# Formal Specification and Verification of Autonomous Robotic Systems: A Survey

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/1807.00048 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/1807.00048/

## Key facts

- Cited by 9 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- First posted on arXiv 29 Jun 2018.

## Built on by (most cited first, 9 of 9)

- [Verifiable Goal Recognition for Autonomous Driving with Occlusions](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2206.14163/) (2022)
- [Monitoring of Perception Systems: Deterministic, Probabilistic, and Learning-based Fault Detection and Identification](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2205.10906/) (2022)
- [Model Predictive Robustness of Signal Temporal Logic Predicates](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2209.07881/) (2022)
- [Symbiotic System of Systems Design for Safe and Resilient Autonomous Robotics in Offshore Wind Farms](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2101.09491/) (2021)
- [Monitoring ROS2: from Requirements to Autonomous Robots](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2209.14030/) (2022)
- [Current and Future Challenges in Knowledge Representation and Reasoning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2308.04161/) (2023)
- [Governed Capability Evolution: Lifecycle-Time Compatibility Checking and Rollback for AI-Component-Based Systems, with a Proof-of-Concept Evaluation on Embodied Agents](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2604.08059/) (2026)
- [WFA-IRL: Inverse Reinforcement Learning of Autonomous Behaviors Encoded as Weighted Finite Automata](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2103.05895/) (2021)
- [Address Behaviour Vulnerabilities in the Next Generation of Autonomous Robots](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2103.13268/) (2021)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Autonomous robotic systems are complex, hybrid, and often safety-critical; this makes their formal specification and verification uniquely challenging. Though commonly used, testing and simulation alone are insufficient to ensure the correctness of, or provide sufficient evidence for the certification of, autonomous robotics. Formal methods for autonomous robotics has received some attention in the literature, but no resource provides a current overview. This paper systematically surveys the state-of-the-art in formal specification and verification for autonomous robotics. Specially, it identifies and categorises the challenges posed by, the formalisms aimed at, and the formal approaches for the specification and verification of autonomous robotics.