Section: Partnerships and Cooperations

National Initiatives

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  6.7.3 ) to program complex computing infrastructures such as grids and real-time deeply-embedded systems. The consortium includes Inria Rennes – Bretagne Atlantique (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 and ended in November 2011.

ANR Asopt : Analyse Statique et OPTimisation

Participants : Bertrand Jeannet [contact person, coordinator] , 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 Goessler [contact person] , Bertrand Jeannet, Sebti Mouelhi.

The Vedecy project brings together hybrid systems and formal methods experts. Three partners are involved: Laboratoire Jean Kuntzmann (LJK), INRIA Pop Art , and VERIMAG.

Vedecy aims at pursuing fundamental research towards the development of algorithmic approaches to the 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 : Gwenaël Delaval, Alain Girault [contact person, co-coordinator] , Bertrand Jeannet, Xavier Nicollin, Peter Schrammel.

The Synchronics (Language Platform for Embedded System Design) project [mid-2008 to mid-2012] gathers 9 permanent researchers on the topic of embedded systems design: B. Caillaud (Inria Rennes – Bretagne Atlantique), A. Cohen, L. Mandel, and M. Pouzet (INRIA-Saclay and ENS Ulm), G. Delaval, 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

• Vertecs at Inria Rennes – Bretagne Atlantique is working with us on applications of discrete controller synthesis, and in particular on the tool Sigali .

• P. Fradet cooperates with R. Douence (Ascola , École des Mines de Nantes) on aspect-oriented programming.

• A. Girault cooperates with D. Trystram (Moais , Inria Grenoble – Rhône-Alpes) on scheduling and dependability, with E. Rutten (Sardes , Inria Grenoble – Rhône-Alpes) and H. Marchand (Vertecs , Inria Rennes – Bretagne Atlantique) on optimal discrete controller synthesis, and with A. Benoit, F. Dufossé and Y. Robert (Graal , Inria Grenoble – Rhône-Alpes) on multi-criteria scheduling.

• G. Goessler cooperates with D. Le Métayer (Licit , Inria Grenoble – Rhône-Alpes) on logical causality and with G. Salaün (Vasy , Inria Grenoble – Rhône-Alpes) on realizability of choreographies with asynchronous communication.

• B. Jeannet cooperates with A. Miné and X. Rival (Abstraction , Inria Paris – Rocquencourt) and X. Allamigeon (MaxPlus , Inria Saclay – Île-de-France) on static analysis and abstract interpretation.

• G. Delaval cooperates with H. Marchand (Vertecs , Inria Rennes – Bretagne Atlantique) and É. Rutten (Sardes , Inria Grenoble – Rhône-Alpes) on modular controller synthesis and its applications.

• G. Delaval, A. Girault and B. Jeannet collaborate with the Parkas team of ENS Ulm (Inria Paris – Rocquencourt) on the distribution of higher-order synchronous data-flow programs and on static analysis of hybrid programs.

Cooperations with other laboratories

• P. Fradet cooperates with J.-L. Giavitto (CNRS /Ircam) on refinement of chemical programs.

• A. Girault collaborates with P. Roop, Z. Salcic, and S. Andalam (University of Auckland, New Zealand) and A. Malik (IBM Watson, USA) in the context of the Afmes associated team, with H. Kalla (University of Batna, Algeria) and I. Assayad (University of Casablanca, Morocco) on multicriteria scheduling.

• G. Goessler collaborates with A. Girard (LJK, Grenoble) on multi-scale controller synthesis, with J. Sifakis (EPFL) on distribution under real-time constraints, with J.-B. Raclet (IRIT, Toulouse) on modal contracts, with I. Lee and O. Sokolsky (U. of Pennsylvania) on causality analysis for medical devices, and with M. Bozga (Verimag ) and B. Bonakdarpour (U. of Waterloo, Canada) on fault tolerance in component-based systems.

• A. Girault and G. Goessler collaborate with P. Roop (University of Auckland, New Zealand) on incremental converter synthesis.

• B. Jeannet collaborates with N. Halbwachs and M. Péron (Verimag ), E. Goubault and S. Putot (CEA Saclay) on static analysis and abstract interpretation.

• G. Delaval and A. Girault collaborate with X. Nicollin (Verimag ) on the automatic distribution of synchronous programs.