Improving automation software dependability: A role for formal methods?

The growth of manufacturing control software from simple NC and PLC-based systems to concurrent networked systems incorporating PCs, PLCs, CNCs, and enterprise databases has created new challenges to the design, implementation, and maintenance of safe and dependable manufacturing systems. Key milestones in this evolution, and the prospects for the use of formal verification methods in achieving enhanced dependability of future manufacturing software, are examined in this paper and presentation.