Safety-Critical Software Verification Tools: How Adacore Is Taking Robots (and Engineers) to Mars

What do spacecraft, planes, and robots pretending they’re on Mars all have in common? They really can’t afford to crash. Enter Adacore, the unsung hero of embedded systems whose safety-critical software verification tools are giving design engineers the superpowers they need to keep things safe, secure, and simulation-tested before a single screw turns.

We caught up with José from Adacore at Embedded World 2025 to talk robotic moonwalking, Mars missions, and how to make software that won’t go rogue.

From Obstacle Detection to Mission Assurance

At the core of Adacore’s approach is a language-first mindset: they use SPARK and Ada, programming languages designed with built-in constraints that reduce human error. Think of them as smart languages that stop you from writing dodgy code in the first place.

Take their demo robot for example: written in SPARK, it’s programmed with a “safety property” that ensures it stops whenever it’s 30cm from an obstacle. Sound simple? It is—but only because Adacore’s tooling can formally prove that safety rules like this will be followed before the robot even rolls out onto the “Martian” floor.

Integrate Safety-Critical Software Tools Without the Pain

You might think adding safety-critical software tools to your workflow means starting from scratch. Not with Adacore.

Their toolchain:

• Integrates easily via command-line tools
• Works with your existing IDEs via plugins
• Supports legacy and new projects alike

Whether you’re just writing requirements or knee-deep in verification hell, Adacore slides right into your process like it was there all along.

Simulation First, Panic Never

Before code touches hardware, Adacore’s simulation environment lets you verify exactly what will happen in the real world. Their Martian robot demo runs the same code on a simulated landscape using Rust for visualisation and SPARK for behaviour. The result? You get to watch your robot not crash into things before spending a penny on physical prototypes.

This means engineers can:

• Test edge cases quickly
• Validate critical safety properties
• Reduce time wasted on repetitive manual checks

Why This Matters for Mission-Critical Projects

Aerospace. Defence. Medical devices. You name it—if failure isn’t an option, safety-critical software verification toolsare your best friend.

As José puts it, without Adacore, “you spend more time verifying the code than writing it.” With Adacore, that verification becomes part of the workflow—simpler, faster, and much less soul-destroying.

Come for the Robot, Stay for the Reliability

From on-device logic to Mars-worthy motion planning, Adacore is making the process of developing and verifying safety-critical embedded software surprisingly… fun?

If your project demands bulletproof code (and maybe a robot that can dodge walls), it might be time to upgrade your toolchain.