An intent-specifications model for a robotic software control system

Intent specifications are a new way to structure specifications to-support human problem solving, system and software development and evolution, traceability, and specification of design rationale. An intent specification provides a hierarchical abstraction based on intent ("why") in addition to the usual "what" and "how." For a given system being specified, an intent specification defines seven levels, each one of them supporting a different type of reasoning about the system. Each level is mapped to the appropriate parts of the intent levels above and below it, providing a means to trace design rationale and decisions from high-level system requirements and constraints down to code and vice versa (from code to specifications, requirements, and safety analyses). The third level of an intent specification contains a black-box model that uses an executable formal specification language, SpecTRM-RL, which provides special support for requirements review and analysis-particularly for completeness and safety. SpecTRM-RL models can be mathematically analyzed and checked for various properties, including human-computer interaction properties such as mode confusion. They can also be executed as part of system simulations. The approach is demonstrated using an industrial robot designed to service the heat resistant tiles on the Space Shuttle.