Our research focuses on safety-critical software development and assurance across multiple domains, including emerging autonomous technologies. 

It ranges from fundamental principles through to trial implementation, linking core computer science with disciplines including engineering, law, mathematics, philosophy and psychology.

Contact us

Professor John McDermid

Professor John McDermid

High Integrity Systems Research Group lead

john.mcdermid@york.ac.uk

The group is well-known for its work on assurance cases, having developed the widely used goal structuring notation (GSN). The work on assurance of machine learning (ML) includes argument patterns supporting each stage of the assurance process, e.g. training data selection. There is ongoing work with lawyers and philosophers (ethicists) to develop principled ethical assurance arguments and to find ways of representing and reasoning about responsibilities for the decisions and actions of autonomous systems.

There are several strands of work focused on the safety assurance and sociotechnical resilience of robotics and autonomous systems (RAS). Such systems move decision-making responsibility from human to machine, and we're developing analysis methods to identify hazards and to derive safety requirements to control those hazards. Similarly, we are developing ways of using mathematical methods to develop decision-making algorithms together with proofs of their soundness. The group is also exploring the use of explanations of ML-based decision-making systems to support validation, and hence assurance, of such algorithms.

The group is involved in major projects: The six-year Assuring Autonomy International Programme (AAIP), supported by Lloyd’s Register Foundation, focuses on the assurance and regulation of RAS. The AAIP develops and evaluates assurance methods with its partners in domains as diverse as agriculture, autonomous driving, healthcare, maritime and space. The group leads the Trustworthy Autonomous Systems Node in Resilience - one node of the EPSRC-funded Trusted Autonomous Systems (TAS) programme. We are also involved in two TAS-funded projects concerned with improving trust in autonomous systems, including the Assuring Responsibility for Trusted Autonomous Systems project. The group also has projects directly funded by a range of companies in several different sectors and with government bodies, including NHS Digital and Volvo Construction Equipment. 

We advance the state of the art and practice of assuring the safety of complex computer-based systems, including autonomous systems such as self-driving cars. This is a critical step to enable the promised benefits of robotics and autonomy to be realised whilst ensuring the health and safety of the public. The group provides the conceptual underpinnings and key methods to design, implement, verify and assure robots and autonomous systems, with a special emphasis on assurance of safety. As the systems progressively embrace ML and become capable of operating with greater degrees of autonomy, this introduces ethical challenges, and the group’s work is expanding to embrace assurance of ethical as well as safe behaviour of ML-based systems. 

More specific objectives include: 

  • providing verification and assurance processes for demonstrating the safety of ML-based systems
  • developing methods for analysing robots and autonomous systems to derive safety requirements for the system as a whole, as well as for the sensing and decision-making subsystems
  • developing theory and tools for the verification of these safety requirements
  • developing methods for the synthesis of correct-by-construction decision-making control systems
  • developing principles and guidelines for ethically assured development of resilient robotics and autonomous systems
  • understanding how to ensure the safety of the interactions between humans and autonomous systems
  • evaluating the efficacy of safety engineering methods. 

The group influences industrial practice and regulations by engaging with industry and government across a range of sectors including aerospace, automotive, healthcare and maritime.

The group’s research has influenced national and international safety standards, guidelines and regulations. These include ISO 26262, the international standard for programmable electronics and software used by all automotive suppliers. The GSN method, which is used to document and present proof that safety goals have been achieved, has advanced the implementation of safety case practice within regulatory structures and processes.

The group’s ongoing work on regulation and standards for autonomous driving will benefit much of UK society by establishing norms for assuring that the vehicles are safe and behave ethically. This work will also benefit citizens of other countries through influence on international standards. The group’s work in the healthcare sector is already influencing policy and is likely to benefit many hospital patients, for example by assuring and explaining the safety of recommendations from ML-based decision-support systems. The work will also benefit clinicians and is already helping to provide a sound technical basis for regulating such systems. This form of impact will increasingly be seen in other sectors including aviation, maritime and defence. The group also provides specialist research-led teaching to industry and government departments to support the transition of emerging principles and methods from research into practice.

Stories

Group members

Photo Contact details
Academic staff
Dr Rob Alexander

Dr Rob Alexander

Academic staff

rob.alexander@york.ac.uk 

 Professor Simon Burton

Academic staff

simon.burton@york.ac.uk

 

Professor Radu Calinescu

Professor Radu Calinescu

Academic staff

radu.calinescu@york.ac.uk

Dr Xinwei Fang

Academic staff

xinwei.fang@york.ac.uk

Professor Ibrahim Habli

Professor Ibrahim Habli

Academic staff

ibrahim.habli@york.ac.uk

Dr Richard Hawkins

Dr Richard Hawkins

Academic staff

richard.hawkins@york.ac.uk

 

Dr Yan Jia

Dr Yan Jia

Academic staff

yan.jia@york.ac.uk

 

Professor John McDermid 

Professor John McDermid

Academic staff - group lead

john.mcdermid@york.ac.uk 

Dr Alan Millard

Dr Alan Millard

Academic staff

alan.millard@york.ac.uk 

Dr Colin Paterson 

Dr Colin Paterson

Academic staff

colin.paterson@york.ac.uk 

Professor Mark Sujan

Academic staff

mark.sujan@york.ac.uk

Dr James Yu

Academic Staff

james.yu@york.ac.uk

Research staff
Dr Kester Clegg 

Dr Kester Clegg

Research Associate

kester.clegg@york.ac.uk

 Dr Vicky Hodge

Dr Vicky Hodge

Senior Technical Specialist

victoria.hodge@york.ac.uk

Nathan Hughes

Nathan Hughes

Research Associate

nathan.hughes@york.ac.uk

Dr Calum Imrie 

Dr Calum Imrie

Research Associate

calum.imrie@york.ac.uk

Marten Kaas

Research Associate

marten.kaas@york.ac.uk

Dr John Molloy 

Dr John Molloy

Research Fellow

john.molloy@york.ac.uk

Matt Osborne 

Matt Osborne

Research Fellow

& Postgraduate Research Student 

matthew.osborne@york.ac.uk

Dr Zoe Porter 

Dr Zoe Porter

Research Fellow

zoe.porter@york.ac.uk

Dr Philippa Ryan

Research Fellow

philippa.ryan@york.ac.uk

Sepeedeh Shahbeigi Roudposhti

Research Assistant

sepeedeh.shahbeigi@york.ac.uk

Ioannis Stefanakos 

Ioannis Stefanakos

Research Associate

ioannis.stefanakos@york.ac.uk

Gricel Vazquez Flores

Gricel Vazquez Flores

Research Staff/ Postgraduate Research Student

gricel.vazquez@york.ac.uk

 

 Sinem Getir Yaman

Research Associate

sinem.getir.yaman@york.ac.uk

Postgraduate research students
Haris Aftab

Haris Aftab

Postgraduate Research Student

haris.aftab@york.ac.uk 

John Bragg

John Bragg

Postgraduate Research Student

jeb565@york.ac.uk 

Brendan Devlin-Hill

Brendan Devlin-Hill

Postgraduate Research Student

brendan.devlin-hill@york.ac.uk  

Jane Fenn

Jane Fenn 

Postgraduate Research Student

jlf541@york.ac.uk 

Hasan Bin Firoz

Hasan Bin Firoz

Postgraduate Research Student

hbf502@york.ac.uk 

Frank Fischer

Frank Fischer

Postgraduate Research Student

frank.fischer@york.ac.uk 

Josh Hunter

Josh Hunter

Postgraduate Research Student

josh.hunter@york.ac.uk 

Vira Jogia

Postgraduate Research Student

vj589@york.ac.uk 

Shakir Laher

Shakir Laher

Postgraduate Research Student

sl2318@york.ac.uk 

Dr Ernest Lim

Dr Ernest Lim

Postgraduate Research Student

fbt512@york.ac.uk

Berk Ozturk

Berk Ozturk

Postgraduate Research Student

berk.ozturk@york.ac.uk 

Tejas Pandey

Tejas Pandey

Postgraduate Research Student

tejas.pandey@york.ac.uk 

Annabelle Partis

Annabelle Partis

Postgraduate Research Student

alp565@york.ac.uk 

Nawshin Mannan Proma

Nawshin Mannan Proma

Postgraduate Research Student

nmp522@york.ac.uk 

Georgia Sowerby

Postgraduate Research Student

gms544@york.ac.uk 

Mohammad Tishehzan

Mohammad Tishehzan

Postgraduate Research Student

mohammad.tishehzan@york.ac.uk  

Danielle Turner

Danielle Turner

Postgraduate Research Student

dct510@york.ac.uk 

Bernard Twomey

Bernard Twomey

Postgraduate Research Student

bjt532@york.ac.uk 

Stephen Wright

Stephen Wright

Postgraduate Research Student

smw572@york.ac.uk 

Qi Zhang

Postgraduate Research Student

qi.zhang@york.ac.uk 

Other affiliates
Dr Katrina Attwood

Dr Katrina Attwood

Teaching & Scholarship

katrina.attwood@york.ac.uk

Sarah Carrington

Teaching & Scholarship

sarah.carrington@york.ac.uk

Dr Simos Gerasimou 

Dr Simos Gerasimou

Academic affiliate

Dr Claire Ingram 

Dr Claire Ingram

Teaching & Scholarship affiliate

claire.ingram@york.ac.uk

Dr Mark Nicholson

Dr Mark Nicholson

Teaching & Scholarship

mark.nicholson@york.ac.uk

Dr David Pumfrey

Dr David Pumfrey

Teaching & Scholarship

david.pumfrey@york.ac.uk

Dr James Yu

Associate Staff

james.yu@york.ac.uk

 

Contact us

Professor John McDermid

Professor John McDermid

High Integrity Systems Research Group lead

john.mcdermid@york.ac.uk