Formal feature analysis of hybrid automata

Abstract

Circuits and systems that have to deal with real valued artifacts often need to be evaluated not only for correct behaviors, but also the margins by which they satisfy the design intent. Our definition of "features" formally extends the classical notion of "assertions" by overlaying constructs for specifying real valued functions over matches of assertions, thereby providing a powerful language framework for specifying real valued properties of the system. In this paper we present, for the first time, methods for formal evaluation of feature ranges on hybrid automata models which are extensively used for modeling switched control systems. We demonstrate the methodology over three case studies, namely a cruise control system, a DC-DC Buck Regulator and a Li-ion battery charger.