Federico Mari, Igor Melatti, Ivano Salvo, and Enrico Tronci. "Synthesis of Quantized Feedback Control Software for Discrete Time Linear Hybrid Systems." In Computer Aided Verification, edited by T. Touili, B. Cook and P. Jackson, 180–195. Lecture Notes in Computer Science 6174. Springer Berlin / Heidelberg, 2010. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-642-14295-6_20.
Abstract: We present an algorithm that given a Discrete Time Linear Hybrid System returns a correct-by-construction software implementation K for a (near time optimal) robust quantized feedback controller for along with the set of states on which K is guaranteed to work correctly (controllable region). Furthermore, K has a Worst Case Execution Time linear in the number of bits of the quantization schema.
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Enrico Tronci, Giuseppe Della Penna, Benedetto Intrigila, and Marisa Venturini Zilli. "Exploiting Transition Locality in Automatic Verification." In 11th IFIP WG 10.5 Advanced Research Working Conference on Correct Hardware Design and Verification Methods (CHARME), edited by T. Margaria and T. F. Melham, 259–274. Lecture Notes in Computer Science 2144. Livingston, Scotland, UK: Springer, 2001. ISSN: 3-540-42541-1. DOI: 10.1007/3-540-44798-9_22.
Abstract: In this paper we present an algorithm to contrast state explosion when using Explicit State Space Exploration to verify protocols. We show experimentally that protocols exhibit transition locality. We present a verification algorithm that exploits transition locality as well as an implementation of it within the Mur$\varphi$ verifier. Our algorithm is compatible with all Breadth First (BF) optimization techniques present in the Mur$\varphi$ verifier and it is by no means a substitute for any of them. In fact, since our algorithm trades space with time, it is typically most useful when one runs out of memory and has already used all other state reduction techniques present in the Mur$\varphi$ verifier. Our experimental results show that using our approach we can typically save more than 40% of RAM with an average time penalty of about 50% when using (Mur$\varphi$) bit compression and 100% when using bit compression and hash compaction.
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Giuseppe Della Penna, Benedetto Intrigila, Enrico Tronci, and Marisa Venturini Zilli. "Exploiting Transition Locality in the Disk Based Mur$\varphi$ Verifier." In 4th International Conference on Formal Methods in Computer-Aided Design (FMCAD), edited by M. Aagaard and J. W. O'Leary, 202–219. Lecture Notes in Computer Science 2517. Portland, OR, USA: Springer, 2002. ISSN: 3-540-00116-6. DOI: 10.1007/3-540-36126-X_13.
Abstract: The main obstruction to automatic verification of Finite State Systems is the huge amount of memory required to complete the verification task (state explosion). This motivates research on distributed as well as disk based verification algorithms. In this paper we present a disk based Breadth First Explicit State Space Exploration algorithm as well as an implementation of it within the Mur$\varphi$ verifier. Our algorithm exploits transition locality (i.e. the statistical fact that most transitions lead to unvisited states or to recently visited states) to decrease disk read accesses thus reducing the time overhead due to disk usage. A disk based verification algorithm for Mur$\varphi$ has been already proposed in the literature. To measure the time speed up due to locality exploitation we compared our algorithm with such previously proposed algorithm. Our experimental results show that our disk based verification algorithm is typically more than 10 times faster than such previously proposed disk based verification algorithm. To measure the time overhead due to disk usage we compared our algorithm with RAM based verification using the (standard) Mur$\varphi$ verifier with enough memory to complete the verification task. Our experimental results show that even when using 1/10 of the RAM needed to complete verification, our disk based algorithm is only between 1.4 and 5.3 times (3 times on average) slower than (RAM) Mur$\varphi$ with enough RAM memory to complete the verification task at hand. Using our disk based Mur$\varphi$ we were able to complete verification of a protocol with about $10^9$ reachable states. This would require more than 5 gigabytes of RAM using RAM based Mur$\varphi$.
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Federico Mari, Igor Melatti, Ivano Salvo, Enrico Tronci, Lorenzo Alvisi, Allen Clement, and Harry Li. "Model Checking Coalition Nash Equilibria in MAD Distributed Systems." In Stabilization, Safety, and Security of Distributed Systems, 11th International Symposium, SSS 2009, Lyon, France, November 3-6, 2009. Proceedings, edited by R. Guerraoui and F. Petit, 531–546. Lecture Notes in Computer Science 5873. Springer, 2009. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-642-05118-0_37.
Abstract: We present two OBDD based model checking algorithms for the verification of Nash equilibria in finite state mechanisms modeling Multiple Administrative Domains (MAD) distributed systems with possibly colluding agents (coalitions) and with possibly faulty or malicious nodes (Byzantine agents). Given a finite state mechanism, a proposed protocol for each agent and the maximum sizes f for Byzantine agents and q for agents collusions, our model checkers return Pass if the proposed protocol is an ε-f-q-Nash equilibrium, i.e. no coalition of size up to q may have an interest greater than ε in deviating from the proposed protocol when up to f Byzantine agents are present, Fail otherwise. We implemented our model checking algorithms within the NuSMV model checker: the first one explicitly checks equilibria for each coalition, while the second represents symbolically all coalitions. We present experimental results showing their effectiveness for moderate size mechanisms. For example, we can verify coalition Nash equilibria for mechanisms which corresponding normal form games would have more than $5 \times 10^21$ entries. Moreover, we compare the two approaches, and the explicit algorithm turns out to outperform the symbolic one. To the best of our knowledge, no model checking algorithm for verification of Nash equilibria of mechanisms with coalitions has been previously published.
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Toni Mancini, Federico Mari, Annalisa Massini, Igor Melatti, and Enrico Tronci. "Simulator Semantics for System Level Formal Verification." In Proceedings Sixth International Symposium on Games, Automata, Logics and Formal Verification (GandALF 2015),., 2015. DOI: 10.4204/EPTCS.193.7.
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I. Melatti, F. Mari, T. Mancini, M. Prodanovic, and E. Tronci. "A Two-Layer Near-Optimal Strategy for Substation Constraint Management via Home Batteries." IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics (2021): 1. Notes: To appear. DOI: 10.1109/TIE.2021.3102431.
Abstract: Within electrical distribution networks, substation constraints management requires that aggregated power demand from residential users is kept within suitable bounds. Efficiency of substation constraints management can be measured as the reduction of constraints violations w.r.t. unmanaged demand. Home batteries hold the promise of enabling efficient and user-oblivious substation constraints management. Centralized control of home batteries would achieve optimal efficiency. However, it is hardly acceptable by users, since service providers (e.g., utilities or aggregators) would directly control batteries at user premises. Unfortunately, devising efficient hierarchical control strategies, thus overcoming the above problem, is far from easy. We present a novel two-layer control strategy for home batteries that avoids direct control of home devices by the service provider and at the same time yields near-optimal substation constraints management efficiency. Our simulation results on field data from 62 households in Denmark show that the substation constraints management efficiency achieved with our approach is at least 82% of the one obtained with a theoretical optimal centralized strategy.
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S. Sinisi, V. Alimguzhin, T. Mancini, E. Tronci, F. Mari, and B. Leeners. "Optimal Personalised Treatment Computation through In Silico Clinical Trials on Patient Digital Twins." Fundamenta Informaticae 174 (2020): 283–310. IOS Press. ISSN: 1875-8681. DOI: 10.3233/FI-2020-1943.
Abstract: In Silico Clinical Trials (ISCT), i.e. clinical experimental campaigns carried out by means of computer simulations, hold the promise to decrease time and cost for the safety and efficacy assessment of pharmacological treatments, reduce the need for animal and human testing, and enable precision medicine. In this paper we present methods and an algorithm that, by means of extensive computer simulation-based experimental campaigns (ISCT) guided by intelligent search, optimise a pharmacological treatment for an individual patient (precision medicine ). We show the effectiveness of our approach on a case study involving a real pharmacological treatment, namely the downregulation phase of a complex clinical protocol for assisted reproduction in humans.
Keywords: Artificial Intelligence; Virtual Physiological Human; In Silico Clinical Trials; Simulation; Personalised Medicine; In Silico Treatment Optimisation
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Federico Mari, Igor Melatti, Ivano Salvo, and Enrico Tronci. "Linear Constraints and Guarded Predicates as a Modeling Language for Discrete Time Hybrid Systems." International Journal on Advances in Software vol. 6, nr 1&2 (2013): 155–169. IARIA. ISSN: 1942-2628.
Abstract: Model based design is particularly appealing in
software based control systems (e.g., embedded
software) design, since in such a case system
level specifications are much easier to define
than the control software behavior itself. In
turn, model based design of embedded systems
requires modeling both continuous subsystems
(typically, the plant) as well as discrete
subsystems (the controller). This is typically
done using hybrid systems. Mixed Integer Linear
Programming (MILP) based abstraction techniques
have been successfully applied to automatically
synthesize correct-by-construction control
software for discrete time linear hybrid systems,
where plant dynamics is modeled as a linear
predicate over state, input, and next state
variables. Unfortunately, MILP solvers require
such linear predicates to be conjunctions of
linear constraints, which is not a natural way of
modeling hybrid systems. In this paper we show
that, under the hypothesis that each variable
ranges over a bounded interval, any linear
predicate built upon conjunction and disjunction
of linear constraints can be automatically
translated into an equivalent conjunctive
predicate. Since variable bounds play a key role
in this translation, our algorithm includes a
procedure to compute all implicit variable bounds
of the given linear predicate. Furthermore, we
show that a particular form of linear predicates,
namely guarded predicates, are a natural and
powerful language to succinctly model discrete
time linear hybrid systems dynamics. Finally, we
experimentally show the feasibility of our
approach on an important and challenging case
study taken from the literature, namely the
multi-input Buck DC-DC Converter. As an example,
the guarded predicate that models (with 57
constraints) a 6-inputs Buck DC-DC Converter is
translated in a conjunctive predicate (with 102
linear constraints) in about 40 minutes.
Keywords: Model-based software design; Linear predicates; Hybrid systems
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Verzino Giovanni, Federico Cavaliere, Federico Mari, Igor Melatti, Giovanni Minei, Ivano Salvo, Yuri Yushtein, and Enrico Tronci. "Model checking driven simulation of sat procedures." In Proceedings of 12th International Conference on Space Operations (SpaceOps 2012)., 2012. DOI: 10.2514/6.2012-1275611.
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Toni Mancini, Federico Mari, Annalisa Massini, Igor Melatti, and Enrico Tronci. "System Level Formal Verification via Distributed Multi-Core Hardware in the Loop Simulation." In Proc. of the 22nd Euromicro International Conference on Parallel, Distributed and Network-Based Processing. IEEE Computer Society, 2014. DOI: 10.1109/PDP.2014.32.
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