DO-178C Compliance of Verisoft Formal Methods

Abstract

International audienceVerisoft XT was a three-year research project , funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). The main goal of the project was the pervasive formal verification of computer systems. One of its sub-projects examined the application of formal methods in the avionics domain. Today’s avionics software should be developed in accordance with the RTCA/EUROCAE standard DO-178B/ED-12B to achieve formal acceptance by certification authorities. This standard lists formal methods merely as alternative means but does not provide guidance on the use and acceptance of formal methods. Its successor DO-178C/ED-12C will provide this guidance in its Formal Methods Supplement. Although DO-178C was not published during project runtime, the available material nevertheless allowed us to examine the compliance of two of the formal methods and tools – VSE and VCC – that have been used in Verisoft XT. This paper summarises the results of this evaluation and thus may serve as a first step in the certification planning of a real avionics project that would use either one or both methods