Verifying the adaptation behavior of embedded systems

Abstract

Many complex embedded systems dynamically adapt their components, services, algorithms, and parameters to the environment. This leads to new classes of design errors, since adaptation has become an increasingly complex part of the systems' behavior. In particular, as adaptations often continuously trigger further adaptations in other components, inconsistent and unstable configurations may be reached. Formal verification, which is routinely applied in safety-critical applications, must therefore consider not only temporal and functional properties of a system, but also its ability to dynamically adapt itself according to external and internal stimuli.In this paper, we describe how the adaptation behavior of embedded systems can be modeled, specified, and verified at design time. The systems are thereby given at a high level of abstraction, where adaptation is triggered by the quality of data values. This allows to extract the relevant information in a form that can be directly used for verification. Moreover, we demonstrate how state-of-the-art model checkers can be used to formally reason about the resulting system description.

From Model-Based Design to Formal Verification of Adaptive Embedded Systems

“…An approach to ensure correctness of component-based adaptation was presented in [8], where theorem proving techniques are used to show that a program is always in a correct state in terms of invariants. Initial work on the verification of MARS models can be found in [20]. In contrast to [20], the work presented in this paper supports the verification of both adaptive and functional aspects.…”

“…Initial work on the verification of MARS models can be found in [20]. In contrast to [20], the work presented in this paper supports the verification of both adaptive and functional aspects. Furthermore, the formal representation introduced in this work bridges the gap between modelling and verification techniques and integrates formal verification into the development process in a way transparent to the user.…”

“…Furthermore, the formal representation introduced in this work bridges the gap between modelling and verification techniques and integrates formal verification into the development process in a way transparent to the user. Additionally, [20] does not discuss specialised verification procedures for properties characteristic for adaptive systems such as stability.…”

HPobSAM for modeling and analyzing IT Ecosystems – Through a case study

“…In another work [35], they propose a modular approach to verify adaptive program. [36] present a method to describe adaptation behavior at an abstract level. After deriving transition systems from the system description, the system properties are verified using model checking techniques.…”

Towards Dynamic Adaptation of Probabilistic Systems

“…However, for simple value adaptation, as for instance in [17], service reconfiguration is addressed using quality description parameters to determine potential target configurations. The supporting verification framework includes a model checker, e.g., to verify reachability of configurations.…”