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Test Suite Augmentation for Reconfigurable PLC Software in the Internet of Production

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Formal Methods for Industrial Critical Systems (FMICS 2022)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNCS,volume 13487))

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Abstract

Regression testing is an established technique used to attest the correctness of reconfigurations to PLC software. After such a reconfiguration, a test suite might not be adequate to ensure the absence of regressions, requiring the derivation of new test cases to uncover potential regressions. This paper presents a combination of state-of-the-art symbolic execution algorithms for test suite augmentation, an indispensable part of regression testing. Test generation is guided towards the changed behavior using a technique known as four-way forking. The old and new PLC software are executed in the same symbolic execution instance to account for the effects of the reconfiguration and increase the chances of generating difference-revealing test cases. The prototypical implementation is evaluated using domain-specific benchmarks such as the PLCopen Safety library and the Pick and Place Unit, exposing the limitations in applicability and effectiveness of the used techniques for safeguarding PLC software subject to frequent reconfigurations as found in cyber-physical production systems.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    https://github.com/seahorn/crab.

  2. 2.

    https://www.mw.tum.de/ais/forschung/demonstratoren/ppu/.

  3. 3.

    https://github.com/VerifAPS/verifaps-lib.

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Acknowledgements

Funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) under Germany’s Excellence Strategy – EXC-2023 Internet of Production – 390621612.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Embedded Software, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany

    Marco Grochowski, Marcus Völker & Stefan Kowalewski

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  1. Marco Grochowski
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  2. Marcus Völker
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  3. Stefan Kowalewski
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Correspondence to Marco Grochowski .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, The Netherlands

    Jan Friso Groote

  2. University of Twente, Enschede, The Netherlands

    Marieke Huisman

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Grochowski, M., Völker, M., Kowalewski, S. (2022). Test Suite Augmentation for Reconfigurable PLC Software in the Internet of Production. In: Groote, J.F., Huisman, M. (eds) Formal Methods for Industrial Critical Systems. FMICS 2022. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 13487. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-15008-1_10

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-15008-1_10

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