Robotics and Integrated Formal Methods: Necessity Meets Opportunity

Robotic systems are multi-dimensional entities, combining both hardware and software, that are heavily dependent on, and influenced by, interactions with the real world. They can be variously categorised as embedded, cyber-physical, real-time, hybrid, adaptive and even autonomous systems, with a typical robotic system being likely to contain all of these aspects. The techniques for developing and verifying each of these system varieties are often quite distinct. This, together with the sheer complexity of robotic systems, leads us to argue that diverse formal techniques must be integrated in order to develop, verify, and provide certification evidence for, robotic systems. Furthermore, we propose the fast evolving field of robotics as an ideal catalyst for the advancement of integrated formal methods research, helping to drive the field in new and exciting directions and shedding light on the development of large-scale, dynamic, complex systems.