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About

Simon Foster is a formal methods researcher whose work sits at the intersection of software verification, robotics, and safety-critical systems engineering. His research has made significant contributions to the mechanisation of formal semantics using theorem proving—particularly through Isabelle/UTP—and to the development of RoboChart, a domain-specific modelling language for robotic systems that supports both model checking and theorem proving. Foster has substantially advanced RoboChart's capabilities by introducing probabilistic and timed extensions, enabling engineers to rigorously reason about uncertainty in autonomous systems, as demonstrated in his work on probabilistic semantics and PRISM-based verification (26 citations). His 2019 survey on integrated formal methods (24 citations) has become a key reference for researchers exploring how formal techniques can strengthen dependability assurance in practice. More recently, Foster has directed attention toward assurance case engineering, developing model-based and natural language-driven approaches to automate the creation and management of safety arguments for critical systems, culminating in the ACCESS framework (2024). Collectively, his publications reflect a sustained commitment to making rigorous formal verification more automated, scalable, and practically applicable—particularly for autonomous and safety-critical robotic systems.