Science Of Sensor Systems Software - Fault Tolerance for Sensor Networks

A PhD position is offered in the Department of Computer Science starting in October 2018, and associated with the Science of Sensor Systems Software (http://www.dcs.gla.ac.uk/research/S4/) research programme. This position is available to both UK and EU students and we are looking for outstanding candidates able to undertake PhD study on formal verification for wireless sensor networks. For more details see http://cgi.csc.liv.ac.uk/~clare/projects/S4PhDStudentship.html

This could cover a broad range of systems/protocols, such as synchronization protocols, gossip protocols, ad-hoc networks, etc. and a wide variety of potential formal verification techniques, such as theorem-provers, model-checkers, SMT solvers, runtime verification, etc. Generally, we wish to study, formalise and utilise commonality and abstractions across these systems, for example in terms of sensor geography, shape, neighbours, movement, protocol, reliability, etc. The project is flexible within this general area given the applicant’s background and interests and a sample project is given below.

Fault Tolerance for Sensor Networks
The use of sensors for monitoring for example chemical spills, earth movements near rail or road, pollution in rivers etc. is increasingly viable. Together groups of sensors can provide data that can be used to provide early warning of problems. However results might be affected by the distribution and location of individual sensors, sensor calibration issues, degradation and failure. This project involves developing and applying formal verification techniques to model networks of sensors and analyse different types of failure to ensure the robustness of sensor networks.