Formal Methods for Fault-Tolerant, Real-Time System Design

Abstract

Fault-tolerant design for real-time systems may be necessary when the cost of failure and doubts about the perfection of a system’s components are sufficiently high. Unfortunately, experience has shown that fault-tolerance functionality is itself a significant source of design error. This is not surprising considering the subtle, time-sensitive impact of faults on component functions and interactions. The complexity of fault effects and the need for very high confidence in designs of critical systems place fault-tolerant, real-time designs beyond the power of informal design verification techniques.