Formal Verification for Robot Swams and Wireless Sensor Networks
Primary supervisor
Additional information
- Gainer, P., Linker, S., Dixon, C., Hustadt, U. & Fisher, M., Multi-Scale Verification of Distributed Synchronisation, Formal Methods in System Design, 55, 2020
- Dixon, C., Winfield, A. F. T., Fisher, M. & Zeng, C., Towards temporal verification of swarm robotic systems, In: Robotics and Autonomous Systems. 60, 11, p. 1429-1441, 2012,
- Konur, S., Dixon, C. & Fisher, M., Analysing robot swarm behaviour via probabilistic model checking, Robotics and Autonomous Systems. 60, 2, p. 199-213, 2012
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Other projects with the same supervisor
Funding
- Competition Funded Project (Students Worldwide)
This research project is one of a number of projects at this institution. It is in competition for funding with one or more of these projects. Usually the project which receives the best applicant will be awarded the funding. Applications for this project are welcome from suitably qualified candidates worldwide. Funding may only be available to a limited set of nationalities and you should read the full department and project details for further information.
Project description
A robot swarm is a collection of simple robots designed to work together to carry out some task. Such swarms rely on: the simplicity of the individual robots; the fault tolerance inherent in having a large population of often identical robots; and the self-organised behaviour of the swarm as a whole. Wireless sensor networks have similar properties.
It is challenging to design the behaviour of individual robots to ensure that required properties hold for the emergent swarm behaviour. Verification is the process that checks the system does satisfy these required properties. This is often carried out using simulation or real robot experiments. Formal verification is a mathematical analysis of systems using techniques such as model checking or temporal theorem proving. This project involves developing and applying formal verification (a mathematical analysis of systems) to robot swarms and wireless sensor networks. This can be used to ensure that the swarm (or network) achieves the required properties and to investigate the effects of failure of individuals.
Person specification
For information
- Candidates must hold a minimum of an upper Second Class UK Honours degree or international equivalent in a relevant science or engineering discipline.
- Candidates must meet the School's minimum English Language requirement.
- Candidates will be expected to comply with the University's policies and practices of equality, diversity and inclusion.
Essential
Applicants will be required to evidence the following skills and qualifications.
- You must be capable of performing at a very high level.
- You must have a self-driven interest in uncovering and solving unknown problems and be able to work hard and creatively without constant supervision.
Desirable
Applicants will be required to evidence the following skills and qualifications.
- You will have good time management.
- You will possess determination (which is often more important than qualifications) although you'll need a good amount of both.
General
Applicants will be required to address the following.
- Comment on your transcript/predicted degree marks, outlining both strong and weak points.
- Discuss your final year Undergraduate project work - and if appropriate your MSc project work.
- How well does your previous study prepare you for undertaking Postgraduate Research?
- Why do you believe you are suitable for doing Postgraduate Research?