BRACE: An assertion framework for debugging cyber-physical systems

Abstract

Developing cyber-physical systems (CPS) is challenging because correctness depends on both logical and physical states, which are collectively difficult to observe. The developer often need to repeatedly rerun the system while observing its behavior and tweak the hardware and software until it meets minimum requirements. This process is tedious, error-prone, and lacks rigor. To address this, we propose BRACE, A framework that simplifies the process by enabling developers to correlate cyber (i.e., logical) and physical properties of the system via assertions. This paper presents our initial investigation into the requirements and semantics of such assertions, which we call CPS assertions. We discusses our experience implementing and using the framework with a mobile robot, and highlight key future research challenges.