Virtual environment modeling for requirements validation of highconsequence systems

摘要

An essential type of "evidence" of the correctness of therequirements formalization process can be provided by human-basedcalculation. Human calculation can be significantly amplified byshifting from symbolic representations to graphical representations.Having a formally-defined system model, we can visualize formulas thatrepresent the functional behavior of the system and associated safetyconstraints. This, in turn, provides an environment for the validationof system models. The visual model strengthens the specifier's abilityto grasp the system's complexity, build a correct mental model of thesystem and write the symbolic specification. The visual model can alsoserve as a bridge between the domain expert and symbolic specification,and provide evidence of the correctness of the formalization process. Asa case study, we developed a virtual environment model for theProduction Cell robotic system. The model runs in the ImmersaDeskvirtual reality environment. We used this model to evaluate theapplicability of virtual reality environments for software requirementsvalidation. Although it introduces higher cost in the requirementsformalization phase, this approach can be very beneficial in thedevelopment of high-consequence systems