  This paper introduces assume/guarantee contracts on continuous-time control
systems, hereby extending contract theories for discrete systems to certain new
model classes and specifications. Contracts are regarded as formal
characterizations of control specifications, providing an alternative to
specifications in terms of dissipativity properties or set-invariance. The
framework has the potential to capture a richer class of specifications more
suitable for complex engineering systems. The proposed contracts are supported
by results that enable the verification of contract implementation and the
comparison of contracts. These results are illustrated by an example of a
vehicle following system.
