
We illustrate this approach with three applications: (i) timing analysis of
software; (ii) synthesis of loop-free programs, and (iii) controller synthesis
for hybrid systems. Some future applications are also discussed
From Formal Requirements to Highly Assured Software for Unmanned Aircraft Systems
Operational requirements of safety-critical systems are often written in restricted specification logics. These restricted logics are amenable to automated analysis techniques such as model-checking, but are not rich enough to express complex requirements of unmanned systems. This short paper advocates for the use of expressive logics, such as higher-order logic, to specify the complex operational requirements and safety properties of unmanned systems. These rich logics are less amenable to automation and, hence, require the use of interactive theorem proving techniques. However, these logics support the formal verification of complex requirements such as those involving the physical environment. Moreover, these logics enable validation techniques that increase con dence in the correctness of numerically intensive software. These features result in highly-assured software that may be easier to certify. The feasibility of this approach is illustrated with examples drawn for NASA's unmanned aircraft systems
Detection and resolution of normative conflicts in multi-agent systems : a literature survey
Peer reviewedPostprin
Applying Formal Methods to Networking: Theory, Techniques and Applications
Despite its great importance, modern network infrastructure is remarkable for
the lack of rigor in its engineering. The Internet which began as a research
experiment was never designed to handle the users and applications it hosts
today. The lack of formalization of the Internet architecture meant limited
abstractions and modularity, especially for the control and management planes,
thus requiring for every new need a new protocol built from scratch. This led
to an unwieldy ossified Internet architecture resistant to any attempts at
formal verification, and an Internet culture where expediency and pragmatism
are favored over formal correctness. Fortunately, recent work in the space of
clean slate Internet design---especially, the software defined networking (SDN)
paradigm---offers the Internet community another chance to develop the right
kind of architecture and abstractions. This has also led to a great resurgence
in interest of applying formal methods to specification, verification, and
synthesis of networking protocols and applications. In this paper, we present a
self-contained tutorial of the formidable amount of work that has been done in
formal methods, and present a survey of its applications to networking.Comment: 30 pages, submitted to IEEE Communications Surveys and Tutorial
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