Cross-platform verification framework for embedded systems

Many innovations in the automotive sector involve complex electronics and embedded software systems. Testing techniques are one of the key methodologies for detecting faults in such embedded systems. In this paper, a novel cross-platform verification framework including automated test-case generation by model checking is introduced. Comparing the execution behavior of a program instance running on a certain platform to the execution behavior of the same program running on a different platform we denote cross-platform verification. The framework supports various types of coverage criteria. It turned out that end-to-end testing is of high importance due to defects occurring on the actual target platform for the first time. Additionally, formal verification can be applied for checking requirements resulting from the specification using the same model generation mechanism that is used for test data generation. Due to a novel self-assessment mechanism, the confidence into the formal models is increased significantly. We provide a case study for the Motorola embedded controller HCS12 that is heavily used by the automotive industry. We perform structural tests on industrial code patterns using a wide-spread industrial compiler. Using our technique, we found two severe compiler defects that have been corrected in subsequent releases.