LCV: A Verification Tool for Linear Controller Software

Abstract

In the model-based development of controller software, the use of an unverified code generator/transformer may result in introducing unintended bugs in the controller implementation. To assure the correctness of the controller software in the absence of verified code generator/transformer, we develop Linear Controller Verifier (LCV), a tool to verify a linear controller implementation against its original linear controller model. LCV takes as input a Simulink block diagram model and a C code implementation, represents them as linear time-invariant system models respectively, and verifies an input-output equivalence between them. We demonstrate that LCV successfully detects a known bug of a widely used code generator and an unknown bug of a code transformer. We also demonstrate the scalability of LCV and a real-world case study with the controller of a quadrotor system.

An Overview of Verification and Validation Challenges for Inspection Robots

“…• Traditionally, analytic stability/avoidance proofs for control algorithms [12,13]. • Formal verification techniques for controller [14,15] and state estimation systems [16,17] are available by generating formal models out of the underlying physical or software models. • Simulation-based testing and user validation are also frequently used in this aspect.…”