An Automaton Learning Approach to Solving Safety Games over Infinite Graphs

We propose a method to construct finite-state reactive controllers for systems whose interactions with their adversarial environment are modeled by infinite-duration two-player games over (possibly) infinite graphs. The proposed method targets safety games with infinitely many states or with such a large number of states that it would be impractical---if not impossible---for conventional synthesis techniques that work on the entire state space. We resort to constructing finite-state controllers for such systems through an automata learning approach, utilizing a symbolic representation of the underlying game that is based on finite automata. Throughout the learning process, the learner maintains an approximation of the winning region (represented as a finite automaton) and refines it using different types of counterexamples provided by the teacher until a satisfactory controller can be derived (if one exists). We present a symbolic representation of safety games (inspired by regular model checking), propose implementations of the learner and teacher, and evaluate their performance on examples motivated by robotic motion planning in dynamic environments

Symbolic Automata with Memory: a Computational Model for Complex Event Processing

We propose an automaton model which is a combination of symbolic and register automata, i.e., we enrich symbolic automata with memory. We call such automata Register Match Automata (RMA). RMA extend the expressive power of symbolic automata, by allowing formulas to be applied not only to the last element read from the input string, but to multiple elements, stored in their registers. RMA also extend register automata, by allowing arbitrary formulas, besides equality predicates. We study the closure properties of RMA under union, concatenation, Kleene+, complement and determinization and show that RMA, contrary to symbolic automata, are not determinizable when viewed as recognizers, without taking the output of transitions into account. However, when a window operator, a quintessential feature in Complex Event Processing, is used, RMA are indeed determinizable even when viewed as recognizers. We present detailed algorithms for constructing deterministic RMA from regular expressions extended with $n$-ary constraints. We show how RMA can be used in Complex Event Processing in order to detect patterns upon streams of events, using a framework that provides denotational and compositional semantics, and that allows for a systematic treatment of such automata

The Isomorphism Problem for omega-Automatic Trees

The main result of this paper is that the isomorphism for omega-automatic trees of finite height is at least has hard as second-order arithmetic and therefore not analytical. This strengthens a recent result by Hjorth, Khoussainov, Montalban, and Nies showing that the isomorphism problem for omega-automatic structures is not $\Sigma^1_2$. Moreover, assuming the continuum hypothesis CH, we can show that the isomorphism problem for omega-automatic trees of finite height is recursively equivalent with second-order arithmetic. On the way to our main results, we show lower and upper bounds for the isomorphism problem for omega-automatic trees of every finite height: (i) It is decidable ($\Pi^0_1$-complete, resp,) for height 1 (2, resp.), (ii) $\Pi^1_1$-hard and in $\Pi^1_2$ for height 3, and (iii) $\Pi^1_{n-3}$- and $\Sigma^1_{n-3}$-hard and in $\Pi^1_{2n-4}$ (assuming CH) for all n > 3. All proofs are elementary and do not rely on theorems from set theory

A Framework to Handle Linear Temporal Properties in (\omega-)Regular Model Checking

Since the topic emerged several years ago, work on regular model checking has mostly been devoted to the verification of state reachability and safety properties. Though it was known that linear temporal properties could also be checked within this framework, little has been done about working out the corresponding details. This paper addresses this issue in the context of regular model checking based on the encoding of states by finite or infinite words. It works out the exact constructions to be used in both cases, and proposes a partial solution to the problem resulting from the fact that infinite computations of unbounded configurations might never contain the same configuration twice, thus making cycle detection problematic

Revisiting Underapproximate Reachability for Multipushdown Systems

Boolean programs with multiple recursive threads can be captured as pushdown automata with multiple stacks. This model is Turing complete, and hence, one is often interested in analyzing a restricted class that still captures useful behaviors. In this paper, we propose a new class of bounded under approximations for multi-pushdown systems, which subsumes most existing classes. We develop an efficient algorithm for solving the under-approximate reachability problem, which is based on efficient fix-point computations. We implement it in our tool BHIM and illustrate its applicability by generating a set of relevant benchmarks and examining its performance. As an additional takeaway, BHIM solves the binary reachability problem in pushdown automata. To show the versatility of our approach, we then extend our algorithm to the timed setting and provide the first implementation that can handle timed multi-pushdown automata with closed guards.Comment: 52 pages, Conference TACAS 202

Model Learning: A Survey on Foundation, Tools and Applications

The quality and correct functioning of software components embedded in electronic systems are of utmost concern especially for safety and mission-critical systems. Model-based testing and formal verification techniques can be employed to enhance the reliability of software systems. Formal models form the basis and are prerequisite for the application of these techniques. An emerging and promising model learning technique can complement testing and verification techniques by providing learned models of black box systems fully automatically. This paper surveys one such state of the art technique called model learning which recently has attracted much attention of researchers especially from the domains of testing and verification. This survey paper reviews and provides comparison summaries highlighting the merits and shortcomings of learning techniques, algorithms, and tools which form the basis of model learning. This paper also surveys the successful applications of model learning technique in multidisciplinary fields making it promising for testing and verification of realistic systems.Comment: 43 page

On (Omega-)Regular Model Checking

Checking infinite-state systems is frequently done by encoding infinite sets of states as regular languages. Computing such a regular representation of, say, the set of reachable states of a system requires acceleration techniques that can finitely compute the effect of an unbounded number of transitions. Among the acceleration techniques that have been proposed, one finds both specific and generic techniques. Specific techniques exploit the particular type of system being analyzed, e.g. a system manipulating queues or integers, whereas generic techniques only assume that the transition relation is represented by a finite-state transducer, which has to be iterated. In this paper, we investigate the possibility of using generic techniques in cases where only specific techniques have been exploited so far. Finding that existing generic techniques are often not applicable in cases easily handled by specific techniques, we have developed a new approach to iterating transducers. This new approach builds on earlier work, but exploits a number of new conceptual and algorithmic ideas, often induced with the help of experiments, that give it a broad scope, as well as good performances

An Effective Decision Procedure for Linear Arithmetic with Integer and Real Variables

This paper considers finite-automata based algorithms for handling linear arithmetic with both real and integer variables. Previous work has shown that this theory can be dealt with by using finite automata on infinite words, but this involves some difficult and delicate to implement algorithms. The contribution of this paper is to show, using topological arguments, that only a restricted class of automata on infinite words are necessary for handling real and integer linear arithmetic. This allows the use of substantially simpler algorithms, which have been successfully implemented.Comment: 20 pages, 6 figure

Logic Column 19: Symbolic Model Checking for Temporal-Epistemic Logics

This article surveys some of the recent work in verification of temporal epistemic logic via symbolic model checking, focusing on OBDD-based and SAT-based approaches for epistemic logics built on discrete and real-time branching time temporal logics.Comment: 23 page

Quadratic Word Equations with Length Constraints, Counter Systems, and Presburger Arithmetic with Divisibility

Word equations are a crucial element in the theoretical foundation of constraint solving over strings, which have received a lot of attention in recent years. A word equation relates two words over string variables and constants. Its solution amounts to a function mapping variables to constant strings that equate the left and right hand sides of the equation. While the problem of solving word equations is decidable, the decidability of the problem of solving a word equation with a length constraint (i.e., a constraint relating the lengths of words in the word equation) has remained a long-standing open problem. In this paper, we focus on the subclass of quadratic word equations, i.e., in which each variable occurs at most twice. We first show that the length abstractions of solutions to quadratic word equations are in general not Presburger-definable. We then describe a class of counter systems with Presburger transition relations which capture the length abstraction of a quadratic word equation with regular constraints. We provide an encoding of the effect of a simple loop of the counter systems in the theory of existential Presburger Arithmetic with divisibility (PAD). Since PAD is decidable, we get a decision procedure for quadratic words equations with length constraints for which the associated counter system is \emph{flat} (i.e., all nodes belong to at most one cycle). We show a decidability result (in fact, also an NP algorithm with a PAD oracle) for a recently proposed NP-complete fragment of word equations called regular-oriented word equations, together with length constraints. Decidability holds when the constraints are additionally extended with regular constraints with a 1-weak control structure.Comment: 18 page