Coverage-guided test generation for continuous and hybrid systems

In this paper, we describe a formal framework for conformance testing of continuous and hybrid systems, using the international standard ‘Formal Methods in Conformance Testing’ FMCT. We propose a novel test coverage measure for these systems, which is defined using the star discrepancy notion. This coverage measure is used to quantify the validation ‘completeness’. It is also used to guide input stimulus generation by identifying the portions of the system behaviors that are not adequately examined. We then propose a test generation method, which is based on a robotic motion planning algorithm and is guided by the coverage measure. This method was implemented in a prototype tool that can handle high dimensional systems (up to 100 dimensions).