CentraleSupélec students explore railway design and verification with Prover tools

This year, we once again had the pleasure of introducing Signaling Design Automation to the students of CentraleSupélec in Paris. Our goal was to engage them in the real-world challenges of working on a railway project using formal methods and the generic application/specific applications approach. Thirty-eight students, in eight groups, worked simultaneously to develop eight small lines, with three interlockings each, using Prover iLock and Prover Studio.

We started with a brief introduction to railway fundamentals, after which students dived into practical examples. They started by setting up a new interlocking track layout, then proceeded to debug the generic application we provided, verifying the validity of safety requirements and functional tests. After this initial stage, students then created their own safety requirements and test cases. In the final stage, they added a manual release feature to their interlocking system, covering key elements like design, safety requirements, and testing.

We extend our sincere appreciation to the dedicated students of CentraleSupélec for their commitment and enthusiasm throughout the week. They impressed us with how quickly they got the hang of our tools, languages, and the railway field. Special thanks also to their teachers, in particular Idir Ait Sadoune, for trusting us again this year.

We hope to have the opportunity to see these talented students again in the railway industry or in the field of formal methods. We believe that opportunities to introduce these two fields to new students are essential. We are convinced that this new generation of talents can contribute to the development of these two exciting fields for engineering a safer world.