Preliminary results on correct-by-construction control software synthesis for adaptive cruise control

Abstract

A plethora of driver convenience and safety automation systems are being introduced into production vehicles, such as electronic stability control, adaptive cruise control, lane keeping, and obstacle avoidance. Assuring the seamless and safe integration of each new automation function with existing control functions is a major challenge for vehicle manufacturers. This challenge is compounded by having different suppliers providing software modules for different control functionalities. In this paper, we report on our preliminary steps to address this problem through a fresh perspective combining formal methods, control theory, and correct-by-construction software synthesis. In particular, we begin the process of synthesizing the control software module for adaptive cruise control from formal specifications given in Linear Temporal Logic. In the longer run, we will endow each interacting software module with an assume-guarantee specification stating under which environment assumptions the module is guaranteed to meet its specifications. These assume-guarantee specifications will then be used to formally prove correctness of the cyber-physical system obtained where the integrated modules interact with the physical dynamics.

Adaptive Cruise Control with Safety Guarantees for Autonomous Vehicles

“…Recent approaches to safe adaptive cruise control use correct-by-construction control software synthesis, where the system specifications are given in Linear Temporal Logic (LTL) (Nilsson et al, 2016(Nilsson et al, , 2014. The designed controller which satisfies the desired behavior is based on a discrete abstraction of the system.…”

Switching control of differential-algebraic equations with temporal logic specifications

“…where Σ ϕ is the set of switching strategies that render solutions of (1) or (3) satisfy (5), and J(σ, x) is given in (6) or (7).…”

“…Moreover, it provides a hybrid feedback control solution when implemented back to the original systems. Thus, this approach has gained increased popularity over the past decade and found applications in areas such as robot motion planning [5], automatic cruise control [6]. Switched systems have also been studied in This work is supported, in part, by a EU FP7 Marie Curie Career Integration Grant PCIG13-GA-2013-617377.…”

Adaptive cruise control: Experimental validation of advanced controllers on scale-model cars

“…The safety critical nature of the problem necessitates controllers that are formally correct, i.e., give guarantees of safety. To address this, in [2], [17], controllers were presented that give proofs of safety while simultaneously achieving speed related control objectives. Of special interest here are methods that utilize online optimization to maximize the achievement of performance goals (via CLFs), subject to safety (CBFs) constraints, and even bounds on actuation.…”

“…Conventional cruise control [23] (CCC) has been successfully implemented in almost all production cars in the United States, yet has not actively taken into account collision avoidance. Adaptive cruise control (ACC), which aims to unify CCC with safety related constraints [17], is being actively studied from various perspectives [19], [11]. Mitsubishi was the first company to start the concept of ACC in 1995, designing the Preview Distance Control, a method To experimentally evaluate advanced automotive controllers like ACC, previous research by the Program of Advanced Technology for the Highway (PATH) has focused on creating platoons between vehicles on the highways, e.g., multiple controlled cars follow a lead car even for lane changes [22].…”