arXiv subjects

Charles Koll

Publications and source records attributed to Charles Koll.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Runtime Monitoring of Distributed Cyber-Physical Systems Without a Global Clock

We give the first theoretical characterization, and the first algorithm, for continuous monitoring of a distributed Cyber-Physical System (CPS) against a dense-time temporal logic specification. A distributed CPS is composed of multiple agents, each with a local clock; these clocks drift from each other, so there is no well-defined global time. When monitoring such a system's output signal against a temporal logic specification, it is not evident how to interpret the temporal constraints of the formula, and what satisfaction means. Yet CPS designers, like control engineers, typically think of their system's operation in terms of global time. Most existing techniques for monitoring distributed systems work with discrete-time specifications not suitable for CPS, and/or require an explicit mapping of temporal constraints to local clocks. We introduce an algorithm that addresses the above challenges for a fragment of Signal Temporal Logic (STL) that still includes all temporal operators. It relies on a novel extension of satisfaction signals to this partially synchronous setting (where clocks drift), and an analysis of the geometry of multi-dimensional partially synchronous time. The algorithm returns the set of all possible global moments that can satisfy the specification. Knowledge of these possible global moments is important for debugging distributed hybrid control systems such as fleets of drones and electrical grids. We derive the worst-case complexity of the algorithm, and implement a sound approximation of it that experimentally illustrates effective monitoring, even in scenarios of up to 50 agents.

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arXiv2025

Monitoring in the Dark: Privacy-Preserving Runtime Verification of Cyber-Physical Systems

In distributed Cyber-Physical Systems and Internet-of-Things applications, the nodes of the system send measurements to a monitor that checks whether these measurements satisfy given formal specifications. For instance in Urban Air Mobility, a local traffic authority will be monitoring drone traffic to evaluate its flow and detect emerging problematic patterns. Certain applications require both the specification and the measurements to be private -- i.e. known only to their owners. Examples include traffic monitoring, testing of integrated circuit designs, and medical monitoring by wearable or implanted devices. In this paper we propose a protocol that enables privacy-preserving robustness monitoring. By following our protocol, both system (e.g. drone) and monitor (e.g. traffic authority) only learn the robustness of the measured trace w.r.t. the specification. But the system learns nothing about the formula, and the monitor learns nothing about the signal monitored. We do this using garbled circuits, for specifications in Signal Temporal Logic interpreted over timed state sequences. We analyze the runtime and memory overhead of privacy preservation, the size of the circuits, and their practicality for three different usage scenarios: design testing, offline monitoring, and online monitoring of Cyber-Physical Systems.

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arXiv2023

Decentralized Predicate Detection over Partially Synchronous Continuous-Time Signals

We present the first decentralized algorithm for detecting predicates over continuous-time signals under partial synchrony. A distributed cyber-physical system (CPS) consists of a network of agents, each of which measures (or computes) a continuous-time signal. Examples include distributed industrial controllers connected over wireless networks and connected vehicles in traffic. The safety requirements of such CPS, expressed as logical predicates, must be monitored at runtime. This monitoring faces three challenges: first, every agent only knows its own signal, whereas the safety requirement is global and carries over multiple signals. Second, the agents' local clocks drift from each other, so they do not even agree on the time. Thus, it is not clear which signal values are actually synchronous to evaluate the safety predicate. Third, CPS signals are continuous-time so there are potentially uncountably many safety violations to be reported. In this paper, we present the first decentralized algorithm for detecting conjunctive predicates in this setup. Our algorithm returns all possible violations of the predicate, which is important for eliminating bugs from distributed systems regardless of actual clock drift. We prove that this detection algorithm is in the same complexity class as the detector for discrete systems. We implement our detector and validate it experimentally.

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