55 research outputs found
Modeling of motion primitive architectures using domain-specific languages
Nordmann A. Modeling of motion primitive architectures using domain-specific languages. Bielefeld: Universität Bielefeld; 2016
Software Abstractions for Simulation and Control of a Continuum Robot
Nordmann A, Rolf M, Wrede S. Software Abstractions for Simulation and Control of a Continuum Robot. In: SIMPAR2012 - SIMULATION, MODELING, and PROGRAMMING for AUTONOMOUS ROBOTS. 2012
A User Study for Evaluation of Formal Verification Results and their Explanation at Bosch
Context: Ensuring safety for any sophisticated system is getting more complex
due to the rising number of features and functionalities. This calls for formal
methods to entrust confidence in such systems. Nevertheless, using formal
methods in industry is demanding because of their lack of usability and the
difficulty of understanding verification results. Objective: We evaluate the
acceptance of formal methods by Bosch automotive engineers, particularly
whether the difficulty of understanding verification results can be reduced.
Method: We perform two different exploratory studies. First, we conduct a user
survey to explore challenges in identifying inconsistent specifications and
using formal methods by Bosch automotive engineers. Second, we perform a
one-group pretest-posttest experiment to collect impressions from Bosch
engineers familiar with formal methods to evaluate whether understanding
verification results is simplified by our counterexample explanation approach.
Results: The results from the user survey indicate that identifying refinement
inconsistencies, understanding formal notations, and interpreting verification
results are challenging. Nevertheless, engineers are still interested in using
formal methods in real-world development processes because it could reduce the
manual effort for verification. Additionally, they also believe formal methods
could make the system safer. Furthermore, the one-group pretest-posttest
experiment results indicate that engineers are more comfortable understanding
the counterexample explanation than the raw model checker output. Limitations:
The main limitation of this study is the generalizability beyond the target
group of Bosch automotive engineers.Comment: This manuscript is under review with the Empirical Software
Engineering journa
A user study for evaluation of formal verification results and their explanation at Bosch
Context
Ensuring safety for any sophisticated system is getting more complex due to the rising number of features and functionalities. This calls for formal methods to entrust confidence in such systems. Nevertheless, using formal methods in industry is demanding because of their lack of usability and the difficulty of understanding verification results.
Objective
We evaluate the acceptance of formal methods by Bosch automotive engineers, particularly whether the difficulty of understanding verification results can be reduced.
Method
We perform two different exploratory studies. First, we conduct a user survey to explore challenges in identifying inconsistent specifications and using formal methods by Bosch automotive engineers. Second, we perform a one-group pretest-posttest experiment to collect impressions from Bosch engineers familiar with formal methods to evaluate whether understanding verification results is simplified by our counterexample explanation approach.
Results
The results from the user survey indicate that identifying refinement inconsistencies, understanding formal notations, and interpreting verification results are challenging. Nevertheless, engineers are still interested in using formal methods in real-world development processes because it could reduce the manual effort for verification. Additionally, they also believe formal methods could make the system safer. Furthermore, the one-group pretest-posttest experiment results indicate that engineers are more comfortable understanding the counterexample explanation than the raw model checker output.
Limitations
The main limitation of this study is the generalizability beyond the target group of Bosch automotive engineers.Peer Reviewe
A Survey on Domain-Specific Languages in Robotics
Nordmann A, Hochgeschwender N, Wrede S. A Survey on Domain-Specific Languages in Robotics. In: International Conference on Simulation, Modeling, and Programming for Autonomous Robots. 2014.The design, simulation and programming of robotics systems is challenging as expertise from multiple domains needs to be integrated conceptually and technically. Domain-specific modeling promises an efficient and flexible concept for developing robotics applications that copes with this challenge. It allows to raise the level of abstraction through the use of specific concepts that are closer to the respective domain concerns and easier to understand and validate. Furthermore, it focuses on increasing the level of automation, e.g. through code generation, to bridge the gap between the modeling and the implementation levels and to improve the efficiency and quality of the software development process. Within this contribution, we survey the literature available on domain-specific (modeling) languages in robotics required to realize a state-of-the-art real-world example from the RoboCup@Work competition. We classify 41 publications in the field as reference for potential DSL users. Furthermore, we analyze these contributions from a DSL-engineering viewpoint and discuss quantitative and qualitative aspects such as the methods and tools used for DSL implementation as well as their documentation status and platform integration. Finally, we conclude with some recommendations for discussion in the robotics programming and simulation community based on the insights gained with this survey
Modeling of Movement Control Architectures based on Motion Primitives using Domain-Specific Languages
Nordmann A, Wrede S, Steil JJ. Modeling of Movement Control Architectures based on Motion Primitives using Domain-Specific Languages. Presented at the Int. Conf. on Robotics and Automation
Industry Best Practices in Robotics Software Engineering
Robotics software is pushing the limits of software engineering practice. The
3rd International Workshop on Robotics Software Engineering held a panel on
"the best practices for robotic software engineering". This article shares the
key takeaways that emerged from the discussion among the panelists and the
workshop, ranging from architecting practices at the NASA/Caltech Jet
Propulsion Laboratory, model-driven development at Bosch, development and
testing of autonomous driving systems at Waymo, and testing of robotics
software at XITASO. Researchers and practitioners can build on the contents of
this paper to gain a fresh perspective on their activities and focus on the
most pressing practices and challenges in developing robotics software today.Comment: 10 pages, 0 figure
A Survey on Domain-Specific Modeling and Languages in Robotics
Nordmann A, Hochgeschwender N, Wigand DL, Wrede S. A Survey on Domain-Specific Modeling and Languages in Robotics. Journal of Software Engineering in Robotics. 2016;7(1):75-99
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