High-Level Modeling and Analysis of TCAS

In this paper, we demonstrate a high-level approach to modeling and analyzing complex safety-critical systems through a case study in the area of air traffic management. In particular, we focus our attention on the Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) [11, 12]; an on-board conflict detection and resolution system which alerts pilots to the presence of nearby aircraft that pose a mid-air collision threat and issues conflict resolution advisories. Due to the complexity of the TCAS software and the hybrid nature of the closed-loop system, the traditional testing techniques through simulation do not constitute a viable verification approach. To aid people in analyzing and designing such systems, we advocate defining high-level mathematical system models that capture the behavior not only of the software, but also of the airplanes, sensors, and pilots--- that is, high-level hybrid system models. In particular, we show how the core components of this complex system can be capt..