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Model-Based Engineering for Robotics with RoboChart and RoboTool

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Formal Methods for an Informal World (ICTAC 2021)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNCS,volume 13490))

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Abstract

Use of simulation to support the design of software for robotic systems is pervasive. Typically, roboticists draw a state machine using an informal notation (not precise or machine checkable) to convey a design and guide the development of a simulation. This involves writing code for a specific simulator (using C, C++, or some proprietary language and API). Verification is carried out using simulation runs and testing the deployed system. The RoboStar technology supports a model-based, rather than this (simulation) code-centered, approach to development. Models are written using domain-specific notations in line with those accepted by roboticists. In this tutorial, we focus on modelling and verification using RoboChart, our design notation, and its tool, called RoboTool. In RoboChart, software controllers are described by timed state machines. The semantics is defined using a process algebra, namely, tock-CSP, which we can use for verification by model checking or theorem proving. Use of RoboChart complements simulation and testing.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    verifiability.org.

  2. 2.

    robostar.cs.york.ac.uk.

  3. 3.

    robostar.cs.york.ac.uk/robotool/.

  4. 4.

    robostar.cs.york.ac.uk/robotool/tutorial-16-08-2021/tutorial.pdf.

  5. 5.

    robostar.cs.york.ac.uk/robotool/tutorial-16-08-2021/tutorial.pdf.

  6. 6.

    robostar.cs.york.ac.uk/case_studies/segway.

  7. 7.

    robostar.cs.york.ac.uk/case_studies/segway.

  8. 8.

    cocotec.io/fdr/manual/.

  9. 9.

    robostar.cs.york.ac.uk/case_studies/segway.

  10. 10.

    cocotec.io/fdr/manual/cspm/definitions.html#timed-sections.

  11. 11.

    robostar.cs.york.ac.uk/notations/.

  12. 12.

    robostar.cs.york.ac.uk/case-studies.

  13. 13.

    sdformat.org.

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Acknowledgements

The work reported here is funded by the Royal Academy of Engineering grant CiET1718/45, UK EPSRC grants EP/M025756/1 and EP/R025479/1, and UKRI TAS programme (verifiability and resilience). We are grateful to the ICTAC organisers for the opportunity to present and write this tutorial. We also thank Augusto Sampaio for very helpful and detailed comments. Finally, we are grateful to all members of the RoboStar group, who directly or indirectly contribute to the realisation of the vision described here.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Computer Science, University of York, York, UK

    Ana Cavalcanti, Ziggy Attala, James Baxter, Alvaro Miyazawa & Pedro Ribeiro

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  1. Ana Cavalcanti
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  2. Ziggy Attala
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  3. James Baxter
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  4. Alvaro Miyazawa
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Correspondence to Ana Cavalcanti .

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  1. Nazarbayev University, Astana, Kazakhstan

    Antonio Cerone

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Cavalcanti, A., Attala, Z., Baxter, J., Miyazawa, A., Ribeiro, P. (2023). Model-Based Engineering for Robotics with RoboChart and RoboTool. In: Cerone, A. (eds) Formal Methods for an Informal World. ICTAC 2021. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 13490. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-43678-9_4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-43678-9_4

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