FORCES: An Incremental Transpiler from C/C++ to Rust for Robust and Secure Robotics Systems

Theo Engels; Attilio Discepoli; Robbe De Greef; Esteban Aguililla Klein; Francesco D'agostino; Remi Gunsett; Jonathan Pisane; Ken Hasselmann; Antonio Paolillo

FORCES: An Incremental Transpiler from C/C++ to Rust for Robust and Secure Robotics Systems

Theo Engels
, Attilio Discepoli
, Robbe De Greef
, Esteban Aguililla Klein
, Francesco D'agostino
, Remi Gunsett
, Jonathan Pisane
, Ken Hasselmann
, Antonio Paolillo

Robotics & Autonomous Systems

Vrije Universiteit Brussel
Université Libre de Bruxelles
THALES BELGIUM SA

Research output: UNPUBLISHED contribution to conference › Paper › peer-review

Abstract

Unsafe memory accesses are the cause of most
cybersecurity vulnerabilities. Robotic systems are not exempt
from these risks, especially in defense environments where
they are prime targets for cyber threats, and exploiting these
vulnerabilities can lead to significant physical consequences.
To limit the risks associated with memory-unsafe languages
in robotic systems, the FOundations for Reliable, CorrEct, and
Secure robotic systems (FORCES) project proposes the design
of two tools. First, a robust and incremental transpilation tool
that enables the conversion of legacy C/C++ code to Rust,
thereby enhancing memory safety without sacrificing perfor-
mance. Second, a comprehensive evaluation framework that
establishes metrics for correctness, security, performance, and
maintainability to assess the effectiveness of the transpilation
process. Both tools will be tested and validated across diverse
robotic use cases for the Belgian Defense.

Original language	English
Number of pages	5
Publication status	Published - 23 May 2025
Event	ICRA 2025 Workshop on Rust for Robotics: Building Robust Foundations for Tomorrow's Autonomous Systems - georgia world congress center, Atlanta, United States Duration: 19 May 2025 → 19 May 2025 https://sites.google.com/view/r4rworkshop

Workshop

Workshop	ICRA 2025 Workshop on Rust for Robotics: Building Robust Foundations for Tomorrow's Autonomous Systems
Abbreviated title	ICRA 2025 R4R
Country/Territory	United States
City	Atlanta
Period	19/05/25 → 19/05/25
Internet address	https://sites.google.com/view/r4rworkshop

Access to Document

https://antonio.paolillo.be/publications/workshops/icra25_r4r_forces_paper.pdf

FORCES: FOundations for Reliable, CorrEct, and Secure robotic systems
Hasselmann, K. (Promotor) & Engels, T. (Researcher)
1/12/24 → 31/12/28
Project: Research › DEFRA

ICRA 2025 Workshop on Rust for Robotics: Building Robust Foundations for Tomorrow's Autonomous Systems
Engels, T. (Participant)
19 May 2025
Activity: Participating in or organising an event (conference, measurement campaign, ...) › Participating in a conference, workshop, ...

Cite this

Engels, T., Discepoli, A., De Greef, R., Aguililla Klein, E., D'agostino, F., Gunsett, R., Pisane, J., Hasselmann, K., & Paolillo, A. (2025). FORCES: An Incremental Transpiler from C/C++ to Rust for Robust and Secure Robotics Systems. Paper presented at ICRA 2025 Workshop on Rust for Robotics: Building Robust Foundations for Tomorrow's Autonomous Systems, Atlanta, Georgia, United States. https://antonio.paolillo.be/publications/workshops/icra25_r4r_forces_paper.pdf

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title = "FORCES: An Incremental Transpiler from C/C++ to Rust for Robust and Secure Robotics Systems",

abstract = "Unsafe memory accesses are the cause of most cybersecurity vulnerabilities. Robotic systems are not exempt from these risks, especially in defense environments where they are prime targets for cyber threats, and exploiting these vulnerabilities can lead to significant physical consequences. To limit the risks associated with memory-unsafe languages in robotic systems, the FOundations for Reliable, CorrEct, and Secure robotic systems (FORCES) project proposes the design of two tools. First, a robust and incremental transpilation tool that enables the conversion of legacy C/C++ code to Rust, thereby enhancing memory safety without sacrificing perfor- mance. Second, a comprehensive evaluation framework that establishes metrics for correctness, security, performance, and maintainability to assess the effectiveness of the transpilation process. Both tools will be tested and validated across diverse robotic use cases for the Belgian Defense.",

author = "Theo Engels and Attilio Discepoli and \{De Greef\}, Robbe and \{Aguililla Klein\}, Esteban and Francesco D'agostino and Remi Gunsett and Jonathan Pisane and Ken Hasselmann and Antonio Paolillo",

year = "2025",

month = may,

day = "23",

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note = "ICRA 2025 Workshop on Rust for Robotics: Building Robust Foundations for Tomorrow's Autonomous Systems ; Conference date: 19-05-2025 Through 19-05-2025",

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}

Engels, T, Discepoli, A, De Greef, R, Aguililla Klein, E, D'agostino, F, Gunsett, R, Pisane, J, Hasselmann, K & Paolillo, A 2025, 'FORCES: An Incremental Transpiler from C/C++ to Rust for Robust and Secure Robotics Systems', Paper presented at ICRA 2025 Workshop on Rust for Robotics: Building Robust Foundations for Tomorrow's Autonomous Systems, Atlanta, United States, 19/05/25 - 19/05/25. <https://antonio.paolillo.be/publications/workshops/icra25_r4r_forces_paper.pdf>

FORCES: An Incremental Transpiler from C/C++ to Rust for Robust and Secure Robotics Systems. / Engels, Theo; Discepoli, Attilio; De Greef, Robbe et al.
2025. Paper presented at ICRA 2025 Workshop on Rust for Robotics: Building Robust Foundations for Tomorrow's Autonomous Systems, Atlanta, Georgia, United States.

Research output: UNPUBLISHED contribution to conference › Paper › peer-review

TY - CONF

T1 - FORCES: An Incremental Transpiler from C/C++ to Rust for Robust and Secure Robotics Systems

AU - Engels, Theo

AU - Discepoli, Attilio

AU - De Greef, Robbe

AU - Aguililla Klein, Esteban

AU - D'agostino, Francesco

AU - Gunsett, Remi

AU - Pisane, Jonathan

AU - Hasselmann, Ken

AU - Paolillo, Antonio

PY - 2025/5/23

Y1 - 2025/5/23

N2 - Unsafe memory accesses are the cause of most cybersecurity vulnerabilities. Robotic systems are not exempt from these risks, especially in defense environments where they are prime targets for cyber threats, and exploiting these vulnerabilities can lead to significant physical consequences. To limit the risks associated with memory-unsafe languages in robotic systems, the FOundations for Reliable, CorrEct, and Secure robotic systems (FORCES) project proposes the design of two tools. First, a robust and incremental transpilation tool that enables the conversion of legacy C/C++ code to Rust, thereby enhancing memory safety without sacrificing perfor- mance. Second, a comprehensive evaluation framework that establishes metrics for correctness, security, performance, and maintainability to assess the effectiveness of the transpilation process. Both tools will be tested and validated across diverse robotic use cases for the Belgian Defense.

AB - Unsafe memory accesses are the cause of most cybersecurity vulnerabilities. Robotic systems are not exempt from these risks, especially in defense environments where they are prime targets for cyber threats, and exploiting these vulnerabilities can lead to significant physical consequences. To limit the risks associated with memory-unsafe languages in robotic systems, the FOundations for Reliable, CorrEct, and Secure robotic systems (FORCES) project proposes the design of two tools. First, a robust and incremental transpilation tool that enables the conversion of legacy C/C++ code to Rust, thereby enhancing memory safety without sacrificing perfor- mance. Second, a comprehensive evaluation framework that establishes metrics for correctness, security, performance, and maintainability to assess the effectiveness of the transpilation process. Both tools will be tested and validated across diverse robotic use cases for the Belgian Defense.

M3 - Paper

T2 - ICRA 2025 Workshop on Rust for Robotics: Building Robust Foundations for Tomorrow's Autonomous Systems

Y2 - 19 May 2025 through 19 May 2025

ER -

FORCES: An Incremental Transpiler from C/C++ to Rust for Robust and Secure Robotics Systems

Abstract

Workshop

Access to Document

Projects

FORCES: FOundations for Reliable, CorrEct, and Secure robotic systems

Activities

ICRA 2025 Workshop on Rust for Robotics: Building Robust Foundations for Tomorrow's Autonomous Systems

Cite this