Bounded model checking of hybrid dynamical systems

Bounded model checking (BMC) has recently emerged as a very powerful methodology for the verification of purely discrete systems. Given a horizon of interest, bounded model checking verifies whether all finite-horizon trajectories satisfy a temporal logic formula by first translating the problem to a large satisfiability SAT-problem and then relying on extremely powerful state-of-the art SAT-solvers for a counterexample or a certification of safety. In this paper we consider the problem of bounded model checking for a general class of discrete-time hybrid systems. Critical to our approach is the abstraction of continuous trajectories under discrete observations with a purely discrete system that captures the same discrete sequences. Bounded model checking can then be applied to the purely discrete, abstracted system. The performance of our approach is illustrated by verifying temporal properties of a hybrid model of an electronic height controller.