Formally specifying the RT-Component framework standard's port connection process

抄録

The Robot Technology Component standard forms the basis on which several component-based software frameworks for robotics are built, including OpenRTM-aist. In order to have confidence that the software framework will function as expected, we require confidence that this standard is a correct description of the expected functionality. In this article, we present a formal verification of one part of the RT-Component standard's functionality. We use the TLA+ formal specification language to specify and model-check the algorithm used to connect ports. Our specification and model-checking results show that, as expected for this relatively simple algorithm, it correctly connects the specified ports only and does not interfere with other ports. Additionally, this formal specification can serve as a clearer specification of the expected RT-Component-based framework functionality than the informal and UML-based descriptions given in the original standard document.