Generating Certification Evidence for Autonomous Unmanned Aircraft Using Model Checking and Simulation

The use of unmanned aircraft for civil applications is expected to increase over the next decade, particularly in so-called “dull, dirty and dangerous” missions. Unmanned aircraft will undoubtedly require some form of autonomy in order to ensure safe operations for all airspace users. However, in order to be used for civil applications, unmanned aircraft must gain regulatory approval in a process known as “certification”. This paper presents a proof-of-concept approach to the generation of certification evidence for autonomous unmanned aircraft based on a combination of formal verification and flight simulation. In particular, a class of autonomous systems controlled by rational agents is examined and we give examples of twenty-three different properties, based on the Rules of the Air and notions of Airmanship, which can be used in the formal model checking of rational agents controlling autonomous unmanned aircraft. Our techniques can be based on either (i) implicit models of the aircraft’s physical environment specified in terms of the range of sensor inputs the autonomous system may receive, or (ii) more explicit physical models of the environment. Finally, we provide a description of how such formal verification can be used to refine the implementation of autonomous systems for unmanned aircraft.