Formalising Safety Requirements for Robotic Autonomous Systems in Highly Regulated Domains

Abstract

This research addresses the challenge of ensuring the safe operation of Robotic Autonomous Systems (RAS) in highly regulated domains through the formalisation of safety requirements, with a specific focus on the UK nuclear safety regime as a use case of our approach that serves as a feasibility study. Driven by the growing need to deploy robots for safety and efficiency in hazardous environments, we seek to develop a systematic approach to address this challenge comprehensively. The main objectives include exploring how to derive formal properties, which are practical to verify, from functional safety requirements for RAS within the context of RE. The development of a rules-based Safety System is proposed to demonstrate this approach, which aims to be compliant with safety standards and relevant good practice. The proposed framework defines safety requirements based on existing safety protocols and industry practice. This work involves eliciting and formalising requirements for the Safety System, and integrating it with an autonomous robot. Through a real-world application involving an inspection robot in the UK nuclear industry, this research aims to demonstrate the practicality of this approach. we emphasise the importance of safety assurance throughout the life cycle of RAS, from hazard analysis to requirements elicitation and beyond.