Temporal bounds verication of the STIMAP protocol

This article deals with the temporal validation of STIMAP, a medium access protocol. This protocol has been designed to meet the specific requirements of an implantable network-based neuroprosthese. This article presents the modeling of STIMAP with Time Petri Nets (TPN), and the verification of the deterministic medium access it provides, using timed model checking. The specific case of the synchronization reference time mechanism is detailed, explaining the problem it poses for the verification process and the solution we use to provide the whole protocol validation. This interesting and complex case study shows that existing formal methods and tools are not perfectly suitable for the validation of real systems, especially when some dynamic duration or hardware parameters have to be considered.