# New Opportunities for Integrated Formal Methods

## TL;DR

This paper discusses the potential of integrated formal methods to enhance dependability assurance in robotics and autonomous systems, highlighting opportunities, threats, and a research agenda for effective adoption.

## Contribution

It identifies new opportunities and threats for integrated formal methods in RAS assurance and proposes a research agenda for their development and transfer.

## Key findings

- Highlights strengths and weaknesses of formal methods
- Identifies threats to adoption in RAS
- Proposes a research agenda for integration and transfer

## Abstract

Formal methods have provided approaches for investigating software engineering fundamentals and also have high potential to improve current practices in dependability assurance. In this article, we summarise known strengths and weaknesses of formal methods. From the perspective of the assurance of robots and autonomous systems (RAS), we highlight new opportunities for integrated formal methods and identify threats to the adoption of such methods. Based on these opportunities and threats, we develop an agenda for fundamental and empirical research on integrated formal methods and for successful transfer of validated research to RAS assurance. Furthermore, we outline our expectations on useful outcomes of such an agenda.