End-to-End Guarantees in Embedded Control Systems

Abstract

Software implementations of controllers for physical subsystems form the core of many modern safety-critical systems such as aircraft flight control and automotive engine control. In the model-based approach to the design and implementation of these systems, the control designer starts with a mathematical model of the system and argues that key properties – such as stability and performance – are met for the model. Then, the model is compiled into code, where extensive simulations are used to informally justify that the implementation faithfully captures the model.