Howard Wong-Toi

Bio: Howard Wong-Toi is an academic researcher from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. The author has contributed to research in topics: Hybrid system & Control theory. The author has an hindex of 26, co-authored 35 publications receiving 4596 citations. Previous affiliations of Howard Wong-Toi include Stanford University & Cornell University.

HYTECH: a model checker for hybrid systems

Abstract: A hybrid system consists of a collection of digital programs that interact with each other and with an analog environment. Examples of hybrid systems include medical equipment, manufacturing controllers, automotive controllers, and robots. The formal analysis of the mixed digital-analog nature of these systems requires a model that incorporates the discrete behavior of computer programs with the continuous behavior of environment variables, such as temperature and pressure. Hybrid automata capture both types of behavior by combining finite automata with differential inclusions (i.e. differential inequalities). HyTech is a symbolic model checker for linear hybrid automata, an expressive, yet automatically analyzable, subclass of hybrid automata. A key feature of HyTech is its ability to perform parametric analysis, i.e. to determine the values of design parameters for which a linear hybrid automaton satisfies a temporal requirement.

HYTECH: A Model Checker for Hybrid Systems

Abstract: A hybrid system consists of a collection of digital programs that interact with each other and with an analog environment. Examples of hybrid systems include medical equipment, manufacturing controllers, automotive controllers, and robots. The formal analysis of the mixed digital-analog nature of these systems requires a model that incorporates the discrete behavior of computer programs with the continuous behavior of environment variables, such as temperature and pressure. Hybrid automata capture both types of behavior by combining finite automata with differential inclusions (i.e. differential inequalities). HyTech is a symbolic model checker for linear hybrid automata, an expressive, yet automatically analyzable, subclass of hybrid automata. A key feature of HyTech is its ability to perform parametric analysis, i.e. to determine the values of design parameters for which a linear hybrid automaton satisfies a temporal requirement.

Algorithmic analysis of nonlinear hybrid systems

Abstract: We present two methods for translating nonlinear hybrid systems into linear hybrid automata. Properties of the nonlinear systems can then be inferred from the automatic analysis of the translated linear hybrid automata. The first method, called clock translation, replaces constraints on nonlinear variables by constraints on clock variables. The second method, called linear phase-portrait approximation, conservatively overapproximates the phase portrait of a hybrid automaton using piecewise-constant polyhedral differential inclusions. Both methods are sound for safety properties. We illustrate both methods by using HYTECH, a symbolic model checker for linear hybrid automata, to automatically check properties of a nonlinear temperature controller and of a predator-prey ecology.

A User Guide to HyTech

Abstract: HyTech is a tool for the automated analysis of embedded systems. This document, designed for the first-time user of HyTech, guides the reader through the underlying system model, and through the input language for describing and analyzing systems. The guide gives several examples of usage, some hints for gaining maximal computational efficiency from the tool, and the complete grammar for the input language. The version of HyTech described in this guide was released in August 1995, and is available through anonymous ftp from ftp.cs.cornell.edu in the directory ~pub/tah/HyTech, and through the World-Wide Web via HyTech''s home page http://www.cs.cornell.edu/Info/People/tah/hytech.html

Supervisory control of a rapid thermal multiprocessor

Abstract: An application of supervisory control theory to a piece of semiconductor manufacturing equipment is presented. The approach allows the flexible design and reliable update of processing recipes to accommodate frequently changing manufacturing requirements. An input-output interpretation of supervisory control theory is given. This interpretation leads to a generic implementation scheme for manufacturing systems. A synthesis fixpoint algorithm implementation using binary decision diagrams enables the design of supervisors of realistic size. A sample synthesis for an oxide growth recipe is performed on a state space of the order of 10/sup 6/ states. The actual implementation of the logic sequencing control software for the application under investigation is described. >

UPPAAL in a Nutshell

Abstract: This paper presents the overal structure, the design criteria, and the main features of the tool box Uppaal. It gives a detailed user guide which describes how to use the various tools of Uppaal version 2.02 to construct abstract models of a real-time system, to simulate its dynamical behavior, to specify and verify its safety and bounded liveness properties in terms of its model. In addition, the paper also provides a short review on case-studies where Uppaal is applied, as well as references to its theoretical foundation.

The theory of hybrid automata

Abstract: We summarize several recent results about hybrid automata. Our goal is to demonstrate that concepts from the theory of discrete concurrent systems can give insights into partly continuous systems, and that methods for the verification of finite-state systems can be used to analyze certain systems with uncountable state spaces.

Formal methods: state of the art and future directions

Abstract: Hardware and software systems will inevitably grow in scale and functionality. Because of this increase in complexity, the likelihood of subtle errors is much greater. Moreover, some of these errors may cause catastrophic loss of money, time, or even human life. A major goal of software engineering is to enable developers to construct systems that operate reliably despite this complexity. One way of achieving this goal is by using formal methods, which are mathematically based languages, techniques, and tools for specifying and verifying such systems. Use of formal methods does not a priori guarantee correctness. However, they can greatly increase our understanding of a system by revealing inconsistencies, ambiguities, and incompleteness that might otherwise go undetected. The first part of this report assesses the state of the art in specification and verification. For verification, we highlight advances in model checking and theorem proving. In the three sections on specification, model checking, and theorem proving, we explain what we mean by the general technique and briefly describe some successful case studies and well-known tools. The second part of this report outlines future directions in fundamental concepts, new methods and tools, integration of methods, and education and technology transfer. We close with summary remarks and pointers to resources for more information.