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DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.ITP.2026.10

Automated Verification of Robot Software Models with Assume-Guarantee Reasoning in Isabelle/HOL

Authors: Fang Yan, Benoît Ballenghien, Simon Foster, Ana Cavalcanti, James Baxter, and Burkhart Wolff

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 382, 17th International Conference on Interactive Theorem Proving (ITP 2026)

Abstract

We present a theorem-proving-based technique for verifying deadlock freedom of CSP-style concurrent models in Isabelle/HOL. The approach addresses challenges that are difficult to handle using model checking alone, including infinite state spaces, compositional reasoning in the presence of shared variables, and the need for mechanised proofs. Our main contribution is a coinductive characterisation of deadlock freedom that is equivalent to the standard CSP refinement-based definition, but is more amenable to automated reasoning in an interactive theorem prover. To support reasoning about shared variables, we introduce an assume–guarantee strategy that enforces invariants within transition semantics. The technique is generally applicable to CSP specifications that model shared variables using standard CSP constructs. In particular, we consider the semantics of RoboChart, a domain-specific modelling language for robotic control software, which we mechanise in Isabelle via a shallow embedding in HOL-CSP, and implement automated proof methods. The approach is evaluated on three case studies, including two RoboChart models of industrial robotic systems.

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Fang Yan, Benoît Ballenghien, Simon Foster, Ana Cavalcanti, James Baxter, and Burkhart Wolff. Automated Verification of Robot Software Models with Assume-Guarantee Reasoning in Isabelle/HOL. In 17th International Conference on Interactive Theorem Proving (ITP 2026). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 382, pp. 10:1-10:21, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2026)

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@InProceedings{yan_et_al:LIPIcs.ITP.2026.10,
  author =	{Yan, Fang and Ballenghien, Beno\^{i}t and Foster, Simon and Cavalcanti, Ana and Baxter, James and Wolff, Burkhart},
  title =	{{Automated Verification of Robot Software Models with Assume-Guarantee Reasoning in Isabelle/HOL}},
  booktitle =	{17th International Conference on Interactive Theorem Proving (ITP 2026)},
  pages =	{10:1--10:21},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-436-9},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2026},
  volume =	{382},
  editor =	{Komendantskaya, Ekaterina and Nipkow, Tobias},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.ITP.2026.10},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-269849},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ITP.2026.10},
  annote =	{Keywords: process algebra, Isabelle/HOL, automated proof methods, deadlock freedom}
}

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DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.ITP.2024.7

An Operational Semantics in Isabelle/HOL-CSP

Authors: Benoît Ballenghien and Burkhart Wolff

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 309, 15th International Conference on Interactive Theorem Proving (ITP 2024)

Abstract

The theory of Communicating Sequential Processes going back to Hoare and Roscoe is still today a reference model for concurrency. In the fairly rich literature, several versions of operational semantics have been discussed, which should be consistent with the denotational one. This work is based on Isabelle/HOL-CSP 2.0, a shallow embedding of the failure-divergence model of denotational semantics proposed by Hoare, Roscoe and Brookes in the eighties. In several ways, HOL-CSP is actually an extension of the original setting in the sense that it admits higher-order processes and infinite alphabets. In this paper, we present a construction and formal equivalence proofs between operational CSP semantics and the underlying denotational failure-divergence semantics. The construction is based on a definition of the operational transition operator P ⇝e P’ basically via the After operator and the classical failure-divergence refinement. Several choices are discussed to formally derive the operational semantics leading to subtle differences. The derived operational semantics for symbolic Labelled Transition Systems (LTSs) can be potentially used for certifications of model-checker logs as well as combined proof techniques.

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Benoît Ballenghien and Burkhart Wolff. An Operational Semantics in Isabelle/HOL-CSP. In 15th International Conference on Interactive Theorem Proving (ITP 2024). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 309, pp. 7:1-7:18, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2024)

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@InProceedings{ballenghien_et_al:LIPIcs.ITP.2024.7,
  author =	{Ballenghien, Beno\^{i}t and Wolff, Burkhart},
  title =	{{An Operational Semantics in Isabelle/HOL-CSP}},
  booktitle =	{15th International Conference on Interactive Theorem Proving (ITP 2024)},
  pages =	{7:1--7:18},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-337-9},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2024},
  volume =	{309},
  editor =	{Bertot, Yves and Kutsia, Temur and Norrish, Michael},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.ITP.2024.7},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-207355},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ITP.2024.7},
  annote =	{Keywords: Process-Algebra, Semantics, Concurrency, Computational Models, Theorem Proving, Isabelle/HOL}
}

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Documents authored by Ballenghien, Benoît

Automated Verification of Robot Software Models with Assume-Guarantee Reasoning in Isabelle/HOL

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An Operational Semantics in Isabelle/HOL-CSP

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