Automated testing and specification mining for certification of avionics software systems

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Avionics software systems are safety-critical software embedded in an aircraft hardware that control and monitor the aircraft. The Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) is an avionics system with no pilot on board. A UAV can fly autonomously using a software called Autopilot. Aviation software industry observes one of the highest standards of safety control, where their embedded software systems, such as an Autopilot, go through a set of rigorous standard checks, before entering to the commercial market. In this project, we collaborate with MicroPilot, a world-leader in building autopilot systems for commercial UAVs, to improve their current practice of testing and debugging by providing "automation", "traceability", and "risk-awareness", which are among the most significant requirements of the standards. To realize the above objectives, a set of techniques from "mining software repositories", "model-driven engineering", and "automated test data generation" will be used in the context of this research project. The proposed tools and processes of this project are planned to be integrated in the existing frameworks and processes of the company to help them to get certified and deliver higher quality systems. While the current project will focus on improving MicroPilot's current practice of software development and verification, other companies that are building safety-critical embedded systems in Canada could also benefit from this project's report.