Proving the Correctness of Multicopter Rotor Fault Detection and Identification Software

Applications for data-driven systems are expected to be correct implementations of the system specifications, but developers usually test against a few indicative scenarios to verify them. In the absence of exhaustive testing, errors may occur in real time scenarios, especially when dealing with large data streams from moving objects like multicopters, vehicles, etc. Model checking techniques also lack scalability and completeness. We present a novel approach based on some existing tools which enables a developer to write high level code directly as system specifications and simultaneously be able to prove the correctness of the generated code. We present a fault detection and identification (FDI) software development approach using declarative programming language: PILOTS. The grammar of PILOTS has been updated to enable easier syntax for threshold validation techniques. The failure detection model is described as high level specifications that the generated code has to adhere to. The complete FDI problem is formally specified using Hoare logic and proven correct using an automated proof assistant: Dafny. A case study of rotor failures in a hexacopter has been used to illustrate the approach and visualize the results.