Section: Other Grants and Activities

National actions

ANR AutoChem : Chemical Programming

Participants : Pascal Fradet [ contact person ] , Marnes Hoff.

The AutoChem project aims at investigating and exploring the use of chemical languages (see Section  6.6.1 ) to program complex computing infrastructures such as grids and real-time deeply-embedded systems. The consortium includes Irisa (Paris team, Rennes), Inria Grenoble Rhône-Alpes (Pop Art team, Montbonnot), IBISC (CNRS /Université d'Evry) and CEA List (Saclay). The project started at the end of 2007.

ANR Asopt : Analyse Statique et OPTimisation

Participants : Bertrand Jeannet, Lies Lakhdar-Chaouch, Pascal Sotin, Peter Schrammel.

The Asopt (Analyse Statique et OPTimisation) project [end of 2008-2011] brings together static analysis (INRIA-Pop Art , VERIMAG, CEA LMeASI), optimisation, and control/game theory experts (CEA LMeASI, INRIA-MAXPLUS) around some program verification problems. Pop Art is the project coordinator.

Many abstract interpretations attempt to find “good” geometric shapes verifying certain constraints; this not only applies to purely numerical abstractions (for numerical program variables), but also to abstractions of data structures (arrays and more complex shapes). This problem can often be addressed by optimisation techniques, opening the possibility of exploiting advanced techniques from mathematical programming.

The purpose of Asopt is to develop new abstract domains and new resolution techniques for embedded control programs, and in the longer run, for numerical simulation programs.

ANR Vedecy : verification and design of cyber-physical systems

Participants : Gregor Gössler [ contact person ] , Bertrand Jeannet.

The Vedecy project aims at pursuing fundamental research towards the development of algorithmic approaches to verification and design of cyber-physical systems. Cyber-physical systems result from the integration of computations with physical processes: embedded computers control physical processes which in return affect computations through feedback loops. They are ubiquitous in current technology and their impact on lives of citizens is meant to grow in the future (autonomous vehicles, robotic surgery, energy efficient buildings, ...).

Cyber-physical systems applications are often safety critical and therefore reliability is a major requirement. To provide assurance of reliability, model based approaches and formal methods are appealing. Models of cyber-physical systems are heterogeneous by nature: discrete dynamic systems for computations and continuous differential equations for physical processes. The theory of hybrid systems offers a sound modeling framework for cyber-physical systems. The purpose of Vedecy is to develop hybrid systems techniques for the verification and the design of cyber-physical systems.

INRIA large scale action Synchronics : Language Platform for Embedded System Design

Participants : Mouaiad Alras, Alain Girault, Bertrand Jeannet, Peter Schrammel.

The Synchronics (Language Platform for Embedded System Design) project [beginning of 2008-2011] gathers 9 permanent researchers on the topic of embedded systems design: B. Caillaud (Irisa ), A. Cohen, L. Mandel, and M. Pouzet (INRIA-Saclay), A. Girault and B. Jeannet (Inria Grenoble Rhône-Alpes), E. Jahier and P. Raymond (VERIMAG).

Synchronics capitalizes on recent extensions of data-flow synchronous languages, as well as relaxed forms of synchronous composition or compilation techniques for various platform, to address two main challenges with a language-centered approach: (i) the co-simulation of mixed discrete-continuous specifications, and more generally the co-simulation of programs and properties (either discrete or continuous); (ii) the ability, inside the programming model, to account for the architecture constraints (execution time, memory footprint, energy, power, reliability, etc.).

Collaborations inside Inria

• Aoste at Inria -Rocquencourt is working with us on fault tolerant heuristics for their software SynDEx .

• Vertecs at Irisa /Inria -Rennes is working with us on applications of discrete controller synthesis, and in particular on the tool Sigali .

• P. Fradet cooperates with J.-P. Banâtre and T. Priol (Paris , Irisa /Inria -Rennes) and with R. Douence (Ascola , Ecole des Mines de Nantes).

• A. Girault cooperates with the Moais and Graal projects (CR Grenoble – Rhône-Alpes) on multi-criteria scheduling. A. Girault cooperates also with the Verimag lab on model-based design and a compilation tool chain from Simulink to distributed platforms, and with the Demon team of LRI (Orsay) on the distribution of higher-order synchronous data-flow programs.

• G. Gössler cooperates with D. Le Métayer (Licit action, CR Rhône-Alpes), H. de Jong (Ibis project, CR Rhône-Alpes), and G. Batt (Contraintes project, CR Rocquencourt).

• B. Jeannet cooperates with T. Le Gall (Vertecs , Irisa /Inria -Rennes) on the analysis of communicating systems, and with C. Constant, T. Jéron and F. Ployette (Vertecs , Irisa /Inria -Rennes) on test generation.

• J.-B. Raclet cooperates with E. Badouel, A. Benveniste, B. Caillaud and A. Legay (S4 team from Irisa /Inria -Rennes) on interface theories, and with N. Bertrand (Vertecs team from Irisa /Inria -Rennes) and S. Pinchinat (S4 team from Irisa /Inria -Rennes) on timed modal specifications.

Cooperations with other laboratories

• P. Fradet cooperates with J.-L. Giavitto (CNRS /Université d'Evry).

• A. Girault cooperates with P. Raymond (Verimag ), M. Pouzet (LRI , University of Paris VI), P. Roop, Z. Salcic, A. Malik, and S. Andalam (University of Auckland, New Zealand), and H. Kalla (University of Batna, Algeria).

• P. Fradet and A. Girault collaborate with T. Ayav (University of Izmir, Turkey).

• G. Gössler cooperates with A. Girard (LJK, Grenoble), T. Dang, J. Sifakis, and S. Bensalem (Verimag ).

• A. Girault and G. Gössler collaborate with P. Roop and R. Sinha (University of Auckland, New Zealand).

• B. Jeannet cooperates with N. Halbwachs and M. Péron (Verimag ) on static analysis and abstract interpretation.

• J.-B. Raclet cooperates with R. Passerone (University of Trento) on interface theories.