In the last decade, technology has rapidly expanded to multiple aspects of our lives. The physical world is being constantly enhanced by technology and connectivity, for reasons ranging from improvement in our lives to pure entertainment. Examples of this trend are evident in emerging technologies like autonomous transportation, smart cities, home and industry automation. The scientific community identifies such kind of systems as Cyber-Physical Systems (CPSs), that is, systems where the physical aspects are deeply integrated with the communication and computing (cyber) parts: they provide physical systems with new “intelligent” capabilities. Such integration involves multiple interconnected embedded systems, with blurred boundaries between, and a strong interaction with the physical world.
The tight interaction with the physical world often means that CPSs, if not operating properly, can cause harm to users and/or the environment. In other words, CPSs are often safety-critical systems, and must therefore be subject to a rigorous Verification and Validation (V&V) process to heck if they meet the specifications and fulfill the intended use, goals and objectives. While the V&V practices are relatively established for traditional systems, like railways, avionics, space, or automotive, the current transition towards CPSs is raising significant challenges in the industry. New techniques and technologies are being introduced, yet the V&V practices are not improving with the same pace.
The scientific objective of the ADVANCE project is to conceive new approaches to support the Verification and Validation (V&V) of Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS). ADVANCE will focus on two main aspects of V&V. The first aspect is related with the definition of techniques to collect evidences of the quality (in lato sensu) of a cyber-physical system. The second aspect is related with the techniques that allow to manage and analyse data of this type of systems. Moreover, the ADVANCE project also has the strategic objective of creating an international network of expertise and collaboration in the context of V&V of cyber-physical systems.
