Model-based validation and verification of autonomous networked vehicles

Validation and verification (V&V) is an integral part of system design that allows the designer to establish the correctness of a system as well as analyze its robustness in the presence of disturbances and failures. V&V is especially critical in the development of autonomous vehicles. The pursuer-evader problem is a particularly challenging topic in autonomous vehicle research because it includes several different problems such as path planning, target assignment, and collision avoidance. In this paper, we describe the foundation of a model-based V&V framework that enables validation and verification of certain aspects of the performance of autonomous pursuer vehicles. In particular, we concentrate on the verification and analysis of a collision-avoidance strategy employed to prevent collisions between pursuers. The work presented in this paper was conducted at the Lockheed Martin Advanced Technology Center and is part of the ongoing VVIACS project (Validation & Verification of Intelligent and Adaptive Control Systems)[1].