An algebraic approach to revising propositional rule-based knowledge bases

One of the important topics in knowledge base revision is to introduce an efficient implementation algorithm. Algebraic approaches have good characteristics and implementation method; they may be a choice to solve the problem. An algebraic approach is presented to revise propositional rule-based knowledge bases in this paper. A way is firstly introduced to transform a propositional rule-based knowledge base into a Petri net. A knowledge base is represented by a Petri net, and facts are represented by the initial marking. Thus, the consistency check of a knowledge base is equivalent to the reachability problem of Petri nets. The reachability of Petri nets can be decided by whether the state equation has a solution; hence the consistency check can also be implemented by algebraic approach. Furthermore, algorithms are introduced to revise a propositional rule-based knowledge base, as well as extended logic programming. Compared with related works, the algorithms presented in the paper are efficient, and the time complexities of these algorithms are polynomial.     

Structure-Based Deadlock Checking of Asynchronous Circuits

It is important to verify the absence of deadlocks in asynchronous circuits. Much previous work relies on a reachability analysis of the circuits’ states, with the use of binary decision diagrams (BDDs) or Petri nets to model the behaviors of circuits. This paper presents an alternative approach focusing on the structural properties of well-formed asynchronous circuits that will never suffer deadlocks. A class of data-driven asynchronous pipelines is targeted in this paper, which can be viewed as a network of basic components connected by handshake channels. The sufficient and necessary conditions for a component network consisting of Steer, Merge, Fork and Join are given. The slack elasticity of the channels is analyzed in order to introduce pipelining. As an application, a deadlock checking method is implemented in a syntax-directed asynchronous design tool -- Teak. The proposed method shows a great runtime advantage when compared against previous Petri net based verification tools.     

Finite-time control of linear parameter-varying systems with norm-bounded exogenous disturbance

In this paper, a new approach is presented for finite-time control problems for linear systems subject to time-varying parametric uncertainties and exogenous disturbance. The disturbance is assumed to be time varying and bounded. Sufficient conditions are obtained for the existence of a linear parameter-dependent state feedback gain, which can ensure that the closed-loop system is finite-time bounded （FTB）. The conditions can be reduced to feasibility problems involving LMIs. Numerical examples show the validity of the proposed methodology.     

Formation and obstacle avoidance control for multiagent systems

This paper considers the problems of formation and obstacle avoidance for multiagent systems.The objective is to design a term of agents that can reach a desired formation while avoiding collision with obstacles.To reduce the amount of information interaction between agents and target,we adopt the leader-follower formation strategy.By using the receding horizon control (RHC),an optimal problem is formulated in terms of cost minimization under constraints.Information on obstacles is incorporated online as sensed in a limited sensing range.The communication requirements between agents are that the followers should obtain the previous optimal control trajectory of the leader to each update time.The stability is guaranteed by adding a terminal-state penalty to the cost function and a terminal-state region to optimal problem.Finally,simulation studies are provided to verify the effectiveness of the proposed approach.     

Verifying functions in online stock trading systems

Temporal colored Petri nets, an extension of temporal Petri nets, are introduced in this paper. It can distinguish the personality of individuals (tokens), describe clearly the causal and temporal relationships betwee nevents in concurrent systems, and represent elegantly certain fundamental properties of concurrent systems, such as eventuality and fairness. The use of this method is illustrated with an example of modeling and formal verification of an online stock trading system. The functional correctness of the modeled system is formally verified based on the temporal colored Petri net model and temporal assertions. Also, some main properties of the system are analyzed. It has been demonstrated sufficiently that temporal colored Petri nets can verify efficiently some time-related properties of concurrent systems, and provide both the power of dynamic representation graphically and the function of logical inference formally. Finally. future work is described.     

A New Subdivision Algorithm for the Bernstein Polynomial Approach to Global Optimization

In this paper,an improved algorithm is proposed for unconstrained global optimization to tackle non-convex nonlinear multivariate polynomial programming problems.The proposed algorithm is based on the Bernstein polynomial approach.Novel features of the proposed algorithm are that it uses a new rule for the selection of the subdivision point,modified rules for the selection of the subdivision direction,and a new acceleration device to avoid some unnecessary subdivisions.The performance of the proposed algorithm is numerically tested on a collection of 16 test problems.The results of the tests show the proposed algorithm to be superior to the existing Bernstein algorithm in terms of the chosen performance metrics.     

Net Operations

Two kinds of net operations.addition and Cartesian production of P/T nets,are introduced.They are defined on the set of underlying net of P/T systems.The conditions for preserving structural properties of Petri net after these operations are discussed.It is shown that the set of P/T nets forms and Abelian group for net addition operation and the inverse net of a P/T net in usual meaning of net theory is exactly the inverse of this P/T net as an element of the P/T net group;and that the set of P/T nets forms an Abelian ring for net addition and Caresian product operations.     

Behavior Relativity of Petri Nets

This paper presents a novel methodology for modelling and analyzing of behavior relations of concurrent systems. The set of all firing sequences of a Petri net is an important tool for describing the dynamic behavior of concurrent systems. In this paper, the behavior relativity of two concurrent subsystems in their synchronous composition is presented. Such behavior relativities, including Controlled Relativity, United Relativity, Interactive Relativity and Exclusive Relativity, are defined respectively. The properties of the relativities are discussed in detail. The analysis method for these properties is based on minimum T-invariants, when two subsystems are live bounded Petri nets. A well-known example has also been analyaed using the new methodology to demonstrate the advantages of the proposed methodology.     

Test Time Minimization for Hybrid BIST of Core-Based Systems

This paper presents a solution to the test time minimization problem for core-based systems. We assume a hybrid BIST approach, where a test set is assembled, for each core, from pseudorandom test patterns that are generated online, and deterministic test patterns that are generated off-line and stored in the system. In this paper we propose an iterative algorithm to find the optimal combination of pseudorandom and deterministic test sets of the whole system, consisting of multiple cores, under given memory constraints, so that the total test time is minimized. Our approach employs a fast estimation methodology in order to avoid exhaustive search and to speed-up the calculation process. Experimental results have shown the efficiency of the algorithm to find near optimal solutions.     

Two optimization algorithms for solving robotics inverse kinematics with redundancy

The kinematic redundancy in a robot leads to an infinite number of solutions for inverse kinematics, which implies the possibility to select a "best" solution according to an optimization criterion. In this paper, two optimization objective functions are proposed, aiming at either minimizing extra degrees of freedom (DOFs) or minimizing the total potential energy of a multilink redundant robot. Physical constraints of either equality or inequality types are taken into consideration in the objective functions. Since the closed-form solutions do not exist in general for highly nonlinear and constrained optimization problems, we adopt and develop two numerical methods, which are verified to be effective and precise in solving the two optimization problems associated with the redundant inverse kinematics. We first verify that the well established trajectory following method can precisely solve the two optimization problems, but is computation intensive. To reduce the computation time, a sequential approach that combines the sequential quadratic programming and iterative Newton-Raphson algorithm is developed. A 4-DOF Fujitsu Hoap-1 humanoid robot arm is used as a prototype to validate the effectiveness of the proposed optimization solutions.     

Deciding a class of path formulas for conflict-free petri nets

The aim of this paper is to develop a unified approach for deriving complexity results for problems concerning conflict-free Petri nets. To do so, we first define a class of formulas for paths in Petri nets. We then show that answering the satisfiability problem for conflict-free Petri nets is tantamount to solving a system of linear inequalities (which is known to be in P). Since a wide spectrum of Petri net problems (including various fairness-related problems) can be reduced to the satisfiability problem in a straightforward manner, our approach offers an umbrella under which many Petri net problems for conflict-free Petri nets can be shown to be solvable in polynomial time. As a side-product, our analysis provides evidence as to why detecting unboundedness for conflict-free Petri nets is easier (provided P ≠ NP) than for normal and sinkless Petri nets (which are two classes that properly contain conflict-free Petri nets). A preliminary version was presented at the 14th International Conference on Application and Theory of Petri Nets, Chicago, IL, USA, June 1993.     

Fuzzy rule base systems verification using high-level Petri nets

In this paper, we propose a Petri nets formalism for the verification of rule-based systems. Typical structural errors in a rule-based system are redundancy, inconsistency, incompleteness, and circularity. Since our verification is based on Petri nets and their incidence matrix, we need to transform rules into a Petri nets first, then derive an incidence matrix from the net. In order to let fuzzy rule-based systems detect above the structural errors, we are presenting a Petri-nets-based mechanism. This mechanism consists of three phases: rule normalization, rules transformation, and rule verification. Rules will be first normalized into Horn clauses, then transform the normalized rules into a high-level Petri net, and finally we verify these normalized rules. In addition, we are presenting our approach to simulate the truth conditions which still hold after a transition firing and negation in Petri nets for rule base modeling. In this paper, we refer to fuzzy rules as the rules with certainty factors, the degree of truth is computed in an algebraic form based on state equation which can be implemented in matrix computation in Petri nets. Therefore, the fuzzy reasoning problems can be transformed as the liner equation problems that can be solved in parallel. We have implemented a Petri nets tool to realize the mechanism presented fuzzy rules in this paper.     

Automatic construction of systems of distributed components from nested Petri nets models

Multi-level multi-agent systems (MASs) with dynamic structure are widely used in solving important applied problems in telecommunication, transportation, social, and other systems. Therefore, ensuring correct behavior of such systems is an actual and important task. One of the most error-prone stages of system development in the framework of model-oriented approach is the implementation stage, in the course of which a program code is constructed based on the model developed. This paper presents an algorithm for automated translation of MAS models represented as nested Petri nets into systems of distributed components. Nested Petri nets are the extension of Petri nets in the framework of the nets-within-nets approach, which assumes that tokens in a Petri net may themselves be Petri nets, possess autonomous behavior, and interact with other tokens of the net. This makes it possible to model MASs with dynamic structure in a natural way. The translation presented in this paper preserves distribution level and important behavioral properties (safety, liveness, and conditional liveness) of the original model and ensures fairness of the target system execution. The use of such translation makes it possible to automate construction of distributed MASs by models of nested Petri nets. As a test example, translation of nested Petri nets into systems of distributed components was implemented on the basis of the EJB component technology.     

Verifying soundness of business processes: A decision process Petri nets approach

This paper presents a trajectory-tracking approach for verifying soundness of workflow/Petri nets represented by a decision-process Petri net. Well-formed business processes correspond to sound workflow nets. The advantage of this approach is its ability to represent the dynamic behavior of the business process. We show that the problem of finding an optimum trajectory for validation of well-formed business processes is solvable. To prove our statement we use the Lyapunov stability theory to tackle the soundness verification problem for decision-process Petri nets. As a result, applying Lyapunov theory, the well-formed verification (soundness) property is solved showing that the workflow net representation using decision process Petri nets is uniformly practically stable. It is important to note that in a complexity-theoretic sense checking the soundness property is computationally tractable, we calculate the computational complexity for solving the problem. We show the connection between workflow nets and partially ordered decision-process Petri net used for business process representation and analysis. Our computational experiment of supply chains demonstrate the viability of the modeling and solution approaches for solving computer science problems.     

基于着色Petri网仿真模型的安全协议分析

采取形式化方法验证协议的安全性,Petri网是有效的方法之一,但传统Petri网分析过程中经常会出现状态空间爆炸问题。该文采用了基于着色Petri网建立安全协议及入侵者攻击的仿真模型方法,从而获得仿真数据。该方法利用逆向状态分析和Petri网可达性分析,能有效地发现协议中的安全漏洞。并且,如果能恰当地控制好状态空间,则能有效地克服Petri网分析过程中的状态空间爆炸问题。该文给出的利用着色Petri网建立安全协议仿真模型分析的一般方法,实例说明该方法具有普适性,并且方便利用Petri网自动化分析工具实现自动化分析。     

Performance analysis of stochastic timed Petri nets using linearprogramming approach

Stochastic timed Petri nets are a useful tool in the performance analysis of concurrent systems such as parallel computers, communication networks and flexible manufacturing systems. In general, performance measures of stochastic timed Petri nets are difficult to obtain for practical problems due to their sizes. In this paper, we provide a method to efficiently compute upper and lower bounds for the throughputs and mean token numbers for a large class of stochastic timed Petri nets. Our approach is based on uniformization technique and linear programming     

A Survey of Petri Net Methods for Controlled Discrete Event Systems

This paper surveys recent research on the application of Petri net models to the analysis and synthesis of controllers for discrete event systems. Petri nets have been used extensively in applications such as automated manufacturing, and there exists a large body of tools for qualitative and quantitative analysis of Petri nets. The goal of Petri net research in discrete event systems is to exploit the structural properties of Petri net models in computationally efficient algorithms for computing controls. We present an overview of the various models and problems formulated in the literature focusing on two particular models, the controlled Petri nets and the labeled nets. We describe two basic approaches for controller synthesis, based on state feedback and event feedback. We also discuss two efficient techniques for the on-line computation of the control law, namely the linear integer programming approach which takes advantage of the linear structure of the Petri net state transition equation, and path-based algorithms which take advantage of the graphical structure of Petri net models. Extensions to timed models are briefly described. The paper concludes with a discussion of directions for future research.     

New NP-Complete Problems in Performance Evaluation of Concurrent Systems Using Petri Nets

Timed Petri nets are useful in performance evaluation of concurrent systems. The maximum computation rate is achieved for minimal cycle time of timed Petri net. It is known that minimal cycle time problem for P-invariant Petri nets is NP-complete. In this paper we prove that the minimal cycle time problem, for non-P-invariant Petri nets and for a small subclass of P-invariant Petri nets called free-choice nets having live and safe marking, is NP-complete.     

A Petri net-based approach for supporting aspect-oriented modeling

The concept of aspect-orientation allows for modularizing crosscutting concerns as aspect modules. Aspect-orientation originally emerged at the programming level, and has stretched over other development phases now. Among them aspect-oriented modeling (AOM) is a hot topic, and there are many approaches supporting it. Petri net is a good formalism which can provide the foundations for modeling software and simulating its execution, but fails to resolve the problem of crosscutting concerns to support AOM. So, this paper presents an approach which extends the Petri net so as to support the AOM. In this paper, the basic functions of the system are modeled as base net by Petri net, and the crosscutting concerns are modeled as aspect nets. In order to analyze the whole system, woven mechanism is proposed to compose the aspect nets and base net together. The problems about aspect-aspect conflict and conflict relations may exist among the aspect nets matching the shared join point, thus this paper propose solutions to resolve them. The Object Petri net which is an extension of traditional Petri net is also extended so as to support aspect-oriented modeling here.     

无冲突Petri网的结构活性判定研究

结构活性作为Petri网的重要结构性质,在Petri网活性判定领域具有较高的研究价值。从Petri网有向回路对结构活性的影响入手,分析与判定无冲突Petri网的结构活性,讨论库所元素及其后置变迁之间是否存在有向回路对Petri网结构活性的影响,研究该类Petri网结构活性判定方法的相关条件与结论,得到无冲突Petri网是满足结构活性的充分必要条件。分析结果表明,该判定方法可在多项式时间内判定无冲突Petri网的结构活性。