Saarland University is building software automata – saarbruecker-zeitung.de

Heavy million EU Research Award for system of automatic programming

Computer scientists from the Saarland University headed by Professor Bernd Finkbeiner develop computer programs, program the computer. For this project, the researchers are now a multi-million dollar European research prize awarded. <- ! (Ver & ouml; ffentlicht December 23, 02:00) ->

> Saarbrücken. five decades ago, with the introduction of the computer in the professional world, was the fact that a calculation from a device of electronic data processing originates, nor as proof of their correctness. With comments like “That has to be right, which originates from the computer” doubters were abgebügelt. Today we know it better. Computers make mistakes – sometimes even colossal. For programs that control electronic circuits, derived from human hands. And people can err. Would it not be there to let you program a good idea, computers of computers?

To this topic made the computer for a long time a wide berth. This had less to do with the fear of the computer, the program them today, they could rationalize tomorrow, as with the pitfalls of logic, in which one can become entangled there. Only since almost a decade, most computer scientists worldwide automatic programming systems for narrowly defined tasks, so Finkbeiner.

The results were so far, to put it cautiously, moderately. Computer programs that can be generated by computer programs today, although applicable in the mathematical sense as guaranteed error-free, but often also as useless. Because for the solution of a programming task for beginners who completed a student in five lines of code, the machine needs a hundredfold. And with more difficult tasks it often fails completely.

This power deficit of colleagues to reduce computer, the Saarbrücken computer science professor Bernd Finkbeiner has made. For the development of new techniques of automatic programming a doped with two million euros Research Award of the European Union, the computer scientists of the Saarland University now receives (ERC Consolidator Grant).

Among the projects studied the Saarbrücken Computer Scientist belong Controllers complete production lines in large industrial plants and so-called reactive systems. For such programs to control aircraft, trains and one day even the autonomous car, a zero defect guarantee a lawsuit in the United States may be vital, as shortly after the turn of the century, for example, showed the accelerator control of cars the Japanese manufacturer Toyota , Among computer scientists it is true now generally agreed that structural faults in automotive software in a series of accidents played a role at the time in several cases, cars without driver suddenly accelerated, so Bernd Finkbeiner.

The LAP Computer scientists, however, do not deal with software control of individual cars, but with programs to control the unequal complicated interaction of many autonomous vehicles traveling on our roads in future. “We need it not only software with security guarantees,” said Finkbeiner, “but also methods by which they can develop efficiently.”

The software machine, the Saarbrücken Computer specialists are now developing, should not human programmer superfluous, but at relieving annoying standard tasks, explained the computer. Humans give such systems, the program synthesis only general goals in a specific programming language before. The console is then to analyze the tasks and translate into the actual program code – or not. Because of the digital programmer, the develop the researchers of the University of the Saarland is, indeed guaranteed deliver flawless results, so Bernd Finkbeiner – but he would not guarantee results. Faced the human program partner its digital assistant with a problem that it can not cope with reasonable effort or not, he may give as output no machine code, but the terse reply: “For this task, there is no solution.”