Generalized Property-Directed Reachability for Hybrid Systems
This work addresses model checking for hybrid systems, a domain-specific problem, but it is incremental as it adapts an existing method to a new application area.
The paper tackles the problem of applying generalized property-directed reachability (GPDR) to hybrid systems, which involve continuous evolution over time, by formalizing HGPDR as an adaptation and proving its soundness, with a semi-automated proof-of-concept verifier implemented.
Generalized property-directed reachability (GPDR) belongs to the family of the model-checking techniques called IC3/PDR. It has been successfully applied to software verification; for example, it is the core of Spacer, a state-of-the-art Horn-clause solver bundled with Z3. However, it has yet to be applied to hybrid systems, which involve a continuous evolution of values over time. As the first step towards GPDR- based model checking for hybrid systems, this paper formalizes HGPDR, an adaptation of GPDR to hybrid systems, and proves its soundness. We also implemented a semi-automated proof-of-concept verifier, which allows a user to provide hints to guide verification steps.