Formal verification of a software tool for physical and digital components

Supervisor

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Abstract

We are interested in working with existing commercial simulation software that is targeted around the modelling and analysis of physical, multi-domain systems. It further encompasses the integration with related software tools, as well as the interfacing with devices and the generation of code. We are interested in enriching the software with formal verification features, envisioning the extension of the tool towards capabilities that might enable the user to raise formal assertions or guarantees on models properties, or to synthesise correct-by-design architectures. Within this long-term plan, this project shall target the formal generation of faults warnings, namely of messages to the user that are related to ``bad (dynamical) behaviours'' or to unwanted ``modelling errors''. The student will be engaged in developing algorithmic solutions towards this goal, while reframing them within a formal and general approach. The project is inter-disciplinary in dealing with hybrid models involving digital and physical quantities, and in connecting the use of formal verification techniques from the computer sciences with more classical analytical tools from control engineering

Courses: Computer-Aided Formal Verification, Software Verification. Prerequisites: Knowledge of basic formal verification.