Towards Verification of Multicore Motor-Drive Controllers in Aerospace

Abstract

It is a known fact that development of models on the design stage of a product, constitutes a highly important stage proving early evidence of error absence for the proposed artifact. Meanwhile, advances in the embedded systems domain push for rapid architecture product changes based on current state-of-the-art solutions. Multicore systems have exhibit enormous benefits due to parallelization of task execution, increasing availability of resources in multiple domains such as the automotive and telecommunication. Such a premise creates the need to invest into new verification methodologies that will re-assure the safe and efficient transition of new solutions like multicores, especially in the demanding aerospace world. In this paper we describe current challenges and trends on the development of safe and efficient methods for power controllers’ verification in multicore-based hardware platforms, such as motor-drive applications. We outline current industrial practices and describe common toolsets, workflows and techniques used in the aerospace domain. Then our discussion focus on formal verification techniques that could provide efficient solutions for verifying power control algorithms in aerospace applications. We conclude with remarks about an ongoing verification effort for power control of a multicore-based motor drive towards producing certification evidence.