Constraint Model for System-Level Property Inference
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current verification and validation techniques are inadequate for highly autonomous systems with complex internal states and heterogeneous structures, leading to resource-intensive and labor-prohibitive testing processes, especially when these systems interact with complex environments.
Innovation Solution
The development of a method that generates a constraint model based on a system model with multiple levels of abstraction, using constraint-based models and solvers to infer system-level properties by analyzing mission, system, and component constraints, allowing for compositional reasoning across different layers and supporting incremental testing and reconfiguration.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If current V&V and T&E techniques are used for highly autonomous systems, then verification and validation can be performed, but the effort, resources, labor, and time required become prohibitively large
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the system into multiple hierarchical levels (low-level control, intermediate reactive execution, high-level mission planning). By verifying each level separately and composing the results, the overall verification effort is divided into manageable portions rather than requiring exhaustive testing of the entire complex system at once.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a new dimension of analysis by creating formal mappings between different functional layers. This allows verification to proceed through multiple abstraction levels simultaneously, transforming the problem from a single-level exhaustive search to a multi-level compositional reasoning process.
2Reliability
If current V&V and T&E techniques are used for heterogeneous systems with multiple functional layers, then verification can be attempted, but the mapping between different functional layers becomes part of the testing problem, increasing complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces formal mappings as intermediary structures between different functional layers. These mappings serve as mediators that translate properties between levels, allowing verification to proceed systematically through the hierarchy rather than requiring direct testing of all cross-layer interactions.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent divides the heterogeneous system into distinct functional layers (low-level control, intermediate reactive execution, high-level mission planning). By segmenting the system this way, each layer can be verified independently with appropriate techniques, and the overall system verification is achieved through compositional reasoning across the segments.
3Reliability
If exhaustive testing is performed to achieve high confidence in highly autonomous systems, then system reliability can be verified, but the process becomes resource, labor, and time prohibitive
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary verification at lower levels of the hierarchy before proceeding to higher levels. By establishing correctness at the component and subsystem levels first, the amount of resource-intensive testing required at the system level is significantly reduced, as many potential failures are caught earlier in the verification process.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the verification process into multiple passes through different levels of the system hierarchy. This allows resources to be distributed across multiple smaller verification tasks rather than requiring all resources simultaneously for exhaustive system-level testing, making the process more manageable and efficient.
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure includes methods, devices, and systems for inferring system-level properties. One or more embodiments include generating a constraint model based on a system model having a number of components at different levels of abstraction and on a number of verified component properties. The constraint model can include a number of mission constraints modeling one or more mission requirements, a number of system constraints modeling one or more system-level properties, mid a number of component constraints modeling one or more component properties. One or more embodiments can include analyzing the constraint model with a constraint solver to determine whether one or more particular system-level properties can be inferred from the constraint model.