Bridging the Cyber and Physical with a Verifiable, Executable Language for Robotics

Anonymous

Keywords: robotics, cyber-physical systems, type theory, synchronous programming, verification

TL;DR: We bring formal verification to a synchronous programming language, and implement a formally-verified autonomous vehicle controller with the language on a real robot.

Abstract: Building reliable Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) often requires formal verification, which is capable of producing the rigorous safety guarantees necessary to provide confidence in its design. However, verification may be challenging to perform on real-world systems, and as a result, a simplified model may be verified instead. This results in a disconnect between verification and reality, leading to diminished confidence in the verification result. We have developed a method that enables CPS designers to both formally verify and implement CPS software in a single language. By combining the industry-tested modeling and compilation of synchronous programming with the verification rigor of refinement types, we strive to give CPS designers additional confidence in designing reliable, real-world CPS.