A Study on Run Time Assurance for Complex Cyber Physical Systems

Abstract

Abstract : Cyber-physical systems are becoming more and more complex, thereby increasing the cost and time to ensure safety. They range from highly complex but finite state to infinite state, indeterminate systems. Current methods of performing software and system verification and validation requires exhaustive offline testing of every possible state space scenario; an impossible task for adaptive, non-deterministic, and near infinite state algorithms. This certification incapacity is creating a growing gap between state of the art software system capabilities and capabilities of systems which can be certified. Currently, we attempt to prove systems are correct via verification of every possible state PRIOR to fielding the system. However, if, through the use of run time architecture, we can provably bound systems behavior, then it may be possible to reduce the reliance on comprehensive off-line verification, shifting the analysis/test burden to the more provable run time assurance mechanism. The question arose, what will it take to create a run time assurance framework for the cyber physical systems in the autonomous vehicle space? To explore this question the following study investigates the key technologies available and needed to increase the reliance on run time assurance.